Sunday, February 19, 2012

Thoughts on a Career Change


Have you ever thought about changing your current career? I'm sure for most it is just a thought...and others its something they did! I've been at a crossroads for a few years...I quit my career job as an Instructional Designer (ID) in 2010 to try something else, only later in the year to go back to the same career freelancing, and then with a company. Well, earlier this year, I was let go from my job working remotely as an ID and it leaves me once again looking to change my career and figure out my passion. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a lot of aspects of being an ID, but I find on my current path I'm not getting to do the things I learned in college that I especially loved. So...it brings me to...
I took a little quiz called the "What's Your Dream Job?" on MSN and it was interestingly accurate about the directions I should take. It is only 9 questions long. I was even for Information jobs and Creative Jobs (I just took again and it said Information - I know I changed one answer).
Information careers may include tasks such as synthesizing, coordinating, analyzing, compiling, computing, copying or comparing. Possible career choices include: library assistant, editor, web developer, professional organizer, accountant or private investigator. I'd say Instructional Designer falls under this category.
Creative career choices include: writer, photographer, musician, interior decorator, graphic artist, fashion designer. Of course there are many more careers to choose from, but knowing your preferred type can help you narrow down the choices. Very interesting, Photography is a hobby of mine, and I used to love, love, love watching HGTV and the like. 
I went to another site - The Career Key, but they charge to take their quiz, so I looked at all the categories and picked jobs of interest to look into. A few that interest me are: Librarian, Historian (Genealogist), Photographer, Interior Design, Architect, Scientific Photographer, Pharmacy Technician, Human Resources Assistant, Archeologist, Instructional Coordinator, and Executive Assistant
What's nice is they link to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This site is awesome, because it gives a lot of information about the type of career including - Significant Points, Nature of the Work (including Work Environment), Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement, Job Outlook, Earnings, etc. It all can be rather encouraging or discouraging...depending on what you read and how you take it. 

I'm going to research career options further, and if I feel one stands out, I may go back to school at some point in the near future to pursue it. I already have a lot of student loans from when I went to college for my BA and MS, but I always said if I figured out something else I'd love to do, I would go back...hopefully I can go part-time and pay it off as I go or something this time! I particularly like this hilarious, maybe true, list of reasons to go back to college! Or maybe I'll find an ID job that allows me to do what I loved about the career in the first place! Guess we'll see what happens in the next couple of years! 


If you were to change your career what path might you take? Or if you did change your career what did you go from and to?

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