Career Dilemmas All Around
First thing this morning, my sister emails me. After graduating with a degree in biology a few years back, she’s taught bio at the high school level, worked for the department of health doing West Nile research, and now is a lab instructor at a college. So today when she emailed me that she’s “looking” again (she’s had it with the roach problem and computer glitches in her classroom — don’t ask!), I was a bit surprised. Not that roaches and lost Internet connections turned her off to her current employer (ew!), but that she wants her next job to offer a better salary but be totally unrelated to science! It’s going to be tough to make comparable money in a new field when all of her experience is science-based. What to tell her?
Soon after, a former writer colleague confided in me via IM that she’s also on the hunt despite everyone assuming she’s totally content in her current position. It’s not about money for her; she just doesn’t feel challenged. Of course, this isn’t exactly the best climate to be changing jobs in the journalism arena, with people getting laid off and mags folding left and right. But still, she’s not willing to wait around to see if things improve.
What’s the common thread here? Besides the fact that they both came to me for advice (as if someone who’s been at the same company for nine years knows anything about changing jobs!), both gals do have what by most standards would be considered respectable positions in fields related to their college degree. Yet, for very different reasons, they’re both looking to move on. And guess what? They’re hardly alone.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the average person holds 10 different jobs over their working lives. Full-blown career changes are a different story altogether, and not officially tracked by the DOL, but career experts say changing paths is not all that uncommon. Add to that the fact that they’re both young, independent, and career-driven, and you’ve got yourself the perfect job/career change cocktail.
So how can I best advise them? Despite my anti-job-hopping background, I’ve learned something over the years by speaking with numerous career and education experts, successful pros, and students. So girls, here’s the deal:
For my sister, the career changer: Be prepared to take on something administrative or a temp job and hit the books during off hours. You’ve been thinking about returning to school for some time now, but haven’t been sure about what to pursue. This might be the time for you to take a risk in a totally new field and go for it. Even better, try to get an entry level position in your new field of choice. Although it might mean a pay cut now, when you finish your coursework, you’ll have that all-important experience to pair with your book knowledge.
For my friend, the job changer: If you really feel you’ve grown as far as you can with your company (or don’t like the direction it’s going in), then it’s time to pack up your cube. Be sure to leave on good terms and keep in touch with colleagues, though. Networking might matter someday (like if your editor moves to your dream publication and needs to recommend someone for an opening).
For both of them: Every job should give you something you can take with you to the next job. Put aside the negatives and think about skills you developed, things you learned, and experiences you had that can be strong talking points in your next job interview. Sis, you can describe how you overcame the challenge of teaching a course with limited resources — such improvisation is an impressive trait for any employee. And, gal pal, you can discuss how you taught yourself to create slideshows for your magazine’s Web site to make the most of your downtime and your work more rewarding.
Hope that helps, ladies! And if either of you need a personal reference, I’m your gal!