I’m an office worker in his mid 30s who has this itch to learn a trade but having a hard time finding what would be good for me. I don’t hate my current office gig and aside from some very basic car and house maintenance, I’m not very handy yet I’m still really drawn to learning something manual. Heavy equipment operation seems interesting but I thought am I really gonna go to school part time to learn this if I’m not even 100% sure I wanna get into construction or am I just romanticizing the idea of driving one if those badaxe machines. I thought about getting into flooring covering installation as well but the commute to the nearest training center is roughly 2 hours there and back from current city. As mentioned I really enjoy my office job but I’m finding it hard to scratch this itch. It’s also good to have options with the threat of AI as well. I feel stuck not knowing what to do. Has anyone been in a similar spot? Any recommendations, insights and wisdom is all big time appreciated.
How do you guys handle feeling stuck both career wise and in life?
r/AskMen
Comments
try renting heavy equipment for a day or two if possible before committing to training.
sometimes the itch is more about novelty than actual career fit.
I’m a software engineer but I too love all that construction stuffs. I am really into handyman stuffs. Those youtubers with their construction jobs make it look fun as a hobby, but have you ever felt tired as fuck during a big project? You can’t walk away when it’s your day job. And doing it all day instead of a hobby puts a big toll on your body. I like watching it, but I realize that the money and the physical abuse don’t make it as cool of a job as the edited videos make them out to be.
Sounds like what you’re looking for is a manual hobby, not an entire career. You could try to find some woodworking or smithing classes near you, especially if they offer a studio for you to bring your own projects as well. Those are pretty easy trades to get into while keeping an office job to help pay for them.
Unfortunately, I think this idea that you are supposed to find fulfillment in your job is a line fed to us by the upper class. I have worked many office jobs over the years, some better than others. At the end of the day, the important thing is liking the people you work with. you are going to spend a most of your time at work and it is going to suck if you hate the people around you.
That being said, I would be surprised if you earned more in a construction/trade for at least 5-7 years after switching careers. if you are able to take that hit financially it might be good for your mental health. but if not, you should really focus on doing stuff in your free time that brings you happiness. If you want to get into flooring/construction. either start doing some DIY projects, restoration projects, or start finding ways to earn those skills. you could use it as a means of supplemental income until you feel you have enough skills to make the leap full time.
It costs 3500 dollars to buy a chinese mini excavator. Dig up your yard, plant trees, work when the weather is nice, keep the office job. Do freelance landscaping on weekends if it pleases you.
Just keep moving. That has worked for me.
Knowing that I can always end it if things get bad enough.
Same situation. Mid 30s, bored of office job looking at alternatives. I work as an architect and have also completed a full refurbishment on my own home. Manual labour is tough and youre not getting any younger. Properly learning a trade would be interesting but I don’t think I could do it full time. Maybe balance it as a bit of casual weekend work or part time?
If You’re bored then try working part time and work on your hobbies/manual on your days off.
You may just need a change of company or role to relieve the burnout? Bottom line is just try something, start small and see how you feel, if you like something take it a little more seriously. Dont just quit your day job but see if you can ease back.