Career Change..?

wingnut4772

Here's my thing. I dont really dig this cop business. Never really have. I am good at my job and I enjoy the sense of 'brotherhood' with my fellow officers but my heart and soul is just not in it...at all.

Two years ago I was involved in a shooting. I shot him right in the heart. He died. It was totally justifiable and I have no logical issues with it but it made me wonder if this is what I really want to keep doing. Last year I was hospitalized with a pulminary embolism which also reminded me that life is too short to keep doing something I am unhappy doing. I was lucky that the docs caught that.

My dilemma is.... I make mighty good money for not much education and the retirement can not be beat. I mean at 55 I am done with a sweet paycheck still rolling in. That's 17 years from now. I don't want to be stupid and make a mistake so I am hoping to get some objectivity here. I want to go to school and get a degree in Interior Design as that is my #1 passion. Am I being foolish?

TroyD

Foolish? I don't think so nor do I think that pursuing your passion is a bad thing.

Paying the rent and the more mundane things in live may be an issue though...if you can work that out and have a plan to turn your passion into a financially viable venture, why not?

BDT

Demiurge

Doing what makes you happy is never foolish. You can be happy and make less money, but that choice is yours.

DarqueKnight

Were you unhappy with police work prior to the shooting incident or did the unhappiness begin at that point? If your answer is the former, then maybe you might be happier doing something else. If the latter, hmmmm....I don't know.

Why do you want to do interior design? To exercise creativity or does it just seem "glamorous"?

George Grand

I hate the snot out of flying, and have ever since I started, but here I be! Only a couple away from the free check and not shaving every damn morning. If I hadn't taken the flying job, I never would've left Brooklyn, never met my wife, the former Theresa Talamonti, never been REALLY miserable..........

Yeah I think a career change might be good.

wingnut4772

Yes .. I have never really liked police work..just the pay and security of it.

I have always loved interior design. Even as a little kid I was the one decorating the tree houses and forts:p. It is creative and I just feel so happy and free when I am decorating or designing a room. Everyone says that I have a talent for it and I get a lot of compliments on what I have done...even on a very limited budget.

disneyjoe7

Have you considered moving up in the line of duty?

disneyjoe7

BTW wingnut,

I seen some pictures you have on "My Obsession" if you did those Tung and grove ceilings, I have a side job for you in O town.

wingnut4772

I considered taking the Sarge test and I was a detective for a while but my heart is just not in it.

Thanks Disney...I actually have a guy that did that for me..but I chose it for the room and did everything else myself:D

Early B.

You MUST pursue your dream!!! Otherwise, you will always have this emptiness that you'll carry around inside of you for a lifetime. There's nothing more regrettable than not attempting to live your dreams. Being a police officer and an interior designer are two totally diametrical professions and skill sets. It's no surprise that you don't enjoy your job.

Here's an option -- go to design school at night, if possible, get your degree then do some work on the side until you feel you can make a career out of it. In the meantime, volunteer to "intern" for interior designers to get some experience and to learn the business side of the profession.

Question -- do you really need a degree or are you naturally gifted enough to build a business for yourself without the schooling?

shack

I have a daughter in her 3rd year of interior design. There are two types of interior design...one is more associated with "interior decorating" and the other is more associated to "interior architecture". The latter is very time intensive and if you are going that route you need to be prepared to "have no life" as my daughter puts it. She works about 15 hours a week at a local restaurant and between that and school, there is no time left for much else. She told me the other day she hasn't played tennis in almost a year, did not get to go skiing a single time this winter, hasn't run a 5K since last spring (all stuff she really enjoys) and she has a couple of "guy friends" but no time to date at all. At times during the semester they actually camp out in their studio as they are working on their projects. On the other hand she has friends in the "decorating" program at other schools and it is a much more laid back curiculum. My daughter isn't attending one of the so-called priemier interior design schools and even with a student body of 25,000 they only accept 25 people into the program each year. It's not cheap either. I've spent close to $3,500 on computers and graphic software and another $1,500 in art and graphic supplies in the last year on top of tuition, R&B etc....

Not trying to deter you just pointing out what I know.

On the upside, it's an interesting and demanding field. She was able to go to San Francisco to visit several of the design firms there this semester and may be going to South America next fall to help design a children's home in another class. If you have a passion for it, interior design can be a great career.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

DarqueKnight

wingnut4772 wrote:

Yes .. I have never really liked police work..just the pay and security of it.

Yeah, I felt the same way about my (former ) corporate job.

Ok then....seems like you've found something you are good at and that you really enjoy. Plus, Miami is a great place to begin an interior design career.

GO FOR IT!!

shack

Early B. wrote:

Question -- do you really need a degree or are you naturally gifted enough to build a business for yourself without the schooling?

If you are more into the decorating side of the field, a good knowledge of fabric, color, and so forth would allow you to get into the field with something like an associates degree from a junior college. The more intensive interior design/architecture field requires a minimum of 4 years in a school of architecture to be acredited. It's one less year than a full blown architect but it is pretty intesive for those four years and includes stuff like physics and chemistry as part of the curriculum.

wingnut4772

Question -- do you really need a degree or are you naturally gifted enough to build a business for yourself without the schooling?

I have a natural talent but I need professional know how and from what I have learned, a degree is required for the better jobs.

I like the isea o going to night school. The Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale offers a program here.

MrNightly

Funny you should mention this. I was a cop for a while back as well, and I have a huge passion in my life: Interior Design / Architecture. Very strange.

I am reading an excellent book, "The Pathfinder" I highly recommend it. I picked it up for 4 bucks on Amazon. It helps pin down what you would be best in, and solidify the concerns about the "Leap of Faith" it takes to change careers. He is hitting on the "Yeahbutts" right now, where we make excuses for not changing careers. Excellent points and how to conquer these in there.

The only reason for you to stay in LE is for the money and retirement, as you said above. Those sound like yeahbutts to me I know that Shack is right about the degree for design. A must if you are to succeed. They only have Master's degree's here in Kansas for either one of the above mentioned.

I believe you should follow your dreams. I know I'm still trying to find a way to do that as well. Don't let the comfort of life get you down or keep you from stepping out.

Good luck, I know you will do the right thing.

David

tonyb

Everyone's situation is different.WING,you only have one life to live,do what makes you happy.Here is a saying that has been on my fridge for 10+ years,

"The credit belongs to the man that is actually in the arena,whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood,who strives valiantly,who errs and comes short again and again,who knows the great enthusiasms,the great devotions,and spends himself in a worthy cause;who at best knows the triumph of high achievment and who at the worst,if he fails,at least fails while darring greatly,so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat"

Theodore Roosevelt

GO FOR IT !!!:)

george daniel

Do It, and don't look back,good luck.

reeltrouble1

Finish out your LEO career, you will be glad you did, meantime, prepare for your next. You can do both.

Keep it Reel.

RT1

disneyjoe7

That's hard to do when hers heart is not in it. With the fact she's loosing a life parter and her home, I think wingnut just needs to step back some rethinking everything. Take a well needed vacation.

rskarvan

My vote is for you to tough it out in law enforcement and keeping things real.

wingnut4772

Thanks guys. As it stands now I am keeping the house and my guy (an aside thread). Things are acually looking very promising there now (Master Plan still intact). I have decided to go down to the college and see what I need to do to get the degree while I still fight crime in the 'burbs here. In 2 years I will have 10 years towards retirement pension so even if I switch I will still get something from the po po gig. I think that I kind of soft peddled how much I dislike it..the police stuff. I really kind of hate it to be truthful and I just don't see how I can live like that for another 17 years.

jcaut

Law enforcement's not for everybody, that's for sure. While I don't think changing careers in order to pursure something you really enjoy is a bad thing, sometimes it's hard to make it work from a logistical and financial perspective. I can't really offer any advice-- Whichever you choose, I wish you the best.

My wife and I met in college, and she got a degree in Interior Design. Like shack said: It's extremely time-intensive. My wife got her degree in four years, but she almost literally worked non-stop. The work involved (besides coming up with all the ideas, planning, picking materials, running around having prints made) a ton of drafting (probably CAD, now, but still), drawing, rendering, presenting--. It wasn't unusual for her to get 3-4 hours of sleep per night- weekends included - for weeks on end, just to get done with her projects on time. At first I thought, "Well, gee, she just needs to take this a little less seriously- work a little faster, not be so meticulous- so she'll have some free time". Then the more I watched what was going on, the more I realized that, no, if she was going to get done, it was necessary that she work that hard. I couldn't believe it, really (and I was in engineering). The only time we ever had any free time were those rare occasions when she was "between" major projects. Another frustrating thing for her (she is a perfectionist) was that the grading was really all very subjective. People have different tastes in what they like or don't like, and sometimes those differences resulted in a very average grade for what was otherwise exceptional work.

I don't want to drag this out too long- She entered, and won some contests while in school. Really did some nice work. Got to go to Dallas twice to present some of her work at some sort of ASID convention or something. Graduated with good grades- and then- couldn't find a job. Granted, it's very location-dependent. But more than that, there is, or at least there used to be a bit of a conflict between architects and interior designers. And since most of the real interior design jobs (at least at that time) were with architecture firms, what they really wanted was more of a decorator. They (the architects) would handle all the planning, drafting, drawing, rendering-- all that stuff that she spent so much time in school, learning to do. They wanted someone to pick paint colors and drapery fabric. She ended up taking a few jobs working at furniture stores. Selling furniture, basically, quotas and all. Now she works in the loan dept. at a bank. But again, location is huge-- we're in Arkansas and you're in Miami-- I'm sure the jobs outlook is more than a little different.

Sorry for the long story. Guess I should have just said, "I second what shack said."

Jason

danger boy

follow your passion in life... if you don't do it at some point.. you'll always kick yourself for not doing it.. It's not easy giving up a career that pays well.. but you know.. sometimes money isn't everything. You clearly aren't enjoing what you're doing anymore. I say begin the process now for a career change.

How about say on your next vacation.. you spend time talking to people in the interior deisgn field.. and get feel of what types of careers are available in that chosen field? Might help you make up your mind that it's exactly where you want to go.

good luck. Heyalso good luck that you and your man worked things out and will be keeping the house.

Polkersince85

Tough decision. If you can stand it, two more years and you will at least have some type of check in the mail every month. May come in handy in 20 years. In the meantime, start preparing for your future career; whatever it may be. Lots of jobs out there with your name on it. I've seen a lot of folks leave a 'secure, steady' job and go to commision based pay and have a difficult time adjusting. Just a thought. Follow your dreams but keep an eye open.

cfrizz

Hey Darla. I think you should stick it out for 2 more yrs so that at least you can lock in the pension. But during those 2 yrs start pursuing your dream. If that means going to school @ nights & weekends then go for it!

dkg999

Sometimes you have to look at your day job, whether you like it or not, as a means to other ends. I have several small businesses on the side that form a back-up career and early retirement plan, so that I don't have to work in the industry that right now pays me very well for the rest of my working life. Is there another type of law enforcement work that you might like well enough to keep it paying the bills and allow you more time to pursue your dreams? Chucking it all and pursuing your dreams is in theory much easier to say than to do, especially if you are not a twenty-something anymore! Work through it carefully and make sure you are aware of, and can justify and live with any compromises your plan involves. Then go for it! Doug.

reeltrouble1

disneyjoe7 wrote:

That's hard to do when hers heart is not in it. With the fact she's loosing a life parter and her home, I think wingnut just needs to step back some rethinking everything. Take a well needed vacation.

You are menopausel, you are not supposed to be from the me, me, me generation. Your decision was different. I cannot tell you how many young Fed LEO's I have seen go out into the world to follow their dream and then be back begging for their job in six to eighteen months. Hunger can cause huge changes of the heart.

Good luck Darla.

RT1

kingtut

Wingnut, before making the decision, how about finding an intership and taking a leave-of-absence from the police dept to try it out?