I'm 31 years old and have an Industrial Technology Degree from a state school in IL. I work as a "Design Engineer" using AutoCAD and Revit and make ~$50k/yr plus benefits.
I'm considering a career change, but I'm really not sure what to get into. I don't feel like my current path is necessarily worth sticking with since the pay isn't very high and I don't have a passion for it. I do like parts of it, but the work isn't especially interesting to me. With the somewhat low pay and somewhat uninteresting field, I don't feel compelled to stick with what I'm doing.
My wife makes almost 3x what I make (Software Sales) which gives me some ability to take a bit of risk in trying something new without putting us in financial strain.
I think the first question will be "What are you good at?". I've had SOME exposure to sales and did really well (worked at GNC in college and hit sales records for our store, became a store manager within a year) but this was just retail. I'm also attracted to sales because I do really well dealing with people - I'm often asked by friends to negotiate for them on Craigslist deals or vehicle purchases. I don't really have professional experience doing this though.
Our goal is to become financially independent, which at our current rate will happen in 8-10 years.
The last part of this equation.. My wife and I are in Australia for the next 18 months for a work contract through her job. I'm working for my US company remotely during this time. This probably limits my ability to apply for US jobs, but hopefully I can use my time here in AUS to prepare in some way for the career change when I get back to the US in 18 months.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.