Career Change - PA to ??

[Cherryup]

I've been a PA for 15 years and need a change of direction, what could I do? Has anyone gone to something completely different making use of their transferable skills?

I can't see the wood for the trees and don't know which way to turn atm, feeling pretty crappy and trapped so any help would be appreciated.

If you are anything like the PAs I know at work, you are already pretty much running everything so whatever you fancy, really.

When you want a change of scene, it's really important to pinpoint what you would like to keep about your current job and what you never want to have again. Do this right across the board, from parking, the benefits provided or not. What responsibilities you have or would like to have or not have.

You will probably know some of these but it's totally worth allowing your mind to dwell and make sure you have teased out what's important.

Good luck.

Thank you, yes you're right I need to give myself time to properly think about this, I want to do this properly, it feels like the last chance I'll have to make a change.

You’d probably be aces at project management or HR.

A second vote for project management, there is a lot of overlap in the skills needed for PAs and project managers. But I also agree with the comment above, remove the job titles and companies from the equation and think what aspects of current work you enjoy, these would be the key areas to take forward. Then, what do you enjoy/are naturally drawn to outside of work? This would be another area to focus on. I used to do voluntary work for a cause I really care about, and made a career change to work in the industry around this area and love it, I now really enjoy work to the point that it often doesn't feel like work.

Project management, event management, office manager, HR - any of them appeal?

Hey, you will have lots of transferable skills! Start by thinking about what it is in your current role that you’re not happy with and would like to change - it could be the number of hours you work, the deadlines you face, anything. You don’t want to end up in the same situation in a different job further down the line. Then start to think about what kind of role would allow you to make those changes.

If you need any help, feel free to drop me a PM. I’m a career coach and offer free half hour calls. There’s no obligation to book anything after - it would just help you clarify what options might be open to you.

Best of luck!

Thank you for your replies, all very helpful.

I'm having a huge confidence crisis atm brought on by a tricky work situation, your replies have made me quite tearful, there is a way out and an alternative to this life.

I'm going to explore project management further, that really appeals and I think I could be good at it.

Is it the work situation that's causing you to look elsewhere? It's great to change direction or move on if that's what you want to do, but don't be forced out of a job by someone/something else if you would otherwise have stayed.

@WeatherwaxLives

Project management, event management, office manager, HR - any of them appeal?

@WeatherwaxLives - I know this is an old thread but yes any of these are good.

However, for most of these apart from maybe office manager you'll need some form of training e.g. Prince for PM, HR similar etc. Events management - if you're working for e.g. a club/bar then you're expected to be there so not much use if you have children and need childcare but I do know an EM who used to do that but now does it for a sort of museum/country house place which is used a lot for events management and it's quite near where she lives too. Plus her DC are older, teens.

Office manager would advise that unless you really want to do this - a few companies try to get you to be a PA/OM which is 2 jobs for 1 salary. But e.g. for architects firms a lot employ an OM to oversee the running of the office and then have separate PA, team secs and accounts for payroll etc. Smaller offices you could maybe do this for.

Another option could be training staff on e.g. packages. But probably for larger firms.

Don't forget re PM work - if e.g. like me you sourced and specified equipment - such as a new phone switchboard system with suppliers etc or organised archive filing away from the office rather than in the office - mention financial costs saved etc then these are projects - detail the time it took to organise/see through. A few bosses will also e.g. in current job pinpoint projects for you to do and then give feedback on these.

Also think strongly about which area you work in and where you'd be happiest in.