Career path in your 30s
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Is it established, or still carving one out, or time to change career/line?
I befriended this couple about four years ago when they emigrated to Canada. Husband left a VP job in Sg, landed in Canada without a job. He wanted a change. I guess to slow down as well. He took on many different jobs but didn't stay long in any.
Early this year, his "previous career/line" came a calling. He took it up and left for the US. Half year into the job, and I guess his performance propel the company to post him to another State with higher responsibilities.
Back to his first solid career!
Any other stories out there?
Mine? Started with a bank.....stuck with a bank. "Boh mi kia kong"
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well, i am where i kinda "started" since 1996...
been close to 9 years..
i tried to work at a bank but kinda hated it.. and never saw the sun except for lunchtime
oh well... now i work at the border.. but it's interesting enough to keep me at it and even when it's one of the most stressful jobs around, i kinda love it (i'm deranged that way)
calling? or anything? i think i'll stick to this... it's a means to an end.. it's just a job to me anyway -
Hee hee......."never saw the sun except lunch time"
sounds like the now me. But it's because I am at Sgforums
I did tried to change career but never happened not of my lack of trying. I sign up Big, Bold and Beautiful in downtown Toronto. Did some audition on the runway. But I think "dao yen" said....."okay, okay, you can go now"
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I am not in my 30s. So if I am interrupting this thread, I am sorry.
But I wanna share my experiences. I have been in many jobs. By many I meant like over 30++. >_<'
So if people ask me whether I am gathering experience, the answer is NO. I thought and hoped that my "calling" will become apparent with time. But sadly, I am still waiting.
Now I am currently not working. I quitted my previous job after a conversation with my friend. She told me she can see herself 10 years into the job (she's in cashiering) and I was like...Man, I cant even see myself 1 year in it. So I just up and went.
Ever heard of the sunscreen song ? There's a line inside that says that not many people knows what they want to do in life. Even when they are 40s they might not know.
I guess maybe I still dont know what I want. Maybe drifting is good for me >_<' -
Oh no, not an intrusion at all, Ferret. I guess I have a lousy thread title. I guess anyone who has any stories about career pathing can share here. Not necessarily that writer has to be 30s eh? Aiyah, "dui bu chi" lah.Originally posted by Ferret:I am not in my 30s. So if I am interrupting this thread, I am sorry.
But I wanna share my experiences. I have been in many jobs. By many I meant like over 30++. >_<'
So if people ask me whether I am gathering experience, the answer is NO. I thought and hoped that my "calling" will become apparent with time. But sadly, I am still waiting.
Now I am currently not working. I quitted my previous job after a conversation with my friend. She told me she can see herself 10 years into the job (she's in cashiering) and I was like...Man, I cant even see myself 1 year in it. So I just up and went.
Ever heard of the sunscreen song ? There's a line inside that says that not many people knows what they want to do in life. Even when they are 40s they might not know.
I guess maybe I still dont know what I want. Maybe drifting is good for me >_<'
But hey, thanks for sharing and know what? I so agree with you. I also work for the money/survival/livelihood mah. How many of us can actually say we enjoy what we do and get paid for it. Maybe artists lah....but even that is really hard work. We only see the glam side of things but behind the scenes, I am sure the view is not very "swee".
With my present "status" (ah soh but stylo milo one), I guess family is my top priority. Career now take don't know second or third seat. Just trying my best to enjoy the simplicity of life.
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I took a long, roundabout route, but now, I'm in a career that I love. For me, nursing is indeed a calling but if you had told me a few years back that I was going to be a nurse, I would have thought you were totally out of your bonkers! hehehe!
I spent seven eventful years with a few American MNC's and I was trapped in the ratrace and materialistic ideals that many yuppies are today, still caught in. Work was stressful with lots of overtime and bringing work home and burning your weekends doing work at home or in the office. The money was good but it sure wasn't fun turning up for work at 7:30am and leaving after 10:30pm most days with virtually no weekends to yourself either. By the time I decided on a career switch, I was totally burnt out. Plus, I had become someone I hated too...
I love my job now. I really love working in the ICU. There's something really satisfying about taking care of a patient's every need, knowing that you need to watch over him/her very closely because his / her life is tethering on edge and it's really up to you to watch over them eagle-eyed to make sure that they survive, and survive well. When I'm alone in the room taking care of a patient, I like to be thorough and talk to them as I do my work. I like to say silent prayers for them too and if they are Christians or Catholics, I'll take the liberty of praying out loud for them as I work in their room. I like to do whatever I can to make them comfortable. Doctors believe that hearing is the last sense to go, even for the comatose, so I try my best to talk to them, knowing that my banter probably wouldn't do them much good, but oh well, I talk on anyways, in case they can hear subconsciously.
What I really cannot stand about my job, would be the antagonistic, aggressive and unreasonable relatives. I know that they are concerned and worried about their sick relative and they get stressed up emotionally and financially and what-not. BUT, it does NOT give them the right to treat us nurses as if we're about to murder their relative when they're not watching, which is the attitude that quite a few of them hold. Imagine being insulted with them taking a confrontational stance against you. And here you are, just trying to do good!
And, well, they may be paying the hospital bill but that does not mean we become their maids for them to order around with a hoity-toity, nose-up-in-the-air, arrogant attitude. You should see how some of them talk down to us. I like to stop them in their tracks, jolt them to reality by speaking to them in a mock accent and deliberately using big English words to keep them in place. 
Or, if I'm feeling witty, conjure up one of those remarks that can as easily be construed as sarcastic as it can be innocent.
Y'know, it's ironic... they are paying the hospital bills, but it's highly subsidised by taxes that my colleagues and I pay so, well, who really has the upper hand here? That was a 'revolutionary' thought I proclaimed one day in the midst of a venting session with colleagues over the atrocious behaviour of yet another relative and I guess no one else had ever thought of it that way cause they looked at me open-mouthed for a while, then someone said, 'Oh! Yeah, hor!!' A little wisdom can be a double-edged sword!!
I shan't go on to criticise the management because oh well, Dilbert does the job perfectly well already! I'm just appalled at how badly they're running the ship, seeing so many of their experienced, trained staff leaving, and still not doing rat's ass to stem the exodus. I still retain my administrative and human resources perspective, a legacy from my previous career, but really, you don't need anything more than common cow sense to SEE. Hello... are the visual nerves connected to the neurons up there where cognitive activity is supposed to take place, ah?
Soon, it shall be time for me to spread my wings, flap it, and then take to the skies and soar.
I have no idea right now where nursing will take me. I've long yearned to work a stint with Medecin sans Frontiers or the International Red Cross or even, work with the odd church-organised medical mission. I've also longed to go as far academically, as I possibly can. I have no idea where I'll end up in but wherever I may be, I just pray that I will be able to make a small difference in keeping someone alive or in helping someone on the road to recovery.
With God as my keeper, I really need not worry nor fret. -
Oh Rhonda.......what a soothing read. Although some text were strong but nevertheless, as I read........an air of sincerity, calmness fill my mind. It's like I am reading a really condensed version of a novel or autobiography. I feel.......I feel what you were writing.
As I have said before, your profession is noble. My respect for them grew by leaps and bounds during the SARS outbreak in Toronto. My girlfriend, herself a nurse was in one of the affected hospitals. She is fine. In fact, she had a calling and now spend half of her time doing missionary work and work part time as a nurse.
The next chapter of your life will be adventurous, I am sure. You will do well there. I won't be surprised if you were writing from down under, you will be sharing stories about the hunks and dudes.
Thanks for sharing your perspective.
p.s. any dates for the move yet? I will be so excited for you.
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Me?I might entertain the notion of a stable job early in my career but somehow I see photography catching up with me and its likely I'll branch out and work towards being a travel photographer, documenting the world and helping the poor.
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Well, if you're ever heading towards my part of the world next time, wherever it is that I end up calling home, be sure to let me know and I'll drive you around!Originally posted by LazerLordz:Me?I might entertain the notion of a stable job early in my career but somehow I see photography catching up with me and its likely I'll branch out and work towards being a travel photographer, documenting the world and helping the poor. -
Good luck on your journey then..Originally posted by Rhonda:Well, if you're ever heading towards my part of the world next time, wherever it is that I end up calling home, be sure to let me know and I'll drive you around! -
An interesting (and can be challenging) ideals/goals, LaserLordz. Good for you. Yes, dare to dream........and make it happen. You are young. That's what the energy and vibrancy is all about.
I've watched all those storm chasers (errr....do you call them storm chasers or something else, but guess you know what I mean, right). And then, there are photographers in war stricken land. I mean, I have a lot of respect for these people. Their passion.
Well, whatever path you thread, I wish you all the very best. And may each experience bring you closer to your dreams. -
SARS... I lived through it. I was right there when we were in the thick of it. It's an experience you'll never forget.Originally posted by littlestream:Oh Rhonda.......what a soothing read. Although some text were strong but nevertheless, as I read........an air of sincerity, calmness fill my mind. It's like I am reading a really condensed version of a novel or autobiography. I feel.......I feel what you were writing.
As I have said before, your profession is noble. My respect for them grew by leaps and bounds during the SARS outbreak in Toronto. My girlfriend, herself a nurse was in one of the affected hospitals. She is fine. In fact, she had a calling and now spend half of her time doing missionary work and work part time as a nurse.
The next chapter of your life will be adventurous, I am sure. You will do well there. I won't be surprised if you were writing from down under, you will be sharing stories about the hunks and dudes.
Thanks for sharing your perspective.
p.s. any dates for the move yet? I will be so excited for you.
I have a legacy from that period still... due to the incessant handwashing we had to do all the time, I ended up with a bad case of chronic eczema on both hands.
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Originally posted by littlestream:An interesting (and can be challenging) ideals/goals, LaserLordz. Good for you. Yes, dare to dream........and make it happen. You are young. That's what the energy and vibrancy is all about.
I've watched all those storm chasers (errr....do you call them storm chasers or something else, but guess you know what I mean, right). And then, there are photographers in war stricken land. I mean, I have a lot of respect for these people. Their passion.
Well, whatever path you thread, I wish you all the very best. And may each experience bring you closer to your dreams. Thanks for the encouraging words..and yes, they are called Stormchasers..I don't know whether this is true but I feel more and more people have some sort of calling within them to serve in many different areas... -
What an interesting thread!
Rhonda, I especially liked your last line, it's so reassuring & comforting to me! "With God as my keeper, I really need not worry nor fret."
Your time (to move o/seas) is coming soon! I'm so excited for you I think you'll have a good future ahead of you - can't wait to see what path you'll choose next! MD? Prof Rhonda?
Lazerlordz... you take fantastic pics! Don't let anyone tell you less! I hope you'll realise your dream one day, and when I see your name in the newspaper/TV/one of the travel books in the bookshop I can proudly say "I knew him!"
All the best to everyone in their careers Me? I'm just content to do what I do best... sourcing out relevant information for others & seeing the happiness on their faces when they get what they want is enough to make my day! -
Thank goodness, I almost missed this older thread. Rhonda, you are just the person I shd talk to for advice, as I have been contemplating to switch career to nursing bec. I want to have a more meaningful job for the next 20 over years.
But this means leaving my current job and to study for 2-3 yrs (possibly at my own expense if cannot get sponsorship). Besides the money issue (and opportunity cost of lost income ), I worry if I can get a job after taking the nursing course as I would be so old by then (I fully qualify for Club30 now 
). I mean, ageism is very real in the private/commercial sector, and we've read reports about those in late-30s to over 40s being unable to get new jobs, or having to settle for lower level jobs than what they used to do.
Can you advise on:
- is my worry about ageism in healthcare industry unfounded? Do most nurses work till retirement age?
- what sort of lifestyle changes to expect working as a nurse (e.g. 3-rotating shifts, do they work 5-day wk?)
- prospects of learning and personal devt, and paywise?
- etc.
Any relevant comment/feedback from anyone else is welcome too. Thanks in advance. -
To be continued...Originally posted by Wanda:Thank goodness, I almost missed this older thread. Rhonda, you are just the person I shd talk to for advice, as I have been contemplating to switch career to nursing bec. I want to have a more meaningful job for the next 20 over years.
But this means leaving my current job and to study for 2-3 yrs (possibly at my own expense if cannot get sponsorship). Besides the money issue (and opportunity cost of lost income ), I worry if I can get a job after taking the nursing course as I would be so old by then (I fully qualify for Club30 now ). I mean, ageism is very real in the private/commercial sector, and we've read reports about those in late-30s to over 40s being unable to get new jobs, or having to settle for lower level jobs than what they used to do.
Can you advise on:
- is my worry about ageism in healthcare industry unfounded? Do most nurses work till retirement age?
The healthcare industry here is in need of staff so we're seeing more and more locals who are entering the sector as Staff Nurses, Enrolled Nurses (previously known as Asst Nurses), and Patient Care Assistants.
It's a matter of personal choice whether a nurse chooses to work till retirement age or not. I've known a few seniors who do. And then there are those who, due to their family needs (sickly elders / school-going kids or both) end up working office hours in the various Specialist Outpatient Clinics, Polyclinics, Private Clinics or as Private Nurses. These days, a large number of young nurses choose the option of either quitting nursing altogether after their bond, or working overseas where the pay, terms and working conditions way surpass local ones. There are also a number who would sign on for an Advanced Dip in a specialisation of their choice and sign on yet another bond.
- what sort of lifestyle changes to expect working as a nurse (e.g. 3-rotating shifts, do they work 5-day wk?)
If you're like me, entering nursing after spending a few years on a typical office job, there would be adjustments to make.
A few hospitals are trying out an alternate 5-day week for their nursing staff. There has been situations where the staffing gets pretty tight, especially if there are unforeseen events like MC's, staff deployment, etc. so I'm not sure how long this benefit will go on for. They did harp on and on about how they can rescind this at any time.
If your hospital / ward is not adopting this, then you'll work a 6-day week. Not a 5 1/2 day week too, a full 6-day week. Rosters are done either fortnightly or monthly so in a 2-week period, if you get your rest day on Monday in the first week, and a Sunday on the 2nd week, congrats, it means you have to work for 12 days straight! It happens sometimes.
And yes, you will have to work rotating shifts if you're working in the wards, which most of us do. Some wards offer the permanent night duty option although most wards are eradicating that nowadays.
You'll find your sleep patters going awry because of the rotating shifts. You don't get any pattern at all to the shifts, and that can be really bad. You can request shifts before the roster is out but whether you'll get your requests granted or not is subject to the approval of your Ward Manager (ie. the ward 'sister'). We've seen cases where if you cross your sister, she can make life hell for you by giving you 'punishing' rosters. It's sad but you'll see a lot of archaic management styles still very much alive in the wards.
And oh, kiss your public holidays goodbye! I haven't had leave during Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year's Eve for the past two years. Usually, we'll request for the Day shift on such occasions well at least you can still party in the night! And Lunar New Year's Eve (Reunion Dinner) and Chinese New Year... at work too!
- prospects of learning and personal devt, and paywise?
The Singapore Nursing Board is considering implementing a 'Continuous Nursing Education' point system whereby before you get to renew your licence every year, you'd have to accummulate X no. of points by attending courses. There are quite a lot of in-house courses you can attend to fulfill this criteria. At times, your ward sister will send you to external training courses, although those are pretty rare.
The logical 'progression' post-Dip is usually to take an Advanced Dip in a clinical specialisation of your choice, followed by an External Degree by the University of Sydney, conducted in SIM.
Upon graduation, you'll work as a Staff Nurse II. Depending upon which hospital you work for, it will take you 1-3 years, or more, to get promoted to Staff Nurse I. The next level would be Snr Staff Nurse II and it'll take you about 5 years of working experience to get there, or if you have the Advanced Dip. you may take a shorter time to get there.
Pay... hmm... about three years back, the newspapers declared that newly graduated Staff Nurses would earn S$1,700. We quickly found out that that was inclusive of all the allowances you'll get and that's also after your probation and what-not.
Two huge bug-bears for me in nursing here - the work culture and the pay.
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Any relevant comment/feedback from anyone else is welcome too. Thanks in advance. -
Continuation...
Wanda, would be glad to furnish any info you need! Feel free to ask all the questions you want!
I don't know about your family circumstances but if you have 'A' levels, and you're pretty independant, I'd advise you might want to consider studying in the UK - you can apply for a 'free' nursing course there with a small monthly allowance and upon graduation, work in a UK hospital for two years or so.
If you still wanna stay put here, then, you'd have to enroll in the Diploma in Nursing in the School of Health Sciences in Nanyang Polytechnic. Don't worry about age - they are soooo desperate for nurses here, they'll take you. If you already have a degree in any discipline, you'll be placed in a 2-year accelerated course and graduate with the same Dip.
It's easy to get a hospital sponsorship. Essentially, you sign a 3-year bond to work in the hospital upon graduation and you'll be sent there for almost all your clinical attachments. If you're sponsored, you'll get a monthly allowance from the hospital. The amounts are different if you're an 'O' / 'A' level holder or a graduate.
Whilst I have my personal opinion re. the effectiveness of a few of the lecturers in nursing school, I must say that the program is accredited by the University of Sydney and if you're able to afford it, right after you get your Dip here, you can fly over to Australia and take just one year to do a bridging program to get your Degree in Nursing. I heard that your one year there would be a breeze because most of the modules would have been completed by you already! Someone who've been there, done that, told me that she only had lectures / tutorials on Mons-Weds and the rest of the week, she took up a night-duty job in a nursing home facility and earned a sizeable sum!
OK, I've answered your questions and provided a little bit of extra info. Would there be anything else you'd like to know? I always believe in making informed choices! -
My dad left his highest position on his 30s. To work in something new. He came back when it didnt quite succeed.
Its been abt 17 yrs since. He still misses his old job.
Its hard to work your way up the second time.
good luck -
Wanda, you can see that we don't get much monetary benefits, perks and otherwise in nursing. It certainly isn't a 'posh' and 'cushy-cushy' life. Most of us enter nursing because of a calling - a desire to do more 'meaningful things' with our lives. You do get to make a lot of difference in nursing.
It's a very giving and selfless profession and at times, you will be presented with challenges. Something I grapple with a lot would be to do my best to help a patient, and then receive criticisms, insults, and complaints from the relatives. It used to break my heart when this happened but then, I realised that it happens a lot so now, I don't even bat an eyelid.
Most of the time, it's due to people feeling stressed over their loved ones falling ill and not knowing what to do, so they react in anger or they become control freaks, or they get depressed, or they shout at you and order you around. Takes a lot of humility to take all this. I try... but I sometimes find it hard to bear so I'll try to 'siam' the folks and quietly do my work. (Like that, also can get complaints from the relatives, y'know. )
The 'benefits' you get from nursing are all immaterial. There's a great sense of elation when you push your patient out from the ICU to the ICA or the General Ward because they're recovering so well, from tethering on the verge of death, to being fully conscious and able to communicate with you. Recently, I was assigned to look after a query highly infectious case with expected high mortality... but she recovered and is very alive and very well today, a chirpy and vivacious young lady... I met her and her dad one day, months later, along the corridors and when I saw how well she was, it was soooo hard not to cry tears of joy! We really thought she was either going to die, or if she managed to recover, would be 'mentally deficient' but there she was, no less than a sheer miracle! I remember hours spent alone with her in the isolation room, cleaning her, administering meds, placing her rosary beside her pillow, changing the Christian hymm CD's her family left behind for her, talking to her, saying prayers aloud for her since she was a Catholic (I do that for Catholic and Christian patients, the rest, I have to pray silently in case the relatives get offended. ).
There will be times when you end up crying too, when the patients you've been taking care of for so long, pass away, or when their condition takes a turn for the worse. To readmit a patient into the ICU after you've sent them out to the General Ward is heartbreaking. When doing 'last office' for a patient who has passed on, we'll always try to be gentle and talk to them, telling them to go quietly in peace, their time on earth has ended, peace be with you ... Sometimes, when a death is sudden or very unexpected, you'll feel a sense of 'We should've saved him!'. Sometimes, when I stand alone facing the dead person, I'll tell him that 'I'm sorry we couldn't save you. We did our best.' It's hard especially when the person is young. It's never easy packing young patients.
Through it all, you'll learn to see life with a different perspective. Being a nurse demands lots of sacrifices... but the joy and blessing you can reap from it, is irreplaceable! -
started working in spore early 90s, wah liao, didnt know it was so stifling and regimented, and the paper chase (faint!), i need to wait for the managers to either die in accident or retire from old age to move up
quit singapore after two years and went north-east to HK - ahhh...much more fluid environment, turnover b4 97 is so high that you can move up so fast if you put your heart into it
never looked back since.
my thoughts:
there is a saying in chinese - if you want to bully, choose a old man to bully and never bully a poor young chap because you never know when he will "cross over" to become a head honcho
in a market like HK, one still can dream of making it...in spore your are what you are depending on your paper and if you dont strike 4D or get an inheritance, chances are high that you can never "cross over" -
Rhonda, thanks soooo very much for all the info! Really appreciate your taking the time to type all that for me. It's given me lots of answers and more. Would need to take time to digest and fully comprehen the implications! *Sigh* but it doesn't make it any easier, as I'm so used to the usual 5-day wk in a not too stressful job (but low job satisfaction), not to mention the changes that would affect my hubby. Am also starting to volunteer at a hospital to get a better idea of what it's like to be in nursing. Yep, I knew about the 2-yr accelerated prog at NYP (I've got biz degree), but am thinking of going straight to a nursing degree - am waiting for details of the NUS deg next yr, and I'd even got in touch with the MOH people to offer suggestions (very kay poh of me ).
PanicTh, thanks for the caution about your dad's unsuccessful switch of career after past successes. In this respect, I'm not too ambitious, and thru' the years, have learned to be detached from previous so-called "more successful jobs". These jobs were regarded as more successful only bec. society tends to measure success in monetary terms and in how big one's job title is. But if one believes in leading a more meaningful & balanced life (albeit a more simple or less luxurious one), and having a more meaningful job, then who can say that the nurses' job in helping patients recover (sometimes from almost death) and the social workers' job in helping the less fortunate aren't successful? I'm not being defensive here or anything, and I guess it boils down to our own definition of success and job satisfaction. I definitely agree that one should think very carefully before taking the plunge to switch careers, so thank you.
I've got 1 year to mill this idea around..heheh...will go and digest all that Rhonda mentioned. Rhonda, you deserve at least a coffee from me. Thanks again! -
I didn't know there was an actual saying but I've always said to my colleagues that our supervisors are very stupid - they've reached the pinnacle of their career more or less, but us, we might someday become their boss!Originally posted by Xprobe:my thoughts:
there is a saying in chinese - if you want to bully, choose a old man to bully and never bully a poor young chap because you never know when he will "cross over" to become a head honcho -
It's my pleasure to furnish you with whatever information you may require, Wanda.Originally posted by Wanda:I've got 1 year to mill this idea around..heheh...will go and digest all that Rhonda mentioned. Rhonda, you deserve at least a coffee from me. Thanks again!
Over the years, I've seen too many people drop out of the nursing course or become totally disillusioned with the reality. Here, they like to paint a rosy picture and gloss over all the not-so-nice details of nursing and a lot of people come into nursing with the wrong expectations and all that. Very sad when that happens. If you're young, it's not that bad... but if you're a mature student, being disillusioned halfway has its consequences. -
Yeah..the negative consequences could be irreversible!Originally posted by Rhonda:Over the years, I've seen too many people drop out of the nursing course or become totally disillusioned with the reality. Here, they like to paint a rosy picture and gloss over all the not-so-nice details of nursing and a lot of people come into nursing with the wrong expectations and all that. Very sad when that happens. If you're young, it's not that bad... but if you're a mature student, being disillusioned halfway has its consequences. What was the rosey pic that was (wrongly) painted?
Am curious - how did you know nursing is your calling and that you must respond to it? Was there any doubt at all? Thanks. -
Rhonda, 10q... i benefit from the info also. My sister is an Asst nurse and is stil doing the nursing.Originally posted by Rhonda:It's my pleasure to furnish you with whatever information you may require, Wanda.
Over the years, I've seen too many people drop out of the nursing course or become totally disillusioned with the reality. Here, they like to paint a rosy picture and gloss over all the not-so-nice details of nursing and a lot of people come into nursing with the wrong expectations and all that. Very sad when that happens. If you're young, it's not that bad... but if you're a mature student, being disillusioned halfway has its consequences.
God bless for you kind soul.