Expert: Christine Fader - 3/30/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hello Christine,

I had this in my head for awhile now, and I need to talk about this with a professional.

Here is my situation,

I am currently working for the government, as a public servant. Every day, I feel like giving up because I really hate this job. I am not proud to be a public servant and I feel like I can't push myself towards my limits.

But I do get nice benefits, pay, etc.

I was thinking of going back to school full time. I am currently doing part time university at UQO and loving it. Though, I find it hard to get in the beat when my work drains all my energy.

Would you give up a full pension at 55, job security and pay to go do something you love? Be proud of what you do?

I will go in education, history. Or will remain in Administration.

If I do go in education, what can I do to get my chances of being accepted? I would have to go as an adult base because I don't have a CEGEP diploma.

Thank you.

ANSWER: Hi Alex,

Congratulations on considering these sometimes scary questions.  Without knowing your specific circumstances, I'm going to be somewhat general in my response but I hope it still gives you some ideas.  Chapters 12 (Your Cheatin' Heart) and 14 (The 7-Year Itch) of my book, "Career Cupid:  Your Guide to Landing and Loving Your Dream Job" deal with this very situation (and it's a common one that many people find themselves in).

If you are 55 and hating your job, in some ways, that can feel like torture because you have built up the "holy grail" of pensionable time which is, of course, not something to give up lightly.  Also, at 55, your chances of completing a degree and finding a new career path before you are potentially less employable are lower because you have so little time before typical retirement age and it might be hard to convince employers to hire you in a new field as a "new grad" when they won't get to keep you for very long.  

I think your part-time education is wonderful.  It can re-energize you, give you something else to focus on, help you learn new skills and open up new ideas, opportunities and relationships for you.  If you want to pursue it full time, you may want to investigate what, if any, early retirement options are available to you with the government.  This way, you won't lose your entire pension, but you could leave with some of it and have the freedom to pursue your new dreams.  Another option to consider is reducing your time at work.  Approach your boss about taking reduced time (save them money!) and working only 4 days per week or 3 days per week (that's what I do!) and then you will spend less time at the work you dislike and have more time to pursue other interests without losing all the security you've built up over the years.  Often, bosses will consider this for a period of time to start e.g. 6 months or a year and then you can negotiate after that based on what's working for you both.  Not sure if you can afford it?  Obviously, be practical but also consider:  how much is working at a job you hate really costing you?  Maybe you could sacrifice that big-screen tv or little luxuries for a bit more day-to-day happiness.  

The other thing I often suggest to people who are unhappy in their jobs but "trapped" is to investigate secondment opportunities, contract opportunities -- chances to work somewhere else within the government but in a different role or department.  This can really refresh things.  For example, taking over a maternity leave replacement can often be a way to switch into a new job that can help you refresh yourself but still leave you with the stability of your original "permanent" position.  The other thing I suggeest is to join committees, get involved with new projects inside or outside of work.  This can help you develop new contacts and enthusiasm for subjects outside your normal, frustrating or boring job description.  It can also help you develop new skills which can lead to new opportunities.  Take opportunities (for example, during your annual performance review) to discuss your interests with your boss and mention that you are open to exploring opportunities to pursue these interests that may come up.  Often, bosses are supportive of this type of career growth.

If you are financially able to leave your job and pension, then of course, it's wonderful to pursue work you'll love and can be proud of.  For most of us, that's not completely an option.  Balancing the work you hate with other activities you love and that energize you and creating a career identity through volunteer work, clubs, activities in and outside work is probably the happy medium option for the time being but can lead to more exciting options down the road.

I hope this helps.  Good luck!

Christine
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Christine Fader
Career Counsellor
www.careercupid.com
Author, "Career Cupid:  Your Guide to Landing and Loving Your Dream Job"
Follow my blog at:  careercupid.blogspot.com


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Christine,

I am so so sorry. I am not 55, but 22 years old. I will have a full pension at 22 years old.

I have been working for the governement since I got out of high school, so three years now.

The thing is, whithout a degree, I will never have a high management job, which I want.

Also, I did quite a few jobs, but it all relates to the same thing, boring as hell, no gratification.

I've been debating whether to go to university or not for a while now. I'm prepared to go, don't know if it would be the best choice.

that and I would be able to see the world during my degree I believe.

Again, I am very very sorry for the lack of communication.

Thank you for the quick reply.

ANSWER: Oh, okay!  That is a horse of a completely different colour!  :)

If you are 22 and really dislike your job...it might be worth considering going back to school to complete a degree.  Obviously consider taking courses/programs that you LIKE studying -- that way you'll be building skills that you will actually want to use when you go to find work, you'll tend to do better at the courses (thereby leaving more options for grad school/employment open) and you'll have more fun while you're doing it too!

However, know that university does not guarantee a better salary...necessarily.  Statistically, university graduates make more money over a lifetime, but you might not see the return on investment absolutely immediately.  Of course, in other situations you might...just know that having a degree is not an absolute guarantee. This is because university tends not to be TRAINING but rather THEORY and so you're not being trained to a specific job.  Exceptions to this would be professional undergraduate programs that do train you -- such as nursing, engineering, design, etc.  However, you mentioned history which is not training, it's theory.  This just means that you are being educated but not groomed for a specific job at the end of your degree.  90% of my day is spent talking to students who are in 4th year saying, "Who wants people with this degree?" or "What can I do with my ..... degree?"  You'll want to be thinking about what you might like to do down the road to determine what program might be best for you to consider.

History grads graduate to many different types of jobs.  Some related to history of course, such as museum work, government work (!) and others that have nothing to do with history but that build on the graduate's skills in writing, synthesizing information etc.  This can include public relations, human resources, management, communications jobs such as publishing, editing etc.

Certainly, having a degree is sometimes the base "ticket" to be considered for many, many jobs and no matter what the degree is in, it can help you gain access to job opportunities that you don't currently have.   So it's usually a wise investment.  Many university graduates with an undergraduate degree in a non-professional program in arts or science start at $35-45,000/year. Sometimes higher, sometimes lower.  So initially, it may not look like a lot more than you're making now but their trajectory is often different -- they can accelerate to jobs that pay more, sometimes more quickly than those without a degree because often for those more "interesting" and better-paying jobs, the minimum requirement is some kind of undergraduate degree.  

Doing a degree part-time will be slower but cheaper (you don't have to quit your job and you can spread tuition payments out over a number of years) but doing it full-time gets you to full-time work in an area you might like better, quicker.  Plus, of course, you can travel during summers or go on education or work exchange while in university.

22 is not old!  It's a great time to re-think your goals, investigate options, talk to people doing work that looks interesting, think about what you love to do, and then pursue your dreams!  It's usually low-risk at this stage in your life...you tend not to have mortgages to pay, kids to feed etc.  So if you're considering jumping, once you do some research and explore your options and practicalities, it's a pretty ideal time.

Good luck!

Christine


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you Christine,

I always felt that by not going to university I would miss a part of my life, like a child not growing up with other children.

You just confirmed what I thought and couldn't do. I will get my degree ASAP.

Heck, I'll just come back to the governement after if I can't find anything else, with a degree or a master's!

My final question is this...

Would business and admin. give me good options for a job? I love adminisatration, we learn about the psychology of our employee's and leadership, which is my area of interest.

Though, I would love to teach history also.

Answer
Hello,

Yes, business and admin may give you good options for a job since most organizations have some element of what they do connected to business or administration.  History can also give you lots of options in addition to teaching.  I usually advise students to go for something that they love to learn about.  Employers nowadays want continual learners on the job and if you don't like to learn about something, you likely won't do as well once you're in your career.  If you're worried about employment prospects, perhaps a good compromise is to take a broad variety of courses, especially at the beginning of your degree, to see which classes you end up really liking.  Then, you can decide if you want to major in history or business in the end--and you'll have a better sense of what job market is looking like closer to graduation.  

Good luck!

Christine