ok, so it's spring and I'm getting antsy and uneasy... but many little things recently have been getting under my skin. And basically I'm wondering if it's time I started thinking about doing something completely different. I love bike wrenching. I love solving practical mechanical problems. I draw detailed sketches of how to build something we need, even if I don't have the knowhow to actually put it together. So what exactly am I doing in an office shuffling paper and writing?

I know, it's because I also like a lot of that stuff, but I'm beginning to feel that I've had enough and am neglecting another, fairly large part of me. It really appeals to me to create something, not be creative in the sense of art and beauty, but creative in the sense of actually creating something solid and useful and practical. I feel really jealous of Owlie, applying for a job at her LBS.. (Best of luck, btw!)

Ok, I won't ramble on. I'll have to think this over, but for now I'm just curious - has anyone here made a major career change and switched from an academic job to a non-academic job? I'm interested in your experiences and thoughts, not least in what I might be romanticizing or what I haven't thought about missing. I dropped out of school when I was 16 to work full time for 4 years in a racehorse stable, so I'm not a total stranger to plain hard work But of course I went back afterwards and did the only "sensible" thing, which in my family was a university degree...

I'll go look for the career change threads that I have noticed here earlier, and see what I can find. Much appreciate any thoughts.