Steve Mclean says a career change has transformed his life.
The Sunbury man was a truck driver for StarTrack for 23 years until he was forced to rethink his career options.
“I used to love the job. I loved the interactions with people and doing all the different deliveries, it was great,” he said.
“But … the department I worked in merged with another company and there was no more air freight division so there was no real job for me.
“I ended up on a forklift and I was not happy. I was pretty sad, I was struggling with my mental health.”
That was when Mr Mclean decided to look elsewhere for work.
After applying for a council job, Mr Mclean was encouraged to undertake a university course.
In 2012, he began studying a certificate III in aboriculture at Melbourne Polytechnic.
“It was hard to step out of my comfort zone to go to school because I finished school in 1981 at 15-years-old,” he said.
“I was scared and a bit embarrassed because I was 47, but it’s been the best thing I ever did.
“I have always enjoyed trees, gardens, the fresh air and the parks.”
The 55-year-old landed a job as a tree maintenance officer for Hume council in 2015 before being promoted to an area aborist
“I look after all the trees in Hume’s area and residents’ complaints and concerns and I do assessments on health, structure and the safety aspect,” he said.
“I love it, I never thought I could be happy at work again.
“It’s been an amazing transformation, I am so lucky and I am very grateful.”
