Let me tell you the story of how I, a car enthusiast, quit my job at a car dealership and started working in the demolition industry, which I didn't even like.

Hello, it's been a while. I'm just your average middle-aged guy approaching fifty. (Please refer to the link below for my profile lol)
This time, I'd like to talk about the time when my family's fish shop closed down and I was wandering around until I found my next job.

<From a fish shop to a car dealership... Life wasn't that easy...>

As I wrote in my previous article, my family's fish shop closed when I was in my early thirties. I was fully prepared to take over the family business, and my parents raised me strictly, telling me, "You're going to take over this 'Fish Pal' and become the 4th generation owner!" I lived my life being scolded more than any other employee as an example to them.

It wasn't that I felt resentful about it; I understood that they were being strict with family (especially their own child) to ensure the employees wouldn't think they were being lenient just because I was family. My father (the president) would even follow up behind the scenes when we were alone, saying, "Sorry for being so hard on you..."
I was raised like that, but when I finally joined Fish Pal, for some reason, I was assigned to the produce department (after the business model shifted to a supermarket)... The eldest son of a fish shop owner had absolutely no knowledge of fish.

So, I worked as the manager of the produce department until the shop closed, but once I became unemployed, I realized I didn't have any national certifications specific to produce, nor did I possess any special skills like filleting fish or making sashimi. In the end, although I started job hunting, the places hiring supermarket staff were almost 100% part-timers or temporary staff. Since I was over 30, I wanted a full-time position. I went to a few interviews, but I decided to cut my losses early and abandoned the option of being a supermarket clerk.

Next, I set my sights on a car dealership, partly because I was a car enthusiast at the time (my car back then was a Pulsar GTi-R). However, I was originally just a greengrocer. I didn't have any auto mechanic certifications; I was just a "car lover." I couldn't do the work properly, and the only things I could do were light maintenance like oil and tire changes or basic vehicle inspections, and my monthly salary was 20,000 yen... 20,000 yen? Is that a middle schooler's allowance?!

Without any sign of being taught new skills or knowledge, I endured it for a few months, but in the end, my salary and treatment didn't improve, so I gave up. Although I had worked part-time before, this was the first time in my life I had been employed outside of my own family's business, but I quit early on. (The header image was borrowed from free stock photos and has absolutely nothing to do with the car dealership in question.)

<From a car dealership to the demolition industry... Something is crumbling with a rattling sound...>

At that time, I had a girlfriend (different from my current wife), and I was anxious about being unemployed, so I went to interviews without caring about the type of work. However, I didn't find any good places and spent my days going to the public employment office. Since I was living at my parents' house, my mother would throw heartless words at me every day, saying things like, "Haven't you found a job yet? When is your next interview? You won't find anything if you don't keep going to interviews, right?" and I fell into a mild state of depression. It seems she could only see her son who was at home after an interview as "slacking off," and it became painful to be at home.

The next industry I applied to, thinking "anything is fine," was "demolition." My reasons were light thoughts like, "You don't need special qualifications just to smash a house, right?" or "If it's just smashing things, maybe I won't have to wear myself out with delicate handling like with cars?" along with the desire to escape my mother's verbal attacks as soon as possible and the desire not to worry my girlfriend at the time.

I went for an interview for a demolition job and was hired on the spot. They asked, "Can you come in tomorrow?" so I started the very next day. It was a small private office with the president and three employees (four including me). The president was younger than me but had the look of a typical construction worker. Senior employee A was a 15-year-old kid who had been in a juvenile reformatory and was on probation; he had tattoos on his arms and would constantly act tough, saying things like "I stole a motorcycle!" or "I beat someone up in a fight!" Employee B was a 17-year-old NEET who had a habit of slacking off and would be late or absent without notice 7 out of 10 days. Employee C was a grandfather over 60 who wasn't good at physical labor... it was quite a group.

I finally had a job and the verbal attacks from my mother stopped, but that was tough in its own way. After all, I went from being a supermarket clerk to demolition work. Everything I did was a first. Although there were many things I couldn't accept, I worked hard, encouraging myself that if I did my best, I would see some light.

I had underestimated demolition work, thinking it was just physical labor and a breeze! ...but at some point, the topic of asbestos removal, which is inherent to demolition work, came up... In the end, I got an asbestos removal qualification (a private one) and did asbestos removal work, but this was quite heavy labor. The preparation and demolition work while wearing protective clothing and masks were tougher than I had imagined.

However, there was something even tougher than that. In construction and demolition, when big jobs come in, you have to work without breaks, but in April when there is no work (it seems big jobs often come in during the last-minute demand in March before the fiscal year-end), there were times when I only went to work 3 or 4 times a month, and during my days off, I had no choice but to lounge around at home, which led to a situation where my mother's verbal attacks were about to ignite again. I couldn't stand that (the verbal attacks) more than the job content or salary, so I quit.

After that, through a strange turn of events, I ended up entering the field of nursing care, but that's for another article... Details are below.

To everyone currently job hunting, I know you understand that it's best if your "hobbies" or "things you like" become your job, but whether your hobbies or things you like can actually work as a job is a completely 'different issue'. If you choose a workplace easily just because you like it, or because of social appearances, or to escape reality, you will surely regret it. The time you spend working while hating it is painful, and above all, it's a waste of life. This is based on my own experience...

I understand the feeling of being anxious, but please don't compromise on the job you will dedicate your life to, and choose an industry and company that you won't regret later. Please. That was advice from a guy who has passed fifty.

Thank you to everyone who read until the end.
May a tomorrow even more wonderful than today come to you...