Anyone had two very different/unrelated careers? What were they? What made you change?

[wildwan]

Just that really

Anyone here had two (or more I suppose) very different careers? What were they? What made you change?What age were you when you changed career?

Retail manager 10 years. - activities manager care home 5 years - supervisory area infection control cleaner current.
The last is the most enjoyable and pays the most for a job I can walk away from each day and not take home any stress.

Have had a large chunk of my years at home caring for one or more of four elderly parents at the same time. So I did take various part time jobs which fitted in - shelf filling, opticians assistant, butchers assistant, pub work etc.

I worked for the CQC inspecting residential homes for the elderly and simultaneously started my own Garden Design and Maintenance business

Career 1 (17 years) - software developer
Career 2 (13 years) - minister of religion

What made me change? God.

Career 1 teaching - I'll health retirement
Career 2 various roles within a charity

I'm self employed now.

Career 1: wardrobe mistress in theatre
Career 2: webinar producer

Lots of reasons why I changed - got sick of constantly looking for the next job because of being on short term contracts, bored of dealing with mad people all the time, wanted more money, had a child and needed more sensible hours.

My Mum worked in childcare then when she was approaching 40 she decided for a totally different job and became a funeral arranger! She was working her way up to be a funeral director but unfortunately passed away suddenly aged 42. She always joked that after working with children for so long she needed a job where nobody talked back!

Teacher for 8 years and now a civil servant in an admin role.

I was burned out and had no passion left so I made a change when I got the chance. I was 32 when I switched and I think it was a good choice - I’m happier.

My DH was a Graphic Designer until he retired, got bored and started to volunteer in a charity shop, within a year he took on the job as part time paid sales assistant then full time manager now after 6 years at age 71 he runs two shops

Career 1 - social worker, specialising in child protection
Career 2 - now work from home selling products online/creating monthly treat boxes etc

I went part time with Career 1 when my 19 year old son passed away suddenly in his sleep (undiagnosed heart condition) but then resigned the year after. I was already selling from home as a way to fundraise so together with my other children (older 2 were teenagers too) we built up and I now spend 97% of my time with my family. I loved my job as a social worker and returned to uni when my children started school to retrain. But I just couldn’t face being away from home, and in those early days after losing my son I struggled to get dressed every day etc.

Before the anti MLM brigade pile in - this works for me and my family. I earn a monthly wage based on my sales and my customers are wonderful. Tomorrow we are going to start work on our Advent Calendars I make each year - much more fun than writing Court reports (although I really did enjoy it all at the time!) and if I’m having a bad day or few days i don’t have the added stress of phoning some unsympathetic boss (it’s been 7 years already, surely you feel better....)

Career one - administration based roles over 11 years
Career two (current) - veterinary technician

I changed because I wanted to do something meaningful/make a difference and because I love animals. I studied at uni part time for 6 years starting when I was 25 and continued to work full time in admin. I've been in the vet industry for almost a year now. It's much harder work physically and mentally, for much less pay. But I love it.

Cabin crew for 10 years
Now a health and safety lead for the nhs

Exec assistant (employed) to therapist (self employed) mainly working with the severely disabled and those who have cancer.

City job, looked down on as only in an 'admin' role. No chance of progress, fighting against people who couldn't/wouldn't support me doing anything more. Final straw, 10 rounds of redundancy in 11 years. I survived them all apart from the last round. Toxic atmosphere where multiple yearly org redesigns, redundancy rounds are the norm. I didn't want to spend my last 35 years of working in a job that I absolutely hated.

Career one: Intelligent Analyst

Career two: Support Worker

Due to location change for personal reasons, now live in a city with not many opportunities. I miss my old job but like the social/helpful element of my new job.

Support worker for people with disabilities.

To a medical physicist.

I loved my first job (had to leave education to help DM with bills) but it was very poorly paid and the hours were bad (24 hour shifts, on holidays with severely disabled clients I would only be paid for 7 hours of the day, and a flat overnight rate).

I left when I found out I was pregnant with my first daughter. I didn’t want to be away from her overnight or at Christmas. This coupled with the fact my new boss at the time didn’t like me, I never got a weekend off and was in for all the bank holidays (no increased pay on bank holidays either).

We struggled financially for a few years. Lived off DHs one low wage. It was so worth it though.

I went to college to do an adults access to HE course. Went from there to Uni and got accepted into an NHS program. We no longer have any money troubles, my hours are quite family friendly and I am very satisfied with my job.

I trained as an historian (PhD etc.)

then worked as a planner

so from looking at the past to predicting the future

but actually quite similar in the day-to-day and the skillset

oh well

CB

I was an engineer who used to work in the music industry

I'm now in cyber security and software engineering. (Both engineers in the title. Just very different!)

One iD spent nearly a year touring. Which was just amazing fun

Now I sit in an office in a computer!

I changed because I had children and music touring is not a good industry for a parent

Recruitment to personal trainer/life model. I switched at 35ish. Quit my job to retrain. Soooooo much happier now.
Every now and again I have nightmares of being back in an office again, feeling out of my depth and then I wake up and I’m so received that’s in my past!!

Career one: cataloguer in an auction house and Gallery Girl in a big commercial gallery

Career two: Fundraiser/Development in various universities, heritage orgs and a foundation.

I changed because the arts are just too unstable - I got laid off from the auction house and was making a pittance at the gallery as a contractor. I started temping in a Development office, and have been working it that world ever since.

I know fundraising gets a bad rap on Mumsnet, but I genuinely really enjoy it. I have an American DH, so we moved to the US a few years ago, and I make a very good salary and the work/life balance is pretty good.

I used to work on a stud farm looking after mares and newborn foals.

Then I got a job as a cashier in a bank. The pay was a lot better, I didn't have to sit up all night waiting for action, and my weekends were free.

Yes, I have.

Career 1 ... Medical Laboratory Scientist specialising in haematology - 16 years.

Career 2 .... Corporate Communications, marketing and PR Manager for several large companies over the years ... 25 years.

What made me change ... Money, better prospects.

I went from retail management to dog walker!

The atmosphere in my retail job was incredibly toxic (under-staffed, poor management, shit atmosphere) and I ended up getting signed off with stress. Eventually, the idea of going back was too much and I handed in my notice.

I then set up as a dog walker (this was about eight months ago) and I now work less than half the hours I did previously, for the same amount of money! Never been happier and my work-life balance is incredible.

Both me and my DH, I went from Engineering to CS admin - retrained as I knew I wouldn't be able to get temp engineering work when I had my eldest DC so retrained, DH went from Laboratory to CS admin after continually being made redundant as the industry shrunk. I was 30, he was 45.

Career 1 - teacher
Career 2 - nuclear physicist

I was qualified to do Career 2 from the off (PhD etc in it) but thought teaching looked fun. It was for a bit, but then I got fed up of the excessive hours and ever-moving goalposts, plus rude children and other teachers. What I do now is a lot less stressful! I was ~33 when I switched.

Yep
Shop manager, took a child related career break, found retail impossible to get back into, worked in PR, did that for ten years, got thoroughly bored, and am now (when not on lockdown) a mobile DJ.
Now those are changes

Although DH started as a printer, went into nursing, hated it, now he's a painter and decorator.