Recently in Career Change Category

Sharon writes:

I am 30 years old, and I am not working in my chosen profession of journalism. I am currently working as a paralegal, but I still have hopes of becoming a reporter, but I know that is unlikely as more time passes. I married young, and never established the career that I wanted. I am now divorced with two young sons, and I would like to make a fresh start.

I received my degree in journalism in the 90s, and I am wondering if it is of any use to me now. I am afraid that I will never be fulfilled if I don’t have the career that I want. Do you have any suggestions?

The Career Doctor responds:

I cannot stress enough this point to job-seekers — that you must follow your passion… and I agree that you may never feel happy if you don’t at least attempt a career in journalism. Doing something you love changes your entire outlook about work, and I encourage everyone reading this column to consider if they are truly passionate about their work — and brainstorm changes if you are not.

As I tell some of my baby-boomer clients, it is never too late to change careers. The rules of journalism have not changed much since your degree, but it’s the lack of experience and not working in the field that is going to be your biggest hurdle.

You have a few options here.

First, get your feet wet by becoming a freelancer. Brainstorm some story ideas and pitch them to appropriate media outlets and start building your portfolio. If you live in a community with a weekly newspaper, contact them… they often need freelancers, but don’t limit yourself to local media.

Second, consider taking a refresher course in journalism at a local college or university… to sharpen those writing skills that may have dulled over the years.

Third, contact one or more of your former journalism professors and seek out their advice for establishing your journalism career.

And don’t give up easily — follow that dream.

And check out this section of Quintessential Careers for more ideas and job leads: A Guide to Writing and Journalism Jobs.

Anonymous writes:

I have been a legal secretary for 10 years. At first I used this job to pay for school, where I majored in fashion design. Since then, I have been married with children and did not complete my major. I’ve been in business for myself for three years since then and basically gave it up because of a lack of interest. I’m in the beginning stages of outlining a game plan to change careers and am look toward my creative side.

How do I begin the research for a lucrative job that involves my experience as a legal secretary with a creative flair in fashion/entertainment? I also have interests in computer animation for major films.

The Career Doctor responds:

Well, the coming new year is a time to make radical changes — and you are certainly in that category!

I am going to offer you the best advice I can give you, but I honestly feel that you could really benefit from several sessions with a career coach. I think you have a lot of issues that need to be resolved and focused to help you move forward. For example, can’t you use your creative side in your job as a legal secretary — or if you moved to some other position within the firm? What if you moved to a legal office that practiced entertainment law?

A career change this drastic is going to take time, planning, and organization. I am guessing that your experience as a legal secretary will come in handy as you move forward with this career change.

You obviously have a great collection of skills and interests. I think you need to start here. Make an inventory of all your skills. Circle the ones that you most want to use in the future.

From those skills, start researching career paths that will best fit you. Get as much information as you can, including the types of training or education you need. Conduct informational interviews with people working in those careers. Find volunteering opportunities that allow you to practice some of these skills and build experience.

You can find much more advice in this section of Quintessential Careers: Job & Career Resources for Career Changers.

And for help finding a career coach, check out the Quintessential Careers Directory of Life and Career Coaches.

Hazel writes:

I have only just started thinking about my future, and my future as an income earner (as I now find myself single and without a penny saved!). My question is, what do you think are good industries (or careers) to be involved in for the future?’

I am currently employed as a personal assistant for a high profile CEO and am also working on the company’s Computer Based Training (CBT) courses as the technical consultant.

I have posed the question above because I’m fretting right now, about which direction I should be heading, whether the job I’m in already is a good one with good possibilities for earning in the future.

The Career Doctor responds:

You have a tough choice ahead of you. On one hand, you have the excitement and perks of working with a CEO — seeing the inner workings of the boardroom firsthand — and on the other, a more stable, but certainly less high-profile position in corporate training. If you are soon facing a choice, you should sit down and weigh the pros and cons of each career path.

For the personal assistant position, as long as the CEO appreciates your work — and as long as he/she stays a CEO — you should have good job security and perks. But if he/she is nearing retirement age, your future is a bit more hazy unless your boss is open to helping you find a similar position before he/she retires.

For the corporate training position, you have a more stable career path… and actually have more chances for advancement. Corporate training is a big industry — and only growing as more employers are spending the money on advancing the education and training of their workers. Whether its computer-based or Web-based, corporate training will continue to play a major role in the future.

But you need to conduct further research and self-reflection. You need to decide what path gives you the most of whatever you seek — money, stability, satisfaction, etc.

Anonymous writes:

I worked as a police officer for 17 years then resigned to become a deputy in a county jail facility. Needless to say, it didn’t work out; that was approximately 1 year ago. After having many interviews and an attempt at a career change it all seems in vain. Will I ever get a position that meets my specifications? What move should I make next?

The Career Doctor responds:

I think the most important thing you need to do is find a day or couple of days for a career retreat. What are your specifications? What do you want to do with the rest of your working life? Are you burnt out with law enforcement? What career are you now trying to change into — and what have you been doing to help facilitate that change? So many questions — that’s why you need to take some time away and do some career planning.

Your goal for this career planning retreat should be to finalize your choice(s) for your next career, with specific steps for how you are going to achieve the change.

If you are still searching for your next career, you need to take time for self-reflection and research. You need to really evaluate what you like to do — at work, at home, in all your activities. You should also examine your accomplishments and transferable skills. Once you have gathered all this data on yourself, the next step is researching career paths that match your interests and strengths.

Once you have an idea of your next career move, you should shift your efforts to developing a plan that gets you there. Will you need more education or training? Will you need experience in the new field, and if so, how will you get it? Does anyone in your network know people working in the field? How will you grow your network to include people in the new career field?

Finally, you’ll need to implement your plan. Be prepared for some bumps in the road. Career change often takes time, but with proper research and planning, it should be a little easier for you.

For more help with career planning, read this article published on Quintessential Careers: 10 Tips for Successful Career Planning. And for more assistance with a career change, go to: My Career Change.

Sally writes:

I was hoping that you might give me some quick advice about how to approach looking at a career change. I graduated with a degree in communications and have been working in public relations for the past two years.

In that time I have come to feel that I should have been a marketing major and that I would be much happier with a career in marketing.

I have found a marketing assistant position that I would absolutely love to take on, but it requires 1-2 years of marketing experience. Would my two years of PR count toward that at all?

Finally, what steps do I need to take to start off in a marketing career?

The Career Doctor responds:

Changing careers is always harder than changing jobs, but because marketing and public relations are so related, I cannot imagine you will have too hard a time making the transition. And from a truly technical standpoint, PR is a part of marketing.

Your first step is revamping your resume to move from a PR focus to a marketing focus. Start by examining your past experiences and accomplishments and how you can put more of a marketing spin on them. Because PR and marketing use many of the same skills, I think you will not have to make too many changes — simply use more of the marketing jargon (keywords) instead of the PR lingo. You can research this area by searching for marketing jobs and examining the keywords used in the job descriptions and requirements.

If you feel as though you do not have enough marketing experience, go back and examine the marketing classes and projects from your college days. If you only took one or two classes, consider volunteering to gain new marketing experience.

Your next step is expanding your network to include more marketing folks. Consider joining a local chapter of the American Marketing Association, the premier professional organization for marketers. Join an online marketing discussion group.

Remember that changing careers requires more flexibility than simply searching for a new job. And the marketing assistant job you mention would seem to be an easy step for you into the marketing field. Just remember to show the prospective employer that you have all the things they require.

For more information and guidance on changing careers, check out my article, The 10-Step Plan to Career Change, published on Quintessential Careers.

Jaime writes:

I wondered if you could give me a referral to a good website or company that may help nurses advance their careers. I am an RN who wants to use my science degree for something totally non-patient related, i.e., nurse attorney, working for insurance companies, hospital credentialing companies, pharmaceutical sales, etc. I am having trouble finding much specific information and many of these require more experience than I have or more college. Can you help me? Thanks for your time and have a great day!

The Career Doctor responds:

It is amazing to me that we have a nursing shortage and yet many employers do not seem to be doing a lot to hire and retain nurses. Instead, I hear horror stories from nurses of poor pay, long hours, and poor working conditions. And many, like you are looking to change careers to move away from the healthcare mess.

I am going to suggest some exercises for you to complete, but you may also want to work with a professional career coach — someone who can help you through the steps of changing careers.

The first thing you need to decide is what you want to do next — because some of the jobs/careers you mention will require additional education. My advice for this step is for you to conduct research and informational interviews. Learn more about the pros and cons of each career — as well as the specific additional educations and experience you would need.

Once you have narrowed down your list of potential careers, the next step is choosing one and developing a plan for the change — perhaps still working in nursing as you go back to school or moonlight or volunteer in the new career to gain experience.

You’ll also have to do major updates of all your job-search materials to reflect the change in careers.

Changing careers is a challenge, but with patience and work, it is possible.

Find resources and tools to help you in this section of Quintessential Careers: Job & Career Resources for Career Changers.

Kate writes:

I’m new to your website, it’s a great information source. Here’s my situation. I have worked at the same company for the last 22 years. I’m 54 years old and ready for a complete change in my life. I think I’m about to get a retirement package and so I’m thinking of a change to something related to helping people. I wouldn’t mind going back to school. I don’t know and I don’t know where to start or how to figure out what I want to do? Any suggestions who be greatly appreciated. Help!!

The Career Doctor responds:

I have enjoyed researching the baby boomers ever since I first worked at People Magazine — where this demographic group was thoroughly loved. And, of course, I am a member of the cohort.

And now as boomers move toward retirement, many experts are predicting that our current views of working and retirement will be totally revamped once these folks put their mark on this next stage in their lives.

For many, retirement will indeed no longer signal the end of working, but more so a career and lifestyle transition, where the retiree has multiple options — such as continuing to work, returning to school for additional training or education, becoming more involved in volunteer work, or simply enjoying leisure and travel possibilities — a mix of working, learning, relaxing, and trying new things.

Dr. Ken Dychtwald, author of Age Power, describes the transition between working and retiring as middlescence, which he says occurs to people sometime in their 50’s to 70’s. Middlescence is a time of growth and reinvention — and this the perfect time for you to consider a career change.

You can start planning for your next career stage by examining your likes and dislikes, and strengths and weaknesses. Start researching various “helping” careers. Conduct informational interviews. Consider talking with a career coach or other career professional. Remember to take your time.

Read more in this article published on Quintessential Careers: Working Beyond Retirement: For Money, Identity, and Purpose