[thelist] Financial Situation

[Martin Burns]

On 15 Dec 2008, at 05:47, Erika wrote:

> It's not easy to change careers, or necessarily well-advised.  I  
> have a
>  friend who was laid off from a high-paying job in the dot com crash.
> She went back to school (acquiring debt) to gain skills in a new "more
> valued" field... only to find that in *this* recession, her *new*  
> field
> is getting hit first.


Depends on whether you view career change as a one-off, major life  
changing event, or a continual process. I'm currently on my 5th career  
direction, but I think what I'm doing now is flexible enough to be  
applied in many different fields, as long as I keep learning, keep  
evolving. Within my current large employer, I don't see me being  
surplus to requirements in the next 5-10 years, but if I am, the  
skills I have *will* be needed in the general marketplace, and at a  
rate somewhere between my current income and what my employer charges  
me out at (which makes me weep...)

I also have a second - dramatically different - backup plan which if  
it isn't needed will be the thing I do when I retire. It'll keep me  
going for perhaps 3 years without needing to touch the retirement  
fund, provided all the kids have left by then, but that's about all.  
But it's something I love.

Cheers
Martin
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