Has anyone had a big career change?

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#1284740 15-Apr-2015 14:14

I'm curious why a travel agent and not some other kind of sales job? Is it the lure of free holidays & cheap travel? Spending your time talking to people about their holidays-to-be (I imagine this could be quite fun)? Sitting in an office with more women than men?

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#1284742 15-Apr-2015 14:16

I've had a couple of job changes then a very big career change.
I worked at a Mac store on the Shore for a couple of years (MetroMac) then worked at the University of Auckland as an Audio Visual Technician (Mac based recording studios and post facilities as well as lighting and sound stuff, for several years). Then I worked as a bench tech at Renaissance for 7 years before being made redundant in 2011.

First major change - being a stay-at-home Dad for nearly two years. This was a very hard full time job!

Second major change - getting a pretty great job (Kiwirail at the time, now Transdev) as a Locomotive Engineer; Auckland passenger trains. This job relates in pretty much no way to my previous work. However, I am probably at an advantage with the new Electric trains (EMUs) being introduced in Auckland as I still have a pretty good handle on computer stuff, of which they have a lot.

Pros of this job - better money, no taking work home, enjoyable day-to-day work (driving a train is serious work, but not much hard work).

Cons - shift work, very VERY early starts, serious responsibilities when dealing with hundreds of peoples safety.

Overall a very big change in career but it was a good decision!

Cheers,
Joseph

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#1284746 15-Apr-2015 14:20

Thanks for all the responses. We have two mortgages, but the rental property is positively geared and pays itself off. No kids and we don't live in Auckland.

I put a lot of research into travel agencies, and people say there can be enormous pressure to up-sell and that the commissions the company raves about are pretty poor. The upside is that it's an exciting and social industry, but possibly one with a low average age. I guess I mainly envisaged myself being promoted to team leader quickly, but that might not ever happen.

I'd love to do something socially beneficial such as joining the Police, but annoyingly I have arthritis in my knees.

I see my degree as 'non-perishable' (it will always be there if I need it), but I know that software and systems constantly change and also coding requires regular practice or you forget it.

sep11guy

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#1284750 15-Apr-2015 14:28

HTroy: Thanks for all the responses. We have two mortgages, but the rental property is positively geared and pays itself off. No kids and we don't live in Auckland.

I put a lot of research into travel agencies, and people say there can be enormous pressure to up-sell and that the commissions the company raves about are pretty poor. The upside is that it's an exciting and social industry, but possibly one with a low average age. I guess I mainly envisaged myself being promoted to team leader quickly, but that might not ever happen.

I'd love to do something socially beneficial such as joining the Police, but annoyingly I have arthritis in my knees.

I see my degree as 'non-perishable' (it will always be there if I need it), but I know that software and systems constantly change and also coding requires regular practice or you forget it.

My view of this is -

I suppose that if you are not in akl, mortgage payments would be considerably less for your own home (unless you live in a huge villa ), and if your wife is co-operating with less savings, less money to take home ( when u take the pay cut role ) , I guess you could make it work.

But then you mention "being promoted to team leader quickly" , this is something against what you originally came for in the first place so its quite contradicting. Cause being a team leader will involve a lot of people and resource mgmt, and only the odd travel itinerary planning.

So its about totally changing the way you look at things and life as such. You would need to have a more basic and functional approach to life and how you go about doing things and have to watch the dollars and the cents if you wish to have a decent retirement kitty at the end of your work life.

HTroy

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#1284754 15-Apr-2015 14:31

frankv: I'm curious why a travel agent and not some other kind of sales job? Is it the lure of free holidays & cheap travel? Spending your time talking to people about their holidays-to-be (I imagine this could be quite fun)? Sitting in an office with more women than men?

Working with mostly women! Funny. I think it's about one third males in that industry. Maybe less.

I travelled extensively when I was in my early 20's, so it's an area that I would actually have a good knowledge of. And yes, I thought talking to people about their holidays would be cheerful work, but I also realise people buy flights for funerals as well.

The lure of insider knowledge of cheap holidays appeals, but I'm aware that earning $16 p/hr means I'd never actually be able to afford said holidays!

frankv

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#1284770 15-Apr-2015 14:43

From a training/employment point of view, I figure a degree in IT has a half-life of about 3 years (maybe less). Half its value has gone in 3 years, 3/4 in 6 years, 7/8 in 9 years. Stuff you learnt 10 years ago won't get you a job today (although the education that hopefully came with it may do). Probably the same applies to IT experience.

For example, think about a SQL Server 2005 DBA qualification... very saleable in 2005, valueless today. What you've learnt about DBA since 2005 is what will get you your next DBA job. If your last DBA job was in 2005, you'll struggle to find anyone to take you on unless you've had more recent training.

FWIW, I've intermingled my software career with tertiary teaching of IT. Teaching requires you to keep up to date, so I've been able to move back and forth between the industries a couple of times.

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HTroy

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#1284780 15-Apr-2015 14:53

I was the maths kid at school. I have degrees in Maths and Finance. So after graduation I worked in commercial banking in analyst roles, then had one year overseas self employed. I came back to NZ late last year doing some temping data/excel work. Found I enjoyed the technical side still (which was lacking in commercial banking), but missed the more sanguine personality types from banking sales.

I'm now working as an insurance broker. Earning potential is way higher ( up to 5x) than in those technical roles. Retail sales can be a good training ground but the pay is appalling, due to low value deals and thin margins.

I'm thinking that if you are more interested in people related roles, consider insurance brokering, the hours are flexible (great if you have a family), and the earning potential is up to around $350k p.a., realistically you could earn $100k in the first year.

If you do decide to go in to sales, most important is the training offered, the money will follow.

It's still early days but this is by far my favourite role.

This is actually a really good point KiwiFruta. I studied Statistics and Finance so I'm in a similar boat to you.

A few years ago I worked at Inland Revenue and while it's not a bad place to work, the vibe is very negative because the public hated us so much that the negativity filtered throughout the workplace. Even now people I know make negative comments about how I used to work there. Retorting that tax is the hallmark of a fair society only receives boo-ing!

So that is largely why I wanted to shift away from anything to do with the finance industry, but brokering (insurance or mortgages) is a really good idea.

Kiwifruta

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#1284790 15-Apr-2015 15:07

HTroy:

I was the maths kid at school. I have degrees in Maths and Finance. So after graduation I worked in commercial banking in analyst roles, then had one year overseas self employed. I came back to NZ late last year doing some temping data/excel work. Found I enjoyed the technical side still (which was lacking in commercial banking), but missed the more sanguine personality types from banking sales.

I'm now working as an insurance broker. Earning potential is way higher ( up to 5x) than in those technical roles. Retail sales can be a good training ground but the pay is appalling, due to low value deals and thin margins.

I'm thinking that if you are more interested in people related roles, consider insurance brokering, the hours are flexible (great if you have a family), and the earning potential is up to around $350k p.a., realistically you could earn $100k in the first year.

If you do decide to go in to sales, most important is the training offered, the money will follow.

It's still early days but this is by far my favourite role.

This is actually a really good point KiwiFruta. I studied Statistics and Finance so I'm in a similar boat to you.

A few years ago I worked at Inland Revenue and while it's not a bad place to work, the vibe is very negative because the public hated us so much that the negativity filtered throughout the workplace. Even now people I know make negative comments about how I used to work there. Retorting that tax is the hallmark of a fair society only receives boo-ing!

So that is largely why I wanted to shift away from anything to do with the finance industry, but brokering (insurance or mortgages) is a really good idea.

I found corporate life just isn't me, due to specialisation the roles have too little variation. I like the broad range required by self employment.

I have heard mortgage brokering work can be easier than insurance brokering, because people tend to seek out mortgage brokers but not insurance brokers. Several insurance brokers now do mortgage brokering to generate leads for their insurance brokering.

Where are you based?

HTroy

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#1284818 15-Apr-2015 15:15

sep11guy:

But then you mention "being promoted to team leader quickly" , this is something against what you originally came for in the first place so its quite contradicting. Cause being a team leader will involve a lot of people and resource mgmt, and only the odd travel itinerary planning.

In my original post I said "I worked in data analysis (SQL, SAS etc) for many years and never enjoyed the introverted personality types I worked with."

It's working with introverts I don't enjoy, so that is what prompted my interest in a customer facing role. Working as a team leader in travel still involves a lot social contact. I grew up in a large family with constant noise - some of my siblings now hate noise because of it, and the rest of us hate silence.

DravidDavid

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#1284820 15-Apr-2015 15:16

I am also thinking about making a change. For me, I've decided lifestyle is very much more important than money to me. Although, I still like both! I can get a large, modern 3 bedroom house with a double internal access garage and a fenced back yard for 300 in Wellsford. 325 in Auckland gets me a crappy 2 bedroom house and that's about it.

Currently an IT manager/Printer. Thinking about something else, but don't know what. I want to live in Northland/Wellsford/Warkworth/Snells Beach area, but there is no work in these areas unless I want to work at 4Square or Harvey Norman or something.

If anyone has IT/technical/design work north of Auckland, let me know! Currently working on a 3D showcase, so will probably submit that to the college I studied at as many times as is necessary to get a position as a lecturer there. :)

Good luck on your travels! Make sure you report back here if you ever take the leap in to a new career.

HTroy

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#1284841 15-Apr-2015 15:44

I found corporate life just isn't me, due to specialisation the roles have too little variation. I like the broad range required by self employment.

I have heard mortgage brokering work can be easier than insurance brokering, because people tend to seek out mortgage brokers but not insurance brokers. Several insurance brokers now do mortgage brokering to generate leads for their insurance brokering.

Where are you based?

Palmerston North, but there is a two hour commuter train to Wellington that has plugs and tables for laptops so I can reply to emails and do work during that time. It beats driving to Wellington, as I can't do any work if I'm driving.

New Zealander's are somewhat under-insured for everything from house, health, life and job-loss insurance. But at least those people are potential customers for brokers.

We used a Mike Pero mortgage broker once and he was pretty good. At the time it made me think I could do that job, but when I looked into broker jobs on Seek all of them said "experienced only". Did you just apply anyway?

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#1284849 15-Apr-2015 15:51

HTroy:

I found corporate life just isn't me, due to specialisation the roles have too little variation. I like the broad range required by self employment.

I have heard mortgage brokering work can be easier than insurance brokering, because people tend to seek out mortgage brokers but not insurance brokers. Several insurance brokers now do mortgage brokering to generate leads for their insurance brokering.

Where are you based?

Palmerston North, but there is a two hour commuter train to Wellington that has plugs and tables for laptops so I can reply to emails and do work during that time. It beats driving to Wellington, as I can't do any work if I'm driving.

New Zealander's are somewhat under-insured for everything from house, health, life and job-loss insurance. But at least those people are potential customers for brokers.

We used a Mike Pero mortgage broker once and he was pretty good. At the time it made me think I could do that job, but when I looked into broker jobs on Seek all of them said "experienced only". Did you just apply anyway?

If you are interested in a position and it says "experienced only" apply anyway. The worse they can say is no and they cant say that or different if they don't know you.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

MileHighKiwi

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#1284851 15-Apr-2015 15:56

HTroy:
frankv: I'm curious why a travel agent and not some other kind of sales job? Is it the lure of free holidays & cheap travel? Spending your time talking to people about their holidays-to-be (I imagine this could be quite fun)? Sitting in an office with more women than men?

Working with mostly women! Funny. I think it's about one third males in that industry. Maybe less.

I travelled extensively when I was in my early 20's, so it's an area that I would actually have a good knowledge of. And yes, I thought talking to people about their holidays would be cheerful work, but I also realise people buy flights for funerals as well.

The lure of insider knowledge of cheap holidays appeals, but I'm aware that earning $16 p/hr means I'd never actually be able to afford said holidays!

I worked in the tourism industry for 3.5 years as a business development manager for a top nature experience. It was an awesome job. I loved the social side of the industry and attended several TRENZ conferences; they're A LOT of fun. I also hosted travel agents a lot on trade famils (familiarisation of product) which was always a good time. I did a bit of international travel too, the UK, Europe and Australia mainly, and all over NZ. When you're in the industry you get so many perks. I had free accommodation, bungee jumps, jet boats, cultural events and attractions etc....heaps of nights on the pi$$; the Dutch were my favorites, made some great friends there.

The best part though was that as a proud kiwi I got to talk about how awesome our country is, and the people I was dealing with, international wholesalers, also had a huge love of NZ. It was an industry you could be passionate about.

I left because I could not see a career path unless I moved to Auckland, Christchurch or Queenstown, and that just wasn't an option due to family commitments. I do miss it and one day would be keen to get back into it.

Maybe you could consider a tourism role other than an agent? They really do get paid bugger all, and you won't get as many perks as I did being in a more senior position with lots of autonomy.

DravidDavid

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#1284854 15-Apr-2015 15:59

HTroy: Did you just apply anyway?

Always, always, always apply anyway.

The job I had before this one said 3 to 5 years experience REQUIRED. I applied and was called the next day. When I asked, they said they don't actually care but it weeds out the students and people who just want to get paid and do nothing else.

frankv

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#1284865 15-Apr-2015 16:13

HTroy:

In my original post I said "I worked in data analysis (SQL, SAS etc) for many years and never enjoyed the introverted personality types I worked with."

It's working with introverts I don't enjoy, so that is what prompted my interest in a customer facing role. Working as a team leader in travel still involves a lot social contact. I grew up in a large family with constant noise - some of my siblings now hate noise because of it, and the rest of us hate silence.

Rather than parking them, I suggest that you aim to leverage your IT skills to get a job that suits you. Look for a customer-facing role in the IT sector (e.g Business Analyst) where your database experience is an asset, not irrelevant. Obviously, a BA for a tourism company would be ideal.

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