Time to Change

Question

I have been an elementary music teacher for 15 years and,at 52,would love to move on to something else. I’m just feeling stuck since, with specialized degrees, it’s difficult to know what direction to take. Any advise?

Kimberly Mc · Answer

This depends on where you're located. For instance, in the Washington, D.C. area, many government contractor companies need trainers and tech writers. When I was at Booz Allen Hamilton I hired two teachers with no government or consulting backgrounds. They were both excellent tech writers and have since risen up through the ranks of the company. If you have non-teacher friends who work for larger companies, see if their companies are hiring for either of those positions. Make sure your network knows you're looking to make a change.

Sandra Diaz · Answer

1- Take this simple assessment of career interests (5 minutes to take the survey, you'll be exploring the answers for a couple of hours): 
https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
This will help you generate ideas for what types of jobs would interest you, and get a general sense for how much those types of jobs pay.

2- Create a picture of your ideal job(s) by completing the information in the Job Hunting Map (plan to spend 30-60 min on each petal) from this book:
https://archive.org/details/newquickjobhunti00boll
Visit www.sparkcareercatalysts.com and email us if you'd like a PDF of the Job Hunting Map.

Nicole McKeon · Answer

My advice is to be brave! I was a RN for 20 years and now work in Tech very successfully- I was lucky enough to have someone take a chance on me- good luck!

Jemia Williams · Answer

Never feel like it is too late for something. I would suggest taking a certification course in something you are passionate in. There are several ways you can do this online or in person. The first step is to discover what is next. My mother found grant money for women of color who are 50+ trying to get into the tech field and she got certified in cyber security and now she is working for another corporation in their cyber department doing something she loves. She was in banking for years and needed a change.

Time to Change

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