[Closed] Giving up a 'proper' job to work in the lbs. Pursuit of happiness content

If your current job in IT sales/distribution only pays twice as much a LBS you're either getting screwed or you are shit at it. Either way, it'll never be easier to give it up than right now.

There is an opportunity to do the lbs job full time.

Do it, and then sort me out loads of favours.

Looking at your maths- could you afford a mortgage in the future on a lbs wage?

Have you worked out all your outgoings v new wage?

Weekends are bustle/busier. Imagine bored out of your brain/unchallenged during the week (possibly?). No future weekends off/6day week?

Do it, and then sort me out loads of favours.

This. I have biscuits and I'm not afraid to use them.

I think some-one off this parish as done exactly that; possibly Peter Poddy but I'm not 100% sure. I think he's slightly older though but again could be wrong.

My main thought is that at 38 what would you want to be doing? I've often mulled over the idea of quitting it all but I'm just not sure about how long the honeymoon would last for me. My bikes are clean and I keep them well maintained (IMHO) so I like working on them.. dealing with stuck bolts and all that good stuff would get tiresome for me at least.

What ever makes you happy, life is short.

Well, I'm prepared to put a slightly more positive post than old snarky scotdruidh

My current job pays 11k less than my previous job. But I believe in what I'm doing and my finances where well sorted before hand.

I'd never go back.

Hob nobs or chocolate digestives?

I took a 'gap year' job back in the bike industry, it was superb fun. Didn't pay the bills, but was great fun. Given your age and life, you could afford it, but be wary of being dragged into it. It's not all staff discount and shiny bikes......

Try a new employer/different product area.

Btw you working 7days then?

You need to look at filling your non-working time with fun things. Youll then be recharged/feel great with your weekends ready for work. I went through a phase of doing nowt at weekends. It made my working week unbearable.

In a really really cynical way its stacking shelves (but with a lifestyle product).

Do it! Do what you love....who knows where it will take you...at least you'll enjoy the journey.

I was an IT contractor I earned great money...money I never imagined I would earn. I hated it, I came to hate everything about it. I stopped sold up, moved out. I now have a fraction of the money, a fraction of the stress, I do what I love....I won't go back.

Romance is a beautiful, but overly emotive factor in some decisions. Try to imagine/plan your life and most importantantly options.... in 5 years time. That may help.

Current outgoings I could afford on he new wage, thanks to moving in with a mate.

Keeping up mortgage payments wouldn't be an issue, however saving for a deposit would. Though if I'm honest I've never been he biggest advocate of owning my own house.

Bored during the week? I'd sooner polish every bike in the shop again than what I'm doing now.

That said, if it did all go Pete tong, would future employers take a dim view of my career choice? Depends on them I spose?

Oi! - I [i]am[/i] being positive. By the time I thought of alternative careers I couldn't afford to take the drop in salary. That's why I say that if it's affordable then do it. Otherwise you'll regret not trying.

As for any potential future employer, there's nothing wrong with showing you are (a) willing to take a risk and (b) capable of broadening your experience. Who knows what sort of jobs you might apply for in future where direct retail experience could come in handy. Hell, you might even end up getting a job with a bike distributor based on your "whole life experience".

Hell, you might even end up getting a job with a bike distributor based on your "whole life experience".

That thought had previously occurred... 🙂

Don't start to hate your hobby because its now your job.

Never underestimate how retail can kill the soul.

It's not all staff discount and shiny bikes......

Shhh!

You are going to talk him out of sorting us out staff discount on shiny bikes...

Oi! - I am being positive

Sounded grumpy to me. But I'll take it back. Apologies.

* grump, grump *

😆

Us, Jamie? There's no us here!
My discount is well and truly sorted with a very large part of the trade! Why else do you think I took the job?

🙂

[i]To set the scene. I have a proper, grown up, job

Now, while I could afford to live well enough on the lower wage in my current situation (28, no kids, no mortgage but renting)
[/i]

You may have a 'grown up' job, but you're not yet 'grown up'...

The key to life is to have a job you enjoy (and are good at) while earning more than enough money to enjoy life at a level that suits you.

I can't see how anyone who works in an LBS (except maybe the owner) will ever achieve that, once they have a family - so as long as you don't want a family, go for it.

Us, Jamie? There's no us here!

Darcy warned me there would be men like you...

Don't start to hate your hobby because its now your job.

Never underestimate how retail can kill the soul.

That is a worry, and I've been in bike retail before and walked away (though that was 10 years ago, from halfords, because they wouldn't train me properly, through cytech) but I don't plan on doing it forever, maybe 3-5 years with a view to getting a grown up job in the bike trade.

I've worked in it distribution. I have no soul left.

The idea that your job should be fulfilling and life enhancing and improve the quality of your existence is largely a load of old bollocks.

The vast majority of people across the world, across the UK, across your town or city work because it gets them the money to live in a certain way, or gets them the money just to live.

Stop dreaming about a lovely little job in a bike shop and start living your life outside of your job.

Not sure if PP will be around to answer this , but Yes he works as a sales / tech guy at a Trek dealer and loves it. From speaking with him about it he wishes he had changed careers years ago.

b r - Member
To set the scene. I have a proper, grown up, job

Now, while I could afford to live well enough on the lower wage in my current situation (28, no kids, no mortgage but renting)

You may have a 'grown up' job, but you're not yet 'grown up'...

[b]The key to life is to have a job you enjoy (and are good at) while earning more than enough money to enjoy life at a level that suits you.[/b]

I can't see how anyone who works in an LBS (except maybe the owner) will ever achieve that, once they have a family - so as long as you don't want a family, go for it.

Well that's me ****ed then!!! 🙂

Tried it and it didn't work for me, a few reasons, the boss was one of the vilest humans ever, there is more to life than bikes it was nice to have a conversation that wasn't about bikes, the pay is awful. You have to deal with the general public and can't tell the idiots to do one.

Learnt a lot about bikes which was good and got the dream out of my system.

The vast majority of people across the world, across the UK, across your town or city work because it gets them the money to live in a certain way, or gets them the money just to live.

So true but so very sad and totally unnecessary , why choose to do a job you dislike for 40+hrs a week only to fill the void by trying to buy a slice of supposed happiness using your wages?.

I work in a small rural bike shop (mechanic/sales : there's only two of us in the place) 3 days a week and in my other job (chocolatier) 2 or 3 days a week, both jobs pay minimum wage or thereabouts but i enjoy both jobs and realise i'm never gonna have the cash for a mortgage or a flash car as my combined income from both jobs is £10k less than the uk average wage but i've never been bothered bout money, as long as i have enough to buy food, pay the rent/council tax and take care of my bills then it's all good.

I'm pretty happy, i'd like a holiday now and again but that's not really necessary as i can head off into the hills on my bike whenever i like, nae kids to worry about and never will have.

For an opposing view i did once have a proper job for 6months when i left college at the age of 25 (now 41), had £37k income and bonus but i had to work wi self-important suits and the role i was taken on as (mech engineering/development) was a crock of shite, there were far to many toadying arse lickers so whilst in yet another pointless meeting i just stood up and said "i've had enough of this job, sorry but i quit" and walked out.

I hated that job wi a passion and i soon realised money was not the be all and end all.

It's a hackneyed saying but life is too short, do stuff that makes you happy and **** money.

I was once into boats - then I fell off the path of righteous financial sanity and worked as a sailing instructor. After a while getting in a boat felt like work and I stopped doing it for pleasure. I've now hardly been in a boat for 20 years and it was once something I was good at and really enjoyed. That's not an advert for doing a job you hate but certainly mixing your pleasures and your employment is not a guaranteed winner. If you spent all your working hours fettling/selling and talking about bikes and your free time fettling/riding and talking about bikes it would be like being stuck in here 24hr a day (with some added actual riding which is a rare occurrence for some I have an inkling!)

why choose to do a job you dislike for 40+hrs a week

Because most people don't have any choice?
Because without those people, our bins would go unemptied, our sewers untended, our roads unswept, our prisons unguarded, our hospitals cleaned, our mortuaries unstaffed and so on.

The dream like idyll of the middle class in the UK is dependent, like the 'lovely house in the country' thread a while ago, on lots and lots of other people not living in the country/doing all the shitty jobs that we make that 'superhuman effort' to drag ourselves to every morning.

Count your blessings...

So true but so very sad and totally unnecessary , why choose to do a job you dislike for 40+hrs a week only to fill the void by trying to buy a slice of supposed happiness using your wages?.

As per Crikey, if everyone did what they wanted, your bins wouldn't get emptied.

Yes they would, that what we have immig...... I mean, nope, no they wouldn't. 😛

Crikey, I know what you are saying. For the last couple of years my mantra has been 'you have a job, you are better off than most' but the way the company has acted in the past year has been, IMO, awful so I've already got one foot out of the door, it's just this lbs opportunity seems ace, though my rosé tinted glasses may be set to 'off the scale high'....

@tom worst comes to the worst - train as a mech - go abroad or some vague plan like that.

I know what you mean, and I'm not on a standard rant, but I come into contact with so many people who work so hard for such poor wages and such poor job security that I am eternally thankful that however crappy my job may seem, it has its upsides.

It's a trite and clichéd thing to suggest, but trying to be objective about exactly how crap your job is and exactly how bad it could be is sometimes an illuminating experience.

The other thing I would suggest is that just about every job gets to be crappy and boring when you've done it long enough to be competent at it.

Grab the rainbow, Tom!

Do it, who wants a frigging mortgage anyway?

I was in my early 30s not long married and with a hefty mortgage. Ended up hating my job as an insurance claims handler.
Chucked it and was lucky enough to get a job with the ambulance service. Not saying its always perfect but I now get paid more (because of shifts), have an interesting job that I enjoy and have plenty of time off for familystuff.
It was quite daunting as I had to pass all my training and my personal life suffers a bit sometimes but I couldn't have faced the rest of my life doing a job I had started to loathe.
You're still reasonably young, with few commitments. Fek it, just go for it- if it doesn't work out you'll find something else to do!

You're only 28?, do you really wish to waste all your working life doing something you dislike in return for money?, i just find it weird that some folk choose to spend the vast majority of their life doing something they dislike or hate.

My mate who sweeps the streets in our town takes home double what i earn in a week, he used to work on the bins for a few years prior to getting the street cleaning job, he's perfectly happy wi his hours, his work, and his pay.

Try it, if it doesn't work out go and try something else, go abroad and work in a bar,fruit picking whatever but get out and explore, find work where you can - that's what i did and don't regret it for a second.....

Typical human nature,wanting something badly then getting fed up with it or losing interest, your quest for happiness will sooner or later turn around and you'll soon get bored of the bike shop scene. You'll miss the money and the hidden secrets of bikeland will all be revealed.

All that glitters is not gold.

Although a $hite with glitter sprinkled on it is hella convincing.

martinxyz : Where is this mythical glittering shite you mention?, is it 26" compatible as i don't buy into the "larger size is better debate"....what cycle trade catalogue can i find the golden glitter-shitterati in?.

All i can say is that a job in the LBS is a proper job and not to be confused with a hobby, its a tough industry and it needs people who have a professional approach.
i gave up my IT job about ten years ago to set up my shop and love it.
Its been tough and I made mistakes employing people who didnt work out and some who screwed me over, but now we have an awesome team and we are developing again and were all very positive for the future.
Now I do the odd IT contract as its easy money for me and I look at the IT industry as a joke full of useless ****ers who think they are so clever yet are dumb shits who know nothing. I think ive learned more in the shop than any job in an office could ever teach me.
good thing about the shop is it doesnt feel like work.

There is always someone who loves any job, even emptying bins. I had a part time job as a kitchen porter, many moons ago, really enjoyed it. Cleaning stuff appealed to my OCD tendancies. I still like washing up, find it theraputic...

Do it but don't burn your bridges to your old company/industry. Keep up a few contacts. Life is not a one-way street 🙂

If its the hands on approach or the "mechanics" you love I'd suggest that retraining as some kind of Maintenance Fitter / Millwright / Engineer would be the smart choice. Potentially better earnings, less hours & more days off ( on the right shift pattern ) and most importantly, more variety.

If its all about the bikes then please totally disregard the above and go for it. Whatever floats your boat!

quality of life is King, if i was in your shoes I'd already have left the IT job

I'd work in Ann Summers.

I'd work in Ann Summers.

Retail, is retail, Hora. When the 46th Rampant Rabbit is being brought back by a lady of a certain age, I'm sure the allure will fade.

Retail, is retail, Hora. When the 46th Rampant Rabbit is being brought back by a lady of a certain age, I'm sure the allure will fade.

This is HORA you are talking about!

Naturally I'd have to question her on her technique. Where she is going wrong? What we can do to make the product better for her.

This is HORA you are talking about!

Yeah. Not sure how I forgot that.

I feel like an idiot...

Do it. You don't have any ties and it might take you to amazing places. And you can always go back to your old job with new skills.

But make sure that you have enough money in reserve (ideally 6 months living costs) that you can walk away from it when ever you want and try something else.

Kenny, I'll look it out later on for you ;O)

I've always thought a lbs job would be enjoyable right up until another neighbour asks me to adjust the brakes on their £100 MTB and then the attraction fades somewhat.

[b]Don't do it![/b]

Don't do it until you've updated your CV (do it right now!) and sent it out!

In the past I've been sucked into thinking that my job was as good as it was going to ever get, and it was my fault if it was rubbish. Turned out, on sending out my CV, that there are other employers out there who have more of a clue, pay better, care more about their staff and are generally better to work for. Go and find one and work for them doing what you're currently doing.

Working at an LBS for a dreadful manager will be just as nasty as working in your current line of work for a dreadful manager, only less well paid!

I was in a similar situation to you OP about five years ago. Good job, career etc but with the opportunity to make my hobby my job. The best advice I was given was if you don't try you will never know. Best decision I ever made. I earn almost nothing compared to before and work waaay more but love every day. I enjoy my hobby more because I'm fitter and better at it! I hope to never go back but if I do I have learnt loads of new things.

LOL at 'proper' job..

Society is so ****ed up

I've always thought a lbs job would be enjoyable right up until another neighbour asks me to adjust the brakes on their £100 MTB and then the attraction fades somewhat.

I'd laugh but I had the samething, fitted a chain and noticed the rear mech was way off. It promptly fell into a million pieces with a thousand springs everywhere.

I've had that 'as good as it gets' feeling. I think its time to move to a different place but never ever work in what is also your hobby unless you are the manager or venture owner.

I say do it! Im sorry to say this but you only live once, you only have one chance and you have to do it in whatever way makes you happy, you've already wasted however long being ridiculously unhappy! Having worked the last 10 years with old people I can tell you hand on heart that if you dont do it when you get to 90 you will have huge regrets... people dont talk to me and say 'god wasnt it good that i wasted however many years being unhappy and doing sod all' they say 'god i made mistakes, i shouldnt of done this or that, i was a fool' do you want to be one of those people?! You have nobody else to worry about in terms of your actions, you're completely incharge of your own destiny so do something with it that makes you happy!

28? So 37 years left until you retire.

Carry on in IT for another 18 years putting half your cash in an old biscuit tin, then retire at 46. Then work in a bike shop for free. If you feel like it.

everyone hates work so work for the most money you can.

I think it all depends on your frame of mind.

I used to love cars, I am now a Driving Instructor and cars do my head in now, I can't even be bothered to wash my car I take it to the car wash.

Few people I know are that happy in their jobs - even my mate who works in the City in a senior role on big money and who's very competent, and my mate who works for a charity delivering outdoor education... we're all fed up of poor management, short-term decision-making, politics, lack of anyone other than ourselves caring about career development and job satisfaction etc...

For me, working in Marketing, I found a job 12 years ago where I was genuinely enjoying being at work. The thing that made it enjoyable was it was a small, owner-managed agency of 25 people - too small a team for politics, really close relationships working together to keep the client happy and the money coming in. Owner was a nice guy who wanted his people to be happy.
Lots of other jobs I've not been happy in - the job is the same but the environment and the people are not... so to me that's the difference a lot of the time - how good your boss is, how much the employer values its employees and how much you genuinely work in a team with your colleagues.
I'm contracting now in a large corporate because the money's good and the work/life balance is good but ultimately IME if you want to enjoy your work, a big part of the solution is the employer...
Sounds like your company is the problem here, why not just get a similar role in a smaller organisation?

OP - I'd ask myself the question as to what is next? At 28 you are young so have at least 30-40 years of working ahead of you.

It is a cliche but what would you like to be doing when you hit 40? For me it was owning my own hotel but I got sidetracked by expensive things like mortgage and kids and then divorce (which cost more than everyother thing I've ever bought..) so planning is key.

Could you work for another 5 years and then buy your own shop? that would seem more worth it to me. 2p.

Good luck but make sure you do with a purpose not just cause it looks better than what you have now.

I think I'd find myself siding with scotroutes. At 28 could you not just find a better job and keep an enjoyable hobby as just that? I nearly gave up on IT, but I would have struggled to find another career that paid, anything really, and decided to keep the hobby and the means to fund it separate.

Many years down the line I think that's probably still the way forward. I did get sucked into I job I came to loathe, but was kind of shackled to by then, but after a hiatus, still doing IT but in different context, and getting on fine.

Where do you work out of interest? I work in IT Distribution also.

I'mmmmm going to bet.... Enta? Or maybe KMS....?

Tom, life is short and you don't get your time back. Follow your heart.

So, decision is made. I'm doing the only sensible option in this situation.

I'm sticking with IT. The products I'm focusing on will be Di2 and E:i, as well as providing demo's, tech support and repairs.

Yay!

Good luck. Really hope it turns out well for you.

http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/advertising-sales-executive-cycling-mountain-biking-media-947073894?src=search&tmpl=lin

http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/cycle-mechanic-sales-assistant-947004977?src=search&tmpl=lin

Can only really ad my own experience as 15months ago I was in pretty much exactly the same situation.

Was 25, had a good, secure job in production control at a factory, good wage, chance to progress and very good people, but I hated the job, was stressful and always felt like I was on the verge of tripping up. I sat there wishing I had a simple job, get me by and allow me to ride (and race) my bike as much as possible, I didn't need/want the money, I wanted to be happy. As luck would have it an opportunity presented itself, part time in a bike shop, enough to get me by, I went for it and got it. It was bliss, to begin with. I wasn't a fan of my boss but tolerated it as it was my perfect job, right? Well, year down the line, I'm not too sure, slightly fallen out of love of fixing crap bikes and putting right other peoples mistakes, boss is still poor and to compound the situation I've also completely done my knees in so can't ride, I'm slightly on a downer about bikes in general to be honest, which is what former factory colleagues and others warned me would happen but I knew right and they were wrong obviously! hmm.

Currently, I'm weighing everything up, at an age were I have friends settling down, starting families, enjoying their weekends to the full, I'm not doing any of that, I try and kid myself I don't want it but I'm not too sure. I've never wanted to follow the rat race but maybe I'm just kidding myself and there is a reason why so many people do.

But! I wouldn't have got to this situation without actually trying it out, if I stayed at the factory I would have hated it, always believing a simple job and riding my bikes would be a dream but now if I do join the rat race again at least I've been there and done it!

Live and learn, not regrets and other cliches.

🙂

Naff

I have made the jump, and gotta say its the best thing I ever did 😛

After a 25 year career as a professional Electrical / Electronics engineer I ended up on the wrong side of the recession in 2009.

Anyway long and short ended up 3 years later in the N.E. after a disasterous end to a marriage (which had been on the cards for 10yrs anyway) got an offer to work in a LBS, it meant a bit of commuting (30mins each way), the money is crap, barely covering travel & very basic living expenses but the potential is there. I'm topping up my money by doing the odd IT / engineering consultancy job from home in the evenings.

BUT as I said it's the best thing I ever did I could NEVER EVER go back to being a suit and flogging myself to death for the almighty dollar. I have never been happier spiritualy, physicaly, emotionaly and mentally call me a burn out if you want but I have definitely seen the light.

If you are the materialistic type who is bothered about how people view you and your position on the ladder of life and having a nice car, latest gadgets, etc then I'd say it's not the job for you.

If you have an inner hippy living inside you and you have made peace with the universe etc etc etc and all that tosh and you are happy with yourself as a person then it probably is the job for you.

If your not sure then just give it a try.

Oh and incase you were wondering I'm 46....

😀

I think some-one off this parish as done exactly that; possibly Peter Poddy but I'm not 100% sure. I think he's slightly older though but again could be wrong.

It was Pedro Poddy, but he tops up his finances by being a part time Internet nipple model....
How do you think he afforded his US trip...??

DrP

If you are the materialistic type who is bothered about how people view you and your position on the ladder of life and having a nice car, latest gadgets, etc then I'd say it's not the job for you.

I'm not sure it's quite that binary.

For example, plenty of people are driven to do well paid but dull jobs with a view to retiring early. Or just retiring comfortably rather than being on the breadline once they retire.

As for PP.... 😉

Was chatting with a new mate in the pub last night.

He told me the story of how he managed to find his way down south from up north.

After a particularly bad day at work (he didn't much like his job), his mate who had just finished uni persuaded him to go out for a night out (he had work the next day).

They got home at about 4am pretty drunk and decided they were going to apply for jobs for each other.

The deal was they were meant to apply for one joke job, one realistic job and another dream job.

So for my mate, his mate applied (for him) for a job at KFC (the joke), management at Boots (the realistic) and as a Quantity Surveyor (the dream).

They went to bed and thought nothing more of it, then a couple of days later my mate gets a telephone call - they're very interested in his CV - could he come for an interview - it's the dream job!

So he went to the interview and got the job, that was 2 and a half years ago - he's very happy with the way things worked out.

P.S. KFC rejected him as he 'didn't have the right credentials for the job'.