Hi Jigi:

Could not help but notice some similarities between your situation and mine.  Having done the same thing for most of one's adult life, when we hit 50 there is a boredom that sets in, a sense that "I am so done with this".  Problem is, where do we go for the rest of our working career, and can we afford to make that change at this point in our careers.  More importantly, if we decide to take that risk, is there a place in the pool for us?

In my situation, I have worked almost my entire life for myself, owned and operated three non-traditional small businesses.  I've managed a staff of up to 30 people when I owned my pottery company, managed wholesale accounts, booked and attended both retail and wholesale shows all around America.  As a landscaper, I've priced out and implemented $100,000 residential landscaping jobs...problem is, when I try to figure out how to put all this into a resume, try to market myself in a way that brings in a job offer that I am willing to seriously consider, it is no easy task.

For myself, physical/health issues have given me little choice but to pursue a job/career path that sees me using my brain instead of my hands...a new mindset for a creative soul who has used his artistic talents and hands to earn a livelihood for 30 years.  Further, having always worked for myself, professional references are another issue.  That being said, still think I can offer you some grounded advice.

1.  Can you afford not to make a career change, even if it means taking a significant pay cut to get your foot in the door?  Personal happiness has great value that is too often under valued in todays business world, and that dissatisfaction will contribute to less productivity, which is not good for the company, nor is it good for your career where you currently are.  If you are suffering burnout, your job performance is going to suffer, and eventually that could cause you to lose the job you currently have...even worse, if that set of circumstances occurs, you could have lost a valuable asset in searching for new employment...a positive reference from your employer.  As a personal note, I think corporations miss the boat, lose valuable skilled older work force because they do not have a plan whereby we can take a sabbatical.

2.  For most of my adult career, I have been used to making BIG MONEY pretty easily...I worked for myself, secured my own clients, and thus set my own value and would accept nothing less.  If you don't want to hire me, then go hire someone cheaper, but you'll be sorry as they will not deliver the quality performance that I know you want.   What I am finding out now, is that moving into a new career path is going to require me re-evaluating my own value and worth downward.  This is not to say I am not worth what I think I am worth, but with a career transition comes a period of time when you have to prove yourself in your new career path, overcome the learning curve so you are a valuable asset to your new company, and position yourself to demand what your truth worth is.  This is a hard pill for many too swallow who have over a period of years even decades climbed their own career ladder to where they now are.  Even in horizontal movements from one company to another, there is often a downward trend going in. 

3.  I personally at almost 52 have a wealth of outside the box talents...problem is, figuring out how to market them.  I would guess here, that you also have more skill sets than you are crediting yourself with right now. You state you have done nothing but design work for 20 years.  Have you started to break that work down into the various tasks involved in that work?  Did you have a lot of interaction with clients, did any of your work consist of selling them your concepts and designs?  If yes, you have some experience in customer services an client relations.  What are your computer skills?  As a part of your design work, how much writing were you doing?  Dissect your work, break it down and figure out what your skill sets are.  It might be worth your while to invest in your new career by working with a job coach.

In closing...put money aside for now, and ask yourself some honest questions.  What do you enjoy doing, what makes you happy?  What would you like to do for say the next 10-15 years as a career? If you follow your muse, the money will follow.  I am a green environmentalist, have a lot of grassroots experience in that arena, and I love to write even if I don't have the degree in writing.  I am good at grasping complex ideas, and finding solutions by thinking outside the box. I see my own self moving forward in helping a company or companies in truly greening themselves.  Now I just need to find a company that wants someone who knows green from the grassroots perspective, rather than from a book, someone that has lived the walk, rather than gotten a degree that says they know green.  In short, I know what I am looking for, and in that half the battle is done.

Sherwood Martinelli

This is such a great post to my comments I cannot think of anything that seems to suffice except to say "Thank You!"

When I say I am burned out it is to the point of poor health, same asyou mentioned.   My career has not given me the satisfaction of monetary rewards you express and, believe me it was not for lack of trying.  I went to work right out of college and started at small design firms, left that to freelance for ten yrs.  I tried manufacturing my own products that didn't work either. I went back to work for large companies and was literally abused by management !  Why, one day at the office I suddenly went temporarilyBLIND in one eye from all the stress !

I have decided enough is enough i am making myself very unhappy beating my head against the same wall over and over and, I am partial to my eyesight thank you.

I definitely have many out of the box skills, too many to publish on one resume.  I realize that they may come in handy when i want to transfer them to another career, but I cannot for the life of me decide what that career would be! 

I am really stuck right here at this issue.

Maybe someone can add advice????  

Regards
Jigijag

Hey Jigi!


For a start, why don't you try the JASPER test they provide here at the Monster site. It might provide some insight to help you go in a different direction. There are also other self/ skill assessment tools online that could provide a measure of the talents you have but have never quantified as a skill. You may be shocked by what you DO know and how valuable it may be in the marketplace.

Give it a try and GO FOR IT!  You've got nothing to lose and a lot to gain!

Go Jigi, Jigi, Jigi..

Go Jigi, Jigi, Jigi..

Hello Again Jigi:

I do hear you so loud an clear...unfortunately, many jobs have become compartmentalized in our modern day work force, and one result of that, is employers are not quite sure what to do with those of us that have a wide palette of talents.  We are the proverbial square pegs trying to fit into round holes.  I might be wrong, but one way I've recently come across to market myself, is to create some things that get me noticed by those looking for creative, out of the box employees...they are out there.  As example, I am posting below the link to a blog I was up late last night creating.  It combines various things that I am passionate about, shows my innate sense of design, shows off my creative talents and writing skills all in one little space found with the click of a mouse:

http://greencosmicrabbit.blogspot.com/

What I love about this effort of mine to market myself, is even if no one else takes notice, even if it does not lead to a career path or part time income, I am having a whole lot of fun rediscovering my own creative freedoms, painting my vision on a virtual canvas as it were for all the world to enjoy.

I am kicking a lot of ideas around down, including giving some serious thought to going deeply into debt, and opening up my own little shop somewhere, a green, earthy boutique with items for sale that I would want to surround my self with.  For those of us in that 50 and over category, the job market can be a bear market, and there might be a lot of wisdom in deciding this is our time to through sensibility out the window and reach for our dreams....just a thought.

Sherwood

Hello Jigi,

Is it possible you contact me sometime. I some how got to this web site based on your comments and I am not looking for employment, I have a job and am pretty satisfied with my job.

The strangest thing brought me to this website and I read your comment about the loss of your eyesight. I also have experienced a partial loss of eyesight in one eye. I have gained most of it back but after many specialists it was never determined what caused the blindness.

I know this is out of the ordinary to suggest on this website for you to contact me, but I really would be interested in discussing this with you in further detail since we experienced such a very similar strange and rare occurance. And our eye sight is so much of a blessing!

Will you email me sometime at carriesue86@yahoo.com

Look forward to hearing from you!

Carrie Sue

Speaking of trying to find your own niche, in the book "What Color is Your Parachute?" there is the story of a man who was good at carpentry, enjoyed gardening, and was interested in psychology. He was working in a different field, and wanted very much to put his hobbies and interests to use. He talked to a career counselor, who told him he could use his carpentry skills to build planter boxes for plants, and as for the psychology, he was told to find a psychologist and get an appointment to ask how he could combine the carpentry/plants with the psychology. He did, and the psychologist told him that he'd heard of some studies being done with plants as therapy. So with that in mind, he began a plant therapy job. He's happy, and is doing a great job. I guess some people are better with plants than animals as therapists.

So, I'd say, instead of trying to fit into a niche that already exists, why not carve out your own?

How about graphic design? That's a creative field that could use the experiences of someone in your field. Talk to companies that deal with this field or go to the nearest community college and look into their programs. Many courses can be taken on weekends as well as nights and now, tutorially from your home computer for a minimal fee. Your overhead will be less (no long drives to school, no snow to plow through) and you can study in the comfort of your jammies with a cup of coffee. I have been working so many years that I realized I was totally out of the loop when it came to updating my educational interests and/or skills. The internet has so many avenues of information available to you that it simply boggles the mind. I think the biggest hurdle is simply trying to decide what you want to do as far as work. Once you have that narrowed down, the where and how becomes clearer.