Career change

[Lindsey]

lol oh look at that timing... my boss just came up to me and said he'd like to meet with me in half an hour, and he wants me to think about any issues I'd like to talk about, and he said he's also decided that for all the work I do here, I need a raise.
So do you think that's a sign? lol!

[Ponyup]

You never know what will get to you & what won't. I dissect animals with no problem, but they are dead. Blood drawn does freak me out though, but I don't like needles. When My dog logan had to have blood drawn I almost cried. When I worked at the vet office I had no problem with the spaying, neutering, & hernia operations. What got me was they were declawing this adorable little siamese kitten & i couldn't handle it. And it wasn't only emotions; I literally turned green....it's a rather invasive surgery. I know what you mean about seeing dogs put down I couldn't handle that either. I know had my local vet offices that would let me come volunteer there if I wanted to. I could take care of boarded animals & such & then you wouldn't have to deal with the death, but still be able to see what goes on.

[gja1000]

Lindsay, I do understand what you are saying - it is wonderful to do something you love everyday - because I do that, so I know. But, you are right, you can't do something that you love, if you can't make a living wage. How about being a vet? I know, it is a lot of money and a long time, so maybe that isn't practical either. But then, you never know!

In my job, I work with a program for people who have a bachelor's degree in something else, but want to come into nursing. We have a 3 year program so that when they graduate, they have a master's in nursing. I work with people who have always wanted to be a nurse, and now they are doing it. We have people of all ages in the program - some who are in their 40's, 50' and even 60's, living out their dream.

It's great!

[Tink]

Over time I've been a:

1. Relief manager in drug/alcohol rehab center
2. Emergency medical Tech (ambulance attendant)
3. Realtor
4. Insurance agent
5. Medicare claims processor
6. nursing assistant (both in a nursing home and in-home private care)
7. bank teller supervisor
8. Jailor
9. assembly line in a furniture factory
10. website administrator
11. kennel owner/operator

And these are just the jobs I can think of off-hand. lol
MANY people change career several times. 40 hrs a week is a lot of time to spend doing something you really don't enjoy. Maybe what you need to do is to look for a way to use the degree you already have in a place or field that would be more enjoyable for you.

Good luck!

[Lindsey]

That sounds like a great program Gayle! There were people in their 40's when I went to college too... just finally doing what they wanted to do.
I had a talk with my boss today and I got a pretty substantial raise. I don't get my own office, but I have the go-ahead to come up with a new plan for the area of the office where I sit... I'm the only person there after all! And I hate just sitting out in the open so I get to bring in partition walls to block off an area for myself. All the better to hide my 4WT breaks
I also told him I'd like to work towards my applied science technologist (a.sc.t) designation, and to do that I'd need to be much more involved in projects. I told him I can't JUST draft. He said that sounds great and if I can hold out until we get another drafter (they're looking!), I can start helping out our civil engineer with her projects. So that might make work a little more exciting It's just funny that this whole meeting came up out of nowhere today when I had been thinking so seriously about changing my career!

sounds interesting...I feel one should think about career change if they got bored or don't want to continue.

veterinary technologist program looks good