As of late, I find myself thinking more and more about changing careers, but I am not so sure if it would be a good idea. All I have ever done professionally is repair vehicles. I am a mechanic. I enjoy what I do but the mechanic field has really fallen to the way side and it has become more difficult to make a decent paycheck. The one other thing I am good at, without formal training or schooling, would be computer repair. I have repaired many computers, built some from scratch, and destroyed a few. I have been slowly teaching myself Code for making websites but again, it’s not formal training so I don’t know how far that will get me.
So my question is: Do I take the risk and try to get into the computer field or stick with what I am currently doing? I am the sole provider for my family of four and it can be difficult to provide for them when I only bring home $200 a week. (I work on straight commission) With that being said, I will think more about this and do as much free online training as possible.
Have a great day!
Tough decision. I would have advised you to go back to school until you mentioned having a family of four. If it were possible to go back to school, what would you aim for? Your current pay I would think, needs to be either increased or supplemented. Can you enlist the help of family? Can you look into job retraining? It sounds like you need to take a job aptitude test to help define your interests and skills. If I were you, I would look into getting out of that line of work. I believe you already know it doesn’t have enough future for you and I don’t think you would be happy over the long haul. Good luck to you. I hope it all works out.
I would really like to go back to school and get sone formal training in Computer Science, Coding, and Repairs. The issue I have is, I can’t afford to go back to school and I certainly can’t afford to pay back student loans. Living pay check to pay check sucks but we have to do the best we can with what we have. I’m tired of living pay check to pay check. I want to be able to provide better for my family considering I am the money maker. This is why I am considering a career change.
I appreciate your circumstances (to the degree that anyone can really walk in another’s shoes). When I was a much younger man I found that the salary from teaching did not meet our needs. So, I got a second job. Later I took a loan and went back to school at night and during the summer when I had time off to get yet another degree. Those were very rough years now that I look back and frankly, I don’t know how I did it. I got up at 6:30 each morning, helped get breakfast and the kids ready for school and then off I went to teach a full day. I returned home at 4:30 p.m. to grab another bag lunch and ate as I drove 75 miles to the university for my courses. They ended at 10 p.m. and I was back home by 11:30 p.m. to begin preparing my lessons for the next day. I was in bed at 1 a.m. and then up at 6:30 am. And as I mentioned, I worked a second job first in tourism and then at the local race track where I assisted on the backside, helping test the horses for steroid use.
What am I saying? I guess this: there are no easy answers. You cannot get by on your current pay check to pay check existence. You’re going to need to find a career that will bring more money and more satisfaction. That will probably mean retraining (i.e school) and that will likely be in evening classes and on weekends. I think you’re going to have to enlist the help of family if you possibly can. But keep in mind that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that this situation WILL END. Hopefully the journey will be interesting. We know it will be exhausting. Once more – I wish you luck and hope it works out for you.
I really appreciate all the feedback that I have received here. It has given me some things to think about. So now to my next question…. What do you all think about Online Work at Home Jobs? Is it something that is even worth looking into?
Thanks for everything.
It’s late. I’ll try and plug in tomorrow. I hope others will consider joining in the discussion. It definitely is worthwhile.
I’m sorry for the late response (been a very rough day for me). Remio, It seems to me that your best course of action is to seek financial assistance in order that you retrain yourself. Look at your options:
– stick with the current job (but as you’ve pointed out, it’s pay check to pay check and I can’t see that improving)
– go back to school (but with a family in need of your pay check that is pretty much impossible)
– go back to school on a part-time basis (this seems to be your best choice since it allows you to continue working and trains you at the same time)
My advice is: explore the evening classes and find those you would want to pursue. Find out whether financial assistance is available to help pay for your schooling (it may mean asking extended family for a loan). Lastly, just do it. Don’t wait. Don’t continue down the old path or you’ll regret not having done this. Maybe you can sit down with a community college guidance counselor and get some practical advice as to how to proceed.