It's amazing how someone's priorities change when they have a family. Later this week, I'll be leaving my supervisor/counselor/marketing director job at a local central PA group home -- after over six years of working my way up the ladder. There have been a lot of good memories over the years, along with some major stress and countless hours of filling in for a depleted staff and to de-escalate some very disturbed teens. I have learned a lot from all this, and it's very nerve-wracking in some ways to make a change with a 19-month old daughter and a 15-year old adopted son.
I'll be taking on a sport editor position at one of the larger local papers. I have over five years experience in this field, so I'm not going at it blind, but that doesn't change some of the worries. It's interesting how taking risks that seemed almost second-nature a couple of years ago now has so many potential ramifications. Of course, we'll be saving over $300 a month on health insurance, getting dental and vision (didn't have before), actually getting sick and personal days, etc. helps the transition for sure.
Anyway, I'm sure there's others here who have been in similar situations.
Your situation sounds very similar to mine. I was in hotel management for about 7 years before switching over to operations management, soon to be sales, in the solvent industry. Completely different. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was just tired of, like you said, the stress, depleted staff, etc., along with being on call 24-7. I was putting in sometimes 80 hour weeks on a salary. Like you said, I also learned a ton in this, but it wasn't going to go much further up the ladder than it already was. I now have a 50 hour work week, though the pay is less, but the opportunities are much better. I'm looking at a 6-figure salary within 2 years, with much fewer hours and just plain easier, more rewarding job.
Warpigs wrote:It's amazing how someone's priorities change when they have a family. Later this week, I'll be leaving my supervisor/counselor/marketing director job at a local central PA group home -- after over six years of working my way up the ladder. There have been a lot of good memories over the years, along with some major stress and countless hours of filling in for a depleted staff and to de-escalate some very disturbed teens. I have learned a lot from all this, and it's very nerve-wracking in some ways to make a change with a 19-month old daughter and a 15-year old adopted son.
I'll be taking on a sport editor position at one of the larger local papers. I have over five years experience in this field, so I'm not going at it blind, but that doesn't change some of the worries. It's interesting how taking risks that seemed almost second-nature a couple of years ago now has so many potential ramifications. Of course, we'll be saving over $300 a month on health insurance, getting dental and vision (didn't have before), actually getting sick and personal days, etc. helps the transition for sure.
Anyway, I'm sure there's others here who have been in similar situations.
very awesome, WP. good luck with the new position. and make sure to get no1cowboysfan a job when he gets out of college... sports journalism jobs are slim pickens these days.
Omaha Red Sox wrote:Your situation sounds very similar to mine. I was in hotel management for about 7 years before switching over to operations management, soon to be sales, in the solvent industry. Completely different. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was just tired of, like you said, the stress, depleted staff, etc., along with being on call 24-7. I was putting in sometimes 80 hour weeks on a salary. Like you said, I also learned a ton in this, but it wasn't going to go much further up the ladder than it already was. I now have a 50 hour work week, though the pay is less, but the opportunities are much better. I'm looking at a 6-figure salary within 2 years, with much fewer hours and just plain easier, more rewarding job.
Good luck with your new move WP!
Yeah, it was a similar situation. I also have been oncall 24/7 for the last five-plus years -- I even get calls on vacations. One of the main breaking points was in coming back from a recent vacation to find out that my "superior" hadn't planned accordingly and I was stuck working a triple-double -- a.k.a. I worked third shift Friday night (11pm-7am), 7am-11pm Saturday and 7am-11pm Sunday -- or 40 out of 48 hours. It was over Mother's Day weekend and the first our adopted son was in the household. It didn't go well, and I was pissed with my job and myself for not being there to help make things go smoother (in not going well, I don't mean some major issue -- just miscommunication and weird new feelings, etc.).
And I'm luckily not going blind into the new gig. I was a sports writer at one local paper for five years and took on the sport editor position at a smaller local paper about a year prior to signing on at the group home. I got to travel down to spring training to cover Bucky Dent's baseball school for youth and got to interview a number of MLB stars, including Mike Piazza. I also got to cover NASCAR racing out of the Poconos and got to do an individual interview with Tony Stewart his rookie year. Not to mention numerous local golf charity events where players like Goose Gossage, Bill Mazeroski and Jake Plummer (who doesn't belong in that trio? ) Anyway, I am really excited about the new job, but that doesn't take away the nervousness about the transition period and how my family with weather it.
We'll see, I guess. It helps that I'm doing OK in the Cafe Challenge baseball league!
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by Warpigs » Mon May 29, 2006 12:02 pm 
