anyone learnt a trade later in life?

[ETAF]

Im pretty fed up of my IT job, sure the salary is pretty good but i'd rather just get the politics and boredom gone.

I left an IT company as a senior manager when i was 49, offered a really good voluntary redundancy package. I went consulting, and jobs where quite difficult, also long breaks between looking for roles.
I'm retired now, on not quite as good a pension if i had stayed and managed another 10 years with the politics etc - the 10years went very quickly.
With covid, it maybe worth waiting a year , and then make a move, only that its going to be harder to get a job at the moment, unless you have some really sort after IT skills, but then you will be back into politics again.
politics are in all roles, even when i was contracting, loads of politics.
Why the boredom, maybe look at that aspect of your current role, and see why are you bored?

but I do have a collection of tools and machines, enjoy woodwork and making stuff.

Such as , what stuff, and if you are making to a price or spec within a timescale , would you enjoy.
There is a big difference in making things in your own time and quality to making something commercially.

 

[festive]

One of the big dreams of the idiots, is to re-invent themselve's in a different location.

It doesn't work, it never has & it never will. If your life is ****, it is not because of the job or the location. It is because YOU are ****.

HAhah let me guess you used to work as one of those negotiators for police talking down those suicidal people causing a public concern standing on tall bridges etc, bet you talked them down pretty quick too

 

[Mottie]

HAhah let me guess you used to work as one of those negotiators for police talking down those suicidal people causing a public concern standing on tall bridges etc, bet you talked them down pretty quick too

I’m pretty sure he wasn’t a founder member of the Samaritans.

 

[EddieM]

I left an IT company as a senior manager when i was 49, offered a really good voluntary redundancy package. I went consulting, and jobs where quite difficult, also long breaks between looking for roles.
I'm retired now, on not quite as good a pension if i had stayed and managed another 10 years with the politics etc - the 10years went very quickly.
With covid, it maybe worth waiting a year , and then make a move, only that its going to be harder to get a job at the moment, unless you have some really sort after IT skills, but then you will be back into politics again.
politics are in all roles, even when i was contracting, loads of politics.
Why the boredom, maybe look at that aspect of your current role, and see why are you bored?
Such as , what stuff, and if you are making to a price or spec within a timescale , would you enjoy.
There is a big difference in making things in your own time and quality to making something commercially.

One of the biggest problems when consulting or contracting especially for technical roles is making sure your skill set is up to date. Unfortunately IT is notorious in that this years hot skill set is next years old news and no longer required or in demand.

 

[charliegolf]

HAhah let me guess you used to work as one of those negotiators for police talking down those suicidal people causing a public concern standing on tall bridges etc, bet you talked them down pretty quick too

Yes, but they never jumped, he bored them to death!

 

[Bodd]

Imo. Any one who makes a living out of some thing that they do or did as a hobby are to envied

Plumbing is hardly a Hobby?

Although I heard that it was or is David lynch that film directors hobby

The problem with plumbing is: One day a Sun reporter wrote an article about Plumbers earning £100,000 + a year. This led to lots of office based workers training to to follow the Dream. Only to realise that Plumbing is not the dream, and you have to work bloody hard to earn a good living.

From my Plumbing days at college; I believe Im the only one left in the trade.

 

[Bodd]

I know someone that jacked his job in and bought a paper shop. It folded.

I know someone that jacked his job in to breed boneless chickens for the take away industry.

It flopped.​

 

[festive]

I left an IT company as a senior manager when i was 49, offered a really good voluntary redundancy package. I went consulting, and jobs where quite difficult, also long breaks between looking for roles.
I'm retired now, on not quite as good a pension if i had stayed and managed another 10 years with the politics etc - the 10years went very quickly.
With covid, it maybe worth waiting a year , and then make a move, only that its going to be harder to get a job at the moment, unless you have some really sort after IT skills, but then you will be back into politics again.
politics are in all roles, even when i was contracting, loads of politics.
Why the boredom, maybe look at that aspect of your current role, and see why are you bored?
Such as , what stuff, and if you are making to a price or spec within a timescale , would you enjoy.
There is a big difference in making things in your own time and quality to making something commercially.

Agree wise words.

I too adapted what was boring to more interesting. One side of my fam was scientific the other engineer/building. Despite being physical i opted for a career away from manual work. Don't get me wrong i virtually rebuilt my first few houses myself bar a few hefty jobs adding steels etc. But i soon got bored with all of that. I missed my vocation in life but that's another story.
I agree with you and say to the Op first of all don't go dropping stuff too quick, so easy to take for granted where you are until you don't have it.
Try and find what you do enjoy or suits you more within your line of work first, i never thought it possible but it worked for me. The line of work you are in you can evolve and make some good money but you need to cut out he middle man and take to the fast lane, but there's risks of course but it can be much more fun too, depends on who you are. I love risk fun and change!

 

[ETAF]

One of the biggest problems when consulting or contracting especially for technical roles is making sure your skill set is up to date. Unfortunately IT is notorious in that this years hot skill set is next years old news and no longer required or in demand.

Luckily I had been in business/project/performance/change/process management for 20 years having left the techie role as an electronic/computer engineer, so the skills where in demand for the full 10 years, just my age i think was against me.

However, going into a trade was not an option, my brother left the post office at 55 and went into kitchen/bathroom fitting for a while, trouble was he was very fussy about the quality of a job and took a lot longer then the price he could quote. he now works on brand new houses cleaning service and never really been happier, any politics he just passing onto the business owner.

 

[Bodd]

He's pretty ok, I keep him sweet with little things like this for his wife which keeps her happy which in turn keeps him happy and my life easier:

I have no intention of quitting, but hopefully find a supplement, and if that tums into more then it cant be a bad thing

Thats pretty good.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

We like watching "Sarah the odd" as we call her on money for nothing and it's just like morbid curiosity, the level of detail and care in many cases is shocking to me....and yet they make a lot of cash from this crap.....or is it just TV magic?

It's just TV magic. After all, would you buy some of that 'sone up' tat? I certainly wouldn't have some of it given, never mind pay those silly prices quoted.

Likewise the car doing up programs - they only include the cost of the parts, cost of labour and premises and tools is excluded.

 

[Brigadier]

Likewise the car doing up programs - they only include the cost of the parts, cost of labour and premises and tools is excluded

My mate (who is a mechanic) always makes this point.
However, the programmes don't attempt to hide this fact. IMHO, they are aimed at the enthusiast who would do this sort of thing "for the love of it", rather than as a business.
Also, the target audience would probably be in their shed or workshop anyway, tinkering.
Plus, it makes money for Edd and Mike

 

[EddieM]

It's just TV magic. After all, would you buy some of that 'sone up' tat? I certainly wouldn't have some of it given, never mind pay those silly prices quoted.

Likewise the car doing up programs - they only include the cost of the parts, cost of labour and premises and tools is excluded.

They also get work done for prices that Joe public wouldn't get, such as rechroming everything for 50p. They also seem to buy and strangely sell the vehicles at non market rates.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

However, the programmes don't attempt to hide this fact. IMHO, they are aimed at the enthusiast who would do this sort of thing "for the love of it", rather than as a business.
Also, the target audience would probably be in their shed or workshop anyway, tinkering.

The target audience would not generally have the facilities and background to do the sometimes extensive repairs they do anyway and often it's a module swapping exercise, rather fixing the module - unless they have spare screen time. Doing cars up with access to lots of warm space, lots of tools and a lift is easy - not so easy for the home mechanic, struggling on a drive with a little trolley jack.

 

[festive]

It's just TV magic. After all, would you buy some of that 'sone up' tat? I certainly wouldn't have some of it given, never mind pay those silly prices quoted.

Likewise the car doing up programs - they only include the cost of the parts, cost of labour and premises and tools is excluded.

So true, its much like them cookery programs, all the ingredients lined up it all looks so easy edited.

Fast Forward you've just snapped three studs in the exhaust manifold (notorious in certain Porsches etc) when all you wanted to do was replace the gasket/remove turbo etc and you've got a right arse ache right there. I've restored a few cars but at times it's been testing when you're working to a strict budget and not someone elses. Which reminds me, one day i want a Singer Porsche.