“The Sunday night dreads told me my heart wasn't in it anymore.” 

What work were you doing previously?    

27 years ago I started working as a Pension Administrator.

I progressed to the role of Senior Administrator and then Team Leader after nine years. I enjoyed the roles initially, learnt a lot and had a great team.

I was responsible for their training, wellbeing and development, as well as processing and authorising more complex calculations.

Following redundancy during Covid, I moved into a similar Team Leader role in the private sector.

What are you doing now?    

I'm working as Cabin Crew for a major airline within the UK.

Why did you change?

I was fed up with doing the same thing over and over again. 

I struggled to achieve what I needed to do each day. I fell behind with emails and updates, and lacked any kind of of excitement about the role and the work (yes, I know, it was pensions!)

The Sunday night dreads told me that my heart wasn’t in it any more. I wanted and needed to do something different.

I joined the Careershifters Career Change Launch Pad, but at that time I ended up deciding to stay in my role for the time being, as the money, benefits and flexible hours suited us as a family with younger kids.

The financials were the biggest barrier/excuse to me making a change before now. 

When was the moment you decided to make the change?

Eventually, last year, enough was enough. 

I had some time off sick because of my job. With support provided through my GP, I searched for job vacancies in roles that interested me. 

I knew that I couldn’t continue in my current job; I could see the future of the role and didn’t like what I saw! I had to make a leap of faith and just go for it.

Things often work out better than you think they will.

How did you choose your new career?

I've always been interested in aviation.

It was an idea that kept coming back up when I was going through the Launch Pad course with Careershifters.

I like people and interacting face to face, not via Teams as I had been doing four days a week working in my cabin down at the bottom of the garden.

I like speaking with, helping and keeping people safe.

Are you happy with the change?

So far yes. 

I probably should've done it much earlier.

The money is probably half of what I was earning before, which remains a concern. We’ll have to make it work somehow though, there's always a way.

I enjoy meeting and working with new colleagues and customers all the time. If they aren’t very nice, then I won’t ever need to see them again five hours later!

At the moment, I'm cabin crew, but there may be another role within the company that may suit me more in the future, allowing me to use even more of the skills I've accrued over the last 30 years.

What do you miss and what don't you miss?

I miss the money, associated benefits, and my team members.

I don’t miss the Groundhog Day feeling and Sunday night dread. The toll on my mental health, working incredibly hard before taking leave and then working incredibly hard to try and get up to date again when returning from leave.

I also don't miss the mundane, repetitive Teams meetings and pretending to be interested and enthusiastic. 

How did you go about making the shift?

I used the ethos I had learned from the Launch Pad course, and just decided to be curious and proactive.

I looked at roles in sectors that interested me, talked to people in those areas, and applied for any roles I saw going. There's only ever a decision to make when you are offered a role! 

How did you develop (or transfer) the skills you needed for your new role?

I knew that I was good with people.

I always enjoyed speaking to customers when they had complaints, and I calmed them and made them feel better. 

I'm naturally personable, organised, caring, helpful, industrious and reliable. The role of cabin crew utilises these skills and many, many more.

Yes, we serve food and drinks, but we also keep people safe and happy. We are first aid trained and could end up delivering a baby, calming or restraining a disruptive passenger, as well as dealing with a fire or decompression on board. 

The training process was intense for someone in their late 40s who hasn’t studied or revised for about 30 years, but I got there. I was so, so proud when I got my wings as I’d proved that I could achieve my goal.

What didn’t go well? What wrong turns did you take?

As I mentioned before, I got stuck with my career change in 2017, and endured nine or so years of difficult times as a result.

Redundancy gave me the chance to try the same role in the private sector, to see if it was the organisation or the role as a whole that wasn’t for me.

It was the role as a whole. A new employer didn’t really help. I was close to accepting a completely different job a couple of years ago, but as it was only a two year fixed term contract, I declined it.

I knew I wanted and needed a big change, but it was daunting. I looked into starting a pressure washing service and car detailing business – or at least getting experience in those sectors – as I enjoy them too.

I haven't ruled those out as a future option...

How did you handle your finances to make your shift possible?

We've cut down our spending and my wife may take on more hours at work.

I might take up a second job or start a side hustle in something. There are always options. Perhaps it's not the ideal at the moment, but that’s life and we tend to make it work one way or another!

What was the most difficult thing about changing?

The financial side of things.

They may still be an issue now that I’ve made the change, but if you don’t try, you’ll never know.

You'll remain miserable for the foreseeable; causing who knows what sort of damage to your mental health and possibly relationships with your friends and family, too.

Life is too short. Who wants to look back and think, "I wish I’d have given that a go"? 

Nothing is forever. 

What help did you get?

I got help and support via my GP and my network, as well as through the Careershifters Launch Pad course.

What have you learnt in the process?

If you don’t do it, you'll regret it.

One of my former colleagues sadly passed away recently, only a year after retiring. It proved to me that life is too short. You don’t know if new roles will work out unless you try them. It’s better than remaining miserable.

Going to work shouldn't feel like you're working. It should be fun and something that you actually enjoy doing. (During my training for cabin crew, I remember saying that we shouldn’t have this much fun at work!)

What do you wish you'd done differently?

I wish I'd made a change sooner.

What would you advise others to do in the same situation?

Just go for it.

Go after a role in a sector that you enjoy or are interested in. 

If you need help, then swallow your pride and get it.

Browse and investigate. Be, and stay, curious. Who knows where it'll take you?

What resources would you recommend to others?

The best resources are people.

Lean on your family, friends and wider network whenever possible.

What lessons could you take from Thomas's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas took part in our Career Change Launch Pad. If you're ready to join a group of bright, motivated career changers on a structured programme to help you find more fulfilling work, you can find out more here.