Thinking about a career change. Feeling a little hopeless

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silvercoyote
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 20 Aug 2017
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 2

23 Sep 2017, 8:23 pm

Here it goes. 30 is right around the corner for me and I'm pondering on making a career change. I started out enlisted in the military doing maintenance on mechanical and hydraulic systems. I then earned my bachelors in political science while doing rotc during college and I'm currently an officer working in intelligence. It feels like back when I was an enlisted mechanic my "hard" skills were more valued and important than my "soft" skills. Now things feel like they are the other way around. I'm regarded as quiet even when I feel like I am talking enough. My peers have always told me I'm socially awkward and a little weird. Being a female that is the "strong silent type", monotone, bit of a deep voice, and not social is just seen as extra strange. Plus, I am pretty clueless and oblivious in general. Lately I have been feeling quite worried when it comes to my work life. My evaluations are not very good and I probably won't be good enough to stay where I'm currently at for a career. I know I need to go for the type of job where hard skills are more important than soft skills. Something that I wouldn't have to heavily interact with others. I have though about becoming some type of librarian even if it means getting a masters in some type of library science.



IgA
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

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Joined: 20 Aug 2012
Gender: Female
Posts: 201

24 Sep 2017, 9:39 am

A few examples if you like hard skill work would be:
1. welding
I'm a female & learned stick welding, but had to quit the class I was in after 6 weeks (a 14 week course) because the learning environment was too loud. I ended every class with a headache & I felt like an unwanted guest rather than part of the class as I was the only female there. I'm still glad I took the class & learned the basics -- which helped me continue learning on my own at home using a $150 stick welder at home.

2. computer programming tech
It isn't as difficult as movies & other media make it seem -- even professors make it seem more difficult than it actually is -- maybe because most of them are men & they like to think these things require more skill than the average person has, but it doesn't. Computer languages are man-made, & they require logic, but if you have the ability to sequence events -- for example, can you list the steps involved in baking a cake? If you know that you have to mix the batter before putting the pan in the oven, you can learn how to program software.

3. computer hardware shop tech -- these jobs are becoming less common because of the shrinking size of every component, but there are still enough people that want to keep their fossil systems running.

4. auto mechanic

5. machinist

6. 3D printer assembly shop -- this one is made up, but I'm thinking of doing this as a side job. Most 3D printers come in kits & the average person doesn't want to put them together, but they still want to own a 3D printer. I've only put together 2 of them so far, but the process was straight forward & I didn't have any issues.

7. Museum tech -- they take care of all the displays & items that need to be protected.