Need Some Advice for My Career to Restart My Life

Misty Echo on 15/09/2024 - 20:26

Hi everyone,

I’ve been feeling quite anxious these days. Some of my friends have already bought their second or third house, with their children playing in the spacious living rooms. Meanwhile, I’m still renting and browsing OzBargain for cheaper deals to save a few cents every day. I’m already over 30, and I feel like I’m falling behind my peers. That’s why I’ve decided to quit my dead-end job in retail and pursue a brighter career path, or maybe even start my own business. Hopefully, this will help accelerate my life progress.

So, my question is: What are the promising industries in 2024 and beyond, where a rookie could work or start a new business?

Being over 30, I can’t afford to make the wrong decision and lose more time. I’ve asked GPT, but I’d also like to hear some human advice. I’ve worked in retail for ages and hold a degree in IT (BA). However, I’ve only had some project experience and haven’t yet worked in a full-time role in the field. It’s been quite challenging to find an IT job this year, should I continue pursuing it?

Thank you in advance for your time and valuable advice!

Education & Work

Comments

      • Charmoffensive on 20/09/2024 - 11:07
        -1

        Will the toppings contain potassium benzoate?

  • shaybisc on 16/09/2024 - 11:02
    +3

    What are you friends jobs? Get one of them.

  • Cave Fire on 16/09/2024 - 11:54
    -6

    Look up compounding videos on YouTube. Something like 10k a year @ 10% pa turns into $1 million over twenty years for example. So that's "big picture". Looking at an end goal helped me as well (long term unemployed). Eg, the house you want to live in. Getting organised and applying for jobs + moving.

    • Cave Fire on 13/11/2024 - 14:58

      Wow people hate saving lol, but you can't argue with the maths.

  • sandman87 on 16/09/2024 - 12:17
    +10

    I was in a similar position about 8 years ago. I retrained as a high school teacher and havent looked back. The pay is resonable, job security is excellent, opportunities for career advancement are also good too. Federal Government is also providing incentives to make it easier to become a teacher and do prac's, including payment for pracs.

    Nursing, while very different to your current role, is in very high demand. Theres also some good pay incentives and structures which exist. Pay is reasonable and may further improve. Its also something that will always be in demand and be transferable to many other places.

    • jaffar on 16/09/2024 - 13:36

      Great advice. For domestic students, nursing fees are cheap, demand and job stability is high, and during the 3 year course there's plenty of disability/aged/support work to go around.

      For OP… a career will last a big chunk of time and 30 is still young. It might be worthwhile pursuing that IT career a little further - I can imagine that there are all sorts of jobs related to IT/computers/critical thinking that might not fit the conventional IT job filter.

  • sandman20104159 on 16/09/2024 - 13:21
    +10

    mate, i wouldnt worry about friends ect buying 2nd or 3rd homes, who cares, im 40 and i still rent, big deal, i got a good car, and i go away on holidays ever 6-9months, cruises twice a year. im living the best life when everyone else is struggling to pay home loans

    • krisspy on 17/09/2024 - 09:18
      +8

      It all comes back when you're 60 and can't work anymore but still got to keep a roof over your head.

  • gromit on 16/09/2024 - 13:32
    +3

    first thing, don't quit your paying job till you have another to walk into. This just sends you further backwards and puts an unsightly hole in your CV. Don't be afraid to take crappy help desk or support roles in IT, they are generally shitty jobs and pay badly but you have to start somewhere.

  • May4th on 16/09/2024 - 14:09
    +1

    I gather you aren't looking for specific career advice so I would just say, life isn't a race. you can have 20 houses and be miserable, or you can have no houses and live your best life. focus on your physical health, mental health, look after your family and friends and things will fall into place

    • gromit on 16/09/2024 - 15:20
      +7

      you are comparing apples and oranges. consequently you can have no houses and be absolutely miserable. Most people will find it much easier to focus on physical health, mental health and family if money is no longer a major concern. far easier to be happy and content if you can remove a stress point like money.

      • May4th on 16/09/2024 - 16:36

        i guess you missed the point. i'm not comparing anything and not saying money isn't important, conversely you can absolutely be happy without what people would think is "well off"money. the whole point is not to compare yourself to others, focus on what is important to you but don't use others as a metric of success. when you have two houses you will compare yourself to your rich friends who don't have a mortgage. you will never be happy

        • gromit on 16/09/2024 - 18:11
          +4

          I guess you missed the point also. Ignoring something as critical as your financial wellbeing makes everything else harder. Money doesn't bring happiness, but it is a hell of a lot easier find it if you aren't slogging your guts out just trying to survive. aspiring to something better is also part of your wellbeing and health and the best time of life to address that is when you are younger as it only gets harder the older you get.

          • May4th on 16/09/2024 - 19:00

            @gromit: they are two completely separate issues which you are trying to conflate into an A vs B argument which nobody asked for.

            I'm just saying comparison is the thief of joy and you chose to bring up the issue of money, which I actually agree with, it's just not relevant to my comment. So I really don't know why we are having this exchange

            • gromit on 16/09/2024 - 20:07
              +2

              @May4th: simply pointing out what you are saying is utter garbage. comparison is not the thief of joy at all, striving to achieve to improve your lot in life brings many huge amounts of joy and it is very relevant to your comment as you talk about health yet explicitly exclude a vital part of it, ambition and life goals are absolutely a healthy part of that when set correctly.

              • May4th on 16/09/2024 - 20:16
                -1

                @gromit: I guess you're the odd one out then going by the other comments on this thread.. has it occurred to you that those two things are not mutually exclusive? you can absolutely be driven, ambitious and kick goals without trying to keep up with the jones or see who's got the flashier car or bigger house. and its fine not to be ambitious either, everyone finds happiness in different ways, and that's ok - seems like you are just projecting and forcing your values on anyone that listens

                • Charmoffensive on 20/09/2024 - 11:14
                  -1

                  @May4th: The OP is not keeping up with the Jones', he's worried that he's stuck in a dead end career with no prospect of long term financial security. He used his friends to illustrate this point, not because he is specifically trying to compete with them but to show that his current path is not following his own personal intended trajectory.

                  You're the one pedalling nonsense platitudes you saw once in a stock frame at a home open and ignoring the actual problem OP is wrestling with. He's not quitting his dead end retail job because he wants a newer model of BMW, he's doing it so that he can have a more fulfilling career where he actually owns his own house.

    • VBO on 20/09/2024 - 16:18

      I really want to be miserable 😂

  • tikei on 16/09/2024 - 15:23

    Do you like IT? If so, you need to show future employers that you've done a refresher and not outdated, which means doing a graduate certificate or graduate diploma in an IT course.

    I think the days where programmers and IT people don't need degrees are gone.

    If you don't like IT, you need to think hard into what you want to pivot into. What your interests are, your skills. If you've worked in retail for so long you can try a business support position in buying, planning, merchandise. But entry level pay is low and you'll need to work your way up.

    Otherwise, like others have mentioned, try nursing or teaching. The pay is pretty good from the start. You're probably very good at putting up with people so you'll manage fine in those jobs.

  • Windows98 on 16/09/2024 - 18:51

    Trade

  • Ononono on 16/09/2024 - 20:12
    +4

    You don't need career advice, you need to think about what you actually want in life, not just following what other people are doing. Do you want kids? Would having multiple houses make you happy? What's your ideal life look like in 10 years? Watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuHuxX22OOQ

  • BuyoTheCat on 16/09/2024 - 20:40
    +1

    How do you feel if you do not compare yourself to your peers?
    Someone much wiser than I said, "Comparison is the killer of joy."

    • MITM on 17/09/2024 - 14:41
      +1

      That was Nalar above^

      I just have the cool saying I got from Jimmy Carr.
      Comparison is the thief of joy.

    • Protractor on 18/09/2024 - 10:18

      I thought Peter Dutton was the killer of joy?

  • Luminary on 16/09/2024 - 21:48

    Rather than what do you want to do, one question I was asked was "how do you want to live?". Whilst I mostly enjoy my current job working as a Tech BA, I don't want to live my life climbing the corporate ladder so my partner and I decided to start a business but still working our corporate jobs until we've set up the foundations to step away. Happy to chat if you need a sounding board. :)

  • Wiadro on 16/09/2024 - 22:47
    -5

    im 30 and onto my 100th home

  • centrelink on 17/09/2024 - 02:02

    Don’t fall for the trap! I just got a second mortgage for in laws to live here and they don’t pay a cent. Now I have a newborn child and found out in-laws have cancer so now I am taking them to chemo and they are unable to assist with the newborn. In the end I pay more for nothing! I coulda been single and renting and living the easy life

    • morse on 17/09/2024 - 03:48

      I hope the property title is in your name, or you and your spouses names. It sounds like you’re getting scammed by your own spouses family. Whilst it’s lovely to care for family within your means, if it’s causing financial stress this is not fair on you.

      • centrelink on 18/09/2024 - 11:26

        it is under my name. they are just practically living here for free from China. They think its ez life because they don't know that stuff actually costs stuff and they found a fish and chip shop the other day and think they save alot of money because its CHEAP (compared to other restrurants)!

    • MITM on 17/09/2024 - 14:42

      @centrelink You sound like Centrelink - just dishing out the dosh with no return.

    • ihbh on 17/09/2024 - 18:18

      Beware of any bodily fluids getting near newborn and your immediate family.

      https://www.cancervic.org.au/cancer-information/treatments/t…

      • centrelink on 18/09/2024 - 11:27
        -1

        apparently thats their excuse which i do not find acceptable. I mean you going to die in a few months.. why even care

        • tikei on 18/09/2024 - 12:34
          +4

          My dad had cancer and was way too tired to do anything half a year before he died. Calling it an excuse and having expectations of them taking care of a newborn is crazy.

    • kaleidoscope on 18/09/2024 - 14:43

      This is sadly the story for many of us migrants i’m afraid (not extreme at this scale…). But the gist is people back home (relations, friends, and even family) thinks it’s ever so easy money for us when we have to do so much…

  • Prosp24 on 17/09/2024 - 10:06
    +4

    Character flaw, until you confront you're own flaws you won't be able to change. Easier said than done.

    Starting a new course is doing more of the same. There is a definition of insanity which describes repeating the same actions and expecting different outcomes. There is a term in employment to describe people with too many degrees but no work experience "overqualified".

    Who you are in life and the series of decisions you've made to date have led you to where you are now, and yes doing nothing is a decision too (albeit not a very good one).

    There are so many young men now who are more comfortable hiding in rooms, behind screens, keeping low profiles in their everyday life and venting online. You need to break the cycle, be more assertive, actually put yourself out there, try your best, get judged and rejected for still looking like an idiot (not judge others from a safe and comfortable position), and then when you're at your lowest, get up put on a smile and try again, and again and again. Most importantly getting better each time.

    People who have things in life fail often from a young age, they fail fast, fall forwards and learn to land gracefully, they can often laugh it off.

    It takes courage and guts to live, it takes courage and guts to try. Make the decision to prioritize taking action to pursue what truely matters rather than living subconsciously in a dead end job.
    More study is safe and comfortable, employers know this too…, they hire attitude more than any qualification.

  • EdenKai on 17/09/2024 - 10:07

    I think its not too late to go to uni and study again, youre still alive, so do what you think you need to do. If you dont do it now then youll regret not doing it when it matters in the future. As people have suggested, you could go back to uni to learn coding, or just take some online courses while you work a part-time-ish job. IT is becoming a bigger and bigger field as time goes on.

    Other advice, dont compare your life to others. People grow and progress at different rates. I think just make sure youre comfortable and that youre content with your life. Everything else comes along after that.

    • nobro25 on 18/09/2024 - 20:13

      Dunno why you are negged. Probably narcissistic people who don't want people to succeed. If you stop at… "Oh I'm too old" then you have already given up, making excuses and therefore have failed.

  • yokel on 17/09/2024 - 10:16

    You only live once, don’t waste away in retail. Go all in, take some risks and definitely leverage your tertiary qualification that you already bought.

  • CalmLemons on 17/09/2024 - 10:23
    +2

    Just find some government job and ride the boat.

    I would not recommend starting a new business without a passion or experience.

    • greatlamp on 17/09/2024 - 12:12
      +3

      People shit on government jobs but they would be ideal for OP. Would get real world experience, mentoring, paid training, paid time off work to do additional study. After 3-5 years they can decide to start their own business or become an independent consultant if they feel they have the skills.

  • trapper on 17/09/2024 - 12:05
    +2

    Quitting your job to start a company is a very high-risk move. You need to be extremely focused and highly motivated for it to succeed.

    Do not go back to university - that ship has sailed.

    Instead, figure out what kinds of jobs you can do with your current skills and qualifications. Identify which of those pays the most, offers the best career prospects, and aligns with your interests.

    Go get that job.

    The other part of the plan is to cut your expenses to the bone. Since you're still young and (I assume) don’t have kids or a wife yet, it should be possible to save the vast majority of your income. You may never have another opportunity like this in your life.

    Live like a peasant for a couple of years, and you'll be well on your way to turning things around.

  • RichardDo on 17/09/2024 - 12:07
    +1

    The multiple homes are all about passive revenue for retirement.
    When you stop working you want 2K a week in rent to maintain an ok lifestyle.
    Don't chase the money do what you love.
    I am in IT and I am seeing teams replaced by AI so unless you are in IT and in Cyber (which I am) as a new avenue
    this is far a guaranteed profession. I myself expect to be made redundant shortly and will need to find a new job.
    I would suggest a trade. They charge a fortune lol

  • TRANCE on 17/09/2024 - 14:06

    It's not that hard finding an entry level IT job, eg service desk or hardware deployment ( I mean it can take many months, even over a year to land a job but that's just the nature of job hunting). You will have to start there then apply for better jobs after you have some experience and further qualifications.

  • MrMarket on 17/09/2024 - 14:16

    "Comparison with myself brings improvement, comparison with others brings discontent."

    “The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.”

    • Protractor on 17/09/2024 - 15:56
      +2

      " I want what she's having "

    • magic8ballgag on 19/09/2024 - 11:10

      There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on - shame on you.

      — George W. Bush

  • AddNinja on 17/09/2024 - 14:17
    +1

    If you go into business by yourself, consider choosing one where your competitors are also individuals. Then you only need to be smarter than them, rather than a big company.

    People can make money running shops in malls. You’re in retail. Can you do it better than them? Why not that perhaps?

  • ihbh on 17/09/2024 - 14:53

    What are the promising industries in 2024 and beyond, where a rookie could work or start a new business?

    Brain surgery or rocket science are not for you.

    You've had people facing roles, not the strategic thinking, analysis type roles, so assuming that's what you're good at and not the other. So try sales or other people facing roles. Maybe even a trade if you're capable working with your hands.

  • MITM on 17/09/2024 - 14:55
    +2

    You're com-peering friends that have coupled up - that's a whole other level. You can't be single, have kids and upgrade the family home.
    My advice would be go low-budget travelling for 6-12 months. Get a new perspective.
    30 years learning, then 30 years earning, then 30 years living.

    • chickendog on 17/09/2024 - 15:37
      +2

      I hope it's not in that order. Starting living when you're 60. No thanks.

  • Nitrollparty on 17/09/2024 - 15:54
    -1

    forget your friends and ther shitty lives…live your own life..follow nobody.

    • OzBarAnon on 17/09/2024 - 16:00
      +1

      What's so shitty about their lives? Doesn't sound shitty at all

      • magic8ballgag on 19/09/2024 - 11:14
        +1

        It could be shitty, but it's wrong to automatically assume it is.

  • rodericb on 17/09/2024 - 16:20

    Jam all your skills together and push from there for a start - you say you work in retail and have done some IT….. Look for opportunities in retail IT. That is, the IT used in retail organisations, not selling computers. If you have not done any business analysis (BA) work do some free courses and learn BPML and apply for BA jobs. Once you get into corporate you will see how little the IT people know about retail and how little the retail people know about IT…. That's where you step in!

    As for your housing situation buy an investment property and investigate the six year rule.

    • Maxi Pad on 17/09/2024 - 22:17

      Good advice

  • Darude Sandstorm on 17/09/2024 - 16:21

    Look, to be completely honest with you, the IT market is (profanity).
    I have a degree (CS), did help desk at an MSP, moved to an internal role, help desk, Sysadmin and eventually couldn't be arsed with it anymore, it got overly competitive during Covid and hiring people became a nightmare to deal with, I got out, changed career entirely.
    I moved into an Electronic Security role for a year (got a job fairly easily because IT/networking background), got all my licenses and certs needed (I wanted to be a sparky but couldn't afford to pay the bills on a mature age rate and this paid $40/hour at the time) and my pay increased to $55/hour.
    Due to my ICT skills, at the 18-month mark a new opportunity was created to be the head of the companies CCTV division, we were able to branch out a lot more, solve issues a lot quicker and complete projects and rollouts in half the time they were doing it previously and got to $72/hour + Super + Overtime (Isn't any unless a project is being rushed due to client requirements) + Company Car etc

  • tempco on 17/09/2024 - 19:33
    +2

    Life is not a line. If we want to take a fairly bleak look, chances are some of your friends are gonna get divorced. Regardless, your focus should be on achieving your own goals, and not the goals of others.

  • darkmoss on 17/09/2024 - 21:23
    -1

    sell drugs

    • Protractor on 18/09/2024 - 10:21

      Or consume them. Or both.

  • aumacca on 17/09/2024 - 22:19
    -1

    The reason it's challenging to find a job in IT is because high Fed govt initiated immigration means you're competing with a skyhigh number of skilled and/or educated IT workers from countries of a billion peoples. The same reason retail is trash, as we're in a per capita recession and people are spending less (particularly in retail). They've jacked up migration to evade an official recession, but people are collectively worse off than previous years.

    Basic advice is go IT (with your skillset) for any company you've heard the name of without needing to look them up (large organisations, big corporates). Any job there (probably not call centre due to AI), just get your foot in the door and work into other departments when you get a feel for it.

  • chvy on 18/09/2024 - 00:22

    Mate, not all people who look happy for what they have or are doing for work are actually happy and they may be are seeking option B too. I echo some of the comments here not to compare yourself with others and try to truly understand your strength and weakness for the next life/career choices. Also if you need advice on your health do not hestitate to see a GP and specialists, people need help time to time and life throws lots of curve balls at you, don't feel ashamed for being a human. Embrace it and tackle things step by step. There had been some good suggestions above. I like the tech sales consultant option, or go cybersecurity / AI / data scientist pathway can't go wrong w that when you have obtained sufficient experience and knowledge which takes time and patience, but anything requires these to be able to reap..

  • Eeples on 18/09/2024 - 01:11
    -1

    If you think somebody has messed up your life.

    You’re right.

    It’s you.

  • shaybisc on 18/09/2024 - 08:09

    House flipping and landlordism are the boom industries in Australia, the clever country. There are countless stories in the Murdoch rags along the lines of, "I was a low wage drone and now I own 70 houses and I'm filthy rich". I never read them but maybe you should.

  • skdreams on 18/09/2024 - 08:48

    It's good to see that you are evaluating your choices at least. Many people just continue doing what they've been doing till it's too late.
    Start with what you have and what you like to do or passionate about.
    You have IT degree and retail experience. If you're good at sales, then do explore the IT corporate sales positions. If you do well, you go up quicker and earn significantly as well.
    Your can also start with a side business first and see how you go, so you don't burn all your ships.
    Don't run after trends in the market, they come and go. Cyber Security is not the next best thing anymore and is already saturated, very hard to find entry-level/decent & pay rates have come down significantly.
    Make a good network of people who can help you in your career. Stay away from time wasters if you value your time.

    Best of luck

  • SpicyStew on 18/09/2024 - 09:23

    They were not your friends, I'm sorry.

  • lost00 on 18/09/2024 - 11:40

    Chin up buddy, 30s is still very young.

    Cybersecurity and AI is where I would be looking at. Both don't need coding, just a bit of common sense

  • smartProverble on 18/09/2024 - 13:04

    Comparison is the theft of joy

  • Counter Intelligence on 18/09/2024 - 13:44

    Reflect on what could be hindering your job search. Why did you only have a retail job?

    Is it anxiety? Is it discrimination?

    Many people claim that securing a job in your field is straightforward, even without coding skills…

    So, it's clearly one of those two things holding you back.

    If it is the latter, then it is easier to fix.

  • Peaky on 18/09/2024 - 14:32

    Just over 30 and your friends are all on their third house?!

    I will say it's never too late, you just have to be prepared to compromise during the changeover period. I entered Uni as a 30 year old long time IT worker blindly going into Animal Ecology/Enviro Science. I had to give up my cushy salary for part time work while I studied but it was ultimately worth it. I earn good money now and am doing something I love which is worth a lot more $ than people realise. You could do further study or just keep trying to get your foot in the door. You'll start from the bottom (ie help desk) but it's only up from there.

  • Neptunesblood on 18/09/2024 - 14:33

    Realestate License

  • kaleidoscope on 18/09/2024 - 14:47
    +1

    Some of my friends have already bought their second or third house, with their children playing in the spacious living rooms

    My 2 cents… Life is not a race where you go compare and contrast and start living someone else’s life.

    Start with your priorities and goals in life and then reapply some of the helpful tips from this post and go from there. It may not be much of the answer you’re looking for but what you’ve described does not come overnight and requires so much commitment and support.

    Good luck!

  • ldq on 18/09/2024 - 15:11

    Consider public service. The APS are hiring. Or consider IT contracting for the government. If you are eligible for a clearance, your stale degree can still take you places. I've seen people move up pretty fast (2-3 years) to a decent income.

    • nobro25 on 18/09/2024 - 20:18

      Isn't that hard to get your foot in the door for it?

  • nikey2k27 on 18/09/2024 - 19:05

    IT if you know your shit or NDIS

  • BS-19 on 18/09/2024 - 20:18
    +1

    IT Project Manager (graduate or junior type roles exist).. can get good salary and go up from there or transfer around to other management roles. Good luck

  • Wondrous8Leaf on 18/09/2024 - 22:48

    Geez, I feel this, hitting the 30's and being reflective on your self worth…..
    If you have lasted this long in retail anything else is a walk in the park.
    Retail = resilience & ppl skills
    Project work = independence
    IT = current and wide employer scope
    Why not look into joining a larger business as an IT consultant or jnr IT support. Propose ideas, push to be included in projects and make your way up the chain.

  • Brainwhacker on 19/09/2024 - 06:40

    Op - as you have retail experience have you considered managegement roles?There seem to be positions with good packages available at the major supermarkets if you can work your way up.

  • bset on 19/09/2024 - 07:05

    f**k your peers. be you.

  • pingMarky on 19/09/2024 - 10:15

    Stop comparing yourself to your friends. Hate to say it, but loads of people are poor on Ozb and live in major aussie cities. Hell i'm pretty poor earning near 200k… Everyone treating housing as an investment item has (profanity) me over also.

  • atris17 on 19/09/2024 - 11:12
    +1

    https://www.adfcareers.gov.au/the-adf/army?page-tabs=priorit…

    ADF career !
    Restart, adventure, fitness and getting paid and taken care

    • Maxi Pad on 19/09/2024 - 14:09

      Travel the world! Meet interesting people! Kill them!

  • Roddi on 19/09/2024 - 11:18

    I've worked in IT for a long time, as a developer, technical lead, architect and - thankfully! - back to developer again (contract developer, screw all the extra stress).
    Unless it's really old, what you learn about coding still fundamentally applied to coding today. But I'd advise against a development job unless you are genuinely interesting in coding and enjoy it - otherwise it'll be a tedious slog and you'll probably plateau out at average (and being > average is what keeps you relevant and employable).

    But there's a lot of other roles in IT - Business Analysts get paid well with no coding involved. Your IT degree would be an asset here because you'll be able to write up requirements closer to what the developers actually need (perennial problem with BAs).

    Another role in testing - also good money. The days of just manually following a script and noting the results aren't going to last forever. But there is good money for automation testers, who code Selenium scripts to do repeatable tests. The coding for these is much simpler than general dev, so it might be a good fit to people who aren't passionate in coding itself.

    But how to get into the roles if the degree is a bit old and market is also tough? Sister in law got into a small company - the sort where everyone does a bit of everything. Just having a relevant degree here will help. She was a test analyst (just manual testing) and hung around long enough to earn her stripes before leaving for a big company. Then she got out, became a tester for Telstra, and is now a test lead for Bunnings.

    As for your friends having multiple houses, try not to worry about it too much. The issue isn't how many houses they have (weird friends if it is). The issue is that you want to be further along in your career. Just work on that - and treat just trying as an initial success. A lot of people never do that.

    Wishing you all the best.

  • Morven on 19/09/2024 - 13:41
    +2

    I'm writing to you at 54. I'm a married dad, ready to buy a second property. But I was a single renter until 38, when I bought a one-bedroom apartment. Got married in 2016, sold the apartment, bought a house together, became a dad when I was 49 and here I am doing the preschool run in the morning.

    Where you are now is not a guide to where you'll be. Interest rates were about 9% and heading up when I bought that first apartment, and two weeks later the global economy collapsed (GFC). Pretty soon interest rates were 2% and my circumstances changed.

    The whole time, I've worked in the media, a shrinking industry where salaries mostly suck. Staying employed in the media is like being one of those cartoon characters running along a bridge that's collapsing behind them. But I keep going because this is the work I always wanted to do (and back in my twenties it took two attempts in three years to convince a uni to let me study for it).

    I don't know what your strengths are, but I think one of them is the way you write. Your post is clear and error-free. Not many people can do that (see the comments). This ability is a great strength you can use to present yourself and apply for jobs. Your applications will stand out if you write like you do here.

    Follow the path you prefer and keep at it. Don't go into a field just because others say you should (my parents wanted me to work in banking or law, and I'd suck at both). There will be highs and lows. I reckon I'm a more well-rounded person than my childhood neighbour who entered the property market very young. He never had any adventures in his 20s and still seems a (profanity) to me.

    Back yourself. Value the experiences you've had. Learn from your mistakes. Follow the path that feels right for you.

  • JPMelb on 19/09/2024 - 15:08

    Have you considered IT Sales? I started in IT Retail, moved into corporate sales and had a 25+ year career that has had me earn good money and enjoy plenty of travel.
    See if you can get a sales job at a vendor or reseller. There is a void of reps as some of the old guard are retiring.

  • Drakesy on 19/09/2024 - 16:39

    Just food for thought, 1% of housing investors own 25% of all housing stock.
    it's not you thats the problem ;)

  • UFO on 19/09/2024 - 20:56

    Complete change up… Military, Law Enforcement, Paramedic, Fire brigade, Public Service?

    Your degree won't be relevant to these careers, but it WILL open doors to applying for them, as some of them require at least some sort of tertiary qualification (to basically prove you're smart enough and driven enough to finish it!).

    You're in your 30's… still stacks of time to give your life to a career :).
    And stop comparing yourself to friends- recipe for disaster.

  • TEER3X on 19/09/2024 - 21:05

    You're still very young with lots of time

    Check out Whirlpool jobs forum for ideas

    As others have said, consider public services.

    Some decent jobs are paramedic, police officer, nurse, train driver, air traffic controller… but look at what other roles these lead to, not just where you start.

  • shaybisc on 20/09/2024 - 08:12

    "Some decent jobs are paramedic, police officer, nurse, train driver, air traffic controller…"

    With the possible exception of train driver, all high stress jobs.

  • notallthere on 20/09/2024 - 08:28

    Literally any FIFO job listing

  • MrThing on 20/09/2024 - 10:59

    bought their second or third house
    has friends in their 30's

    sure they have

  • seraphim2017 on 20/09/2024 - 12:16
    1. Comparison is the thief of joy.
    2. There is no escalator to success, you have to take the stairs
    3. High rewards is high risk, decide where your appetites and tolerances lie.
    4. Never take advice from someone without skin in the game (including me, make sense of THAT cognitive paradox!)
    5. Good luck.
  • Zacsik on 20/09/2024 - 12:19

    But, at the end of my life, when I’m sitting on my yacht, am I gonna be thinking about how much money I have?

    No.

    I’m going to be thinking about how many friends I have, and my children, and my comedy albums.

    I mean, I have a yacht, so I obviously did pretty well money wise.

  • renster72 on 20/09/2024 - 14:50

    whats your relationship status? married single, kids no kids? if not afraid to travel get a gig doing a Laptop rollout for mining company or govt. build up skills get on books of IMI, data 3 ignite etc.. Rollouts easy to get you back up to speed. if get sent away get Accommodation food and good rate..

  • matt26 on 21/09/2024 - 05:40

    Compare to despair. Those friends are taking 3 calls a week from agents telling them that the tennants scratched their floor or that the plumbing is on the fritz. Having more can mean having to do more. A simple life can bring more clarity and opportunity to take an adventure or do something different.

  • ltjaris on 22/09/2024 - 01:55

    You and anyone else in your situation has done well to look after themselves. Be it a retail job and renting in your 30s, I think it’s perfectly fine to be there. Buying houses these days is an absolute shit show. Id give yourself credit where it is due. Better days are to come.

  • kobeduck on 24/09/2024 - 13:18

    Do something that's not done well if you can afford to be honest (it seems lol). Like a good trade contractor. Look into free TAFE.

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