Career Change from Banking/Financial Services

[Sunsetsandcocktails]

Hello, I know there’s a few threads on career change ideas but was wondering if anyone had left a good career in financial services to do something totally different?

I’m frequently torn between recognising I have a good setup (I read the thread on the last time people cried at work recently and it really shocked me just how many awful jobs/work situations there are) and wanting to do something more enjoyable and/or meaningful.

on the one hand, I have ok flexibility with office days, Mon-Fri, infrequent overtime, I really like and get on with my team, salary is pretty decent, benefits like private health care and pension are good. I also don’t have to manage anyone which I’ve never wanted to do.

but the work itself is boring, I don’t care about it and I’ve always struggled with the fact that I don’t really do any good with it but I accept it enables me to live my life and I am truly grateful for this.

The only box my job doesn’t tick is the work itself. I know I don’t want to manage or deal with people but not sure this is enough to keep at it for the next two decades! Plus I don’t really know what I want to do although I would like to do something like researching/investigating things like coercive control/domestic violence so a good cause without necessarily being in a people facing role.

Anyone had similar thoughts or experience they’d be kind enough to share??

Analysing data? Your job sounds good. Could you volunteer for domestic abuse charity. Then get s job gor their finance department or fundraising.

Thank you for your reply, if I’m totally honest I never really know what being a data analyst entails! With all the AI and automation these days is it something that is still needed? I think it would depend on what I was analysing as to a certain degree there’s a lot of that in my current role.

I do keep an eye out for volunteering opportunities with DV charities but a lot of it is fundraising and honestly I’m so bad at that I hate asking people for money and would much prefer to be behind the scenes but those types of roles rarely come up especially with no experience.

I feel like I have a lot of skills but can’t think where to transfer them to without reducing my income. When I search most of what comes up in my salary range are management positions and while I don’t know what I want, I absolutely know what I don’t want! 😄

maybe I am better off staying where I am and pursuing volunteering to work my way up somewhere…

Can you go freelancing/contracting with what you do? What part of banking are you focusing on?

lots of pros with freelancing, managing your own time, different clients etc

is this an option at all?

Stay in your job and volunteer in your spare time, maybe something other than DV if there's a role that is better suited? And get involved with more side projects at work. Do they have corporate responsibility type initiatives you can get involved in? Also banking is important to the economy and to individuals! You are performing a useful role. Your tax and that of your firm supports those in need, as well as our hospitals and schools.

I went from financial services into a policy/research role albeit one this is linked to my subject matter expertise from my career in FS. I did have to take quite a big pay cut though. I think it’s worth it but it’s a luxury that I only have because DH got a promotion at the same time that I changed career so it balanced out overall.

What about a halfway house and join the civil service? There's loads of bits of the CS that use finance knowledge and are full of exbankers - Homes England, British Business Bank, National Wealth Fund, British International Investments, UK Export Finance, UK Government Investments. Probably more that i can't think off the top of my head. Once you are in, you can then look for other roles in areas of interest such as those you mention in your OP, as all the internally advertised jobs will become available to you.

Edit to add - you'd obviously need to be willing to take the pay cut!

Thank you all for the responses, some things to think about. Definitely can’t go freelance/contracting and not sure I’d like the uncertainty of that. I think unless there’s a job that I think I really want to do, I should probably stay where I am and explore opportunities in my free time for now.