Changing Careers (NTTGPR)

catmagick

Hi ladies,

So I'm having a life crisis, and I'm seriously considering changing my career.  Has anyone here done that?  I don't really have anyone IRL that I feel comfortable talking to about this because I feel like no one will take me seriously.  I have only been in my current career (teaching music) for three years and it has been a rough road on so many levels (way more than I feel like getting into in this post).  I think I have a little bit of an idea of what I might like to do but I have no idea how to go about getting into an entry level position for something which I am not experienced in.  I am not willing to go back to school at this point as I have enough student loan debt and possess a master's degree already.  I know that a master's alone is enough in many situations; like just having it is a good thing.  I have certain qualifications but no experience.  I know people change careers all the time, and I was wondering if anyone else has done this and might be willing to share their experiences?  I'd also be interested in hearing from some of you who work in HR and do hiring and what might make a career changer attractive to a company.  TIA! 

theholmanherd

I would pick up the book "The Only Resume and Cover Letter Book You'll Ever Need". It has examples of how to word a resume and cover letter in the event of a career change, and hundreds of examples of resumes for different fields. That would be a great start if you change careers.

As for the big 'if'....I would start by thinking about why you want to change careers. Is it just the current workplace that has you down (would a different school change things?) or are you fed up with the career as a whole? Is there another reason you're considering changing careers, such as financial reasons or a recently developed passion in something else?

I received my Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies with an emphasis on pre-law and forensics. I fully intended, since I was nine years old, to go to law school. Not much I wanted to do with the degree other than that. After I graduated, however, I had a change of heart and some personal tragedies occur. Now, I'm pursuing my lifelong dream of writing the great American novel. Writing has been a constant hobby and passion of mine for as long as I can remember. Don't get me wrong, I love law, debate, and studying criminology and all that, but writing has always held a bigger place in my heart. The only reason I never pursued it was because I though money was everything. I've since come around on that and I decided to go for my dream of writing.

It can be difficult to change careers, especially if the new career requires a year or two of working for nothing and forces you to take another position in the meantime (I'm a waitress for now. I'm almost finished with my first novel, however, so I will be seeking publishing soon). But, if it will make you happy, and you have enough passion and drive to go for it and make a decent living off of it at some point, I say go for it. It took months of soul-searching for me to come to that conclusion, though, so don't take it lightly.

Good luck to you!

catmagick

@theholmanherd, thank you!  That is actually all very helpful.  Naturally there are many factors at play here, but that book idea is great!  I will get it right meow!  Good luck with your novel; I know many people who are writers.

jt305

No real advice here, but I know that after my second year of teacher, I was ready to be done, too.  In fact, I could probably walk away from teaching right now and be ok with it.  Keep your head up and follow your heart.  If you have the opportunity to change careers, go for it--you always have your education to fall back on.  Good luck!  Keep us posted!   

Trampslikeus

Being a teacher is ROUGH right now. My mom just made the decision to retire early because she's so burned out.  I know its scary, but don't let the fear keep you in a job you're unhappy with!!

I changed careers in my late 20s after 5 years of working in academic advising for a college of health sciences. It was terrifying and expensive (I had to quit and go back to full time grad school for 2.5 years), but I love the field I'm in, I feel more satisfied with my work, and it has enough flexibility that I can move around if I get burned out doing what I'm doing right now.

My only suggestion is, if finances are a concern for you, to make sure there is a strong employment market for the field you want to get in to.  Quitting your job and going back to school for a field where the employment outlook is bleak (for example - right now there are WAY more people in nursing school than there are nursing positions to fill), it may not be worth the risk at this time.

catmagick

@Trampslikeus YES!  Teaching is really rough right now.  You wouldn't by any chance be from NJ would you?  It's bad here because our governor is.......I don't even have words horrible enough.  But yeah, I am not willing to go back to school at this point so I'm not worried about that.  But yes, finances are an issue. I feel like if I found something I liked that paid me enough and had benefits I don't even think I would go back in the fall.  But we'll see where the chips fall in the next couple of months.  

lebradford

Teaching is brutal. I can see why you're thinking about leaving. I'm a reading specialist instead of a classroom teacher now, and while the pressure is a lot less, it's still really intense. I love the actual teaching, but not all the BS, and I definitely have thought about changing careers (I've been teaching 6 years). It sounds horrible, but one of my main reasons for staying in the field are summers off....

A friend of mine is a music teacher and was also tired of all the BS, and this year she left her district and now only teaches private lessons. She just did this Facebook post about why she left "regular" teaching and how much better her work/life balance is now.

I don't necessarily have any advice on how to change careers, especially since I don't know what you're interested in, but I had to let you know that I feel your pain. Good luck!

theholmanherd

Unrelated (sort of), but why is it so tough to be a teacher right now? It seems like that was always a hard job, so what's making it harder? Is it all the common core changes or something? I'm not trying to be sarcastic or start a debate, but I'm genuinely curious.

lebradford

theholmanherd said:

Unrelated (sort of), but why is it so tough to be a teacher right now? It seems like that was always a hard job, so what's making it harder? Is it all the common core changes or something? I'm not trying to be sarcastic or start a debate, but I'm genuinely curious.

Common core is part of it. I think a lot of it is the "do more with less" mentality. Class sizes are really big, standards (and therefore curriculum) are changing, which means changing the way you teach pretty drastically. There are different, MUCH harder tests to prepare kids for, ones that are pretty developmentally inappropriate, if you ask me. The tests haven't even changed yet (in IL anyway), but there is a mandate to tie teacher evaluations to them, even though we don't even know exactly what the tests look like or how they work. I don't know about other districts, but I feel like my district asks a lot. I get paid for 9 months of work, but over the summer I'm supposed to take a 4 week online class through my district (not at a university) and read a 300 page professional book, and I don't get paid for any of it. I don't know, I could go on and on. I think it's kind of hard to understand the pressure without experiencing it. (I'm definitely not saying there aren't other high-pressure careers, don't get me wrong.)

Htle07

lebradford said:

Unrelated (sort of), but why is it so tough to be a teacher right now? It seems like that was always a hard job, so what's making it harder? Is it all the common core changes or something? I'm not trying to be sarcastic or start a debate, but I'm genuinely curious.

Common core is part of it. I think a lot of it is the "do more with less" mentality. Class sizes are really big, standards (and therefore curriculum) are changing, which means changing the way you teach pretty drastically. There are different, MUCH harder tests to prepare kids for, ones that are pretty developmentally inappropriate, if you ask me. The tests haven't even changed yet (in IL anyway), but there is a mandate to tie teacher evaluations to them, even though we don't even know exactly what the tests look like or how they work. I don't know about other districts, but I feel like my district asks a lot. I get paid for 9 months of work, but over the summer I'm supposed to take a 4 week online class through my district (not at a university) and read a 300 page professional book, and I don't get paid for any of it. I don't know, I could go on and on. I think it's kind of hard to understand the pressure without experiencing it. (I'm definitely not saying there aren't other high-pressure careers, don't get me wrong.)

I totally agree! I'm a teacher as well. On top of everything you said, I don't know about other states, but we haven't had a raise here in 5 years. I'm still making the same amount as I started 4 years ago, and our state is one of the lowest paying states. Lately charter schools are popping up everywhere. I don't know what the fate of public schools is going to be in the near future.

theholmanherd

I am sorry all you teachers out there have to deal with this and that you're not paid well. I hope things improve, but I doubt they will any time soon. And that's complete bullshit to get evaluated based on a test. Not only do you not know anything about the test, but that anything is based solely around a standardized test pisses me off. I was a terrible test taker, but an excellent student. But if you went solely off my standard scores, and not my grades or work, you would think I wasn't that great of a student. I used to get such bad test anxiety. I know I'm not the only one, so it angers me that kids who are good at tests have a leg up and kids who get test anxiety are at a big disadvantage. It's not a measure of success, knowledge, or intelligence by any means.

/rant

raelynn71109

I made a career change 4 years ago and I am glad I did. My B.A. is in psychology and I worked in social work for several years. There were many factors that prompted me to want a change, one being the fact that I needed to make more money. My husband suggested the paralegal field, I looked into it and thought it would be a really good fit for me. I took a couple of night/online classes while I stayed at my social work job to make sure it was something I would enjoy. After the first semester I found an entry-level job in the legal field while I finshed my paralegal degree.

It can be hard to start all over in a new field. It's tough to find a job with no experience. I didn't encounter any issues though when I explained to prospective employers why I was changing careers and why the paralegal field was a better fit for me. I think if your new career is something you aren't going back to school for, it's important to do your research and make sure prospective employers know that you are familiar with what the job entails, that you have given it a lot of consideration, and that you are confident it is a better fit for you than what you are doing now.

lebradford

theholmanherd said:

I am sorry all you teachers out there have to deal with this and that you're not paid well. I hope things improve, but I doubt they will any time soon. And that's complete bullshit to get evaluated based on a test. Not only do you not know anything about the test, but that anything is based solely around a standardized test pisses me off. I was a terrible test taker, but an excellent student. But if you went solely off my standard scores, and not my grades or work, you would think I wasn't that great of a student. I used to get such bad test anxiety. I know I'm not the only one, so it angers me that kids who are good at tests have a leg up and kids who get test anxiety are at a big disadvantage. It's not a measure of success, knowledge, or intelligence by any means.

/rant

@theholmanherd‌ (And this isn't directed "at" you, I just wanted you to see it too.)

It really does suck. Like you said, some kids aren't good test takers. Also, I can control my classroom instruction, but I can't control if my students' parents read to me, if my students have test taking anxiety, are homeless or have other more important things to worry about, are often absent or tardy, are hungry, etc. All of those things have a lot to do with test scores too. I honestly think a lot of problems in education have more to do with the economy and poverty than they do with teachers, and it's hard to be held accountable for something that you only have limited control over.

I worry that with high stakes testing, good teachers will be less willing to work in high poverty schools, or with at-risk or special education students, and that is sad.

Any time we use a single test to measure success, there are all sorts of unintended consequences. For example, infertility clinics are judged on SART data, which I think tracks mostly pregnancies per IVF procedures. This causes some clinics to turn away patients that need more help (like those with previous failed IVFs, older patients, overweight patients, etc.) It's too bad that some doctors would turn away the most needy patients because they need to keep their numbers high, and basically, I see education going the same way.

/rant

garnetandgoldgrace

How is it that I knew before even opening this thread what field you were in just by reading the topic??

Ugh.

I am also a teacher. And I feel you. The biggest problem (there are many) in our field right now is Marzano. Who in the Hell gave this guy all the power to dictate EVERYONE's teaching style?!? It's taken the fun out if teaching and making our kids test drones. Something has to give.

WolFox

Of all the family members, friends, acquaintances etc. who are teachers, the majority of them are NOT happy in their jobs. Even for those who are happy, they are overworked. I know a lot of people who are looking to get out. 

I loved school. It breaks my heart to see the state that education is in. 

bopalp14

Funny you post this. I'm getting ready to make a big move myself. I'm leaving a state job of 4 1/2 yrs to move into a ministry with children. It has taken a leap of faith for me to make this change. So my advice (even though I don't know if you have a faith) is to pray. Ask for guidence through prayer and others. Other people can not make the decsidon for you but they can maybe help you. Good luck in your decision!

nittanyllama

I can relate, although I haven't come out the other side yet so I don't have any helpful advice. 

I have a master's in social work, and worked in a hospital for 4 years before becoming a SAHM. I'm guessing my career has its similarities to teaching... high burn out, being expected to do more with less resources, etc. I feel like I chose the completely wrong field for me and it was too stressful. When I do go back to work someday, I almost certain I don't want it to be in social work.

Like you I have student loan debt and don't feel like going back to school. Beyond that I'm still lost and unsure. I don't know what kinds of jobs are out there for someone like me or what might pay well without getting another degree. I think I'd be happy with a boring office job of some sort.

Would you share what you think you want to get into OP? GL figuring out your plans, it's a stressful feeling.

catmagick

So I really appreciate everyone who has replied.  It really sucks how bad education is and how much people hate teaching right now.  I feel like I worked shitty jobs and it took me a really long time to figure out that what I wanted to do originally when I got right out of high school was still what I wanted to do ten years later.  So I went back to school all starry eyed and excited about finally finding my passion.  During my first year of grad school we got this horrible new governor and literally overnight morale changed, the system changed, and all of a sudden all the music education majors were being called to a big meeting to discuss the impact of the "new cuts" and "changes to arts education".  It was so fucked.  If I had truly realized the impact it would all have I would not have finished the degree.  I have had extremely shitty luck along with the fact that most jobs now are just bullshit.  My job is not horrible, but I am spread so thin and have so many responsibilities and have to travel to different schools and don't have a classroom (music on a cart anyone?).  it's enough to make my head spin around exorcist style.  I just don't think I can take it.

/rant

I am considering trying to figure out how to get a job working for a radio station.  Not to be a radio personality or anything but just to do anything entry level.  I know I have a lot of good qualifications but I lack experience.  I think I may try volunteering this summer and see how I like it.  Public radio is the one thing I keep coming back to that I really love.  Like, I know I want to be somehow involved with music still but I don't want to be a performer, don't want to teach, but do obsessively love and listen to public radio.  So maybe......... 

TL; DR   Teaching blows now with no one giving a shit about the arts; considering trying to work for a public radio station at entry level

lebradford

Good luck! I hope you find something worth your time!