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[DunDunDunpachi]

I have a rigid habit of watching premium French Produced Naughty Films 2+ hours every day.

What skills do I possess, sir?

High tolerance of oui oui

 

[Tesseract]

you have to grind, experience is almost everything

collapse your socials and crash into some books, then get cracking

 

[Relativ9]

I was in customer service for about 4 years as well, it was second level for enterprise support of data center solutions so the pay was quite nice, but the corporate structure and volume focus was killing my enjoyment. So the last two years i did a part time degree in game design, and now I'm a freelance game designer who's had almost 3 years of steady work. Pay is a bit lower than I earned as a network engineer, but it's creative, I lead my own team (in my current project), and I'm much happier and have more free time.

I was 29 when I made the switch. Never too late, besides if it all goes to shit I'm still a desirable candidate (as I'm sure you'd be considering you have 10 years in it) in my old field and can always go back.

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

Take a step back and see yourself as someone who lives in the world, instead of a <workfield x> person.
You are not tied to any industry.

Always consider starting your own business. Then you will not be limited by others.

 

[The Wheel of Fortune]

When I was in med school, I made a good friend who was 32 years old at the time (and we still had 2 years to go). We both graduated last year. He has told me before about how he was very close to withdrawing his application, because who the fuck enters med school when they're almost 30? And he's very glad his family pushed him to not giving up and going through with it. He looks very motivated to keep studying, as far as I can tell, like this new flame has been lit inside of him.

I'd say go for it, mate, you're never too old to change and life is too short to have regrets like these later on.

 

[Soodanim]

Without having read the other responses:

1. There's so much choice out there that it can be hard to choose one. Almost impossibly hard, sometimes.
   1. Think about your options.
   2. What are you good at? What are you bad at?
2. List some potential jobs/careers that utilise said skills
   1. Find out what it takes to get into those, whether that be asking in relevant communities (there's a subReddit for everything) or looking at job requirements.
3. Look into education options relevant to those skills. Look at local and online cousrses and the resulting qualifications if necessary
4. Look at your financial situation and decide how education fits into that
   1. Maybe you could get an entry level job that will help you train
   2. Maybe you could study in the evening after work
   3. Maybe you can afford to quit while you study

The hardest step is figuring out what direction to go in of the many choices in front of you. At some point you just have to pick. It's not like you can't ever pick again.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I'm 34 and have been working as an electrician for the last 3 years or so. It's made me a lot of money, but after this covid stuff I'm thinking of just going to college and using my G.I. Bill finally and doing something else. I don't think it's ever too late, you just may not get to where you want to be as fast, but it's never too late.

 

[Gabbelgak]

I quit my Job of 12 years at 33 years old to enlist in the Navy.

Best decision I ever made. At bootcamp my division had I think it was 5 people that were over 30 (I wasn't even the oldest one). I caught a lot of crap of course at first but quickly rose through the ranks, you have a different perspective coming in later. I wouldn't say I was necessarily depressed before, but I did feel like I was going nowhere in life and needed to make a change before it was to late. I gained self confidence because of the military which led me to finding my wife and being the happiest I've ever been. The military gave me opportunities that I never would have had before (Like going to Japan and climbing Mt. Fuji) and has provided me with security (guaranteed paycheck and medical insurance) which was a big reason for joining. I've been in 4 years now and can't imagine going back to the old me.

You can change at 33, I'm proof.

 

[TindalosPup]

With enough determination to do what you want, you can do anything, age is an irrelevancy when there's enough drive to succeed. Leaving customer service will do wonders for your health, I spent 7 years in it myself, I was damn good at it, too, but burn out in that profession is very real. My mental health has improved (not without fluctuation) since I put it behind me and I don't have a hatred for the general public anymore, which I think is a pretty big step forward. As a rule of thumb for leaving any job, though, make sure you have a solid plan in place before you make it final

 

[protonion]

Almost all my life I worked at stupid data entry jobs. It was my first job and got "locked" in this field.
Non stop typing 8 hours a day for years. Shit money. My brain was dead for half the day. Zero growth.

At 36 I got another data entry job but finally luck smiled at me.
The company was not very big then, but had an insane growth (tripling sales every year). I was the best by far in the department. One day I got a call and was moved in finance (no related studies or experience). I couldn't believe it I almost cried. I went from poor to middle class in an instant.

I've come to only believe in luck. In my circle I've seen tons of people going from top to bottom and vice versa.

My advice is:
-Keep trying for as many years it takes. It is inevitable that you will be dealt a good hand at life. But you have to keep playing for this to happen.
-Focus more on the company you will work rather than the position. You will have many opportunities (positions/training) in a healthy and fair company even if you start at the very bottom.
-Being smart is better than being experienced.
-Be a decent and likeable person.

Good luck

 

[mustang001]

You are never too old to change your direction. Any can be a day one for you. Just dust your pants and get on with what you want to do. F**k naysayers, they won't cater for you if you go broke.

 

[Reptars Revenge]

You have tons of time, follow your dreams. Customer Service is the worst. I was a waiter back in the day. Of course every individual should do at least 6 months of customer service (like a draft) so they know not to be huge dicks to people.

 

[Umbral]

Absolutely, you can. Now stop talking and do it.

 

[TheWanderingOgre]

Marilyn Manson started when he was 30.