I want out !

[Shewie]

After nine years working in IT networking I feel I`m finally losing the will to live and I want out right now. :aargh4:

I`m kind of hoping there are a few folk on here who can offer me a £35k salary, a Landy company car and a new start to my life. Only problem is no qualifications in conservation, ecology or similar.

Any ideas on how to start a new chapter in my life would be appreciated.

It looks as though my only options are to give up a £30k salary , healthy pension and benfits then go back to uni for 3-5 years for a degree.

Somebody please offer me an apprenticeship ,ranger or warden position soon before it`s to late.

uppy_dog

 

[Fallow Way]

I dont want to dampen your spirits at all, but working in the environment requires both a high level of knowledge and be able to not have very good pay.


I`m a Ranger and on average your looking at about 16k a year for a ranger, head ranger perhaps halfway between that and 20k, both positions you need qualifications and experience and licences to even get an interview.

I spend 5 years working as a low paid forester (starting on 9k a year!) to get the above with years of volunteering before that.

If you really want to get into this kind of field, you either need to go back and get a degree first if your looking to get something above 15k a year (even then, i beat poeple going for the ranger position with a degree because of my experience and knowledge), or put in a few years at much lower.

The problem with this field is that there are plenty of poeple with enough love for natural histroy that part of the pay is being able to do it, so they put up with the low pay.

If you still want to go ahead with it, i`ll be more more more than happy to point you towards all the places you can get information and start getting experience.

 

[Topcat02]

I've been trying to get out of IT since 1985. Trouble is the pay is quite good, and there arent many jobs outside of IT that offer similar pay.

Good luck to you.

 

[Shewie]

I think I would quite happily take a 40% pay cut to do something I would really enjoy. It`s got to the stage now where I really don`t want to get out of bed on a morning and surely there`s got to be more to life than this.

You only get one shot at it - and I think I`m going to miss.

I saw ranger job with the FC a couple of months ago but an IPT course prevented me from attending the first interview.

 

[Klenchblaize]

[QUOTE

I saw ranger job with the FC a couple of months ago but an IPT course prevented me from attending the first interview.[/QUOTE]

Do it before its too late but be totally honest with yourself. I don't wish to wind you up but which of the above is/was more important to you? Jobs like that don't come up that often even if there is a Ranger (from within FC) in waiting. Can't be anything worse though than looking back on a life that hasn't been lived in some way as you would wish.

Was that a Ranger job with Forestry Commision Scotland (FCS)? If so I hope you don't mind ticks and lots of blood!

Good luck.

K

 

[Shewie]

K

It was actually a ranger job for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire which would have been ideal for me.
The course was pre paid by my current employer at a value of £1900 and they wouldn`t let me re-schedule it as accommodation and flight s had been booked to.

I`ll still be keeping an eye out for something in the future and just keep my head down in the mean time.
I`m hoping the misses will gain promotion and I can retire at 32 - that way I can pretend to be a ranger whenever I want.

 

[andyn]

LOL...the old the "grass in greener on the other side" problem

Good luck in finding a new career that you enjoy.

 

[pierre girard]

I dont want to dampen your spirits at all, but working in the environment requires both a high level of knowledge and be able to not have very good pay.


I`m a Ranger and on average your looking at about 16k a year for a ranger, head ranger perhaps halfway between that and 20k, both positions you need qualifications and experience and licences to even get an interview.

I spend 5 years working as a low paid forester (starting on 9k a year!) to get the above with years of volunteering before that.

If you really want to get into this kind of field, you either need to go back and get a degree first if your looking to get something above 15k a year (even then, i beat poeple going for the ranger position with a degree because of my experience and knowledge), or put in a few years at much lower.

The problem with this field is that there are plenty of poeple with enough love for natural histroy that part of the pay is being able to do it, so they put up with the low pay.

.

Same is true over here (USA). The same amount of education and experience will get you twice the salary in most any other field.

PG

 

[Fallow Way]

Firstly I would look at if you can realistically live on say 14k a year....if not you need to address those issues first.

Again I`m really not trying to dampen your spirits, i`m over joyed when people join the forestry/conservation field if they have a passion for it. To many i`ve seen have the wrong impression about it and think just because they know their Elder from their Ash they know enough.

I was told one of the Ranger before myself at my Country Park honestly questioned the reason for getting measured up for overalls, after all, they were a Ranger!! lol You have to go pretty far up the ladder to get out of the hard, sweaty, back breaking jobs, even though you also have to write reports half in Latin, deal with the media, liaise with community groups and work impressive machines. Even the Head Ranger mucks out the toilets.

Realistically your looking at a qualification of some sort, plenty of experience and a few of the machine licenses for a good chance (unless you happen to be applying for an organisation that are looking for someone who doesn’t have the first clue about the job they have advertised )

I would get as many application forms from all over the country for the sort of job you want to get into, look for the common themes and plan how you can go about obtaining those qualifications/experience and unless your Mrs is stuck for things to buy you for next chrimbo, forking out for the courses. Just as important though will be to look at those skills you have now which would be transferable. It maybe you look at working as an IT fella with the sort of Org our looking for and over time move sideways into the position you want.

 

[tomtom]

Go for it, good luck to you!

 

[Wayne]

Wise words from fallow way.


It took me years to get out of engineering to work in my chosen field. I had to retrain get extra qualifications just to be taken seriously. i am now broke but far happier.

if you really are serious about changing your direction then go for it. the road wll not be easy.

Everyone wants to earn a mint doing the thing they love. How many people do you know that do?

No reason not to try though. Good luck.

 

[redflex]

you can do and HND only takes 2 years, but you will still need experience.

Anyone looking for work should take a look at this site. It links to many other sites which are all good sites.

http://www.countrysidejobslink.co.uk/

or

http://www.countrysidejobs.co.uk/ (this list work paid and voluntary)

 

[locum76]

i got an ecolgy dgree 8 years ago and finally after lots of crappy jobs in restaurants and banks, lots of volunteering i've finally got a good 18k job in organic farming/ care sector.

good luck mate its not easy, theres no corporate money behind us.

rob

 

[rich59]

Shewie,

I'm going to take a completely different tack from the other folks giving advice. Stay in your job and find happiness there. Perhaps go 3/4 time, or seek a sabatical to refresh your spirit. Take a holiday, or look at say training in networks rather than doing it. Maybe go independant or start your own company. Take an evening class in art or something. Get religion. Get counselling. Take some personality profiles and find out more about what makes you tick. Move house, pep up the love life.

My point? It is a radical step to throw in all that training and experience when there are more challenges awaiting you where you are.

I have been (albeit briefly) a professional counsellor in the past and the training was pretty clear. Don't make radical life changes when under stress. Take it slowly and long term. Don't burn any boats till you have long and hard measured up what you are getting into. Learn more about yourself and others.

 

[monkey_pork]

I'd suggest that you start by doing relevant work as a volunteer. As far as I'm aware, you can use volunteering hours towards an NVQ of similar, which may then open doors to other qualifications. As a volunteer, you may well have access to training funds too, which means that you can acquire other skills along the way, such as first-aid or chainsaw competency.

Maybe you have a local environmental organisation than needs their IT looking at and would welcome a bit of volunteer time to help them out (... trust me, they will have - how well can you remember Windows 95 tho ? ).
That would open the door a bit too - and could give you access to training.

Failing that, and this depends on your employer (assuming you aren't SE of course), but what about a secondment ?

Good luck.

 

[locum76]

i second that. volunteering and secondment are definitely good choices. you could use your weekend bushcrafting time to get quantifiable experience...

 

[Greenpete]

After nine years working in IT networking I feel I`m finally losing the will to live and I want out right now. :aargh4:

I`m kind of hoping there are a few folk on here who can offer me a £35k salary, a Landy company car and a new start to my life. Only problem is no qualifications in conservation, ecology or similar.

Any ideas on how to start a new chapter in my life would be appreciated.

It looks as though my only options are to give up a £30k salary , healthy pension and benfits then go back to uni for 3-5 years for a degree.

Somebody please offer me an apprenticeship ,ranger or warden position soon before it`s to late. :theyareon

uppy_dog

Ha ha, I live on £2k a year and love my simple little life. No telly no microwave no gas or electricity etc etc. But I do have a car (all be it v old), a phone and a home in the woods! I am a woodsman here and I administrator a network ! Go figure!
Pete

 

[hobbitboy]

Now, this may be a dum question but what does being a forester and being a ranger involve??

 

[Fallow Way]

OK, a forester...generally



you are maintaining forests be they big or small, you are using chainsaws, pesticides etc etc to thin out and maintain woodlands for future use be it timber or amenity



a ranger



less emphasis on the above, but also includes all forms of habitat (for eg i`m woodland, heathland and grassland), community involvement (education, forums etc), general site maintenance, wildlife surveying, etc etc etc





from my experience, a foresters job is usally broadly defined wherever you go, a Ranger has to do just about anything and everything that is needed. For example the other day i fed the Manx and Longhorn we use for heathland management as we have them in their winter grazing right now, cleared out a sewer at the ranger station, worked on education packs linked to the national curriculum, read through a species list of scientific names (ie in Latin) then had a site meeting with a television company that wanted to film in the country park.



its incredibly hard to nail down definitions of countryside jobs as people use them in very different ways, in fact there is a debate within the Countryside Management forum at the minute about exactly that.



In terms of Ranger though I would refer you to the International Ranger Federation and refer to their role outline and also to the Losehill Principles.

 

[BorderReiver]

Like you said,you only get one crack at life.Go for it

If you find that you made a mistake,an intensive IT course should bring you back up to speed.

Don't think that will be necessary somehow.