Need help with transition to a new career.

Zofia Janeczek

July 19,2023 at 2:15AM UTC

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Need help with transition to a new career.

I basically work a job I hate, this is not a career but just a job, to get by. As I get older, I will not be able to physically continue down this route. I'm on my feet all day now in close to 100 degree heat, it's killing me. Mentally, I'm bored to death also because the job doesn't require much from me in that capacity. There's absolutely no room for growing with this company. It's dead end.

Has anyone made the transition successfully from blue collar back to white collar work. If so, how long did it take. I'm considering just getting some kind of education on my own, can't afford to go back to school. Is prompt engineering or anything computer IT related worth the time. I'm older already and know there's a lot of age discrimination these days, will I even be taken seriously. Any words of advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

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Barb HansenJuly 19,2023 at 3:54AM UTC
You will be taken seriously in a new career b/c you bring a lot of experience (your lived experienced) to a new role.
There are plenty of options open for you so you might want to take some time to investigate some careers, before you invest in training (even if you choose a career that you can learn without paying money, you're time is still an investment.
YouTube is your friend - there are plenty of videos on a "day in the life of XYZ job" and there are plenty of articles on the web on business/tech jobs you can get without a degree. With a little research, you should be able to find a direction towards a career that interests you.
Example: If you decide that you want to learn to code, you don't need a degree to get a job. You need to know how to code, and you can learn to code with YouTube video's and other free options online. If you need to practice coding, you can code all on your own. I'm not saying you should learn to code, I'm using it as an example.
Another idea for you, there are plenty of companies that build tech solutions for blue-collar workers to use and for companies that hire blue-collar workers, your background in the industry can be invaluable to those companies, as you bring your past experience to your new career.
If you can find a career in business/tech that fit your needs (and your brain), and you find a company that builds software for the industry that you have experience in, that's a match made in heaven for both you and the company.
If you want to connect here, reach out to me, I'm happy to offer advice on big-swing career transitions. I transitioned from a clinical medical career to a high-tech job without any tech training or business experience (but I did transition from a clinical career into the medical-space in tech field so I was able to lean on my previous medical/health experience)
Zofia JaneczekJuly 29,2023 at 4:42PM UTC
Thank you for the information, most helpful! I'll have to transition into something because the working conditions are quite unbearable. It was 105-107 degrees one day and yes, workers are expected to produce in this environment. Most days, I'm working physically in 95+ degree heat and utterly miserable, I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack on some days.
Barb HansenAugust 3,2023 at 10:35PM UTC
God bless you and everyone who work outside or in factories/work places without air conditioning. I mention this again, I'm happy to chat if you want to brainstorm on ideas for your next job/career. I'm not a career coach, I'm a women in tech leadership who forged an unconventional path and i'm happy to share what I have learned.