|
According to Andrea Kay, career consultant and author of Life's a Bitch and Then You Change Careers,
there are a lot of people who are looking to make a change in their professional lives.
Their dissatisfaction, she says, is fueled in part by the disconnect many are feeling between what they are doing
and their need to make a difference. "They want something that allows them to make an imprint on others," she says.
Changing careers, however, can feel overwhelming, especially if you've been in your current career for a long time.
You don't have to figure everything out on your own, however. Here are some additional tips from the three women you met in
"Making a Change."
Questioning Confidence: Being dissatisfied with your current position doesn't mean you aren't
good at what you do for a living. Many people thinking of changing careers may hesitate because they are unsure of what
they will find once they leave their current position.
For Kathy Bowers, her job as a technology reporter gave her a constant source of immediate feedback.
Working as a writer, she'd have an idea, do the reporting, turn it in and then hear from her editors.
What she heard was usually praise or small suggestions.
When she started massage school, Bowers found a similar satisfaction from the response to her Swedish massage skills.
"When we started, I felt like the queen of the universe, like I could do no wrong, that everyone I touched was
happier once I massaged them," she remembers.
But then came the much more disciplined deep tissue work, with its emphasis on precision and anatomy.
Gone were the "oh that feels so good" responses, and in their place were questions of performance and skill.
This uncertainty hit Bowers hard. "I'd always been an 'A' student, always been the smart one in the class," she explains,
"but massage brought out all these issues of performance."
What you can do: You have to remind yourself that learning something new can take time.
You probably weren't a natural at your current position, either, but learned and grew your talent over the years.
Believe in the choice you've made and rely on the knowledge of your instructors. "I had to learn to trust what my instructors
were telling me," says Bowers.
Financial worries: Like it or not, one positive aspect of your job is the regular paycheck.
Looking at making a career change can bring up financial questions that might give you pause.
How will you pay for any additional education? Will your new career pay as well as your current position?
These are—and should be—the questions you are considering while thinking of taking a new career path.
You shouldn't become paralyzed, however, letting financial concerns deter you from exploring your options.
What you can do: According to Bowers, one way to deal with concerns about money is to begin
preparing before you ever enroll in massage school. Sometimes, too, this preparation means making some big adjustments,
including scaling back your current standard of living. Bowers, for example, rented out the condo she owned in the suburbs of
Virginia and moved into a group house in Washingon, D.C., where she was attending school.
She also used public transportation to get to and from both school and work, saving her the upkeep of a car and the cost of gas.
Preparation was key for Kathleen Maroney, too. As she started thinking of making a career change to massage therapy,
she got serious about making a plan. Maroney decided early that she would focus her marketing efforts around her daughter's home.
She also spent a good deal of time on the Internet, in particular the Small Business Administration's website,
to find out all she could about starting her own practice and the resources available to her.
One more bit of advice: "I read every single entrepreneurial book I could get my hands on," Maroney explains.
|
American Massage Therapy Association®
