Maybe it’s the silly season leading up to Xmas that gets me thinking like this…
Sure, I sit in my office and daydream about taking a leave of absence from the office/trying a new career path (“yeah, I could be a coach, I could open a bike shop, I could invent a new energy gel that revolutionizes sports nutrition…”), but curious to hear stories/experiences from anyone who has actually done it or knows of someone who has?
I enjoy my job and all, but if there are two types of career people out there - those who live to work and those who work to live - I think I have worked out that I fall in the latter category.
Many aspects to this issue I think eg. we have plenty of sportspeople here in Australia who have a house full of trophies by the time they are old enough to drive but are really jaded and unhappy as their “passion” has lost its lustre and become a “job”.
Might be a green-grass thing but interested to hear any real-life experiences…
i don’t know if this is the sort of reply you’re looking for, but…
i’m still in college, with a major of biomedical engineering. unlike 95% of my major-mates, my “focus” is biomechanics - i am fascinated by the dynamics of limbs: throwing, swimming, running, cycling. sound familiar?
so ideally, i’ll finish grad school someday with the ability to rival john cobbs. or, more realistically, i’ll be able to teach and research at a university in a tri-friendly area.
i’ll never be a great athlete, but maybe i can have fun being mediocre, and combine my profession with my passion?
I’ve worked in the SCUBA industry for seven or eight years. I am going to school to become an accountant. I dream of having a cubicle and a decent paycheck. I’ve also worked in bikeshops, been a lifeguard (there are some benies to that job-oohhhh my). These are not the kind of positions you can buy a house, raise a family or save for retirement on. Take it from someone on the other side of the fence, “casual Friday” and a decent paycheck beat the pants off of being a retail clown.
like most things it’s all a matter of perspective I guess.
now that I think about it, would be pretty tough to buy those new race wheels or pay for that plane ticket to the next exotic race locale without the “career”, so one thing ends up facilitating the other…
I just left the technology biz to open a run/swim/tri shop in Brooklyn NY. We’ve literally been open for 4 days. It cost me more than I planned in terms of cash and time away from my wife and 11 month old, but every day has been incredibly exciting and challenging. It helps to pick a great neighborhood and hire phenominal people – without my staff, the store would be a disaster.
So I say go for it, but be prepared for it to be a lot harder than you think.
Yeah, I did it. At the ripe old age of 35 I left my high-paying computer job to be a very very poor full time college student. I’m studying sports nutrition so as to get back into the lifestyle I love so much. I’m just not a nine to fiver. Every single day under the flourescent lights in my cubicle felt like I was just throwing my life away. I decided I didn’t want to wait 'til retirement to live the life I enjoy. As much as it’s been a struggle, I’ll take being poor and happy any day.
When I graduated from Syracuse with a degree in aerospace engineering, many of my fellow graduates were jumping into the workplace with big companies and high paying jobs. I didnt feel like I was ready for a world of TPS reports and corporate softball games. I chose to continue racing my bike and got a job at a local bike shop. I found I really enjoyed working with and around other people who had the samre passion for the sport that I did. I had a sponsorship deal with Spinergy and through my contact there learned about an opening in their sales dept. I landed the job and moved to Connecticut. It has turned out to be the best decision I could have made. I get to work with some great people, I have traveled all over the world. Attended many major events, hang out with pro athletes and 3 years ago we moved the company to San Diego! Along the way I have gotten married and had two kids. I continue to train and race and ride to work every day. My job is not perfect and some days I dread going in but I think I am pretty lucky overall. A couple years ago I was talking on the phone to one of my buddies and he was complaining about his 9-5 hell. I felt bad for cutting him short but my wife and I were on our way to a movie. He said " who did you get to babysit?" When I told him Macca was doing it he could only respond with " you suck!" I think he meant it as a compliment.
I may not be the best example, as I can proudly say I have never worked a real job in my life. I started out teaching swim lessons at 15, then tacked on coaching when I was 18. Also worked at a bike shop wrenching and doing floor sales (we were a small pro shop). Went to college thinking I was going to study mechanical/aerospace engineering…switched to sport psychology. Sport psychology didn’t turn out to be what I expected, and switched within the department to exercise physiology, and ended up graduating in four years with a BS and a minor in psychology (for the stats). Wound up in graduate school for 2 years, working on a MS in exercise physiology, but didn’t finish because…
I got into coaching. First it was with a local summer rec team as an assistant coach, then as a co-head coach the next summer. When I decided to stay in Arizona after my sophomore year at ASU (after a year as a RA), I stumbled onto an opening with a local USS club as the assistant senior coach. Fast forward to now (going into 7 years)…and I am now a senior coach with the same club, with several swimmers progressing to the national level. I have worked with some great swimmers and coaches, and have found kindred spirits with the other coaches on my team. Started a masters swim program 2 years ago, and started coaching new triathletes with a local program last year. Next spring will branch out into helping coordinate a curriculum to help coaches work with new triathletes, as well as put on a series of Splash-N-Dash races in the local area. Possible future direction include helping the local 24 Hour Fitness develope a triathlon training program.
I love my life. Money isn’t great…but I have simple needs. My car and motorcycle is paid off. My kitchen has sharp knives. My bikes all work smoothly. I’m single too…which helps in the financial department, although when I whip up a really nice creme brulee or cheesecake, it’s a bummer not having somebody to share it with.
I don’t know where I’m going with this coaching thing…I love it and I live it. Maybe someday I’ll get tired of it…but that’s not happening anytime soon. If you have the opportunity (and only you can truly evaluate the possibilities)…I say go for it. If nothing else, you’ll learn a bit more about yourself, and find that maybe it’s not even grass on the other side of fence.
“I’ve worked in the SCUBA industry for seven or eight years. … are not the kind of positions you can buy a house, raise a family or save for retirement on.”
About ten years ago, I went thru a divorce and had to make some big decisions on the rest of my life. A friend of mine was managing a dive shop in the islands and offered me a job as a dive instructor/boat captain since I had part time experience as both. Would have paid a $1000. per month plus a room at the resort. The bonus would have been all the diving I wanted plus a steady rotation of female tourists wearing bikinis.
I wouldn’t have looked at it as a long term thing but maybe for just a year or so to allow myself some time to clear my head after going thru the divorce. But my kids were small then so I didn’t take the job and remained working as a chiropractor. Just as well because a hurricane wiped out the dive operation that winter, but I still regret not taking a year off to do something like that. Probably won’t ever get another chance again.
Huh? I think I’ve seen “Office Space”, but I’m not sure…what reference(s) would you be talking about? Have I actually internalized something from that movie and not even realize it?
Wow…that’s kinda scary. But it would explain a lot…
I almost have the protoype “jump to conclusions” mat done. Seriously though, a few of us were out riding at lunch today and we rode by a construction site. The guys were just breaking for lunch, almost without thinking about it two of us said " working outdoors, getting exercise, making bucks…not too bad. f…ing A!. If you havent seen office space, go buy it. It is too much to digest in one viewing. Truly a classic film though.
Several years ago there was a young man recently graduated with a commerce degree working in the Sydney office of BT who decided to have a shot while he was young.
it’s a huge decision to make. I have recently made partner at my accounting firm and while work can be tedious and the hours sometimes long the financial benefits will be worth it hopefully.
my plan is to use the income to give me the freedom in my leisure time to do as i wish. No use having heaps of freedom/spare time if it is constrained by a lack of income. For example I have been riding a carbon giant for 7 years, but as reward for gaining my partnership I am looking at getting a litespeed vortex.(instead of the BMW that a lot of lawyer mates have done)Also hopefully in next year or so will undertake a cycling tour to the TDF. Should mention it helps being single.
i generally come in the top 10 - 20% of my age group in races so my life is certainly not dominated by work. Would i trade a 5 minute improvement in time for a 80% decrease in income- no thanks.
Thought I’d better add to this thread being an Accountant (UK) as well. Did you do Noosa Shep? I did it this year for the first time. Unbelievable number of people and a great race.
I took the option of finding an accounting job in a 35 hour week culture, as opposed to sacrificing my life to the Big 5 or some crazy 24/7 US Investment Bank. Do I regret it? Not at all. I might have to retire a few years later but I’ll have had time for family and hobbies.
The danger of people being self-employed is that whenever your not working you can calculate how much money your not earning. Study hard for your exams Timberwolf, it’s worth it.
Certainly did do Noosa. I live about half hour drive south of Noosa so it is a local race I try to do every year. Great race but very crowded and gets a bit hot on run. Good to hear that our international visitors enjoyed it.
If you want another trip, come in March and do Mooloolaba. Is also Aussie championships over olympic distance. Usually very small surf for the ocean swim but a good ride on a smooth motorway.
I’ll put Mooloolaba on the list then of races to do. I heard others complain about the run temps. Coming from a summer in the gulf (45Cs and humid) I enjoyed it. Didn’t understand why they chose that poor surface for the uphill bit when the rest of the roads were so good. A bit busy coming back into town on the bike. You should remember it being hard trying to pass cyclists on the speedbump stretch. Looks like you’ve found a very nice place to tick and bash. I couldn’t believe how many olympic size swimming pools were around.