Men that switched careers from white collar to blue collar in your 30s what was your experience like?

12 comments

1. Sounds like you have a problem committing to things and if I were you I’d think long and hard if being an electrician will end like accounting. You state you don’t like your coworkers, maybe you need to find a new company or a different type of accountant work.

2. Get into Construction Management. I go from sitting in boardrooms with a Brooks Brothers tailored suit, arguing the toss with other management clowns, to being on my hands and knees on one of my construction projects, tape measure in hand, wondering WTF happened with my facade joinery not fitting as designed.

   Word of warning, there’s two requirements for being a construction manager.

   1. **You need to be able to take masses amount of responsibility** where others cannot. 90% of people are as happy as drugged up cows on the slaughtering floor, as long as they’re told what to do. They act like vampires dragged into sunlight as soon as they have to make a decision that’ll hold them accountable for anything. People just want to turn their brains off and be told what to do.
   2. You have to be able to absorb huge amount of stress with a wink and a smile. If you start taking the work personally, get out, before you’re carried out on a stretcher.

3. i was the opposite, still worked with my hands in dentistry but hated it. in my 30’s got into machining and labor work and feel better overall.

4. I feel ya man. 20 years as a chemical engineer and I just want to be an operator, some type of technician, or machinist

5. I worked as an electrician for 7 years and can’t say I’d recommend it to anyone that already has a decent career, the grass may not be greener on the other side. Going for a degree to try and change fields now

   Maybe try to get an estimator job or something like that. You can fit in better at work and don’t have to beat up your body doing a dangerous job

6. I went from being an accountant in my 20’s to owning and operating a residential pool service company in my 30’s. Best career decision ever.

7. Did remodeling then Went into nursing at 42yo, did it for 5 years and started hating ppl so got out and went back to Remodeling. A few years later had an opportunity to become a crane operator in the oil/natural gas industry. Went to school for my NCCO and CDL, now I’m making twice what I was making as a nurse with literally zero stress.

8. All my blue collar friends did the opposite by their 30s and 40s. Trade work can be hard on your body, unless you go into management or ownership.

   All of them went into IT/Tech support. None of them have college degrees.

9. Factory worker for 10 years until I finally got into the office. Would never go back.

10. Trained as a tilesetter to pay for college, went sales to management path after, quit it and started my own remodeling company.

    It’s great. I don’t work that many hours, which is the hardest part, and make good money. It’s hard work, and I hurt more than my friends, but I get a sense of accomplishment every day.

11. Early in my career I was doing sales and realized that wasn’t for me so I switched to being a technician in the same field. I was much happier. That was 25 years ago and I have no regrets.

12. ask me in a few years. I started out doing woodworking, carpentry, and fabrication. I got sick of it after like 15 years and went into project management for the same kind of work. I never fit in in the office, and it turns out I’m not great at the networking, smiling when i’m pissed, kissing clients and sales teams asses, or handling massive amounts of super high dollar stress from multiple departments, clients, owners, and companies both below me and above me at the same time, so i’m going back to carpentry.