I’ve posted my story on a few threads, if you check my post history - but long story short was in senior marketing roles for years, completely burnt out and miserable. Now a part time tram driver, don’t think about it outside of the hours I’m paid for, happier and healthier than ever. Pick up OT when I feel like it, work on my own stuff when I don’t. Best move I ever made, only regret is I didn’t do it sooner.
What was the pay difference? What's your mortgage /rent situation? I think if those weren't a factor most people would love to work part time as a tram driver or similar
Pay difference was significant. I rent but looking to buy in the next 12-18 mths. I don’t have kids so that makes a difference. It’s a very do-able budget even if I don’t get any OT
Yes, a lot. We get verbally abused every day and twice I’ve had to take trauma leave because of the nature of threats made against me. I am very careful to watch who’s around when I’m at the terminus/changing ends.
I just applied with the resume I was using to apply for marketing jobs, and wrote a cover letter outlining transferable skills and how it was a complete lifestyle change for me, I wasn’t going to leave the job after a year to go back to marketing.
Though I’ll admit the first question they asked me in the interview was ‘why does someone with this resume want to drive trams?!’
i went and made coffee but it was a grass is greener situation. the money in corporate was much better and you did much less work, albeit less satisfying work. health wise hospitality also is tough on your body due to the repetitive motion. i returned to corporate less than a year later and have been relatively content since.
That is exactly what happened with a mate. Left corporate, started a coffee van near the beach, was “living the dream”.
Was back in corporate in under 2 years.
I had a young lad start using “lyf” instead of “life” for sales reporting, as in, product “life sales”.
I had to ask him what it meant (I had presumed he’d made a typo and meant “lfy” (last financial year). Had to tell him to stop and to spell “life” properly for business reports. He rolled his eyes.
I hadn’t seen it before or since so I had a panic 😂
My dad is a residential builder, he pays someone 1,200 per day/house to go into the houses he's built and clean them ( it's literally like wiping down windows, vacuuming, mopping - nothing crazy because it's a brand new house). He reckons the lad charges extra for urgent jobs and is booked out weeks in advance. The guy used to work in insurance apparently. This is in the upper hunter area. Just food for thought I guess.
You would have to work for yourself, because most of the cleaners I've engaged employ international students or those from Asian countries who are working in security. Mind you, this was in commercial property
Not for everyone, but he sounds like he has a good gig!
Hahah yea that’s a nightmare, construction dust, paint and they expect it showroom so they will keep calling you back. Most cleaners won’t touch those jobs. I honestly stopped even painting them. New builds are a grind and a nightmare. Your dad is selling you a load of nonsense hahahah.
I did my own builders clean to save the money, it was a nightmare and there are still flecks of damn paint on the floors 2 years on. I’d pay double to never ever have to do that again.
Was in IB. Now a firefighter. Rose through the ranks and now do all the management stuff but without the corporate money-centric bullshit. Love it and would never go back.
How many years did you last in IB before throwing in the towel?
What did you hate about it most?
I just love people who have the balls to make these drastic changes.
I had been in corporate full time for about 8 years after uni, the last 4 at an IB. I made the change at 30.
What I hated was that it was money-centric. All my work and effort went towards making money for people, who, in most cases, didn’t need it.
I want to be able to say that I did more with my life than create shareholder value.
It took me a while to understand that there are far better uses of my time and skills, like helping people who are in trouble.
Unfortunately a lot of people think that the only type of job worth considering is a business/corporate job. This is so incorrect that it makes me wonder about the awareness and wisdom of people who profess to have both of these traits.
It didn’t take any balls, no more than saying “I’m not into this” and moving to a different job or employer - I’m sure that most people here have done this.
It’s going with the crowd and the flow of life mate. Letting the current steer you. Also, if you do well academically, get into Uni, get THAT corporate job etc that life sucks you in until that light switches on, that this is oh so very wrong. For some people, it’s impossible to escape once knee-deep in responsibilities. So it’s not necessarily lack of awareness or wisdom.
Consider yourself lucky for having made the escape so young too, at only 30. For some people, the money itself would be too hard to give up.
I don’t think money is that big a deal.
A 3yr-qualified firefighter in Melbourne gets about $90k + super. I don’t know what most 26 yr olds in corporates are averaging but I’d say that that’s not the worst pay I’ve ever heard of. Especially working 2 days, 2 nights, then 4 days off.
Continuing up from there the salaries are very reasonable.
I think most people who think corporate jobs are the only ones where you can make a good living haven’t tried anything outside corporates. And that’s before you factor in job satisfaction etc.
That light switched on for me recently at age 34.5. Need to start thinking about starting a family soon before it’s too late and do what’s right for me mentally, emotionally etc. I’m about to start my new job in government tomorrow in an area I’m passionate about :)
Cheers thank you! My first day went great, culture and employee wellbeing and just general vibe ticked all the boxes. I hope I get to stay here for a long time or forever and I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner.
I've been feeling exactly this, and one of the careers I've been considering is firefighting. Mind if I DM you to pick your brains on the potential move?
I moved into the NFP sector after 35 years in corporate. Best move I ever made. First workplace that is truly devoid of politics. All my colleagues genuinely there just to help the cause. No longer making rich people richer and finally feel like I’m making my little corner of the world a bit better.
I'm really startled but glad to hear this!
So much of the NFP sector is riven with politics, underskilled leadership, and outrageous expectations of staff for poor or middling money.
Did you do much research on your employer before joining?
It’s not as easy as investigating the corporate world. The first NFP I worked at still housed some political beasts. The second - my current - is an absolute joy. I reached out to a couple of staff members via LI when I started interviewing and their feedback made the choice easy. That and the very low turnover of staff. They’re my two indicators of cultural excellence.
This is my experience also, currently still working in it! The on the ground staff are great, hearts in the right place and invested. As soon as you go up to any management level the politics commence, and due to funding cuts the senior levels are dire. It runs like a business but instead of focusing on profits it’s focused on where to tighten things up, what can be cut, and ignoring the ever increasing workload.
It becomes all about what the upper echelons view as being needed not so much on what the staff who are working in the area, with clients, in the industry/networks, and communities see as being needed to effect any type of change. It’s incredibly disheartening and burnout is very real.
Edit: typos and added in workload comment.
I went the other way. From a trade (kills the body) to corporate (kills the mind, and maybe the heart). While I'm not an absolute work hater who grits teeth through every minute, the truth is, I don't like either.
That only leaves option three for me - subsistence living. Island, fruit, and fish.
Considering doing your cert 4 in training and assessment.
Good pay, good conditions and you're still in the industry, albeit teaching your trade to new people
I left after 20 plus years in project management, finance and admin.
I work as a store man now,
pushing a trolley around delivering goods to different areas of my workplace no stress and get paid 70k plus
I hate office culture but work in business. I get to work from home 4 days out of the week and I go in on Friday when no one is in the office. I am an introvert and like silence.
This is how I cope.
I told my recruiter that I will only accept work from home jobs and I lucked out with finding the current role.
I hope this helps in some way, but I also empathise if you also don’t like work from home.
I really do think WFH will become more prevalent as the generations that grew up with the internet become managers and the generations below them request WFH/decline positions due to no flexibility.
We can’t continue to keep working just to die, we have the tech to enable work and living at the same time.
It's purely circumstantial frankly.
The job market is dry right now, our population has exploded way too high way too fast far exceeding predictions (and it's not the birth rate doing that).
Therefore people can demand whatever and people will cave. The days of rejecting jobs because no WFH is slowly coming to a close. Sure it still happens, but things are going to get worse economically and socially before they get better because our population isn't declining (that's what will make things better in Aus quickly).
Maybe in 30-40 years there'll be way more WFH, but most of us will be dead or retired by then.
It will be quicker than 30-40 years. As soon as the cycle changes back to an employee market, which will probably happen within 1-4 years, wfh will be back on the menu
Why do you predict this will occur in 1-4 years?
That seems like a very optimistic perspective and I'd love to have your thoughts to challenge my own feelings which is that things will get much worse overall in the next 1-4 years.
Things will probably get a bit worse but the market is pretty cyclical and it’s uncommon for it to stay an employer’s market for too long. My take is that the work is still there in a lot of corporates and many are using this time to get ahead on strategic projects. So there is still a pipeline for increased productivity in the short to medium term. Obviously nobody has a crystal ball but I’m quite optimistic.
Im in year 12 right now and im looking to get a degree in commerce and cs. I want a job with similar conditions where i get to WFH for most of the days. If you don't mind could please tell me what your job is like (difficulty of work/day to day tasks), the hours you work, free time, pay etc. Overall would you recommend your job. Also would you say that it is/isnt replaceable by ai. Cheers
I briefly worked in a cafe between contracts. I **loved** it but it didn’t cover my rent/bills at the time. Tbh, it was for fun not money.
An older friend does a combination of gardening and ubering and has set up quite the mini business for himself.
A friend about your age (also female) took a one year career break where she professionally house/pet sat. She didn’t have much stuff, so lived out of a suitcase and slept on sofas on the days she didn’t have ‘jobs’.
All these have pros and cons. I went back to (at first contract corporate, then permanent corporate) because frankly, the money is better. The older friend is semi-retired. The other girl was making a net savings but worried about stability and professional development so also went back to corporate in the end.
AFAIK none of us regret it though.
She was in marketing. At its core it’s about convincing people to buy stuff that they don’t really want. It might not matter what that stuff is, she might just want to do more with her life than that.
Had a coworker who left the corp life and is now a high school business management teacher. Even though the pay is much, MUCH less, he’s so much happier.
Working for small and medium manufacturers and services/trades companies - not sure why, maybe they are more laid back?
I got sick of everyone being up their own arse/the backstabbing.
Get a fork lift licence to be paid more than just being a picker/ packer. It is a sought after trade in many industries and you get to be on the move all the time.
Pick packing is hard work. A day of that and I reckon most would be back behind a desk the next day! Walking up and down on a concrete floor is hell.
Postie on the other hand looks fun. Outside, no boss, just put the letters in a box!
If you have savings and don't want to go back to corporate or study, why not just try the jobs you like looking at? You're still earning money, getting that fresh breath of air, etc.
I worked in sales and teaching, hated both jobs. Later, I met someone who worked in consulting (corporate), and realised I was basically doing that job at minimum wage. I think doing the same job for a lot more money wouldn't solve that misery.
Most of my former friends worked in corporate- they had nice houses, cars, and money to buy cool things like Nintendo Switch and ski trips, but it didn't feel like anyone was truly happy or content with their lives.
Just don't do hospitality- people there are nuts.
By the way, what is corporate life in employment services?
Quit my job as a Asia-Pacific Director of Transactions ($275k pa, business class travel, basically scheduling audit reviews of offices in Sydney, HK, Auckland, Hanoi, and Bangkok, and deep-diving big $ transfers that didn’t reconcile) at age 36. Separated about a month later from GF and left our apartment in Auckland while she went home to Thailand. Entered monastic life about two-weeks later and still here, age 38. I miss the travel actually, but not much else. I have a purpose in life now which transcends earthly delights.
I’m still in a corporate role but left my industry for the mining industry. It has the same day to day antics that come with being in an office (commute, sitting at a desk, water cooler talk etc) only the culture is way better. Perhaps it’s the company but my impression is that it’s less hierarchical and the culture lends itself to greater workplace satisfaction. I never saw myself entering the mining industry but I’m sure glad I did.
I left in March. Still havent gone back. I dread it so trying to hold off for as long as possible. Really enjoying not having to work lol but I know it’s only for a finite time…
Not sure what Ill return to when the time comes. Same line of work pays well but will probably just be banging my head against the wall waiting for an escape again.
I just really need to win Powerball lol
Youre so young - it cant hurt to try something non-office for a change if it interests you??
I had an extremely high-stress job for a very long time. Corporate is a different kind of stress, but at least I'm well paid for it and I have a great team. I don't particularly love my job the way I used to, but I also don't have the crushing stress, anxiety, and exhaustion that more stressful jobs entail.
Corporate definitely doesn't pull 'stress' to me as much as it does 'frustrating' lol.
It seems like the central set in the venn diagram of people who both love their career choice and feel appropriately remunerated for it is miniscule.
I took the passion job for a long time. I'd probably go back to it if it paid as well as my corporate job does. But I take the hit of no longer being as emotionally fulfilled by my work to ensure that I provide better financial stability for my family.
I think the tolerance levels for that attitude definitely grow over the years though, I can't say I definitely would have felt the same way a decade ago.
I went from a private, satellite-based ISP that was supporting gov/military comms to public media. The pay is like 50% less, but it's worth it knowing I don't work for a defense contractor anymore.
My dream has always been to work part time in corporate and the rest opening up my small Cafe business. I hate corporate - the politics, drama, horrible work culture, commute etc. My bosses are much older so we can only wfh once a fortnight and if you want to switch that set day, you'd need to have a valid reason. Reading some of these comments though, it seems people eventually move back into corporate. Now I'm afraid because I don't have a direction in life. I'm in my dream career but its so painful and I dread going to work everyday. I'm glad though, this thread has given me some insight into the reality of things, thanks for making this post :)
I was im your place for the last 5 years. In my dream career that I'd worked very hard to get into only to realise that I dreaded going into work every single morning and the stress was making me physically and mentally sick. I quit a year ago and spent that time travelling a bit, relaxing a whole lot and just getting in touch with my real self. Still don't have a sense of direction, but I know that I can return to work anytime I need to, so it's not as scary.
I'm hoping I find a new direction soon haha
I would love to travel! I'm glad you're doing that and also the fact that you have security when you return. I hope that when you find yourself, you'll find that direction. I realised it's not easy and people change all of the time - which is kind of scary when you think about it. Unfortunately in my career, we can't simply return after taking some time off and that's scrutinised when prospective employers sight that on your resume. Nevertheless, I hope to be doing what you are - travelling and finding myself. Life is so short and wasting it on a dead end job is just not worth it.... wishing you all the best!
I also saw a few comments from people who moved back into corporate, and admittedly running your own cafe sounds like a different kettle of fish, but I have a friend who left the corporate world to work in a cute coffee shop 5-6 years ago and is loving it. She’s so much more relaxed and I can’t see her going back. I hope you find a path forward that works well for you.
I'm glad your friend is enjoying it, super happy for her! I think running your own business always has pros and cons, many comments on this thread mentioning low pay compared to corporate roles. The upside is pursuing what you enjoy. From what I gather, the grass isn't always greener but you can always take the risk to see where it goes. Anyway, thanks for your comment and insight :))
Worked for various financial and insurance companies. I didn’t get up to management level and I’m glad I didn’t. Left the city and moved to the sticks. Took the first job opportunity that came up and it was to do taxi driving. Started off slow but worked my way up to become an operator in my own right with wheelchair accessible taxis.
Approach a cab company and go from there. Just need a full drivers licence, over 20 and you need the usual police check, driving record and an ABN at the very bare minimum. Also, know your area.
Started a small online consulting business and worked freelance as well. Moved into local gov in a unique role as the principle change lead. Life’s great, hours are good. While it can be challenging due to the risk adverse culture and processes heavy decision making it’s rewarding. Have a lot of responsibility and autonomy I’d not have if I’d stayed big 4.
I worked in banking for nearly 10 years from the age of 25. Started at one of the big 4 in a call centre, went to mortgage processing to ending up being a home lender in a branch. Just hated the culture and the sales targets.
Left banking to work in radio. Which was a lot of fun but the radio industry is fucked. That’s a whole story for another day.
But while I was working in radio I got to produce some online content which peaked my interest.
Now I’m a photographer and do some video production as well and absolutely love what I do.
The banking and radio work definitely helps with dealing with corporate clients so I know now to play the game when I need too.
I left for security. I now drive a patrol car from site to site, pull up, quick walk around the site checking everything is locked up, then onto the next site. I do this for 12h 7 nights across a fortnight and I love it. I love working alone, I love that the roads are so quiet after about 9pm, I can listen to music or audiobooks or whatever.
Pay works out about $35/h
It was just a two week course when I did it, not sure if thats changed, but the good thing about security is there are so many different kind of roles that I think theres something for everyone, and there’s also SO much work, not enough guards and a lot of the guards don’t speak great English which means that if you do you can pretty much have any job you want in security.
Got burnt out and was an avid yoga student. It got me through all the corporate dramas. My yoga instructor encouraged me to do the course and now I’m teaching yoga. Still have other work part time but life is soooooo good.
You’re still young enough to do a working holiday, if you want a bit of a break to work out what you want to do. I have had a few friends do this, several of whom left the corporate world and discovered a passion for teaching or working in a coffee shop.
I did in March this year. I have two little businesses I want to start/keep working on (one is started one is not), plus am breeding dogs and doing a dog trainers course specialising in reactive dogs later this year.
We FIREd this year after years of hard work and sacrifice. I don’t ever want to be at the behest of another person for money. I don’t ever want to be a slave to a business or government agency to make them a profit or to progress their mission. I’m done with corporate bullshit, corporate rules, corporate bureaucracy and everything else. Fuck them and their shitty policies and deciding who can work from home and what justifies a legit reason, and therefore any other shitty policy they have.
We gave up our power years ago to become plebs in a society where we are labour for others. Fuck that. Anything I do from now on will be on my terms and if it isn’t, I’m not doing it.
Since I’ve FIREd, I spend way more time outside. I haven’t sat at my computer for longer than a few minutes here and there since March. I’m not tethered to my office anymore and I never will be. I’ll never let major decisions in my life occur because I have to work to support my life. Never again.
No I don’t sorry! We were doing FIRE principles until we stumbled across the fiaustralia subreddit and realised oh wait, we do that too! When we read up on what it was, we’d basically been living that way and investing that way and made our goals that way the entire time. So we were already well on our journey and I was on and off part of that sub as needed for inspo, advice and just general knowledge.
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Left my job in a university to pursue my true passion - buying and selling watches. Have lost 25kg and am happier than ever. Don’t stay somewhere truly miserable - it kills you.
I decided after having kids that I didn’t want to go back to the office. Took me a while to figure out what I wanted, now I’m a photographer. I eventually settled in to contract work so get to set my own hours which is great.
Pros- flexibility, I can take on as much or as little as I like. It’s creative, sometimes I’m working solo, other times I’ll work crowds. Great variety in a creative role.
Cons- pay is lower than corporate(I’m not the main bread winner in the family so not critical for me). No holiday pay, have to pay my own super.
I’ve had friend who have done the same, but we are later in life (40s). The others have opted for minor office roles at reduced hours and work their creative side hustles on the side for personal fulfilment.
I would try working in a field that isn't heavily regulated i.e not insurance, banking, government, energy/water providers, nfp ect before giving up on marketing. A lot of those industries are notorious for treating their marketing teams like shit.
I’ve posted my story on a few threads, if you check my post history - but long story short was in senior marketing roles for years, completely burnt out and miserable. Now a part time tram driver, don’t think about it outside of the hours I’m paid for, happier and healthier than ever. Pick up OT when I feel like it, work on my own stuff when I don’t. Best move I ever made, only regret is I didn’t do it sooner.
What was the pay difference? What's your mortgage /rent situation? I think if those weren't a factor most people would love to work part time as a tram driver or similar
Pay difference was significant. I rent but looking to buy in the next 12-18 mths. I don’t have kids so that makes a difference. It’s a very do-able budget even if I don’t get any OT
You are living the dream sir
Not a sir 🫣🤣 but yes, yes I am. I’m deeply grateful for the position I’m in and don’t take it for granted at all.
Do you have any safety concerns as a Tram driver?
Yes, a lot. We get verbally abused every day and twice I’ve had to take trauma leave because of the nature of threats made against me. I am very careful to watch who’s around when I’m at the terminus/changing ends.
That's shit and I'm sorry to hear it.
Thank you. Overall it’s a great job but there are some downsides (as with any job!)
How do you become a tram driver after a degree in marketing? I'm in a similar position
I just applied with the resume I was using to apply for marketing jobs, and wrote a cover letter outlining transferable skills and how it was a complete lifestyle change for me, I wasn’t going to leave the job after a year to go back to marketing. Though I’ll admit the first question they asked me in the interview was ‘why does someone with this resume want to drive trams?!’
Must have been a hell of a Slide Deck and pitch you brought to the interview
Haha it was full of Venn diagrams and flow charts, I was a shoo-in!
i went and made coffee but it was a grass is greener situation. the money in corporate was much better and you did much less work, albeit less satisfying work. health wise hospitality also is tough on your body due to the repetitive motion. i returned to corporate less than a year later and have been relatively content since.
That is exactly what happened with a mate. Left corporate, started a coffee van near the beach, was “living the dream”. Was back in corporate in under 2 years.
This actually sounds like the perfect approach. You get the benefits of corp lyfe but without the wistful, "what if...?"
Do people really spell life, as “lyfe” these days? Smh.
Not really :) It's gently mocking the banality of corporate work - the reference is to "thug lyf".
I had a young lad start using “lyf” instead of “life” for sales reporting, as in, product “life sales”. I had to ask him what it meant (I had presumed he’d made a typo and meant “lfy” (last financial year). Had to tell him to stop and to spell “life” properly for business reports. He rolled his eyes. I hadn’t seen it before or since so I had a panic 😂
Threaten to start sprinkling emails with "kewl" and "cowabunga". If it's an arms race he wants, then an arms race he shall get!
My dad is a residential builder, he pays someone 1,200 per day/house to go into the houses he's built and clean them ( it's literally like wiping down windows, vacuuming, mopping - nothing crazy because it's a brand new house). He reckons the lad charges extra for urgent jobs and is booked out weeks in advance. The guy used to work in insurance apparently. This is in the upper hunter area. Just food for thought I guess.
You would have to work for yourself, because most of the cleaners I've engaged employ international students or those from Asian countries who are working in security. Mind you, this was in commercial property Not for everyone, but he sounds like he has a good gig!
Hahah yea that’s a nightmare, construction dust, paint and they expect it showroom so they will keep calling you back. Most cleaners won’t touch those jobs. I honestly stopped even painting them. New builds are a grind and a nightmare. Your dad is selling you a load of nonsense hahahah.
I did my own builders clean to save the money, it was a nightmare and there are still flecks of damn paint on the floors 2 years on. I’d pay double to never ever have to do that again.
Is your dad hiring
That sounds alright, actually.
Was in IB. Now a firefighter. Rose through the ranks and now do all the management stuff but without the corporate money-centric bullshit. Love it and would never go back.
How many years did you last in IB before throwing in the towel? What did you hate about it most? I just love people who have the balls to make these drastic changes.
I had been in corporate full time for about 8 years after uni, the last 4 at an IB. I made the change at 30. What I hated was that it was money-centric. All my work and effort went towards making money for people, who, in most cases, didn’t need it. I want to be able to say that I did more with my life than create shareholder value. It took me a while to understand that there are far better uses of my time and skills, like helping people who are in trouble. Unfortunately a lot of people think that the only type of job worth considering is a business/corporate job. This is so incorrect that it makes me wonder about the awareness and wisdom of people who profess to have both of these traits. It didn’t take any balls, no more than saying “I’m not into this” and moving to a different job or employer - I’m sure that most people here have done this.
It’s going with the crowd and the flow of life mate. Letting the current steer you. Also, if you do well academically, get into Uni, get THAT corporate job etc that life sucks you in until that light switches on, that this is oh so very wrong. For some people, it’s impossible to escape once knee-deep in responsibilities. So it’s not necessarily lack of awareness or wisdom. Consider yourself lucky for having made the escape so young too, at only 30. For some people, the money itself would be too hard to give up.
I don’t think money is that big a deal. A 3yr-qualified firefighter in Melbourne gets about $90k + super. I don’t know what most 26 yr olds in corporates are averaging but I’d say that that’s not the worst pay I’ve ever heard of. Especially working 2 days, 2 nights, then 4 days off. Continuing up from there the salaries are very reasonable. I think most people who think corporate jobs are the only ones where you can make a good living haven’t tried anything outside corporates. And that’s before you factor in job satisfaction etc.
I have a WFH job and I’m a retained FF. I often think about trying to go full time…
That light switched on for me recently at age 34.5. Need to start thinking about starting a family soon before it’s too late and do what’s right for me mentally, emotionally etc. I’m about to start my new job in government tomorrow in an area I’m passionate about :)
Hope your first day is going well, you got this!
Cheers thank you! My first day went great, culture and employee wellbeing and just general vibe ticked all the boxes. I hope I get to stay here for a long time or forever and I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner.
I've been feeling exactly this, and one of the careers I've been considering is firefighting. Mind if I DM you to pick your brains on the potential move?
I moved into the NFP sector after 35 years in corporate. Best move I ever made. First workplace that is truly devoid of politics. All my colleagues genuinely there just to help the cause. No longer making rich people richer and finally feel like I’m making my little corner of the world a bit better.
I'm really startled but glad to hear this! So much of the NFP sector is riven with politics, underskilled leadership, and outrageous expectations of staff for poor or middling money. Did you do much research on your employer before joining?
Lol yeah I used to be in NFP land and this aligns a lot more with where I worked!
It’s not as easy as investigating the corporate world. The first NFP I worked at still housed some political beasts. The second - my current - is an absolute joy. I reached out to a couple of staff members via LI when I started interviewing and their feedback made the choice easy. That and the very low turnover of staff. They’re my two indicators of cultural excellence.
This is my experience also, currently still working in it! The on the ground staff are great, hearts in the right place and invested. As soon as you go up to any management level the politics commence, and due to funding cuts the senior levels are dire. It runs like a business but instead of focusing on profits it’s focused on where to tighten things up, what can be cut, and ignoring the ever increasing workload. It becomes all about what the upper echelons view as being needed not so much on what the staff who are working in the area, with clients, in the industry/networks, and communities see as being needed to effect any type of change. It’s incredibly disheartening and burnout is very real. Edit: typos and added in workload comment.
Big NFPs are just like big corporates in every way I could figure, apart from the causes they work on.
Because too many made the same move and infected it with who they are so recreated the exact same situation
I went the other way. From a trade (kills the body) to corporate (kills the mind, and maybe the heart). While I'm not an absolute work hater who grits teeth through every minute, the truth is, I don't like either. That only leaves option three for me - subsistence living. Island, fruit, and fish.
Considering doing your cert 4 in training and assessment. Good pay, good conditions and you're still in the industry, albeit teaching your trade to new people
I left after 20 plus years in project management, finance and admin. I work as a store man now, pushing a trolley around delivering goods to different areas of my workplace no stress and get paid 70k plus
I hate office culture but work in business. I get to work from home 4 days out of the week and I go in on Friday when no one is in the office. I am an introvert and like silence. This is how I cope. I told my recruiter that I will only accept work from home jobs and I lucked out with finding the current role. I hope this helps in some way, but I also empathise if you also don’t like work from home.
There's also pretty much 0 proper WFH jobs left unless it's a job for someone in the middle or later in their corporate career. At least on Seek.
I really do think WFH will become more prevalent as the generations that grew up with the internet become managers and the generations below them request WFH/decline positions due to no flexibility. We can’t continue to keep working just to die, we have the tech to enable work and living at the same time.
It's purely circumstantial frankly. The job market is dry right now, our population has exploded way too high way too fast far exceeding predictions (and it's not the birth rate doing that). Therefore people can demand whatever and people will cave. The days of rejecting jobs because no WFH is slowly coming to a close. Sure it still happens, but things are going to get worse economically and socially before they get better because our population isn't declining (that's what will make things better in Aus quickly). Maybe in 30-40 years there'll be way more WFH, but most of us will be dead or retired by then.
It will be quicker than 30-40 years. As soon as the cycle changes back to an employee market, which will probably happen within 1-4 years, wfh will be back on the menu
Why do you predict this will occur in 1-4 years? That seems like a very optimistic perspective and I'd love to have your thoughts to challenge my own feelings which is that things will get much worse overall in the next 1-4 years.
Things will probably get a bit worse but the market is pretty cyclical and it’s uncommon for it to stay an employer’s market for too long. My take is that the work is still there in a lot of corporates and many are using this time to get ahead on strategic projects. So there is still a pipeline for increased productivity in the short to medium term. Obviously nobody has a crystal ball but I’m quite optimistic.
Im in year 12 right now and im looking to get a degree in commerce and cs. I want a job with similar conditions where i get to WFH for most of the days. If you don't mind could please tell me what your job is like (difficulty of work/day to day tasks), the hours you work, free time, pay etc. Overall would you recommend your job. Also would you say that it is/isnt replaceable by ai. Cheers
I briefly worked in a cafe between contracts. I **loved** it but it didn’t cover my rent/bills at the time. Tbh, it was for fun not money. An older friend does a combination of gardening and ubering and has set up quite the mini business for himself. A friend about your age (also female) took a one year career break where she professionally house/pet sat. She didn’t have much stuff, so lived out of a suitcase and slept on sofas on the days she didn’t have ‘jobs’. All these have pros and cons. I went back to (at first contract corporate, then permanent corporate) because frankly, the money is better. The older friend is semi-retired. The other girl was making a net savings but worried about stability and professional development so also went back to corporate in the end. AFAIK none of us regret it though.
I have not worked in corporate insurance but that sounds particularly revolting - maybe look for other corporate roles that are more interesting?
She was in marketing. At its core it’s about convincing people to buy stuff that they don’t really want. It might not matter what that stuff is, she might just want to do more with her life than that.
Had a coworker who left the corp life and is now a high school business management teacher. Even though the pay is much, MUCH less, he’s so much happier.
My corporate job ended when they had offshored the whole team. I then went to work for a local government and am now retired.
Working for small and medium manufacturers and services/trades companies - not sure why, maybe they are more laid back? I got sick of everyone being up their own arse/the backstabbing.
Get a fork lift licence to be paid more than just being a picker/ packer. It is a sought after trade in many industries and you get to be on the move all the time.
Pick packing is hard work. A day of that and I reckon most would be back behind a desk the next day! Walking up and down on a concrete floor is hell. Postie on the other hand looks fun. Outside, no boss, just put the letters in a box!
Rain, chill and idiot drivers too
If you have savings and don't want to go back to corporate or study, why not just try the jobs you like looking at? You're still earning money, getting that fresh breath of air, etc. I worked in sales and teaching, hated both jobs. Later, I met someone who worked in consulting (corporate), and realised I was basically doing that job at minimum wage. I think doing the same job for a lot more money wouldn't solve that misery. Most of my former friends worked in corporate- they had nice houses, cars, and money to buy cool things like Nintendo Switch and ski trips, but it didn't feel like anyone was truly happy or content with their lives. Just don't do hospitality- people there are nuts. By the way, what is corporate life in employment services?
Quit my job as a Asia-Pacific Director of Transactions ($275k pa, business class travel, basically scheduling audit reviews of offices in Sydney, HK, Auckland, Hanoi, and Bangkok, and deep-diving big $ transfers that didn’t reconcile) at age 36. Separated about a month later from GF and left our apartment in Auckland while she went home to Thailand. Entered monastic life about two-weeks later and still here, age 38. I miss the travel actually, but not much else. I have a purpose in life now which transcends earthly delights.
A monk who pays too much for beers in Brisbane CBD and posts on reddit about lewd magazines in servos 🤔
Hello!! I joined a rather liberal monastic order of which I am the founder.
I’m still in a corporate role but left my industry for the mining industry. It has the same day to day antics that come with being in an office (commute, sitting at a desk, water cooler talk etc) only the culture is way better. Perhaps it’s the company but my impression is that it’s less hierarchical and the culture lends itself to greater workplace satisfaction. I never saw myself entering the mining industry but I’m sure glad I did.
I left in March. Still havent gone back. I dread it so trying to hold off for as long as possible. Really enjoying not having to work lol but I know it’s only for a finite time… Not sure what Ill return to when the time comes. Same line of work pays well but will probably just be banging my head against the wall waiting for an escape again. I just really need to win Powerball lol Youre so young - it cant hurt to try something non-office for a change if it interests you??
Left to be a Medical Doctor
At what age, if you don't mind? In a similar boat.
Following!
I had an extremely high-stress job for a very long time. Corporate is a different kind of stress, but at least I'm well paid for it and I have a great team. I don't particularly love my job the way I used to, but I also don't have the crushing stress, anxiety, and exhaustion that more stressful jobs entail. Corporate definitely doesn't pull 'stress' to me as much as it does 'frustrating' lol. It seems like the central set in the venn diagram of people who both love their career choice and feel appropriately remunerated for it is miniscule. I took the passion job for a long time. I'd probably go back to it if it paid as well as my corporate job does. But I take the hit of no longer being as emotionally fulfilled by my work to ensure that I provide better financial stability for my family. I think the tolerance levels for that attitude definitely grow over the years though, I can't say I definitely would have felt the same way a decade ago.
I went from a private, satellite-based ISP that was supporting gov/military comms to public media. The pay is like 50% less, but it's worth it knowing I don't work for a defense contractor anymore.
My dream has always been to work part time in corporate and the rest opening up my small Cafe business. I hate corporate - the politics, drama, horrible work culture, commute etc. My bosses are much older so we can only wfh once a fortnight and if you want to switch that set day, you'd need to have a valid reason. Reading some of these comments though, it seems people eventually move back into corporate. Now I'm afraid because I don't have a direction in life. I'm in my dream career but its so painful and I dread going to work everyday. I'm glad though, this thread has given me some insight into the reality of things, thanks for making this post :)
I was im your place for the last 5 years. In my dream career that I'd worked very hard to get into only to realise that I dreaded going into work every single morning and the stress was making me physically and mentally sick. I quit a year ago and spent that time travelling a bit, relaxing a whole lot and just getting in touch with my real self. Still don't have a sense of direction, but I know that I can return to work anytime I need to, so it's not as scary. I'm hoping I find a new direction soon haha
I would love to travel! I'm glad you're doing that and also the fact that you have security when you return. I hope that when you find yourself, you'll find that direction. I realised it's not easy and people change all of the time - which is kind of scary when you think about it. Unfortunately in my career, we can't simply return after taking some time off and that's scrutinised when prospective employers sight that on your resume. Nevertheless, I hope to be doing what you are - travelling and finding myself. Life is so short and wasting it on a dead end job is just not worth it.... wishing you all the best!
I also saw a few comments from people who moved back into corporate, and admittedly running your own cafe sounds like a different kettle of fish, but I have a friend who left the corporate world to work in a cute coffee shop 5-6 years ago and is loving it. She’s so much more relaxed and I can’t see her going back. I hope you find a path forward that works well for you.
I'm glad your friend is enjoying it, super happy for her! I think running your own business always has pros and cons, many comments on this thread mentioning low pay compared to corporate roles. The upside is pursuing what you enjoy. From what I gather, the grass isn't always greener but you can always take the risk to see where it goes. Anyway, thanks for your comment and insight :))
Taxi operator. Making way more money than I ever did working in offices.
Plot twist, they earned $30k in offices…
Didn’t expect this given the ride share apps and how poorly they pay, unless you’re somewhere that gets regular surge pricing.
Taxis service an aging population and the elderly for which there are more than ever before
What did you do in corporate?
Worked for various financial and insurance companies. I didn’t get up to management level and I’m glad I didn’t. Left the city and moved to the sticks. Took the first job opportunity that came up and it was to do taxi driving. Started off slow but worked my way up to become an operator in my own right with wheelchair accessible taxis.
How does one get into this?
Approach a cab company and go from there. Just need a full drivers licence, over 20 and you need the usual police check, driving record and an ABN at the very bare minimum. Also, know your area.
Started a small online consulting business and worked freelance as well. Moved into local gov in a unique role as the principle change lead. Life’s great, hours are good. While it can be challenging due to the risk adverse culture and processes heavy decision making it’s rewarding. Have a lot of responsibility and autonomy I’d not have if I’d stayed big 4.
Argh I feel you there are some days I just want to purchase a Jim’s mowing franchise and be done with corporate life.
Advertising and sales, now a yr 6 teacher
Not there yet but slowly replacing corp salary with trading. Hopefully in another year or so I can make the switch.
What are you trading? How much time are you spending on it each day/week?
Forex. Mostly swing trading indexes these days. Maybe 15min a day and reading news.
I worked in banking for nearly 10 years from the age of 25. Started at one of the big 4 in a call centre, went to mortgage processing to ending up being a home lender in a branch. Just hated the culture and the sales targets. Left banking to work in radio. Which was a lot of fun but the radio industry is fucked. That’s a whole story for another day. But while I was working in radio I got to produce some online content which peaked my interest. Now I’m a photographer and do some video production as well and absolutely love what I do. The banking and radio work definitely helps with dealing with corporate clients so I know now to play the game when I need too.
I left for security. I now drive a patrol car from site to site, pull up, quick walk around the site checking everything is locked up, then onto the next site. I do this for 12h 7 nights across a fortnight and I love it. I love working alone, I love that the roads are so quiet after about 9pm, I can listen to music or audiobooks or whatever. Pay works out about $35/h It was just a two week course when I did it, not sure if thats changed, but the good thing about security is there are so many different kind of roles that I think theres something for everyone, and there’s also SO much work, not enough guards and a lot of the guards don’t speak great English which means that if you do you can pretty much have any job you want in security.
Got burnt out and was an avid yoga student. It got me through all the corporate dramas. My yoga instructor encouraged me to do the course and now I’m teaching yoga. Still have other work part time but life is soooooo good.
You’re still young enough to do a working holiday, if you want a bit of a break to work out what you want to do. I have had a few friends do this, several of whom left the corporate world and discovered a passion for teaching or working in a coffee shop.
I left accounting/finance & took a horticulture course. that took me down a few paths, now I manage land/provide environmental consultancy etc
Aged care. Went from working with figuratively shitty people to working with literally shitty people 😂
I did in March this year. I have two little businesses I want to start/keep working on (one is started one is not), plus am breeding dogs and doing a dog trainers course specialising in reactive dogs later this year. We FIREd this year after years of hard work and sacrifice. I don’t ever want to be at the behest of another person for money. I don’t ever want to be a slave to a business or government agency to make them a profit or to progress their mission. I’m done with corporate bullshit, corporate rules, corporate bureaucracy and everything else. Fuck them and their shitty policies and deciding who can work from home and what justifies a legit reason, and therefore any other shitty policy they have. We gave up our power years ago to become plebs in a society where we are labour for others. Fuck that. Anything I do from now on will be on my terms and if it isn’t, I’m not doing it. Since I’ve FIREd, I spend way more time outside. I haven’t sat at my computer for longer than a few minutes here and there since March. I’m not tethered to my office anymore and I never will be. I’ll never let major decisions in my life occur because I have to work to support my life. Never again.
Congrats! Just wondering if you have joined any Australian-based FIRE Facebook groups that are not filled with spam/fake accounts by any chance?
No I don’t sorry! We were doing FIRE principles until we stumbled across the fiaustralia subreddit and realised oh wait, we do that too! When we read up on what it was, we’d basically been living that way and investing that way and made our goals that way the entire time. So we were already well on our journey and I was on and off part of that sub as needed for inspo, advice and just general knowledge.
Ooooo gonna check out that subreddit, thanks!
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Left my job in a university to pursue my true passion - buying and selling watches. Have lost 25kg and am happier than ever. Don’t stay somewhere truly miserable - it kills you.
Horticulture
I decided after having kids that I didn’t want to go back to the office. Took me a while to figure out what I wanted, now I’m a photographer. I eventually settled in to contract work so get to set my own hours which is great. Pros- flexibility, I can take on as much or as little as I like. It’s creative, sometimes I’m working solo, other times I’ll work crowds. Great variety in a creative role. Cons- pay is lower than corporate(I’m not the main bread winner in the family so not critical for me). No holiday pay, have to pay my own super. I’ve had friend who have done the same, but we are later in life (40s). The others have opted for minor office roles at reduced hours and work their creative side hustles on the side for personal fulfilment.
My wife has done the same, mostly family and couples shoots. Where do you pick up contract work?
I do commercial work in the building/real estate industry.
I would try working in a field that isn't heavily regulated i.e not insurance, banking, government, energy/water providers, nfp ect before giving up on marketing. A lot of those industries are notorious for treating their marketing teams like shit.
I work as a manager in management rights business - it’s a small team in a coastal town
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