Well, with all this talk of career change, I figure I would put my $.02 in the mix.
I'll provide a bit of background first....
Graduated high school in '89. Wasted a bunch of time doing various odd jobs etc. Went back to school and finished my bachelor's degree in Kinesiology (study of human movement) in May '99. Didn't really know what I was going to do with that; however, on I went. Decided I enjoyed biomechanics and wanted to get into applied biomech. I met some people who were in the orthotic (Forrest Gump type braces) & prosthetic (artificial limbs, etc.) field. Both of which require a great deal of app. biomech. As a result, I started working as a technician building braces and artificial limbs to gain some experience.
Good money, very rewarding. Realizing that with my education, I should be the one helping the patients directly instead of fabricating devices, I decided to go on to further my education. With that, I went to a well known medical school and earned a graduate certificate in Prosthetics in Dec. '01. (side note....I was taking my gross anatomy final exam when the terrorists attacked...
) Anyhow, I went on to complete my
RESIDENCY (code word for slavery) and was finally at the point where I would start to earn a decent living......And, you guessed it...........
I gave it all up and decided to follow my heart & lifelong dream of becoming a professional pilot.
This is all much to the chagrin of my family, of course. But it's my life, not their's!
I would have gone to flight school immediatly after high school, but my family said "no way, it was too expensive and besides, only military pilots get jobs." What a bunch of crap! But, I was 17 and did what they told me to do. In the end, did they save me any money by snuffing my dreams?.....Not a chance, only put me deeper in debt. The one good thing about having gone through school first....if I need to find a positive note.....is that at least I have my education to fall back on if I ever need it.....for whatever reason.
So, at the moment, I have debt from undergrad., grad., and flight training. Definitely not a pretty picture.....
Now, I'm 32, and realize it's my life and it's way to short to be miserable!!! No amount of money is worth hating your job. I hated going to work in an office, hated dealing with insurance companies (complete scam artists...but that's another forum), and hated the O & P company owners who cry poverty with there hefty 6-figure salary. F-them!
As a result, I recently packed as much of my things as I could fit into my car and moved to FL from PA. I am now a private SEL/ MEL pilot working on my instrument rating. I love life...love flying...love looking out the window at the sunrise/ sunset...all this, despite having no money and a ton of debt.....
My only hope is that I'll eventually find a job before I'm in the poor-house...
Well, that's my experience with career change in a nutshell....for what it's worth,
I am extremely pleased with my choice to follow my heart!