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[JamesV6CDX]

Just to clarify, I currently have three "occupations".

1) Full time IT Employee for the NHS
2) Part time mobile mechanic
3) Voluntary Police Work

Number three is here to stay, but I am in a bit of a fix over 1 or 2.

The position I am in, in all honesty, I really hate my full time occupation, for a number of reasons. I am sick of I.T, and I want out of it. It's a shame, because I do have some quite specialised skills, but I am slowly losing these because in all honesty, I'm not interested and I couldn't give a monkeys. The people I work with are impossible, some of which don't understand basic IT principles, and some of which who do, but are very set in their ways and quick to ridicule anything new. I'm constantly firefighting systems that are totally unfit for purpose, I can get no funding to replace anything, so usually I just turn up, do as little as possible, and get paid, and feel tense and miserable through the day, which then usually gets taken out on Maria.

I am confident that if I became a full time mobile mechanic, while initially I won't make as much as my current salary, I reckon I could get by. I love doing that, whereas I pretty much detest my day job now.

What would you do?

I know there are pro's and cons of each, and I am scared, but I can't carrry on as I am...

[Marks DTM Calib]

Only one of those options has any job security, pension and benefits...

One of those options is not going to be a career that will see you into old age.......

The other is not realy a career.

So you have to ask yourself, where do you want to be with your life?

[STMO123]

Only one of those options has any job security, pension and benefits...

One of those options is not going to be a career that will see you into old age.......

The other is not realy a career.

So you have to ask yourself, where do you want to be with your life?

I totally agree. The one that you hate is the bread-and-butter one. Mobile mechanic is undoubtedly more enjoyable to you but will be hit and miss and, while I'm not doubting your skills, omegas are the only cars you are used to working on. More modern cars will be harder to diagnose/repair on a driveway as the electronics will become very specialised.

Stick with IT but look for a better employer.

[Kevin Wood]

I would sit tight for the moment. Things might be taking a turn for the worse and you haven't given the mobile mechanic side long enough to know truely if it will support you, IMHO.

Filling your weekends with work is one thing, filling every week day is another. In addition, you might currently be experiencing a surge of interest from people on the forum who have had jobs kicking around they had been "meaning to do" for a while, which will naturally settle given time.

I think you need to view your job as a means to an end and not take problems home with you. We all have to deal with muppets from time to time and in an environment where we could do better. You can try to change things and beat yourself up over it when you fail, or you can accept that the intertia is too great for one man to overcome and view it as a stable source of income for which you simply have to turn up every day.

Kevin

[Marks DTM Calib]

And by the time you reach 40, you will be shot to pieces doing the spanner twirling as its like most physical trades.....they take it out on the body.

[belldarr]

Hi James,

I have a friend that makes a very good living out if doing IT contracting - he takes 3 month contracts at various companies and this leaves him enough time to persue his other interests or just take a break - I have no idea what your IT skills are but it may well be worth considering as it would seem to fit with your other jobs and it seems to be very well paid - all done through the internet of course and now a lot of companies have a recruitment freeze on he is getting lots of offers as temporary staff are under that particular radar.

Whatever you decide I hope it goes well.

[seprim]

Hi James
Your situation is close indeed to what mine was 5 years ago. I was in IT also and now im an electrician and very happy where i am.
Here's what i'd do if i were u. . .
1. Keep plodding at NHS for 18 months (at least until the credit crunch has abated a little)
2. Build up your portfolio of clients during that time (not difficult with your skills) The time will fly by  
3. Plan the "move" and save as much as you can "for a rainy day"  [smiley=vrolijk_1.gif]so that you will have a buffer of money to live on in the event of illness/other nasties.

There is no question in my mind that you will do well, and I think it will make you happier, being your own boss  

well thats my two penneth - and Good Luck  

[Kevin Wood]

Reading what you said again, the fact that you say number 3 is here to say speaks volumes to me. Is there a potential to make it more permanent and less voluntary?

Would having this as a target help you cope with number 1 in the interim?

Kevin

[Markie]

Your in the same scenario as me, I can get by quite comfortably doing my own thing   and the wifes salary is above average.

Mine really gets saved. Essentially i could quit and not change my lifestyle. I utterly utterly despise my job and rarely get out of third gear but it pays fantastically, so theres my motivator  

But think ahead young man - we all need job security and its trimmings. And know one knows how being your own boss will pan out.

Or think like me and be greedy and do it all. Bank the overpay and live happily ever after before your too old

[Varche]

No don't quit your IT job. You need to take the long term view. Not many young people think of pensions and what they will actually mean when you are older or indeed what work is like when your body is less able.

My advice would be to look around for another good IT employer and have a change of scenery to freshen you up. You can't keep coming home and taking it out on Maria.

You can do the spannering to strike a balance between office and physical activities i.e. in your spare time as a money earning hobby.

Do the police need IT people? Is the aerospace industry near you? Do they need IT people?

varche

[gwa]

James - I bet that most, if not everyone of the forum members has felt the same at some point - if not they are very lucky. Until the 1980's I was an electronics engineer, fixing TV's, Video's and the likes, but it was the PA equipment that kept me there longer.

Anyway, at 38 I re-skilled into IT and in those days I was a Contract 'techie' but I have now re-skilled again into a Project/Programme Manager. I am now just 18 months away from getting my Buss Pass, but wouldn't go back to a 'regular job' no matter how much they pay. The freedom of contract work is brilliant, as is the reward.

My advice to you is:
1. Stay where you are until the uncertanties of todays financial credit-crunch crisis have been resolved
2. Through your current Training & Development path, train for anything that you fancy thats available and that may be of use in the future.
3. Speak to an independent advisor who specialises in new start-ups in your local area (available through the local authority)
4. Get the advice of your accountant/lawyer/bank manager etc
and finally
5. Do a 'Winston Churchill'. A sheet of paper with a line down the middle, one column 'For' the other 'Against'. List them all then stand by the final result. But be honest in your list and to yourself.

I wish you the best of luck for the future whatever route you choose. Bruce  

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

If you wake up in the morning ..and the very thought of going to work fills you with dread....then I think this job is not for you.

If you wake up and look forward to the work you are about to go to.....then this is the job for you....so long as it pays enough to keep body and soul together ...and keep the wolf from the door.

Happiness is everything...good luck.

[Lazydocker]

The other thing to remember is that your feelings towards being a mechanic may change if that became your sole income and you had to go out and do it... I know mine did, hence the reason I got out of it and now only do it for "fun" again.

[HolyCount]

James, putting the cardigan and slippers on for a moment -- the NHS job is ( will be) your pension provider in the long run. In these days of private pensions going bust left, right and centre, an NHS pension is gold plated ( for the moment).

All the above advice re. the alternatives is valid, mobile mechanics will be up and down, and "no work = no pay". More fun but so unpredictable.

As for the Plod --- you might consider taking it forward and put in an application for a regular post. But, try it out first -- you will soon find out that the same "office politics" prevail and the CPS will cheese you off no end!!!!

My advice would be to stick with the NHS for a while to see how the mechanic work pans out (or the Plod). In the meantime you have to forcfully re-adjust your thinking ( I recently had to do the same). The job is just the way you spend your day -- if your employer wants to throw the money at you for doing little, then so be it. If they under resource and things go t*ts up --- it is THEIR fault, not yours. It might take a few trys, but eventually you will master the "sod'em approach".

[Elite Pete]

There is some pretty sound advice above James

I left a secure job which I had been in for many years for the chance to earn good money on a self employed basis and for 8 years it has been great, but this years its all gone belly up and im now struggling to get any work at all.