8 Years Since Quitting Life as a Sailor: Why I Was Able to Rebuild Myself as an "Electrical Engineer" After Trembling in a Bunk Bed

Before I knew it, 8 years had passed since I quit being a sailor.

I can say this with certainty now: the choice I made back then to get off the ship and go to vocational school was the absolute right one.

I currently work as an electrical engineer. I have earned a certain level of recognition at my workplace, and I feel that I am contributing through work that only I can do.

Above all, I no longer have to endlessly mutter curses like "I want to quit my job" in the restroom before starting my shift. That alone has dramatically changed the quality of my life.

The dream I had in a bunk bed 8 years ago

Eight years ago, while I was working, I was constantly thinking about "quitting" and "what to do after quitting." When I returned to my room, I would clutch my tablet in my cramped bunk bed, endlessly researching vocational schools and unemployment insurance benefits.

Expectation and anxiety. Back then, I swung back and forth between them like a pendulum. Why was I unable to succeed as a sailor back then, but am succeeding in my current profession as an electrical engineer?

I will examine the reasons for this in five points.

1. Identifying my "aptitude" (PC skills vs. on-site work)

I am clumsy with my hands and was bad at rope work and the intense tasks involved in entering and leaving port. On the other hand, I was as good as anyone else at PC operations and could master Excel's VLOOKUP and database functions.

For a sailor, the former skills are life-or-death, but for an electrical engineer (especially in design and management), the latter skills were required. Choosing a battlefield where my "weapons" were effective was the biggest reason for my success.

2. Covering for my slow "learning speed" at vocational school

I am the type of person who takes longer than others to get the hang of things. When I used to work a part-time job distributing flyers, it took me a month to complete training that took normal people one week. My evaluation at the time was the "lowest ever."

However, once I mastered it, my response rate and accuracy were top-tier. In other words, I am the type who "cannot get the engine running unless I earn more experience points than others." The vocational school, which served as a "practice field" where I could level up at my own pace, suited me better than the world of sailors, where you are thrown into the field immediately.

3. Using my "disposable time" for strategy

"If you save up experience points and level up, the strategy becomes easier." This is a universal principle in both games and work. During my time at vocational school, sacrificing my own time to hone my skills led to composure in actual practice (work).

4. Choosing a "market" where I could compete even at 34 with no experience

No matter how much aptitude you have, it is meaningless if you are turned away at the door. There is a chronic shortage of electrical engineers. Even at 34 with no experience, I was able to start as a full-time employee. This was the same for sailors, but it is important to identify a place where market needs and your own aptitude overlap.

5. Low "psychological cost"

This might be the most important point. The world of sailors was filled with the following elements.

• Trying to appease someone who is in a bad mood

• Shrugging off unreasonable reprimands

• Constantly walking on eggshells around others

At my current workplace, these things are significantly less frequent. In fact, the first electrical company I joined after leaving the ship had these issues, so I left after two years. In other words, even if conditions 1 through 4 are met, if 5 (a healthy environment) is missing, continuing is impossible.

To those considering a career change

If you are struggling with your current job and thinking about changing careers, first try to calmly consider whether conditions 1 through 4 are met. And while there are aspects of condition 5 that you can only see once you actually start working, if you feel something is off, it serves as an indicator to decide that "this place isn't right."

To the me from eight years ago, who was trembling in a bunk bed while tapping away on a tablet, this is what I would say now:

"That research you're doing isn't a waste. Your analysis isn't wrong."

If there is anyone else struggling in the same way, I hope this article serves as even a small hint toward finding your own "correct answer."