Mid-life Career Crisis at 38

[danaf]

I think I've posted before about how so very much I hate what I do. I've been an executive assistant for going on 15 years. I don't consider it a career. It's just a job to me. One that pays the bills ect.

I know I've got to make a change. Otherwise I will just loose it! There are probably plenty of folks out there that would like to have my job but for me it feels like prison. I feel like I am contributing zero to the world. I know I can do more... better.

The problem is I'm a practical person. What I'd really like to do is further a website I launched in a more entreprenurial way (it's a website for people with disabilities). The problem there is money & time. It takes a lot of money to get the 'word' out there. People are finding it but it's a slow process and right now I am fine with that. But when I was creating it, I had the fire in my belly. I ate, slept, dreamt it everyday. I had a ton of bumps along the way but I kept going. I had never created a website from scratch and it turned out awesome. It becoming a big hit is another story.

Being the practical person, I feel I should have a career - a back-up plan. The website isn't a career and there are no guarantees that it will succeed in a way that I can make a living from it.

I have been debating two very different careers back and forth for a very long time. Law, and nursing.

But with both of these, I cannot make up my mind. even worse - I get locked up with the money & time it would take to accomplish either and reasons why I may not succeed. I've done a lot of soul searching and I still come up confused. I question whether I have the 'fire in my belly' for either of these. And the answer is - not like I did when creating my website.

I have tried discussing this with my husband. He says - 'do what will make you happy'. I've tried discussing this with others but I know that no one can give me the answers I seek. The answers have to come from within.

So I end up right where I've been for the past 15 yrs.

thanks to listening to another vent of mine.

[jennordhavn]

What about going back to college for some kind of web design degree? My DF is 41 and started school in the summer to get a certificate in network help desk technician. He is very happy he stopped working in a warehouse as this was only a job and a way to support his family, not a career or something he was truly happy doing. You can get grants and student loans and work part time.

Best of luck to you whatever you decide.

[HRx]

Go for it!! You're YOUNG, and as long as you have the drive you should be able to accomplish your goals if you plan well. It's very common now for people to pursue career focus changes several times throughout thier work-span.

[AMISLANDER]

You need to keep your day job while pursuing your dream.

I work in property management on an island in Florida and was lucky to get this job three years ago. Although the pay is about $5/hr less than what I'd get on the east coast of Florida (I'm west), I still love what I'm doing and the people I work for...I hadn't worked in 15 years (as in paycheck job) before I got back into society as such....but, I love film as well. I am heavily involved in the film festivals in my town and am working on a collaboration with a student who shares my dream of making a documentary. This will be "my moment" if we can make it come true.

The real thing is to believe in yourself and no that no one can carry out your dream but you!