Need a Career Change - Feeling a Little Lost - Advice Appreciated!

Lbillyboil on 25/10/2023 - 12:05

I currently work at a major broadcaster as a producer, i earn about 82k annually and im starting to think there isnt a lot of headroom to go elsewhere. I have been in the role for 5 years, and my pay hasnt changed much.

I have a mortgage and i really need to start earning more money.

This is where im feeling my dilemma, financially, i cannot go back to university or take on any more HECS.

I have some unique skills, but i am trying to find a career where these skills might overlap.

I work in A/V production, podcast production, translation and typesetting, subtitling. I work in an area that specialises in multicultural content.

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on a new career path i might be able to look for ?

Education & Work

Comments

  • jugsy on 25/10/2023 - 12:15
    +33

    You get pay raises by moving companies, not by working hard and being loyal

    • Drakesy on 25/10/2023 - 14:28
      +3

      100%, loyalty is dead.

      Looking back at the people who i did my grad program with (a tier 2 consultant) and they're some 40% behind where i am pay wise, have changed jobs 4 times in 5 years. Staying put and waiting for someone above you to die is dead. We have an issue where side hires (people coming in from the same position without a promotion) are getting paid more than the ones who've literally given their life to the company.

      Project management is always a quick and easy way to rise up the corporate ladder without a huge amount of re-skilling.

      • SlickMick on 26/10/2023 - 09:31
        +1

        My experience has been the opposite. When I don't like something about a company, I leave. I look back and see all the people I used to work with now in senior roles. I must look like a drifter to them.

        So many people start as trainees and just hang around until they're GMs. They haven't learned a thing other than how this company does things and could never get another job.

        It's not what I want, but works for some.

        • azero on 26/10/2023 - 10:17
          +1

          I agree with that, I stayed with the same company for 8 years and went many positions up and more than doubled the starting salary.

          looking back at people who did frequent changes, they are still in the same position and unless contracting, getting paid less.

          But I do go to interviews once in a while to make sure that I can still land another job.

          • SlickMick on 26/10/2023 - 10:23
            +1

            @azero: That's a good idea. I would change jobs a lot more except I hate the interview process so much.
            It would be good to get used to doing them without the pressure, maybe I could even get better at it.

        • Drakesy on 26/10/2023 - 10:29

          If you've been jumping jobs and aren't ahead of where had you stuck around you were you've been doing it wrong.

          • SlickMick on 26/10/2023 - 11:30

            @Drakesy: Obviously. But my observation is that people who hang around rise to their level of incompetence, something I've never done (nor would want to).

            • azero on 26/10/2023 - 12:15

              @SlickMick: I think it is universal that everyone gets promoted to their level of incompetence regardless of them staying or not.

              Salary not going up is related to them staying in the same level when moving around. In the first part of your career you will get 20 - 30% when jumping and after a while it plateaus out unless you start moving up the ladder.

              Then you will see that no one hires you for a position above (ex. going from an individual contributor to a manger) unless you are already a manager. Hence the people who moves a lot ends up in a single level.

              • SlickMick on 26/10/2023 - 12:56

                @azero: In technology, some of us avoid that. I've known some to get promoted to management, not like it, and change to a lower-paying hands-on role.
                I found that building specialist skills kept my value going up - until I became too specialised and when demand dried up my career fell off a cliff.

                I actually saw a job advertised recently for the first time in 7 years, paying 50% over what I'm on now. If I was more flexible with relocating I guess I could still we riding the wave.

                • azero on 26/10/2023 - 13:23

                  @SlickMick: Yeah the reality is that it is a very narrow market. How many 200K+ jobs will be there for you if you don't want to be in any form management. Staff / distinguished engineer / enterprise architect / be a contracting specialist in a niche field - only a few roles in big tech or finance in here.

                  Then your age will come into play and the businesses would want to hire either the cheaper younger guy for half of your pay. I see being in tech a bit like being a flight attendant, for a majority do it for a while and then move up or sideways.

  • Lord Fart Bucket on 25/10/2023 - 12:16

    This?

    • Some Human on 25/10/2023 - 12:50

      I came here to suggest the same thing.

  • afoveht on 25/10/2023 - 12:24

    Maybe not what you want to hear but consider freelancing. I have a mate who does pretty much what you do, seems to have plenty of work and can somewhat pick and choose the types of jobs he wants. He's making $1K to $1.5K a day (some long ones I think) when he's on the clock, 15 years experience, using his own gear.

    • pharkurnell on 25/10/2023 - 12:28

      He's making $1K to $1.5K a day

      when do I start….

      • Stopback on 25/10/2023 - 12:29
        +1

        Social media/tiktok

      • afoveht on 25/10/2023 - 12:31

        I guess after you develop a reputation you can do good work.

        $1K/day = $125/hr - nothing extraordinary for a freelancer. Look at that post about the plumber yesterday.

        • pharkurnell on 25/10/2023 - 12:33

          its a touch better than Im on at moment… ;)

      • SlickMick on 26/10/2023 - 09:34

        Then just hope you get more than 1 day's work.

        I can imagine a lot of stress between gigs if you're giving up a fulltime job because you need more money.

    • billyboil on 25/10/2023 - 13:02

      I like the idea of freelancing, but stability would be good. I think I need to find the right platform to advertise my services as well

    • nubzy on 25/10/2023 - 13:33

      I was freelancing for years and doing OK out of it, then AI came along and made it a million times harder to earn decent money and find decent work. Now I am doing some manual labour instead. Definitely would like to get back into freelancing or find some cushy WFH job but think I will have to get an IT qualification or something. I've never been comfortable with settling down and getting a normal job, I like my independence and freedom too much.

      • afoveht on 25/10/2023 - 13:38

        Interesting. Not too long ago my mate was telling me about a subtitling job that was taking longer than expected, the customer kept wanting more refinements. He didn't like the job much but was on the clock at a good rate so whatever. Automatic subtitling was a thing and he showed me the output, but there was a nuanced difference between his work and the automatic version. At the end of the day his customer appreciated the nuance and paid for it. Maybe a bit of luck, maybe a bit of skill in weeding out tyre kickers and finding good payers.

  • kerfuffle on 25/10/2023 - 12:26
    +6

    So you work for SBS?

    • Benoffie on 25/10/2023 - 17:24
      +1

      Haha thought same! 🤣

      • kerfuffle on 25/10/2023 - 21:24

        The fact that the OP chose not to reply confirms it.

  • jv on 25/10/2023 - 12:42
    -2

    Maccas

  • ECE on 25/10/2023 - 12:56
    +1

    Don't you have a pay review every FY? 🤔

    • billyboil on 25/10/2023 - 13:02
      +1

      You'd think that. But the company is incredibly stingy when it comes to pay increases, almost ridiculously so

  • will05 on 25/10/2023 - 13:17

    specialises in multicultural content 🧐 - lot of pr and event look for this particular

  • 7ekn00 on 25/10/2023 - 13:47

    A lot of those skill sets will quickly be replaced by AI :/

    Instead of being consumed by AI, maybe become a specialist in how to apply AI to your current field (and that will make you sought after by many companies looking at AI to reduce staff costs)

    • billyboil on 25/10/2023 - 15:10

      some aspects i agree it will eventually be replaced. Theres still a long way to go with translations as it makes a lot of errors and cant distinguish between a lebanese speaking arabic or iraqi arabic for example.
      But yes i agree, i want to be in a position where i essentially am the person to come to, to apply ai

  • Scrooge McDeal on 25/10/2023 - 15:15
    +5

    I need a career change too. I know how you feel OP. You feel stack in the routine, afraid to take the risk, on your days off you want to look for other jobs but you are mentally tired.
    I am still trying to find a way to switch my mindset.

    • SlickMick on 26/10/2023 - 09:37
      +1

      Same. Trying to find the time and motivation to retrain in my "spare time". I'm starting to think I haven't got the motivation this is going to require. Am I going to sacrifice sleeping for this career change or not??

    • Ultimate Gattai on 31/10/2023 - 03:04

      I can barely do anything outside of work, I'm just taking the leap and going for jobs that come up, hopefully I can feel better and actually retrain in my spare time once I change jobs.

  • Broke-Ken on 25/10/2023 - 16:16
    +2

    I'd say Freelancing it the way to go for now.

    I work in A/V production, podcast production, translation and typesetting, subtitling.

    All these skills can be applied to youtube. Everyone and their dog wants to be a youtuber, and be in front of the camera, you offer your services to these keen people to do the backend stuff, and you will have an endless supply of clients.

  • Benoffie on 25/10/2023 - 17:26
    +1

    Look at digital content production roles in state and federal governments.

    Foolishly, many teachers think they can apply for these jobs as they are often mistitled as Curriculum Creators but when you look at the JD, it's glorified media production.

    Solid work, good mobility and good pay. Plus often wfh.

    • billyboil on 25/10/2023 - 20:00

      Really interesting, never considered it! Thank you

      • burnerman on 26/10/2023 - 07:33

        Universities as well. A lot of our Educational Development teams are media folks.

  • AustriaBargain on 25/10/2023 - 18:18

    Start your own media company making funny subtitles to serious movies.

    • billyboil on 25/10/2023 - 20:00

      haha! i actually like this idea

  • whatwasherproblem on 25/10/2023 - 21:52
    +2

    I currently work at a major broadcaster

    im starting to think there isnt a lot of headroom

    I like where this is going, OP.

  • Hoofee on 26/10/2023 - 08:53
    +1

    My wife is a nurse and she is about to start on a university cyber security degree next month. I think the primary course requirement was for her to have a prior degree (in any subject), no prior IT knowledge required for the course. It only cost ~$4k because it's subsidised, they are desperate for people to do cyber security courses because there is a large shortage of of cyber security professionals.

    We're in QLD but it's probably similar elsewhere. Anyway, if you're looking for a career change it might be something to consider.

    • SlickMick on 26/10/2023 - 09:41

      Has she got a cyber job lined up? There is no shortage of people wanting to work in cyber security, there is a shortage of experienced professionals. I've done some courses, but can't find an entry-level job. (I'm also not able to move to a capital city - that could be a big difference.)

      • azero on 26/10/2023 - 13:41

        Yeah I also agree with the above, I'd really doubt if there are entry level cyber security jobs. If you are already in IT, there will be a chance for you to move otherwise I won't be so sure.

        Best thing you could do is try to talk to someone already in the field and get an idea. I'd say nursing is a much more stable career.

        • Hoofee on 27/10/2023 - 09:30

          There are jobs like the one below, but like SlickMick said, your location could affect your options:

          https://www.seek.com.au/job/70726236

          Obviously it wouldn't pay much starting at the bottom, but that's to be expected at the start.

      • Hoofee on 27/10/2023 - 09:15

        No, she doesn't already have a cyber job lined up. We're also not in a major city and we don't really want to move to one either, so we'll see how this works out.

        It will be interesting to see how this goes once she's all done and dusted - she has no experience in IT but she's picking it up quite quickly (she has been doing a couple of small free cisco cyber sec courses before the Uni one). She doesn't really have much to lose as the nursing side is still ok and she's a very experienced nurse, she'd just like a change that's all.

    • moar bargains on 26/10/2023 - 13:23

      Which uni is offering a Cybersec degree for $4k?!

      • Hoofee on 27/10/2023 - 09:23
        +1

        Sorry, I said it was a degree but I just checked with her and it's actually a post-graduate diploma. University of Sunshine Coast, course is called "Graduate Diploma in Cyber Security". The course was $4500.

        • moar bargains on 27/10/2023 - 12:32

          Thanks. Having looked into it myself a few times I had a feeling it would be a Grad Dip or similar. Still a good move I reckon!

    • billyboil on 26/10/2023 - 21:20

      Thanks appreciate it. I wanted to look at something like this

  • trapper on 26/10/2023 - 15:43

    Figure out what role you actually want, something you will enjoy that pays enough etc

    Make a plan to get there, start following that plan.

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