Has anyone ever started afresh? | Page 2 | Vital Football

Has anyone ever started afresh?

Absolutely. I would have loved a beer at the time but, what with nobody having invented anything to drink one from, I was, as they say, buggered.


 
Teaching is the best job in the world if you are enthusiastic about helping your students.


*Disclaimer: Working in an inner city school is probably shit.
 
thing is with teaching, if you work at a lovely school in a lovely place with lovely kids who all get top marks and then one of yours gets a B you've fucked up.

If you work in a shithole school, in a shithole area, with shit kids who get shit marks and one of them gets a C you've achieved great success - but is it worth getting stabbed for?
 
My wife works as a HLTA in what I would call a typical comprehensive school , some decent kids and some not so decent. During one lesson about careers one lad put that when he left school he will become a drug dealer. :10:
 
At age 50, I was totally burnt-out. I'd spent most of my working life in sales and marketing, largely in what we'd now call IT. A few years previously, I'd been involved in a very nasty redundancy and had been struggling for a few years in not very satisfying and often poorly paying jobs. At times I would definitely have been better off on the dole. I even ended up on medication for depression.
Exercising my family's faith in me (for I had none of my own left!) I applied to do a degree on a full-time basis. To my surprise I was accepted so one Monday morning in September, having left back the company car the previous Friday, I arrived in jeans and jumper to start what proved to be three great years in my life.
I don't really understand how we survived financially but I ended up with a good degree (student of the year, you know....) and was able to get a job in financial administration which I was still in when I retired (under no pressure to do so) a couple of years back.
 
Deano. I was faced with the same issue 13 yrs ago. I worked in the Music Industry , where my job was fazed out, I knew nothing else.

I started afresh, I thought similar careers to you, and went for it.

I now live in the countryside, my kids have a life I could not have give them in Brum and am happier than ever.

Don't be worried, within the few months, the "new" becomes the "norm"
 
Saying that, how about rounding up a bunch of 16 yr old kids, take them to a green area and within 6 months you could be managing a Premier League football team
 
Have you thought about designing man bags and cardigans ?? You could be the next Gok Wan
 
holtelower - 4/4/2013 07:06

Deano. I was faced with the same issue 13 yrs ago. I worked in the Music Industry , where my job was fazed out, I knew nothing else.

I started afresh, I thought similar careers to you, and went for it.

I now live in the countryside, my kids have a life I could not have give them in Brum and am happier than ever.

Don't be worried, within the few months, the "new" becomes the "norm"
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Just out of curiosity, what do you for work in the countryside?

I am a city person but over the past couple of years I've started developing an appreciation for nature. I often think about packing it all in and going to live in the middle of nowhere but I've no idea how I'd make a living.
 
Best of luck Deano. Like Jonah I left the army and started life over in the hotel industry (right at the bottom, glorified bouncer). A bit of graft and seizing a couple of opportunities when they arose and I was a non executive director for a hotel company in the space of 4 years. I then got made redundant, but was lucky enough to get something similar within a couple of months. My advice, for what it's worth:

1. Make the task of 'finding a job', your full-time job; get up, go for a run, grab a shower, do breakfast, get dressed, have coffee and lunch breaks etc. Try not to schlep around in your skivvies with Jeremy Kyle on in the background (although the people on that program do give you a sense of superiority even if you do have your hands in your pants).

2. Put a handle on the Liquidotron. In fact, I want in on this, watch out dragons.

3. If you're going to be an international assassin;
a. Make sure your passport's up to date (embarrassing),
b. No women, no kids (you have to have some standards),
c. Always (ALWAYS) wear shoes with laces, slip-ons will defo come off at the wrong moment,
d. Dress smartly but blandly, you need to get into most places but don't want to stand out,
e. Avoid getting up close and personal, blood is a devil to get out of your smart, bland suit,
f. Can't think of any others, getting a headache now.

Best of luck.
 
Going back to starting afresh. I walked out with 4 youngsters of 15, 13, 11 and 4 in 2000 after 16 years of domestic violence. When ex turned it on our eldest that was me and the youngsters out and gone. We left on the surface a lovely home, my business and superficial stability. Do I regret it. The only regret I have is I didn't do it years before.

We had no permanent home, I had no work, my head was a wreck. We walked hell for 2 and a half years until I got us permanent housing and able to start settle us all down in the home we have today, work on myself and help them through heir stuff.

So yeah I know what it's like to start afresh with nothing, not even a potato peeler at the age of 38. I wouldn't advocate my way but if I can start afresh and rebuild everything from nothing then anyone can.

Explore and go for it whatever it is you want to do. Think big. Not small. Dream. Not just cos it seems like good money. If you got an opportunity to do something radically different you have always wanted to do/or and area you would like to go into then do it. Don't live to regret it
 
I left school 22 years ago and I have been made redundant 3 times during that time. The most recent was in 2010 and that was the final straw for me and I made the decision that I would not let somone else have that much power over me again.

I decided to take a massive change in direction and retrained as a Plumber. My wife (primary school teacher) has been incredibly supportive over the last 3 years and its starting to pay off now. The business is picking up nicely and we have moved to a bigger place and just had a baby boy in January.

I was able be a bit selfish because there was only the two of us at the time, the last 3 years have been no bed of roses and its a scarey world when you start out working for yourself but the thought of having to go back to an office and take orders off some git who's sole purpose in life is to justifly his own position spurred me on.

Someone gave me some wise words some years ago along the lines of "when you are on your death bed you will only regret the things you didnt do, not the things you did" and I have tried to keep that in mind... life is too short


I know a few guys above have already said it but my wife can confirm that Male primary school teachers are rarer than England internationals staying at Villa and are in great demand at the moment, the other thing to think about is the recent baby boom in the uk will lead to lots of new teaching jobs over the next few years too and if you wanted to move away from the classroom and into management later on, head teachers can earn some serious money. Have a look on the Teacher specific job sites in the summer to get an idea of whats out there

best of luck
 
jcvilla - 15/4/2013 06:58

I left school 22 years ago and I have been made redundant 3 times during that time. The most recent was in 2010 and that was the final straw for me and I made the decision that I would not let somone else have that much power over me again.

I decided to take a massive change in direction and retrained as a Plumber. My wife (primary school teacher) has been incredibly supportive over the last 3 years and its starting to pay off now. The business is picking up nicely and we have moved to a bigger place and just had a baby boy in January.

I was able be a bit selfish because there was only the two of us at the time, the last 3 years have been no bed of roses and its a scarey world when you start out working for yourself but the thought of having to go back to an office and take orders off some git who's sole purpose in life is to justifly his own position spurred me on.

Someone gave me some wise words some years ago along the lines of "when you are on your death bed you will only regret the things you didnt do, not the things you did" and I have tried to keep that in mind... life is too short


I know a few guys above have already said it but my wife can confirm that Male primary school teachers are rarer than England internationals staying at Villa and are in great demand at the moment, the other thing to think about is the recent baby boom in the uk will lead to lots of new teaching jobs over the next few years too and if you wanted to move away from the classroom and into management later on, head teachers can earn some serious money. Have a look on the Teacher specific job sites in the summer to get an idea of whats out there

best of luck
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I never knew you spoke Polish.
 
ICT is such an important subject in schools today.I put it in with literacy and numeracy (and possibly a language) as the "core skills" that employers look for.As such good teachers are needed and with IT a field in which potential rewards can be high,logic tells me ( but sorry I do not have figures to back me up) that the govt should try special incentives to attract people to teach the subject

I am not convinced that a degree is critical here if you have good commercial experience and could ,say, demonstrate that you trained staff etc. You would have to retrain and yes pennies would be tight whilst you did so but I know from teaching for 2 years some years ago what a rewarding experience it can be.many times i wish i had carried on.
 
DeanoVilla - 3/4/2013 10:32

Starting to look more and more likely that I might be made redundant in the near future, and so I'm begining to weigh up my options in terms of what I would do going forward.

A big part of me is thinking do i really want another 30+ years in IT? And i think the answer is no.

Had my job not been in jeopardy I think I'd have just carried on plodding along in a career I'm not completely happy with, but this might just give me a chance to do something new. Something exciting. Something I enjoy.

However, starting a fresh seems a very scary prospect to me.

I could probably walk into another IT job on a similar salary within a couple of months. However if I decided to try something new, I'd need to completely retrain, possibly using up all my redundancy money, and then I'd probably end up starting on the bottom rung of the wage ladder once again. That's a pretty scary prospect with bills to pay and mouths to feed.

Natalie works full time and has said she'd support me if I wanted to try something new, which is all well and good, i think we'd 'cope', but I don't want to cope, I want a nice new house, and potentially want to start a family of my own before it's too late.

For that I'm thinking we need my wage, and a good wage.

Also, it's ok saying I wanna try something new but I literally have no idea what. I like cooking. Maybe I could train to be a chef, but you don't see many chefs walking out of their pubs at the end of a night and getting into an Aston Martin. I'm guessing pay is poor and hours unsociable.

I'd also love to teach, maybe at Primary school level, but I'm told you need a degree, which I don't have. I'm intelligent enough (although i try to hide it on here) and am good with kids, but I think teaching jobs are quite sought after so thats not going to be enough.

And what if I spend all my redundancy to try something new and then 6 months down the line decide I hate it more than IT!? What a bad gamble that would be.

Head is all over the place at the moment. Really dunno what to do, so if anyone has ever experienced something similar and can offer some advice I'd be very grateful.
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Dear Deano

I have started fresh on so many occasions and once you release yourself from your fear you will see it was nothing to be afraid of in the 1st place

My advice would be to use the money you will get to start your own business

Yes there are probably loads of IT companies around but remember there are alot a lot of computers

How great would it be for you to work for yourself?

Yours sincerely

Mr Safe
 
I was made redundant almost three years ago from a job I'd been in for 24 years. After a couple of months of soul-searching I opted to go to university, and get a degree in something totally different as I felt at forty, it was my last real chance to change and do something I wanted to do.

Teaching is an option I'd thought about while employed but it was easier to just plod on endlessly in the job I was in. I also had no degree (only post-grad qualifications) which made going into teaching impossible. It is still a fall-back option but I'm now studying IT (specifically video game development) as it is my passion and what I've wanted to do since childhood.

Although I am easily on for a 1st, getting into the gaming industry is not going to be easy but I am up for the challenge.

Kefkat is correct regarding teaching. I have many close friends that are (head) teachers and they don't paint it as an easy ride. It is their passion for the kids that drives them on.

I start a twelve month work placement soon writing insurance software which although not exactly my 'dream' job, will help me brush up on my programming skills while I develop my own portfolio of games. I'm then back for my final year of study.

Since my redundancy I have done a few other jobs, some permanent part-time and others that were a bit more casual as well as some volunteer work in schools. I've worked in a supermarket, a phone shop, doing building work, fitting bathrooms/kitchens and decorating.

Luckily, with my redundancy and a very supportive (and earning) wife we are surviving quite well financially. I spend a lot less on 'luxuries' than I used to but we get by through being a bit more selective. I earn less than I have since I was sixteen yet I've never felt as happy in myself as I do now. It is this mental change that has had the most significant impact.

The change and way my life is in flux is a million miles from how it used to be and I can't help but feel excited and revitalised by it all. I have no idea how things will turn out but my only regret so far is that I didn't push myself to jump and follow this path earlier.

 
Funny this thread should have been bumped. Been looking into teaching most of this morning. Even did 2 online practice tests in numeracy and literacy that you need to complete and passed them both.

From what I can gather I'd need to get a degree but it can be done in a year, then you do a 6 months placement and then you are qualified to go out and get a job.

Reckon I'd have enough redundancy to keep me going 7-8 months, so just need to figure out a way of keeping some money coming in on the side, and I reckon it could be a goer.
 
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