Advice on major career change

[27 sailfish]

Need advice/opinions on changing careers. I own a small business that insulates piping and ductwork in commercial buildings. Been in the trade since I was 18 ( 27 yrs ) and have had my own business for almost 15 years.

The job provides a nice income but I really do not enjoy my job anymore. Never really liked it but the pay has always been good. Now I dread going to work. Everything is paid off and fair amount in the bank. Right now I'm down to a few part time workers and not a lot of future work is on the books. Seems the right time to change careers. I really do not see the construction sector picking up for some time.

I love diving - without a doubt it is one of the coolest things I have done. Right off the bat - the first time I went underwater in a pool with scuba gear - I was hooked. I enjoy diving in the bay and have no trouble in zero viz or currents.

There is a school in NJ that trains divers to be commercial divers. Intense class - takes almost 5 months to complete. I'm going to drive up next week to see the school and talk more in depth to the instructors.

Now for my question. Anyone out there ever shift gears and do something like this ? My wife hates seeing me unhappy with work and knows I belong on or under the water. It's a huge step to take but feels right.

[B-Faithful]

Look into underwater welding... I am told there is a big demand for them from the gulf coast to any major port city. I remember in college meeting one who was making what he claimed to be great money.

[rocksteady]

[deep blue]

Sounds like the decision has already been made. Go for the dream. Best wishes.

[hackeyfly]

I feel your pain, Skip- I've been laid off for some months now from my career as a construction materials testing/inspection manager. Not sure what to do, have many skills but they all seem to involve building of some sort, and that ain't too good these days. Don't want to turn wrenches, I love it as a hobby and I'm damn good, but I don't want my tools sitting in someone elses building, and I can't afford to duplicate the stuff. Management is management, logistics is logistics, but times are damn lean, and there's a hundred applications for every vacancy. The network of connections I've built over the last 20 years, well, they're all holding on by the skin of their teeth themselves. I'd look into the diving angle, they say if you do something you love, you won't work a day in your life. Now who needs someone to fly their corporate plane, or take tourists for rides at the beach in a Waco or Stearman? Towing banners for $12/hr ain't gonna cut it ...
Good luck
Pat in Joppa

[SommerTime]

Hey Skip: I just turned 70 a few months ago. I don't blame you for thinking about changing your career. My advice is be careful to choose a career that doesn't get to be too much for your body as you get older, i.e. pro-sportsmen don't last to a very late age. Look at the field your are planning to go into and what are the age of the people in that field. Also, remember what is fun as a hobby is no longer fun when it is a job.

You could always be a Parker Captain!

[Chumbucket]

Hey Skip: I just turned 70 a few months ago. I don't blame you for thinking about changing your career. My advice is be careful to choose a career that doesn't get to be too much for your body as you get older, i.e. pro-sportsmen don't last to a very late age. Look at the field your are planning to go into and what are the age of the people in that field. Also, remember what is fun as a hobby is no longer fun when it is a job.

You could always be a Parker Captain!

No truer words were ever spoken, every last one of 'em...

[RiverCat09]

Skip,

Have you ever considered getting your captain's license and being a guide? You could guide both fishing and diving trips on the bay, off Ocean City, and in the various flooded rock quarries, etc.

I’ve had a pipe dream of being a guide myself, but never really acted on it. I’ve been told that I am getting to the point where I could pull it off, and in my opinion, I don’t hold a candle to you. Imagine what you could do? You would have clients galore.

I’ve grown sick and tired myself of the rat race that is the construction industry to the point where I consider myself a highly compensated slave. I feel for you Skip. Good luck in whatever you do.

[philk999]

Skip I got this email from Ed M the other day and I thought it fits your question perfectly and adds a little humor.

Rob is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana He performs underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs. Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister. She then sent it to radio station 103.2 FM in Ft. Wayne , Indiana , who was sponsoring a worst job experience contest. Needless to say, she won.

Hi Sue,
Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother.

Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you've been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it's not so bad after all. Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my job.

As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to the office. It's a wet suit. This time of year the water is quite cool. So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose.

Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I've used it several times with no complaints.
What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wet suit. This floods my whole suit with warm water. It's like working in a Jacuzzi.

Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to itch.. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse. With in a few seconds my butt started to burn.. I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened.

The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit. Now, since I don't have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn't stick to it.. However, the crack of my butt was not as fortunate.

When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my butt.

I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator. His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with five other divers, were all laughing hysterically.

Needless to say I aborted the dive. I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops totaling thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression.

When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my brass helmet. As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber.

The cream put the fire out, but I couldn't poop for two days because my butt was swollen shut. So, next time you're having a bad day at work, think about how much worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your butt.

Now repeat to yourself, 'I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.'

Now whenever you have a bad day, ask yourself, is this a jellyfish bad day?

May you NEVER have a jellyfish bad day
Pass this on to all your friends, just in case they're having a bad day!!!


But seriously, if you hate your job, it really is not worth staying at it. Life is just to damn short to do something you hate. Find something else you may like doing, just make sure it gives you the time to do the things you want to do.

[kidz]

Skip do not know you personally, but read your posts and hear about your fishing abilities and kindness. It is a no brainer, fishing guide and diving business. Your reputation will help you to succeed. Your background with Wish a Fish and doing similar things with othe groups like Inner city kids and military vets could give you a new career possibilty.The diving could be part time. Wish you luck with what ever you decide to do. I feel for you, I been pouring concrete for over 30 years and it has become too physical for me. Too many aches and pains the day after. Also with work non-existent, I have had to get by with only two days a week of work. Last winter was brutal, no work at all.