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Has your DH ever wanted to change jobs?
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Just wanted to know if any hubs out there had a desire to change jobs. My dh went into a field that he didn’t have any desire to do simply because of the perks, opportunity, and I was pregnant w/ our first child. He likes the field, math, but doesn’t like to teach it. He has been doing this for almost 11 yrs! He is a wonderful man and provider! But feels like he could do more or enjoy something else.
I told him I supported him in what he chooses to do. There are fears of making a mistake. But I want him to enjoy his line of work..is that too much to ask? We both know that everyone will have days where they do not like their job. We are talking about not enjoying it at all. DH is a very intelligent man, very high IQ, and feels he could be challenged in another job.
Another job could take us anywhere in the U.S. And a life change would be a shock for a while! He has had holidays off, some of the summer off, and a month off in December. He teaches at a college. Seeing how most students don’t care about studying nor working hard is a discouragement. And since we live in the “me” generation, they want something for free.
We know to pray about it..he just wonders if it is okay to say you want to do something else. Does that make sense? I mean God can show us the way to go but sometimes He is silent in matters. And that doesn’t necessary mean it is bad to choose for yourself if you are in God’s will.
I am not sure I am making sense!! LOL!
Any thoughts would be helpful. And anybody been down this path?
Thanks
Yes. my dh has changed careers.
Before I met him, he was a Tank commander in the military. He retired to try to keep his first marriage. (it extended the marriage by about another 10 years…) He did a few other things. I think he has always regretted leaving the military.
When I met him, he was a supervisor in a call center. After some issues there, he became a truck driver – and now he manages a small trucking company.
It can be hard to decide to change a career when you are in a stable job. It is often the best thing to do, but it is scary because it means leaving stability for the unknown – and yes, sometimes it doesn’t work out. but overall
YES it is ok to want to do something else.
Absolutely. For the last few years my husband has been wanting to change jobs. Not so much careers as he enjoys working in television, but he is as far as he expects to go with his current company. We have no desire to move to a bigger market (city), he really isn’t a city person. Like many companies, management tends to take advantage of employees. My husband filled in for the head tech for nearly two years traveling back and forth to the city daily, but when they hired a replacement he was passed over because he didn’t want to move into the city. Quite honestly there wasn’t enough of an increase in salary, and with the of living in the city, losing my income, etc, it would have been a step back financially. The guy they hired is a very young guy who my husband trained. Dh still travels to the city 3 days a week minimum to do half this guys work because he either doesn’t know what he is doing, or can’t drive the mobile tv truck because he still hasn’t acquired the correct license (it has been more than a year) and has difficulty with the crew because he hasn’t managed to earn their respect. My dh often feels it is time to move on, but if we want to stay in NS, then moving on would mean a career change. Not the easiest thing to contemplate at forty.
Thanks ladies! Yes, it would be a career change! He is about to be 38!
Oh, hubs have it hard because they are normally the providers and the weight is all on them!
@ 4myboys, so you are somewhat in the same boat??
If he has prayed about and is feeling led to move on, I would pray, too and hope to get on the same page:) A year and a half ago my hubby left a stable job at a large church where he had Fridays off and family-friendly work hours. He taught our kids Greek and art on Fridays….a wonderful perk for me:) But he was feeling called to another ministry where we are supposed to raise our own support. Right now there are funds to make up what we don’t raise, but that could change pretty quickly…we’re just trusting:) Life is busier and I miss the Fridays off, but to be where his passion is is worth it. Fortunately, we didn’t have to move. But if funding declines we would likely have to move for another job.
No job is perfect and I’m sure there will be things he doesn’t like about a new job…but if all is well thought out and prayed over I’d be supportive. Just my .02:) Blessings, Gina
Btw…when I met hubby his desire was to be a professor. He has since learned he doesn’t like teaching, so I can understand why your hubby would want to move on!
We have had quite a few job changes, but then we have always owned a business. You have to be flexible to make that work more often than not.
I can tell you some things that God taught me along the way about husbands and their work:
1. Pray together about your decisions.
2. Expect some hard times and some setbacks along the way…dreams don’t come ‘free’.
3. Encourage and support him no matter what.
3. Change your paradigm – God is the source of all your opportunities and income. When there are challenges, take them to God in prayer mostly and be careful not to blame your husband if things don’t go according to plan.
Change can be exciting and a great opportunity for growth as a couple and as a family. It can also be very stressful. Be sure you do what you can to minimize the stress in your home while you are transitioning. For some, that may mean a savings account…for some, it would be having a fun family time each week. Just be sure that your whole world doesn’t start to wrap around the ‘J-O-B’.
Blessings!
Wow, what a timely post with great insight, ladies!
We are also at a crossroads. Dh and I are searching every day for jobs, houses, researching hs laws in states we may be interested in living. This is a big move we’re considering. We are kind of nervous about it. Not because of the move itself; we have moved our whole married life. My dd9 has lived in 13 different rentals, so that’s not the issue. The issue is… “Are we in His will?” We have prayed, pleaded, begged for guidance, we have listened and searched His word for some direction…. nothing.
One thing we do agree on as God’s perfect timing is that in the eight months or so before my cancer dx, we tried unsuccessfully to buy a house here in our current town. We bid on seven different homes and were turned down for each one. Once we leaned of the cancer, it was clear that God did not want us buying a house at that time. But now we struggle with the idea that maybe he didn’t want us to buy a house here at all, not just before the cancer, but ever. We are definitely clueless and very desiring of some help and guidance.
Well, lo and behold, I recently met a lovely woman who has nine really neat, interesting, good hs-ed kids. She and her DH and family moved up here to Alaska, a pretty remote part, because a job just landed in his lap and he couldn’t find work where he was. Since they’ve been here, he’s gotten two big promotions (including good $$) and is learning a great deal in his field. While they would very much love to move back to their home state, they are waiting on God to again, drop an opportunity right in her Dh’s lap. They purposefully do not search the job postings, they don’t check the want ads at all. She says it is hard to do, but that God is teaching her patience through this season and she trusts him to provide in a very real, unmistakable way. I would think there is a comfort and contentment also with just living well where you are planted instead of always looking for the next, bigger, better, greatest thing.
We are not at that place yet. In fact, I pray I would also develop some patience to deal with this uncertainty, but DH seems to think we are moving back to the lower 48 soon, with or without a good job. I’m inclined to agree just because there are so many extenuating circumstances that seem to make us being in the lower 48 a really good idea.
2flowerboys, maybe it is not that helpful but just know that your current feelings are echoed throughout the nation. Many of us are equally unsettled in careers, towns, and other situations. Can any of us ever know we are on the right path without Him? Can we truly cast our cares to Him and then rest in His provision?
I pray we will. Keep us posted.
My DH is in the middle of looking for a different career path. He has been a youth pastor or pastor for the last 9 yrs. while doing this he has also been a full time machinist. Machining has always been a second job. After moving last summer he went into machining full time. He is realizing that he doesn’t want to be doing this the rest of his life. He wants a career that allows him to meet people and be doing different things every day. He has several interviews lined up over the next week.
I would suggest that your DH read some books about career changes. Some of the ones that have really helped my husband to “think outside the box” are, 48 Days to the Work You Love, Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Quitter.
Hey Jenni –
I have been where you are as a wife and mom – just waiting on that word from the Lord! Hang in there and trust that He will reveal his will. Sometimes for us, it is more about the peace we feel as we pray than any grand ‘word’ we get from the Lord. After the fact, I look back and think “That was so HIM!”. I know you will have an experience like that as you trust Him with this big decision. I will be praying for you.
James 1:2-8
Jenni, some of the best advice we’ve ever gotten about being in God’s will was, “When you don’t know what to do, just do this last thing He told you to do.” My dh and I went through a period where we were seeking and praying and knocking on every door imaginable, but nothing ever happened. A wise and godly man told us to just do the last thing The Lord told you to do. God hadn’t given us a new direction, so it became clear that His will for us was to remain right where we were and to keep doing what we were doing. It was hard; we didn’t want to live where we were living and dh was very unhappy with his career not advancing. Still, I am so thankful we waited. It took a few more years than expected, but we are now living in our dream home and dh is in his dream career. He is doing what he has always wanted to do since he was 15 years old. So if you don’t know what to do today,
just keep doing the last thing God told you to do, and you’ll be alright. 🙂
To the OP, yes my dh has wanted to change careers, but for us, it came about in a very unexpected way. And it was baby steps all the way, not something that just landed in his lap one day. His career change began about 5 years before the actual change ever happened. We sold our home, stored our stuff, and moved six hours away for Bible college. After that, we thought the “job” would fall into our laps, but it took another three years. He moved up a little at a time, until one day (very unexpectedly) he was offered his current job. It was something we didnt interview for, didn’t send a resume for, and weren’t persuing at the time. So in a way it fell into our laps, but not after years of waiting on God’s timing. I will say that the absolute worst thing you can do is try to force God’s hand. We tried that, and it always caused more misery than good. We learned a lot of hard lessons by not waiting on God’s timing. But when we learned to wait, it was perfect.
Blessings,
Lindsey
(This was typed from my iPhone. Sorry for typos!)
As soon as my DH got out of grad school we thought were were heading in one job direction, but a chance meeting of an old friend got him an interview and then a job that would completely steer his career in a different direction. What a blessing! If he had taken the first job, he probably would have worked on the Deepwater Horizon team and been a part of that horrible situation. I just tell that story to assure you that God is control and knows how to steer your family.
It is possible to love your job and find a balance between too stressful and not challenging enough. Is your husband on LinkedIn? My DH was recruited from that site into his current (and best yet!) job.
Through one period of waiting to hear back from interviews, God really taught us about patience. I had a verse written on our blackboard that I literally repeated to myself over and over and over:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6-7
I’ll be praying for you…
Thanks so much for the recommended books! I have already showed my dh these, and I believe he is about to purchase at least one of them! 🙂
Well, I know without a doubt that God generally cares and loves us. And we will seek His direction in this matter. We will ask Him to open or close doors also! But, my dh has heard a couple of sermons about not knowing what to do about making decisions and sometimes God gives us the tools to decide on our own. There may not be definite closed doors, yet there is a peace. There may not be any definite open doors such as every single thing falling into place. We believe that if it is not against God’s word, and if we are in His will in all that we do, and there are no signs of DO NOT GO, then we feel like it is time to go forth. I know God wants to be involved in our lives but more than anything He wants obedience, love, and worship. I believe God sometimes is quiet in some parts of our lives for a reason.
Dh is not rash decision maker! He is loyal to God,work and family. This is something he has mulled over for years! And the feeling never goes away, yet goes in waves.
He has not actively sought out anything else, so no closed doors yet or open doors for that matter! It just is a strong desire that he has. And he dislikes teaching to top it off! He loves the subject, dislikes the politics of the pressure in passing everyone even if they didn’t earn it! That really goes against what college is supposed to be about! Plus, many of the students are wanting to be passed even though they don’t do homework, study, or pass the exams! Ya know the society we live in??! Sad! And these people are our next nurses, doctors, and engineers! YIKES!
We spoke some more last night. And I think he is going to take baby steps in working on a goal of another line of work sometime in the future. Whether it be classes he has to take or info he needs to read up on. He is going to go ahead and apply at a few different places. No hurt in doing that! Try to do his best in what he is doing even though it may not feel or look like it! And work on a goal for a ministry for us to do as a couple/family to serve God and others while getting encouraged ourselves!
Any more advice is welcome! Thanks so much! I so appreciate all of you!
God bless to you who are in the middle of making decisions for your family! 🙂
What a great post! My husband was in construction for almost 20 years and was a project manager our first year of home schooling when they permanently laid off half the company’s work force, my DH included. After a whole year on unemployment he took a $10 / hr job. That is why I work as well. Three years later, with both of us working, we still don’t make what he did in that job. But it wasn’t meant to be. We realize that now and he just this past winter got his EMT license and he LOVES it and is talking about trying for paramedic. We don’t know the logistics of it yet, but I feel it is so important to support our DH in these changes. We just need to trust God. He helps those who help themselves.
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