Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Career Change

made the decision to give up my current work and go back to what I was doing prior in the Automotive Service Industry.
Little bit of a pay cut, but a huge stress cut. I'd like to see my kids graduate high school and the rate I was going it wasn't going to happen.
I'm 35 I've had a couple scares with heart issues completely stress related, and hated my line of work. I got on with a great company with
retirement and benefits and a set schedule, no more work 48 hrs straight and then anwser phone calls all night. My wife is a little nervous
of the change, but knows if she wants me alive it needs to happen. Only downfall I'm seeing is a I got drive 45 miles twice a day with a big
block Chevy, might be time to find an older Ford ranger or something.

Stress will eat you alive if you let it.
I've been thinking of a change myself for the same reason,but I'm almost 55.Self-employed for close to 25yrs
can honestly say it been beating me down.
Good luck with the switch

Get you a compact Japanese front wheel drive car for work. It will run circles around the Ranger in bad weather unless the Ranger is 4WD and than you'll get even less fuel mileage. I drove a Ranger to work for about 10 years, got 20-22 mpg and nothing else in the way of advantages out of it other than being dependable. A Nissan or Toyota compact will get you 33+ mpg. Good luck with the new job, hope it works out for you and your family.

I got away from that 30 years ago, less money for a while, but I have great retirement.

Good luck. Sounds like a great decision.

I’ve got a 2001 Civic with 300k miles, hand calculated to 37mpg a few days ago. It saves the miles on our good vehicles. I hate it with a passion, but it’s just point a to point b transportation. If the weather is good, it gets driven, sometimes even when the weather isn’t good.

I drove 60 miles a day for 10 years. Yes, get a commuter car! Get something to listen to, in my case I should have listened to Spanish tapes as I was taking fire crews out of a state prison. I drove a Ford F-150 4X4 that got 20 MPH on the highway but should have also obtained a reliable used high MPG vehicle for the commute.

Good luck.

Smart move, Cowboy!

And I agree on getting a small, 4 cyl front-wheel drive Japanese vehicle. Cheap to drive, almost never breaks down, and sell it for most of what you bought it for years later.

Yep. What others said...get a good mileage vehicle and rock on!

Stress is a killer. Ive always equated any job I had with dollars per headache....I'll handle the stress if the bucks are there, but there better be a LOT of them!

Otherwise..it just aint worth it. Ever.

I drive 90 miles a day.

Lucky for me it’s rural 2 lane. No traffic at 5 in the morn.

Bought Hyundai Sonata. Gets ~37mpg. A to B ride. Not a chick magnet.

Podcasts will be your friend.

Plenty of good gun and outdoor podcasts to keep you occupied.

I used to drive 55 miles each way to work and back. The drive in was a good chance for me to get ready for what awaited me and organize things mentally. The drive home gave me time to wind down from all the stinking aggravation and abuse I had to swallow all day. It maybe saved a great marriage, so use it that way, and CONGRATULATIONS on your new job!

What is the "Automotive Service Industry," exactly?

Congratulations on making the decision. Sounds like you will be happier. Stuff will work out.

Life is short. My Dad told me one day you only live 30,000 days. I asked where he came to that number and he said simple. Do the math. 80 years times 400 days a year. So say 30K days. Make each one count. Do things you like instead of doing things you hate. He was killed later that same day in a car accident.

So spend your days doing work you like with willing hands. Be happier with your wife and kids. And as others have said, get a commuter car that you can drive the heck outta. I think you will actually grow to like the commute. I always did. Helped to spend some alone time to think about things and decompress going from work life to home life.

Have a Merry Christmas Sir and hope you have a great 2020!

I'm happy for you, amigo!

What he said.

The drive will get old quickly, though. I did 120 miles most days for about six years, and started to dislike it with a passion.

Yes, get a comfy car, buy good snow tires for winter. Not m&s, not all seasons, dedicated snow tires. That whole see your kids graduate thing again!

Been there, done that. Best of luck with your decision, Cowboy.

Besides, there are other ways to make money. You don't have to do it killing yourself for The Man.

The best to you and your family.

Life's too short to remain stuck in a job you hate. Bigger paychecks are nice, but really: who is ever really satisfied with their compensation? There are more important things in life than having a bigger house than your cousin, more money than your brother, or a greener lawn than the guy next door.

May your commute be safe and pleasant.

Congrats. Good luck with the change. My job is high stress compared to most, but I still love what i do. When the time comes I’ll move on to less stressful practice. ER is typically high speed, low drag, high stress.

They pay me plenty for the stress. Just not enough for my time.

When the time comes that those reverse, I’ll take a different job much like you did

I'm going to second the commuter car folks here.

When we got the new RAV4 for my wife I was living away 8 months a year. 26-29 miles one way to town to get groceries (work was only 3.5 miles ), 50+ miles to get to the Costco, eye dr, or other specialists. So I decided to keep the '04 Matrix and get 37 MPG vs 21 MPG in the Tacoma and I was keeping a 50-100 mile trip off that one every time I had to go to town, plus the 50 miles a week to work and back.

Save your good truck for truck work, get a smaller car with much better gas mileage than a Ranger.

best wishes on your new career.

Geno

^^^^^^^^^^^ This ^^^^^^^^^^


I drove 88 miles, each way to work for almost 18 years. When I retired, I had 330,000+ miles on my Saturn! Highway mileage was 34 to 40 mpg, depending upon season. Having a reliable high fuel mileage auto can really pay for itself! memtb