Looking for career advice

[Guest_902]

Hi all,

A bit of background- I'm male, 29, with two degrees, one in arts and one in health science. I've recently come out of a job which I attained after finishing health science. After five months I chose to leave that role, primarily due to commuting issues, but also as I was put in a situation where information was purposefully withheld from me which could potentially have caused me physical harm from a dangerous client. I've returned to my previous role in retail, temporarily casual but soon to be full time. The salary is less, but not by a great margin thankfully. I'm currently living with my partner who is on a decent wage, so money isn't too much if an issue though it does play on my mind when bills hit all at once.

I guess what's been bothering me is, have I just spent nearly 8 years of my life, pretty much my entire 20's, studying just to end up in a role which doesn't need any formal qualifications? I do like the role I'm in now (sales in running shoes), and there is always the potential for me to progress in this role, or to look at degree related roles down the track. What frightens me though, is that if I'm not working in my studied field for a couple of years, will it be too difficult to get back into it should I choose to try and do so at a later date? I guess I just really want those 8 years to mean something. As said, working back in my old job is enjoyable. However, it was also a choice made to get out of the old toxic job I was working before (the uni-related role), as well as no other suitable uni-related roles in my local area currently being available. Working closer to home was the big cincher for me, as I was learning that driving two hours a day to/from work was taking a huge toll on me mentally, sometimes leaving me unable to sleep on Sunday nights, knowing what was coming the next morning. It was a commute notorious for road fatalities (one every three weeks roughly).

Apologies if this sounds like a bit of a ramble. I find it cathartic to share my thought processes to see what others can make of it. I guess I feel a bit like, at 30, I should be in a better position.

Cheers,

andy19

[geoff]

hi Andy, I'm pleased that you aren't going to be harmed by any client and a role that you needed to leave, and the course I qualified in doing had no bearing on what I ended up doing, far from it, but your qualificans are always going to there, although you may need a refresher course as times are changing so much.
I don't think you should punish yourself for spending 8 years at uni, because beforehand you had no idea what you would end up doing, it's the experience you needed.
The number of people I know who spent years at uni getting degrees, post graduate education aren't doing what they were trained for, circumstances have changed in their life, postion, marriage and moving to another state, so the 8 years you spent at uni haven't been wasted, because you are in a r/ship, need the money, and no job is available in what you were trained for, or it was a toxic one.
Don't punish yourself, believing that you should be in a better position, if you're happy, in love and happy, except for this, and you don't know what will happen within the next 5 years, because life changes all the time.
Can I just say that I was qualified as a statistician and ended up managing pubs and being a builder/handyman completely different to the 3 years I spent at uni. Geoff.

[Some1]

Hi Andy19,

It's seems as though the post Uni job you were working was adding a lot of pressure to your life - both professional and personal. I bet your relieved you not have that hanging over your head. From reading your post it sounds as though you made the right decision to leave that position with the long travel time, and 'said' dangerous work place.

Is it possible that you could start a project on the side using either of your degrees? So that when looking to re-enter those fields of work you still have the years of experience, and you will have done it on your terms - no nasty colleagues, no mandatory long hours.

On the other hand - many graduates sometime never work in their qualified fields - and I personally don't see that time as Uni as a waste but as a life lived.

Some1 🙂

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi andy19,

Thanks for your post. It sounds like it would be pretty confusing and I can see why you would have these questions - and you're not rambling at all. I'm happy that you left the other job you held as it doesn't sound like it was a toxic environment for you.

You said at 30 I should be in a better position; but the way I see it as long as you are enjoying what you do, you are in a good position. Like Some1 said, sometimes people don't even use their University degrees. I can list over a dozen people I know who have been to Uni and studied certain fields and ended up in completely different careers. There's nothing wrong with that.

You may find that the knowledge you have from the degrees help you with what you're doing now; the skills you learned from the Bachelor of Arts can help you jump up the retail ladder; particularly as retail has a lot of arts elements in fashion design, merchandising, visual displays and promotion. You may even find the skills you've learned at Uni are helping you now but in different ways; like being more comfortable talking with people, teamwork, conflict resolution etc.

A Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Health Science has a lot of potential to head in different ways; so there's no 'direct path' you have to follow if you want to use this in the future. A University degree is highly respected, but what gets you into the job is the skills you have and your personality that shines to get you the job. What you're doing now - sales in running shoes, you can spin (if you need) to money management, customer service and communication skills, problem solving, work ethic, promotion, direct sales... It will all benefit, just not necessarily in the ways you might think.

[T3]

Hi Andy,

I just wanted to say this situation is the exact same situation as i was in.

In fact it reads as the story of my life.

I have 2 degrees, 1 in business (Marketing )and 1 in sports science.

The job I am in now has nothing to do with either of my degrees, however I look back at them as a learning experience.

There are skills in my degrees that i can use in this role and life itself.

Being happy with work is most important. We spend the majority of life there. What i know will happen to me is that eventually I will be in a role that will be relevant to my degree and if not so be it. Unless it is medicine or law how specific is a degree really?

Workingin the field of your degree doesn't mean you will use information from every unit ever done. There would only be some parts relevant.

As long as you enjoy work you will wantto work hard and progress. You will learn skills in your current role that you wouldn't have learnt at uni that others who have your degree wouldn't have learnt, therfore putting you in front of them in a few years time.

If you get the job of your dreams at 35 you have another 30 years to enjoy it.

There is always a positive in a situation

[Guest_902]

Hi all, sorry for the very late reply! All the advice and perspectives you all have shared is fantastic, and definitely helps me see things a bit more clearly. I sometimes still fall into a dark mindset where I see where I'm at, and feel I should be doing more. I also find myself wishing I could rewind time, thinking if I made choices differently, would I be in a more successful position? Silly thoughts I know.

Once again, thanks for the shared advice 😊

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi andy19

Thanks for your post. Really glad that BB was able to support you through this!

I can understand that mindset you're in; I think we're probably all guilty of it at times; the 'what if' kind of thoughts that sneak up on us. It's not silly at all. In fact, in some cases I think it can be good to look behind us because then we can think about where we are today - I know for myself looking back on things helps me appreciate how the struggles helped shape the person I am.

I think the only difficulty though is when we keep looking back and stop being in the present moment. Maybe you might have been in a more successful position; but maybe you might not have too. I don't think you'll ever know.

So hopefully you can keep redirecting those thoughts to - who knows, and focus on today; because that's what you can control.

Hope this helps

[Guest_902]

Hi everyone,

Me checking in again 😊

I just wanted a bit of advice and shared experience about employers, and if something is wrong in my current circumstances. My current boss is acting in a way that appears as though he simply doesn't have the time or patience for me. He frequently denies my leave, never seems to be interested in a regular conversation, and has reneged on promises made before I started the job, even though he appears to be holding on to a verbal agreement I made in return as a response to said promises. Is this simply normal behaviour for bosses who are heavily business focused? I'm considering getting back into health, however the constant notion that I'm leaving earlier than what I committed is a concern to me (verbal agreement, informally, was a year). However, this is counter weighted by this boss offering incentives, and then not acknowledging them or wanting to be open to discussions about their inclusion in my written work contract. Important to note was the year if work wasn't included either.

What do you make of this? Is this a workplace where I'm being taken advantage of? Or am I just experiencing something common in workplaces? I'm comparing this to my previous employer who placed me in immediate physical danger from a dangerous client and laughed it off when I confronted her about it.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi andy19,

Thanks for your post and it's good to see you back!

I'm not sure how helpful I can be today because no two bosses will ever be the same with what is 'normal' or common in workplaces.

What I can talk about though is whether or not you're being taken advantage of. There can be a fine line that managers/bosses can walk on between being disrespectful to unfair. As an employee you have a number of different rights within your work - everything from your rights to access paid leave to your employment contract. These are non-negotiables. The boss can choose to be uninterested in regular conversation and that's - well, a shame and rude but pulling out on promises can be potentially breaking the law.

You may find it helpful to give the fair work hotline a call - they can explain to you in more detail about how you might be taken advantage of and the next best step.

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/ and phone 13 13 94

Hope this helps,

[Guest_902]

Thanks for the response!

Its a tricky one for me. After my experience with my previous employer that involved a serious risk to myself and others, I reached out to my current employer, who I had worked for in the past. There had been instances previously where his behaviour was pretty condescending, but my job role then largely avoided the worst of that. When I sat down with him again to discuss the potentiality of me returning in a management role, a number of exciting incentives were discussed, if I was willing to commit myself to the role for at least a year. The incentives were the selling point for me in returning, rather than seeking out another job role entirely. Keep in mind this was all verbal.

Fast forward a few months, and after constant delays in receiving a written contract, one was finally given in which I had no input. None of the aforementioned incentives (as well as the promised year of work discussed) were present. Overall, I felt a bit received and disrespected, as I could have chosen another job role with more focus on my uni degree, but chose to return to this employer.

Im at the stage now where I'm ready to move on, as no sign of extra incentives are on the horizon. I'm not trying to sound greedy of self entitled, my issue is if that these verbal promises were never going to be honoured, why mention them at all? If they were not mentioned I could have made a more informed decision and chosen to work elsewhere. The problem is that, as all of this is verbal, it's easy for my boss to simply state that it was never said (just the same as the boss who stated she withheld info from me about that dangerous client, then stated afterwards she had no recollection of the conversation).

My issue is if I choose to leave, and my employer brings up the year I'm failing to deliver, am I in a comfortable position to say that the incentives he failed to deliver to me effectively cancelled out that agreement? I also don't want to leave on bad terms, even though for him specifically that may be unlikely. I've gathered enough references for my CV outside of my current employer in case of the eventuality where I am unable to list them as references.

If anyone has any similar experiences, feel free to share! I just need some advice as to where to go from here.

Thanks! 😊