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03-07-2009, 08:42 PM | #1 |
Banned
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 10,454
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Ok guys this is the deal..I'm 32 yrs old, blue collar guy. I grad high school, then did about a semester in county college as a music major (what was I thinking?) Jumped ship and found my way as a equipment mechanic and never looked back. Never got rich doing it, but I always had most things I wanted, my toy/comic collection, dirtbikes, own apt, nice clothes etc.
FFwd to this past year, I started my own small business for side money and left the company I was working for, for years to work for someone in the commercial flooring industry, we were also going to be business partners. From the get go I hated it. It got deeper with time and money invested, also all the legalities of business ownership. I began to hate the work, the people..actually the mentality of the ppl I worked with. Mostly I started to hate the guy I trusted, and it got very heated more then once. A few months ago I had severe shoulder pain, after some research online and talking to fellow gym rats it seemed that I would need surgery. By the time I had my appt with the Dr. I was already praying for surgery because I knew the rehab was 6 mo. and that was my escape from my current job/business endeavor. Here I am in a sling, with my laptop on a recliner. I came out of surgery last week, cant drive for 3 more weeks and I can promise everyone that reads this, that in 6 mo. when I am healed in full, I will never go back to that man or building..unless its to choke him. I dont want to work in the field that I am in. Time to be honest, I never did. I thought I was supposed to be like my dad and grandfather but its just not for me. I can tell you this, as a teen I fought with depression, I was on meds, on suicide watch a few times as well. In my adult life I suffered with severe anxiety and always seemed to do things I thought I was supposed to do. I had a gf who had kids...it was a mess. From the start I tricked myself because she was "hot". When I would go to work, the depression I fought in my youth would come back, when I came home to her, the anxiety would make me tremble. When I ended everything..I felt..."happy". Now I have time on my hands, I have even been offered my old room at moms house should I try to pursue something new. I found that being single right now is a blessing and so is getting out of my last job and wearing this shoulder brace. The things that I love have WITHOUT A DOUBT saved my life. I love being active and exercising, I love the gym. I love to train in martial arts-nothing has focused or relaxed me more (it also made Storm Shadow my fave and its an excuse to own swords and knives!) Being in a band for fun is still great and of course collecting Joes and everything else fanboy related. Not to mention being very family oriented. (I still take mom and sis to church on sundays--before football of course.) I already signed up for my personal trainers certification, and I think teaching children martial arts pt may be fufulling. What I want to do is help ppl. I want to help ppl that were like me find an outlet through exercise. I enjoy helping out and bringing what I know to ppl who can use it. I just dont know who exactly could use it? Someone said that rehabs for ppl with drug problems need trainers, but do I need to go back to school for that? Its not about being rich, when I heal I'm even considering being a vol fireman or maybe even a military reserve. So no, I'm not looking to get rich, but I do have to pay bills. So I guess I'm just looking for advice from anyone in the field or in this situation. Thanks for reading my book, look fwd to the replies. Last edited by PitViper; 03-07-2009 at 08:47 PM.. |
03-07-2009, 08:47 PM | #2 |
Always watching
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: California
Posts: 3,486
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All I can say is if you have the ability to do what you enjoy, go for it. Lots of people (myself included) are tied down to things we may not love doing, but need the steady income to support families etc.
If this is an excuse to make a break from your old path, use it and go with it. As an old friend of mine always says.. "Live life like you're gonna die, because you're gonna" - William Shatner
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03-07-2009, 08:56 PM | #3 |
Drunk-Viper
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: In an alley with a viper
Posts: 1,540
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i'm not an old-timer, and i haven't had loads of different careers, so i may not be the kind of person to take advice from... but in my experience, the hardest part of starting a new career is not ability/inability, but time and feasibility. if you have a genuine offer to relieve yourself of most finanical responsibilities in order to make a go of something that you think will make you happier, i say GO FOR IT!
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03-07-2009, 09:01 PM | #4 |
CANUCK-VIPER
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Posts: 9,527
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before you said it, I was going to say that perhaps you should teach martial arts. Pass on the love and knowledge you have for martial arts to others and bc its something you enjoy doing, they will enjoy learning it from you.
Also my mom's ex was a counselor at a mens detox center, I know he never went to school for it, but being an ex alcoholic he wanted to help people. I think if you look up centers that deal with depression, anxiety and other afflictions of that nature they are always looking for volunteers and perhaps full time counselors.
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03-07-2009, 09:11 PM | #5 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Jax, FL
Posts: 307
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Just start networking. A few phone calls, names and numbers, which will get you the info you need, if there are certifications required. Stop by the fire dept or recruiter office and get a feel of which way to go. We need more people like you out there!
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03-07-2009, 09:25 PM | #6 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Pensacola, FL
Posts: 78
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Always if you have something you enjoy personally, and you have the ability to make money at it, that's your best bet. I too started in college as a music major. . .but a couple of years into that I figured out that though I enjoyed it I wouldn't be good enough to make a career of that. Ended up in computer work instead.
Just a word of caution though. You've said you didn't like the legalities of owning a business, so if you went into martial arts training you may or may not like dealing with the legalities there (if you are going to run your own training center). And in today's economy, people may not have the money to pay for courses like this. Parents might tell their little Johnny that he has to now choose between baseball and karate, they can't afford both anymore. If you've got the skills for an equipment mechanic, I would think demand for that will only go up. Businesses are spending less, and are going to be more likely to try to extend the life of their current assets rather than buying new. Same for consumers. Unless you really hated this line of work, I wouldn't count this out. It's honest work, and like you said, it always allowed you to get your bills paid with money left over for some fun stuff. |
03-07-2009, 09:30 PM | #7 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland
Posts: 582
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The great joke of society is the process which leads you up to a career choice. You spend 12 years in public education and then they immediately expect you to got to a 4 year college, rack up thousands of dollars of debt and choose what career you want to do for the next 40 years of your life. Very few people work at what they trained for in college.
As far as work places go, there are difficult people everywhere. It doesn't matter if you are flipping burgers or working in corporate America, there are always going to be difficult people to work with - egos, attitude, irresponsible, lazy, dramatic, ect.. If you don't like working with people DO NOT start a personal business. Do what you want to do with your life. Be honest with yourself. Seriously, be honest with yourself. Are you willing to do a job that pays less, but has less responsibility and stress, plus gives you more free time for yourself? I have seen couples that make over 100k per year and complain about being broke. They buy all this crap they don't need and build up tons of debt. I just don't get it. They are stressed out, out of shape and depressed. Is it worth it? The problem is, you don't really question these things until you get into your early 30's, about where you are right now. Most people are already in a relationship with kids and their priorities are outside themselves, so they stay in a job they hate because they have to "pay the bills." You are lucky where you are right now. You have an opportunity to make a choice and act on it without other factors affecting your decision. It's all up to you right now. If the idea of teaching martial arts is something you want to try, do it. If you don't like it after a while, move on to something else. Don't approach it as the end all of careers. Try it out. If you don't do it, you will waste a lot of time for many years questioning if you should have done it. |
03-07-2009, 10:15 PM | #8 |
007 Snakes
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: ATX
Posts: 719
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I'd probably go to one of ur local gyms like Golds and ask what it takes to be personal trainer.
I am currently going back to school myself to get my BA in Visual Communication - web design. I'm sick of working customer service and in contact centers. Been doing it since 2001 so I'm ready for something new like u as well. |
03-07-2009, 10:29 PM | #9 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Maryland
Posts: 4,555
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my story couldn't be more different but i've made similar choices. from the time i could hold a crayon everyone knew i would be an architect. barely made it thru high school and put myself thru college. i spent a couple years learing what it really was to be an architect and it's nothing like most people's perceptions. think teachers pay, doctors hours... to cut to it, i spent enough time in big firms to know i did not like being a cog in the machine. i took jobs with smaller, more creative firms and never looked back. sure it's less money, prestige, etc. but i'm proud of the work i've done and do and rarely go home disappointed with my job.
find what makes you happy and run with it. for me it was less pay but more creativity and challenge. i'm happily poor as my wife likes to call it.
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03-07-2009, 10:39 PM | #10 |
Banned
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 10,454
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So far I gotta thank everyone for posting, glad to know I'm not as crazy as I thought--thanks guys!!
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