By Adrienne Erin
Online Career Tips, Guest Contributor
The United States recession was said to have “ended” in 2009. At that time, I was two years into my job at a college career counseling center. I always thought of myself as someone who could really help others, and career development satisfied that thirst. My favorite part of the job was helping students revise their resumes and draft creative cover letters as they set off to start their careers, enthusiastic despite the condition of the economy.
Then, in the spring of 2011, my department downsized. I was uprooted from my job, thrown out of my position and into the scary realm of unemployment like so many others in America at the time. I had thought that career advising was my calling, and I had been certain that I’d be helping others find employment until I retired. Alone and jobless, I found myself on the other side of the desk, researching job options and reconnecting with contacts, colleagues and classmates. Everywhere I looked, it seemed like companies were shrinking or not taking on new employees.
During this time, I began to take on “odd jobs” to pay the bills while I searched for employment. While some of these were downright miserable (babysitting for my former coworkers in particular made me feel inadequate, as they went off to conferences in other states and I stayed behind, changing diapers), I also had the chance to write for a local magazine.
It was like a reawakening – I began to realize that writing was my true calling. After all, I had always enjoyed helping students write cover letters in my old job, and before that, college papers had always been an exciting opportunity to express myself.
But how could I turn my back on years of education and training, years of scholarships and certifications to go into as unpredictable a field as freelance writing? I already had a change of heart once – I transferred out of a business administration school to pursue career counseling – and my mother interrogated me about it over and over, along with the requisite questions: “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” and even worse, “Don’t you want to help people?”
That question in particular haunted me. Was my change of career path really so heartless? Yes, I had loved helping students pursue their dream jobs. But what about my dream job?
It was a rough couple of months – I had to move to a smaller apartment, give up cable TV and buy an “economy” (read: slower) internet plan. I had to take on lots of poorly-paid assignments in the beginning, meaning I was writing almost all day, every day of the week. But as it turned out, I was pretty good at it. Opportunities began to come to me more easily, and I was even eventually able to actually enjoy some of the perks of the “flexible” freelance schedule. I volunteered to evaluate resumes for a local charity, satisfying my urge to help people.
Though it was a crazy experience, changing my career path, I wouldn’t say that I experienced a lot of grief doing it. I’m not disappointed at all – in fact, I love that I’m in a creative field and can even be a little choosy about my assignments.
I have three pieces of advice for changing career paths without grief:
1. Don’t Look Back
Once you’ve made your decision, try to avoid worrying that you have made the wrong one. Obviously, this is easier said than done, but do everything you can to derail those “Am I really doing the right thing?” trains of thought. You’ll thank yourself later.
2. Work Hard
If you’re fantasizing about a career change because you think you’ll need to work less hard, keep dreaming. It’s not going to be easy. Whether you’re becoming a freelancer or you’re working for a different company in another field, you will be expected to put your all into the job – especially if you are coming from a different background than your peers.
3. Give Yourself Time to Succeed
You can’t change career paths overnight. If it’s been three weeks and it doesn’t seem to be working out, you probably just need to give it more time. It takes a long time to learn to do something new, and even longer to become an expert.
Have you changed career paths? Share your story in the comments!
About the Author:
Adrienne Erin is a freelance writer and blogger. Though she no longer works in career development, she still volunteers with Dress for Success, an international organization that helps prepare women for employment.
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