I've been at my current place for 5 years and have decided to get out. It's badly run, nothing has changed since I've been there, many comfortable people. My confidence is low because of how badly my company is run. My title doesn't make sense and it's hard for me to explain what I do.
I'd like to get a better job; higher salary and one that actually means I get stuff done. I have an art degree, worked in PR/marketing for a bit, I've been a training manager (that doesn't actually entail any training) for the last 5 years or so. I'm praised often but it's hard to feel: other jobs seem so professional, I've a tiny network, and I don't really know where to look or what to apply for.
Has someone been in a similar situation? How do you fix confidence?
I seem to imagine there are people out there I can talk to that will help me find what I'm good at and what I can do, but I don't know how to find them or who to ask. I can google things, but they all look the same. How do you find a recruiter or someone to tell you what you could do? Should I go for a career coach or something?
By pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. That's one place to start. A lack of confidence often stems from being caught in a rut where you are stuck doing the same routines over and over. Why not just apply for a job that's a step or two up from what you've been doing so far.
>Should I go for a career coach or something?
From the way you sound, that's probably really a good idea. You seem to need somebody who can point you in the right direction.
My job is almost identical; I'm coming up to my sixth anniversary and all the fun and useful things I used to do have now faded into history, leaving me doing entirely worthless monkey-work and nothing else. We could swap jobs tomorrow by the sound of things.
I have tried asking my boss to give me more stuff to do, but he hoards the good stuff for himself. He recommends I get professional certifications for things, and then he might give me cooler responsibilities. I don't believe him, but perhaps this would work for you and then you wouldn't have to quit. Or alternatively, like me, you could get the qualifications and then apply for better jobs, and if you get offered one, it's up to you whether you tell your boss you want to stay but you'll need to do better stuff for better money, or whether you just take the new job and quit. This will help immensely with the fear of taking a leap, which is certainly my problem.
LinkedIn is where all the jobs are now. Job websites are shit. They got me the job I have now; 2/10 would not recommend.
> Has someone been in a similar situation? How do you fix confidence?
Sounds shit, but try affirmations. Every morning get up and tell yourself, out loud, "I'm capable and I can do this". It will feel like you're making fun of yourself, but that's what confidence is!
How do I progress when I'm stuck in a more or less dead end position because it's the highest I can go in my field without having a degree? I feel like I've still done okay, to say I bungled my A-levels twice and didn't even consider uni, but I'm starting to feel trapped and it looks pretty bleak for me when I look at job ads and all that.
I need to think about just moving into something else entirely I think, I just don't know where to go. I want decent money but I also want a decent work/life balance, and that seems to be a big obstacle. One of the main reasons I've stayed in my current job is that it's pretty generous with holidays and the shift pattern gives me plenty of down time. I don't fancy going back to uni, I know it's never too late but nah, it'd be too stressful to juggle that around having an adult life too. I'm only in my early 30s, but I'm not getting any younger, so whatever I pick wants to be the sort of job I can stay in until I retire.
How hard is it to become a train driver? Is it hard work? They seem to have it pretty mint. And what sort of other jobs are there like that, where an on-paper thicko with no "skills" like me can earn loadsadosh, without breaking my back doing 50 hour weeks?
>>14645 I know a bloke who got a job selling tickets for TfL as a homeless and was driving a tube for loads of dosh within two years and even married a bird he met there, so seems very doable.
The government have widened eligibility for free adult learning. If you don't have A levels or equivalent, you can take a wide range of courses for free, even if you're working.
>>14645 I have a friend who is a train driver. He started out as a bus driver, then became a tram driver, and now he drives trains. I assume he needed to do homework rather than just being handed the keys each time he got a new job, but bus companies are really desperate for bus drivers right now so you can take that first step very easily.
I have a friend who has just started as a train driver (metro specifically for the other greggslad).
The selection process was apparently quite tough, with psychometric and reaction time tests plus about four stages of interview. Her training once selected is several months of intensive classroom stuff before they even touch a real train.
So I think the short answer is as long as you're relatively intelligent and can prepare, you have a very good chance. My friend didn't gave a huge amount of experience either, maybe 6 years in retail and customer service.
>A train operator is looking to recruit nearly 300 drivers and conductors across the North of England, including Yorkshire, this year.
>Northern, which serves a network of 15 million people, including across Yorkshire, says the roles require no previous rail experience, and the company will train all recruits at its academies in Leeds and Manchester. Trainee drivers will start off earning £23,000 a year which will rise to £54,500 once they are fully qualified.
We're unanimously agreed here that Manchester is in every metric worse than Yorkshire. It's got all the same shit parts as Yorkshire, but far fewer of the nice bits to balance it out. Plus all the streets are laid out in sprawling Yank style grids and it's fucking shite.
This was what prompted me to make the post. I imagine loads of people will see the ads they've been putting about lately, so the competition will be fierce, so I was hoping one or two lads here would have some insight. I mean on .gs of all places, I'm surprised at least one of you isn't a train driver.
OP here. Turns out I've had a chaotic life where I've not thought about a career. I find it hard to articulate what I'm good at, sort of thing. A bit like the gym without a program, I've done well but am lost.
I decided to simplify things a bit, so my main focus is not work but helping my grandfather who's very old. He's relatively independent, but needs help with stuff and I'm the only one there. In the meantime, I'm working through this career stuff — mostly exploring. Talking to people will probably help the most. It's daunting when you're a bit clueless, but I'll get there.
Aside from making this /emo/, it's really interesting how people articulate and frame things. It's way more important than what the thing is. I should be bigger and more like Johnny Bravo.
