Ok folks, I'm hoping my actual life could generate as much interest as my sex life.

Some of you may remember that I'm the Ops/Duty Manager at a holiday estate. I can't really explain the pros and cons of this adequately on here, but suffice it to say, I'm currently serving my longest sentence in a job for the last 5yrs. I've not managed longer than a year anywhere else since the mid-noughties. There are various issues here (not least of which the quitting of my receptionist yesterday) which are making my job very difficult. On the other hand, I'm in charge to a degree, so I'm free to post this and can manage my day how I want. I also live on site in a free flat and have the pool/sauna/jacuzzi downstairs. The amount of debt I've paid off is phenomenal and I've not had to drive to work, meaning I only have to drive for fun and/or shopping.

So basically, it's a cushy situation and were I a normal person I would probably suck it up and take the money. However, I'm not. I need to be challenged and motivated and neither is happening. I'm slowly losing the will to live for a variety of reasons. My question is, what should I do?

More background:
I have 8 As and a B in French C in Spanish at GCSE, that's it. No further qualifications.
Every job I've had so far (bar my very first one at 18) I've gotten by word of mouth and a bit of blag.
I'm 29 next month
I have no savings, but I only owe about £1000 now (down from nearly £11000 2.5yrs ago)

If I stay in Cornwall, I have tourism experience at more than just a reception/customer service level and I now how to run a pool. Aside from that, I have very few options and keeping my salary will be extremely difficult. But I get to be by the seaside and live in a mild (mostly) sunny climate. To my mind the only alternative in this country is London. Anywhere else seems like a compromise. I like the town when I'm there and I go once a year on average. I have some friends there, but there's no sea and it's very busy and a stinking hole of a place at times. That said, you would expect opportunities to be far more plentiful.

Finally, my greatest asset is my ability to communicate with people and understand them. I also mediate and consult well. But I have no transferable skills or quals.

So - ideas?? Ask any questions if you want more information....

My first suggestion would be don't jack it in just yet

Secondly, my previous job was in a place not dissimilar to yours but with the added irritation of having to work & live all day with christians.

Thirdly, you've told what you can do but not what you want to do. I can do a loooooooong list of things but what I actually want, desire and crave is to be on stage. I'm a superb stage speaker and it's the only place I feel alive. I'm currently looking a ways to get into this very closed world.

So, the question really is "What did you dream about doing before you stopped dreaming?"

At that rate of saving you'll be debt free in a couple of months. Work for a few more to get at least £1k in savings. If you quit that job you'll need a deposit to rent a new house. I think it's best to use your experience to get a new job rather than your GCSE grades. Experience is much more valuable to employers.

Have you thought about using your current job to fund a qualification that will help you elsewhere?

Maybe even a qualification that backs up what you have in terms of experience so that for prospective jobs you can show experience and qualifications etc...

I've been thinking recently of doing an Open University degree.

Oooooo

Good thinking there.

Seems to me you've almost talked yourself into staying where you are. Your experience seems to limit you to tourism-related employment, although you could always look into hotel management or similar. As for limiting your options to London, that in itself puts a lot of restrictions - it's expensive, it's not a very nice place to live (full of Southerners) and I'd imagine that jobs there are highly sought after and thus employers will have lots of candidates with lots of paper qualifications that will look impressive but, as usual, won't tell the whole story.

So, how much of a challenge do you want, are you looking to change direction completely and how far are you willing to compromise? I have to be honest and say that with only GCSEs, you're already at a disadvantage compared to people with A-levels/degrees, so in your case it's experience that is your biggest weapon. After that it's down to what job you want and whether you can spin your experience to meet the requirements.

Oh, and what sort of salary are you looking for?

So, you're stuck in a job that bores you. Welcome to the real world.

I count myself lucky, in that I'm really enjoying my current job, but I guess that the vast majority of people are stuck with the daily grind of a job that doesn't challenge or inspire them.

You will have cleared £12k of debt in under three years, at a time when the job market is on it's arse. An enviable postion that many people would kill for.

My advice - grin and bear it for another couple of years and see how the market shakes out. Continue to save the portion of your salary you've been setting aside for paying off your debts, and you'll be much better placed to respond to the ideal opportunity if and when it arises.

An Open Univeristy Degree is a great idea, as you could have something in your life to challenge and engage you whilst staying put.

How about challenging yourself to generate new business in your current role? It could be a great addition to your CV for that future job, or may uncover opportunities in your current job that renew your enthusiasm.

I agree with the above. Stay where you are for a year or so, because when you find the exciting job you want, you'll need a wedge to get yourself started. You also need the time to decide what it is you want, of course

Stay where you are for a while. The jobs market can be funny about people who move on too readily.

Use the time to clear any existing debts and save. If you have savings you have more options. Don't worry about buying a home yet as you have somewhere rent free and that is worth a lot, so save like crazy for a deposit and even for some qualifications, OU or something more towards a planned career change. If you can make changes at work so that you are happier, it makes it a lot more pleasant if you enjoy what you do.

I'd stick with the job a little longer, and maybe do the extra qualification stuff that Oli suggests - evening courses, for example, if you can't do a sandwich course or do some week / 2 week vocational courses.

The older you get, the more problems you will have, if you are constantly jumping from job to job. You need to show some stability, otherwise it looks like you are unemployable. That said, keep your eyes open for that "great job".

My last 2 jobs have been pretty soul destroying, but I've stuck with them, until I could find something better. I'm hoping the new job, starting next month, is THE ONE. It certainly sounds like a great job. But I've put up with a lot of **** over the last few years, building myself back up into a position to get a decent job.

If the job is really paying that well, I'd look at saving as much as I could, so that I could take a decent break at the end of the job, before starting the next challenge...

Use the time to work out what you really want to do. It is great if you can be paid a decent wage, whilst trying to decide what is important to you.

I'd agree with this in that you will be in a much better position if you have cleared your debts and have, say, 3 or 4 months worth of living expenses set aside to tide you over while looking for something else. Have a good think about what you'd like to do and see if you can find out which (if any) qualifications you'd need. You may find that you can talk to people working in a business you're interested in and ask them for advice and you can then mull over whether it would be a good move. Quite often you'll get some very useful information not only about the career itself, but also opinions on what may happen in the future and whether things are likely to remain good or go downhill.

There's also the option of setting up your own business, of course, and working in a freelance capacity. I have a degree, but as I work freelance no-one has ever asked me anything about qualifications which is a good job as my A Level results were appalling.

The company I work for at the moment is tied in to tourism in London. I'll be over there tomorrow so can pick a few brains for you if you like. From what I gather I don't think the site managers at museums and attractions are paid very much but will find out. Like the others said get some money behind you before making a change as new accommodation & furniture all costs.

I was expecting a ton of similar responses, and I got them! To be clear, the option of staying here may not be there inside the next couple of months. It may be, but things are looking grim, as the business is in serious trouble and has been for years. I've only worked here for 16mths and I've done a lot of good in that time, but the owner is not perhaps the most gifted business man and has made a lot of irreversible mistakes that affect both the attitudes of all the stakeholders and the income streams.



Already done it. I've increased local pool membership by at least £5k annually and improved the level of repeat business and people finding us for the first time on the web.



The owner and his wife are Christians and I still have a lot of stakeholders who are running a jihad on change of any kind. It's extremely frustrating and very sad.



THIS ^^
This is the question I would ask somebody else who had posted or asked me my question. The answer for me is "I don't know" and has been for my entire life. I have a passion for music, helping people and understanding the world around me and primarily the people in it. In the past, I've been an amateur DJ and I loved it. Working in pro-audio had it's moments. Being an amateur counsellor for people around me, is a constant occupation, but I'd need quals to go pro. And tbh, I'm kinda anti-qualification. I admire people who follow their dreams and if I could pinpoint what mine were, I'd be there doing it. I'm hungry, determined and focussed.............. when I want to be. The rest of the time I'm just coasting. I got my GCSEs with zero effort and my lack of interest is what prevented me from getting good A-levels and/or a degree.



Agreed. But part of me doesn't just wanna start renting and go on to "another" job. I've done 8 in 10years and I'm an extremely capable guy, IF I believe in and value what I do. I want a change.



I have. And where my current situation a little more stable and not looking like it could come to an end shortly, I would want to improve my French and/or Spanish. I have a reasonable understanding of very basic spoken and written French and a little less in Spanish. Languages fascinate me, as they are how people communicate. A degree would be fine if I knew what I wanted to do. Subjects I would enjoy are psychology, philosophy and anthropology. How you turn that into a job you're passionate about, I don't know - and certainly not in this county.



I'm a people person. So my skills in that area are pretty universal. I have experience in sales/marketing, customer service, compliant handling, supervision of other staff, recruitment, account management and organisation of other people/events (but I'm rubbish at organising myself). So I could get out of tourism quite easily by falling back on my old trusty sales experience. But it's a souless, corporate job and I haven't worn a tie in a few years now and I have no desire to start again now.



You're right. But where else in the UK offers the same level of opportunities for somebody like me who is a blagger, and more about networking than playing the CV game (although I have a reasonably good CV IMHO)? I'm open to suggestions.

Salary doesn't matter to me, providing I can afford to rent, run my car, have a little fun and go on holiday once in a while. With house prices and salaries down here, that would be virtually impossible without working for local government (can't stand the idea and I'd have to work my way up anyway), some large corporation (again, not my favourite), or getting really, really lucky - like I did here....



True and I've been that guy for 10yrs. I believe it's my turn to start doing something differently in that department.

Thanks Caz. I'd appreciate any fresh perspectives.

No offence to anybody, but Jim's reply is the most interesting to me so far. I expected a lot of people to say stick it out and save up and honestly, that was my plan. I've done incredibly well to get this far and I have also made an impact in my job (and that's important to me). But, if the current situation does come to an end ahead of schedule, what do I do? That's more what I'm asking....

Ha. This amuses me.

You're not the only one in a crap working environment, but I guess from all the responses above you're already aware of this.
If you believe that after 10 years of being stuck with the daily grind of a job that doesn't inspire or challenge, then do something about it.
You say that you have all this experience and that you're a people person, so you must've gained some knowledge in what to do regarding your current situation, no? Just get on and do it.
I'm all for getting advice from mates, but you are the only one that can actually do it.
If your situation is as bad as you say and could change for the worse in just a couple of months (I'm hoping it doesn't, just for the record) then there's not an awful lot of time to cogitate.
At the very least you need to know what to do if it all falls through sooner than anticipated, and that may not be your ideal course of action, but then dealing with emergencies is hardly an ideal situation, so while it's good to have a mid-long term plan, have you also got a temporary short-term one?

Mark