[centurymantra]

I am strongly considering leaving the family business that I have been working with for 22 years. This does create a bit of a dilemma in that I am 47 years old at this point and changing careers is a daunting prospect. It is especially so in that I would be leaving my job as a 47 year old guy with no college degree and my primary work experience resting on my long stint with the family business.

Even though my job has involved managing the office and governing most aspects of the business, I question how relevant the experience is to a prospective employer. It should qualify as experience that would prove valuable to just about any type of administrative position, but the lack of degree compounds the "iffiness".

I don't need to make a ton of money, but would like to find something in the 40k-50k range. I only make about 50k currently - with no benefits - and this is pretty much the cap for my salary, so taking a bit of a reduction would not be a big deal given that I would hope for an increase over the course of time. That being said, I am a bit concerned about ending up unemployed and falling into some crap 10/hour job. My wife makes a decent salary working for the state and this will go up with standard COL raises, chances for advancement, etc. so I'm sure we will get by fine, but this would obviously be an undesirable outcome.

I have been so out of the loop on the job market and the realities of job seeking that I guess I am just looking for insight on what kind of prospects are out there...or what I should be looking for. Relocating is not out of the question, as my wife can pretty easily transfer to one of many government around the state and around the US.

[michigan83]

Originally Posted by centurymantra

I am strongly considering leaving the family business that I have been working with for 22 years. This does create a bit of a dilemma in that I am 47 years old at this point and changing careers is a daunting prospect. It is especially so in that I would be leaving my job as a 47 year old guy with no college degree and my primary work experience resting on my long stint with the family business.

Even though my job has involved managing the office and governing most aspects of the business, I question how relevant the experience is to a prospective employer. It should qualify as experience that would prove valuable to just about any type of administrative position, but the lack of degree compounds the "iffiness".

I don't need to make a ton of money, but would like to find something in the 40k-50k range. I only make about 50k currently - with no benefits - and this is pretty much the cap for my salary, so taking a bit of a reduction would not be a big deal given that I would hope for an increase over the course of time. That being said, I am a bit concerned about ending up unemployed and falling into some crap 10/hour job. My wife makes a decent salary working for the state and this will go up with standard COL raises, chances for advancement, etc. so I'm sure we will get by fine, but this would obviously be an undesirable outcome.

I have been so out of the loop on the job market and the realities of job seeking that I guess I am just looking for insight on what kind of prospects are out there...or what I should be looking for. Relocating is not out of the question, as my wife can pretty easily transfer to one of many government around the state and around the US.

Keep in mind that a good benefits package is worth a ton of $$$, so if you find something that pays $35,000/year with full benefits, the overall value of that situation might be equal to $50,000 with no benefits.

[centurymantra]

Good point. That being said, I have insurance through my wife's job and would not have any need of that. Vacation time would be nice though and is certainly of value. I am currently supposed to have vacation time, but cannot take it. I have taken exactly two vacation days (plus a couple days for personal matters) in the last three years and this is certainly part of my burnout on the job.

[wanderer74]

It depends a lot on what your specific skills are and the job market you're in. I would not personally leave your current company without another job lined up (it wasn't entirely clear if you were considering it) so that means you would have an opportunity and some time to put out some feelers to find out if your skills will match with a better job. The job market in Michigan can be pretty tough depending on your market.

My husband and I both have degrees; it took him 5 years to find a job in IT that eventually paid $47K with no benefits - it started out at $38K and he had to work up. I was completely unemployed for a year because I could not convince employers that my skills and education translated to available jobs. I couldn't get hired AT ALL, I wasn't even holding out for 40-50K. At one point a couple years ago I interviewed for an administrative-related job that paid $10 an hour with no benefits and they required a college degree with a minimum 3.5 GPA. I hear things are turning around and some markets are better than the one I lived in, but I would definitely apply for a bunch of jobs and see what kind of response you get before deciding to leave your current job.

[Retroit]

Does the "family" know you are considering leaving and what are (or would be) their thoughts of you doing so? Would you be able to return if things don't work out at the new job? Would they give you good references if you did leave?

Have you asked/demanded more time off at your new job? (as this seems to be the main (only) point of contention)

Would there be any chance of you starting a "branch office" of the existing family business and paying yourself a higher salary (as you would be the "branch manager")? You could build on the reputation of the existing "office" but in a new location/market.

Just seems to me it would be a shame to throw away all your experience, connections, relationships, etc.

[belleislerunner]

Focus on a specific task - for example, payroll. Do you use ADP at your current job? Consider switching to something like that. Then you can go work for a company and be hired as a payroll specialist. The ones at my job all make 40-55K and it doesn't seem too demanding and would get you an easy 8-5 w/ full benefits. No college degree required. Good luck!

[centurymantra]

I appreciate the insights from everyone. It is a tricky thing to navigate out of a family business, esp one this small. I mentioned the lack of time off, and this stems from the fact that that I am pretty much the only employee and run most functions of the office - apart from my father who owns the business and is mostly out in the field and/or working remotely. We do have one other part-time employee, but they don't deal with any of the primary day to day operations. This is not really the primary bone of contention though. The primary reason I am looking to move on is that I feel that there is a very strong possibility that the business will be going under....not immediately but five or ten years down the road this could likely be the case. I do not like the idea of being a guy in his 50s...maybe even going on 60 looking for a job and feel like the best decision would be to - if I really feel this is imminent - act now while I am still "young" and have a better chance of finding something I can move into and upward.

I will be having a conversation with my father about this, of course, as it is a pretty big deal - to put it lightly. At this point I am just trying to feel out what it will be like once I make the decision.

[Retroit]

Understood. I wrongly assumed it was a larger business that was on more stable footing.