by EB
(Victoria, Australia)

Hi, I was recommended to this site by a career counselor, she told me to take a career quiz which is on this website, but I can’t find it?
Also wanting to change my career but I don’t know what to do. I have done tests and have given it a year or two to think about it. Can you suggest anything that might help thanks.

SIMON REPLIES

The career counselor was probably referring to my career assessment exercise. This has been updated is no longer free, however, I have provided temporary free access below to the paid version. Try completing the assessment and then if you have any further questions come back to me.
Here is the link:
Career Assessment

Simon

by Melissa (NZ)

My name is Melissa, I’m 22 years old and I live in NZ.
Currently, I am stuck in a job rut working in a suburban working men’s club/bar, an RSA kind of one (one of the not so nicer ones)

I had previously left another hospitality job at a working men’s club where I had worked for 5-6 years- since I was about 16 or 17 years old.

The previous job I had at the working men’s club, they would not let me further myself and my boss didn’t like me very much.

I saw the advertisement in the newspaper for bartenders (it said training would be given)so I leaped at the chance as the job I was at then would only let me work in the kitchen and wouldn’t let me broaden my experience by teaching me bar work.

Anyway…so I started working the one I’m at now and in the first 6 weeks, I met my partner who works as a chef in the kitchen who I am still with now.

We have both been there now for around 2 1/2 years as we started at about the same time; he is also the same age as me.

In the past 2 years, I have completed my Bar Certificate course at CPIT, I have also completed a cocktail making course.

At the start of this year, I did a four week (2 nights per week) Barista Training Course as well.

Also, when I was 17 I did a traveling, nanny and au pair course by correspondence, which I passed.

Furthermore, in 2008, I attended University in which I studied four papers, two in Art History and two in psychology.

I passed two out of the four as I met a guy at the time and let him swallow all my study time. Then I decided not to go back to university, started working at the working men’s club I’m at now, met my partner, whom I live with.

I feel like I’m getting closer and closer to the stereotype of girls my age that have no ambition and are settling down with their partners and – GETTING PREGNANT.

I don’t want that because I’m so much smarter than that and it would be a waste and I’m sick of seeing girls around here like that.

I’m so sick to death with talking to people who tell me to go travel while I figure it out.

I don’t want to go travel without some good qualifications behind me because then I’ll come back to nothing.

I know I don’t want to work in hospitality for the rest of my life (I wouldn’t mind doing hospitality while I’m traveling though)

I like art and I like learning about art but there just aren’t enough jobs in NZ for that.

I also like to learn about psychology and how the brain works and why we do the things we do.

I wouldn’t mind working with teenagers as I have been through quite a lot earlier on (bought up in a violent family, parents separated and went to live with strange aunty and her 3 ADHD kids. Then we went to live in a caravan park for 3 or 4 months with dad and my brother where I slowly developed suicidal tenancies and bulimia – both of which I’m over now as this was 5 or 6 years ago.

Mum and Dad eventually got back together and we all sorted our issues out)

I also look very young for the age, I’m 22 but at a guess, you’d say I was in between 16-19, I get on quite well with teenagers and adolescents (I think I just understand them well)

As of recently I was thinking about doing a one night a week (6 week course)in professional makeup but then I thought “Nah,I don’t need another course that I probably won’t do anything with”, then I think to myself, well if I don’t do that what the hell am I going to do, then I go back to going to work day in, day out feeling annoyed with myself for not putting my foot down and just starting something.

I’ve already missed my chance to go back to university as I was actually going to this year but hadn’t filled out my enrollment properly and consequently missed out.

I always feel like I’m running out of time even though I’m only 22 years old.

Its Saturday night and

I’ll be off to work shortly, probably thinking this over in my head as per usual.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

So here is what I have been through so far and this rut I am in, stuck in a job I don’t like.
I just have no idea what I want to do and it’s eating me up inside!

Sorry, I didn’t intend for this to be as long as it is!

Thanks again,

Melissa

__________________________________________________

Simon’s reply to (with free pdf download help):

Stuck in a Rut at Work

Hello Melissa,
The best place to start when you are stuck in a rut like this, is to begin to think about areas you have an interest in right now.

These were:
1. Art.
2. Psychology and how the brain works.
3. Working with teenagers.

A good starting point would be to investigate these three options further.

This normally involves finding out more information about each of them to the point where you feel you can make a decision either for or against the thre options.

One of the things that inhibit people from making quality career decisions is simply a lack of knowledge about some of the career options that they may be interested in.

Investigate Job Possibilities Further

So try to do something, even if it is something small that will help you get more knowledge about these particular career options.

This involves a bit of work in the beginning but in the end, it is time well spent.
I would be happy to help you do this if you need a hand, either by e-mail, zoom, or phone.

As you begin to get more information about each of these three areas the new information will either begin to ignite the passion within you about that career or conversely it will cause you to go cold on it.

This allows you to narrow down your career options and focus on the one or two that still holds interest for you, if any.

One of the best ways to get good quality information on potential career choices is to find people who are doing similar work and then find a way of getting an opportunity to talk to them about their work.

By this, I don’t mean asking them if they know of a job opening, but rather asking if they would be willing to give you some time to talk about the type of work they do as a way of helping you assess your career options.

Here is a pdf document that I created to help my clients on on how to practically obtain this type of career information by getting meetings with people already doing a particular job that may interest you.

You mentioned that although you have an interest in art, the job opportunities may not be available in New Zealand.

Initially, I would not let this stop me from investigating this, at least to the next level of getting some more information before shutting the door on it completely.

If You Have Some Passion for This Area, Don’t Drop it Just Yet.

The first and very important part of tapping into a career that is right for you is to not allow market forces (perceived or real) to kill any inner passions you have about a potential career option.

In regards to psychology, since you have already studied this at University, you will probably have some insight into whether or not you would like to pursue this area further.

I would be happy to check with you about this.

You may also like to consider the idea of doing a few hours on a voluntary basis with an organisation that helps people.

Many youth groups, mental help call centres for example, are always looking for voluntary helpers at nights or on weekends.

This would also be a great way to fulfill your job information gathering as you would be rubbing shoulders with other youth workers.

You may also like to consider completing my dream career finder inborn job skills assessment which I think you would find helpful.
Here is the link:
Dream Career Finder

Let me know if I can be of any further help.

Regards
Simon Davies

by Jake
(Auckland, NZ)

Self Employed Arboriculture Career

Hi there,
I’ve recently started an arboriculture career apprenticeship and have started as a sole trader with my own car and safety equipment, but otherwise minimal tools.

I was wondering as to my expected wage bracket compared to everyone else in the arboriculture industry out there. Also, what should I expect in relation to remuneration for risks taken, hours worked, etc?

I’m also saving 30% of my wage and was wondering if that will be enough to cover tax, GST and accounts preparation at the end of the year?

Simon’s Response to Self-employed Arboriculture Career

Hi Jake
First of all, let me congratulate you and wish you well for your self-employed arboriculture career.
In regards to your first question about wages, are you asking what hourly rate should you charge yourself out at?

You say that you are doing an Arboriculture apprenticeship.
Does this mean that you are working for a company as you do your apprenticeship and also working for yourself as an Arboriculturist part-time?
You might want to clarify this for me so that I can help you further.

If you are wanting to know what rate to charge yourself out of it, that would be just a matter of finding out what the market rate is for arboriculture work in your area.

If you are still in your apprenticeship and just starting out in the arboriculture industry, you might expect your charge out rate to be less than others who have been in the industry for quite some time.

You obviously have some contacts in the arboriculture industry since you are doing an apprenticeship, so ask around what others are charging.

Putting your money aside for taxes and end-of-the-year accounts preparation etc. is a wise move as large unexpected tax bills have caused problems for self-employed people in the past. It’s difficult to know if 30% is enough to cover this as income and expenses vary greatly from one self-employed person to the next. However, it’s probably a pretty good place to start.

In New Zealand, you are only required to be registered for goods and services tax if your turnover is over $40,000 per annum.

You can choose to register if you are under $40,000 per annum but usually, you are better off to not register and this also saves you a lot of book work filing GST returns. But the advice of an accountant should be sought or alternatively to save yourself some money, start by talking to Inland Revenue.

Jake, feel free to come back to me if you need any of these issues clarified.

by Patrick
(Akron, Ohio, USA)

I currently work for The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. Recently I saw a job posting for my exact position with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, so I submitted a resume. After the normal process, I was offered the job.

At first, I was excited about it. It’s for more money and would be moving to Las Vegas. After I received the employment contract I was informed of the state-mandated furlough where all state employees are required to take 1 day per month off unpaid. Although this is a small salary reduction (approx. 5%), it is still a reduction.

UNLV and the state of Nevada are having real financial problems. Is it smart to go to work for a company that is already cutting pay and cancelling programs? What is next? More pay cuts? Layoffs?

I am also thinking if this is really a job that I want to move 2000 miles away from home for. I have an MBA in Supply Chain Management & would like to get into that field. I feel that the opportunities to do this would be better back in Ohio or the surrounding states. Nevada has no industry other than hospitality, education & medical.

Lastly, is the pay increase worth giving up everything I have established here in Ohio? I have a great family & friends here that I know I would miss dearly.

I know that this is ultimately my decision to make, but any help or advice that you can give m would be greatly appreciated.

Simon’s Reply

Hi Patrick.

Whenever somebody is considering a new job, and they themselves are raising a lot of issues about why they should not take that job, that’s normally a red flag for me.

And my rule of thumb about choosing a new job is that if the thought of the new position does not cause your heart to skip a couple of beats when you think of yourself in that role, then the job is probably not the right one.

Of course, this is a general rule and there are exceptions to it.

The money seems to be the main attraction for accepting the job, and this is pretty normal.

Here is a question to consider: If the remuneration for this new job was the same or almost the same as your current job, would you ever even consider it?

I’m guessing the answer to that question is fairly obvious, but it can help put the money issue in perspective.

What we know from research is that although money is an important part of the career decision-making process, it generally doesn’t rate in the top three of the most important aspects of a job for long-term worker satisfaction.

There are a number of factors in your question that point to the fact that you should probably be staying put.

Probably the biggest issue is related to your family and friends and your life balance.

When you get to the end of your life, and you look back over the things that were most important to you, it is unlikely you will rate a career transition such as this ahead of the good memories of family and friends.

A very simple but helpful exercise when making a career decision such as this is to simply write out a list of all the reasons why you should accept the new job on the left-hand side of a page and all the reasons why you shouldn’t accept it the right-hand side of the page.

When completing the list, be sure to expand your answers out fully for both sides of the argument.

The main benefit of this exercise is to simply remove all the thoughts that are going around your mind and to place them on a piece of paper.

This frees up our mind to look at the situation from an external point of view now that our mind is somewhat empty of the issue. This clearer mind then helps the brain in the final decision-making process.

Best of luck with the decision.