Workplace So I have two career paths in front of me and need to make a choice

[LauraTracy]

I would love some advice/perspective.

I have been working in hospitality for the past 16 years at a place that has been bought out about 6 times. It is very stressful but I am making good money and have socked away a lot in savings and 401K. The new owners really don't like me and I don't like them but I am still here after 3 years of their ownership so I don't think I am going anywhere based on their say so and we don't interact often.

Just to have a safety net, I completed a pharmacy tech course and will be certified in a few weeks. With that I can work anywhere in the US in a retail drug store. It's a low paying job so it trades good money for rock solid job security anywhere I want to be. I really enjoyed the 6 week externship and it's a welcome change from what I currently do.

Problem here is that cost of living doesn't match the entry level pay of the pharmacy tech job like I thought it would. I think I could make it work by living off my savings for a bit until I either can get into a hospital which is better money or possibly until they award me a higher pay rate in retail but it would still not be anywhere near the financial level I currently enjoy. So my current savings would be my savings pretty much for another 12 years when the 401K becomes available without penalty.

Final caveat, if I go for the pharmacy career and like where I end up, I definitely have the means to put down an extremely healthy down payment on my first home which would bring my living expenses way down to a place I'd probably be more comfortable with but that assumes a lot and a smaller house with some sacrifices.

So would you stick it out at the current job and keep saving putting the pharmacy on hold for a later date or would you take the leap now and go start over in a place you'd really like to be and hope it works out financially?

It's just me which is why I am rethinking leaving the good salary I'll never see again in my life. No financial partner help here or family to take care of me at any stage of life. But I would love to start over, all over, in a new place with a new life. My spirit is kind of begging to see what I can do.

So, what would you do?

 

[Justbeforedawn]

Hmm well, I'm assuming since you have already worked for 16 years in the hospitality business you're not in your early twenties. On the other hand you are young enough to consider a definite career switch (and hospitality to pharmacy is quite the switch) AND you sound as if you have a very adventurous spirit who finds challenges exhilarating and frankly enjoys grappling with what life tosses at you.....SO it seems as if you have more or less decided to take the plunge and are really looking forward to it . If you don't mind my asking....you say you have no family to worry about or to take care of you....does that mean you envision being on your own for the rest of you're life or that at this particular point you are single? If its the former then I would say yes go for it. On the other hand if its the latter, maybe think...you might meet someone you want to be with and it would be a pity if finances simply didn't make it viable for you to be together?

 

[LauraTracy]

Hmm well, I'm assuming since you have already worked for 16 years in the hospitality business you're not in your early twenties. On the other hand you are young enough to consider a definite career switch (and hospitality to pharmacy is quite the switch) AND you sound as if you have a very adventurous spirit who finds challenges exhilarating and frankly enjoys grappling with what life tosses at you.....SO it seems as if you have more or less decided to take the plunge and are really looking forward to it . If you don't mind my asking....you say you have no family to worry about or to take care of you....does that mean you envision being on your own for the rest of you're life or that at this particular point you are single? If its the former then I would say yes go for it. On the other hand if its the latter, maybe think...you might meet someone you want to be with and it would be a pity if finances simply didn't make it viable for you to be together?

Actually I am kind of leaning towards staying and postponing my urge to go and be elsewhere because I am all I've got. My family life recently imploded big time again and I am done with that whole group. No more taking care of them and their needs and not me and mine. It's my turn. I'm talking parent and siblings. Never been married or had kids.

I am in my 40s and I don't want to count on anyone but myself for the future since that's all that's ever been around financially and otherwise. Never had a me to sacrifice and be there when in need. That's why I'm kind of thinking the more money for myself, the more basic needs met.

Interesting about not being together if I do meet someone. I would think if I ever did meet someone, we'd pool resources since I would do that with a marriage only. I wouldn't think that would be a hindrance to finances. I think I may have missed that point.

 

[ap.]

You didn't say you hated your work, just the owners of the place where you're currently working. Why not stay in the field you're in but change employer? This way you're earning the high salary that makes you feel secure and enjoying what you do.

It seems to me that you can experience a new start in a different location but still make good money by staying in the same field. Then if you get laid off, jump into a pharmacy tech job. This is the one time I recommend going half-way.

 

[LauraTracy]

You didn't say you hated your work, just the owners of the place where you're currently working. Why not stay in the field you're in but change employer? This way you're earning the high salary that makes you feel secure and enjoying what you do.

It seems to me that you can experience a new start in a different location but still make good money by staying in the same field. Then if you get laid off, jump into a pharmacy tech job. This is the one time I recommend going half-way.

Where I want to move to, they don't exist. It's a seasonal industry that only would be open year round in warmer weather.

I actually did think of moving and switching jobs to something that is similar but it would also be a pay cut and not as immediate as pharmacy would be to generate income. But it could be done. I have kept watch on the job openings for years and they are slightly better than pharmacy but not by much.

I also thought of picking up a part time job along with the pharmacy job to supplement but, because of retail hours, that would be hard to combine and I don't want to get into two part time jobs with no insurance or working 7 days a week with no life.

 

[shiba]

Being 40, I would tread with more caution than someone in their 20s. I also encourage you to take time for yourself, enjoy your accomplishment of graduating and wait to make a decision that could have such a large impact on your future. Given what sounds like a very difficult family situation, it could have been highly emotional. I was given advice a long time ago, when dealing with a major life change (divorce, death etc.), wait 1 year to make any big decisions. This sounds like a big decision.

Why not find a casual part time pharmacy job, something that works around your main money making job but also doesn't give too many hours to take away from life? Internships are sometimes the lite version of what the job really is so that would help to find out if you could do it on a daily basis.

 

[LauraTracy]

Being 40, I would tread with more caution than someone in their 20s. I also encourage you to take time for yourself, enjoy your accomplishment of graduating and wait to make a decision that could have such a large impact on your future. Given what sounds like a very difficult family situation, it could have been highly emotional. I was given advice a long time ago, when dealing with a major life change (divorce, death etc.), wait 1 year to make any big decisions. This sounds like a big decision.

Why not find a casual part time pharmacy job, something that works around your main money making job but also doesn't give too many hours to take away from life? Internships are sometimes the lite version of what the job really is so that would help to find out if you could do it on a daily basis.

Wow, thank you. You said exactly what I have been feeling is probably the correct thing to do. Trying to get part time around my current job would be the best of both worlds and maybe a viable option.

I was thinking of taking an apartment for a year and staying here to bank some more money and possibly try pharmacy on the side because you are so right. I didn't do every aspect of the job plus it's great experience to transfer with.

Giving myself a year before making a major life change was the answer I think I have really been looking for. My life has turned upside down so fast and so unexpectedly I think I was running for both familiarity and peace. It would be a smart move to calm down and just be for a while. Thank you so much. It's just perfect advice.

 

[AlyceG]

Are you miserable in your current job or generally pretty happy?

My initial thought was to try out the pharmacy tech job when reading your post. If you don't change now, when will you especially if you are craving that change.

Have you thought about finding a pharmacy tech job and then studying to be a pharmacist part time? That way you have a career to path to make some more money in a few years. No idea what the pharmacy industry is like in the US or what the degree length is.

I just feel life is too short to be stuck somewhere if you really aren't happy. As long as you can financially support yourself go for it.

 

[LauraTracy]

Are you miserable in your current job or generally pretty happy?

My initial thought was to try out the pharmacy tech job when reading your post. If you don't change now, when will you especially if you are craving that change.

Have you thought about finding a pharmacy tech job and then studying to be a pharmacist part time? That way you have a career to path to make some more money in a few years. No idea what the pharmacy industry is like in the US or what the degree length is.

I just feel life is too short to be stuck somewhere if you really aren't happy. As long as you can financially support yourself go for it.

I am very unhappy but I know I am lucky to have what I currently have at the salary I have and with the freedom I have built up to kind of do my own thing when necessary.

Several people during my externship pushed me towards pharmacist but I don't want to get into more school and loans. I just want to be comfortable for the rest of my life. I don't need to be well off. I just want to be able to pay my bills and have the ability to do a little something extra every once in a while.

I think I am going to take that year and move myself to a new home. I think that will alleviate a lot of stress that I currently have so I can think straight and figure it all out but you are right. I need to jump and soon. Don't want to get to far away from what I just accomplished. There was a reason I did this.

Thank you for the advice.