Changing Career Fields

[Txbeauty]

It has taken me 5 years to really figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I will say it's been an uphill battle due to:

1. The obvious, lack of field experience.
2. Trying to take my Bachelor's, 22 years of healthcare experience and various work titles and trying to fit them into another box, as applicable to the new industry's needs (Aerospace Industry) Also, having to consider getting a Master's Degree but I don't know what in, yet.
3. Age- unfortunately, I am not old, but not young either. Weird 40's where people start to devalue you or try to talk down to you. Been an interesting concept to deal with.
4. It's just taking time. Start from square one, it has taken me to go from this is what I want to do to step 1., as in a job, a total of 2 years of hard work behind the scenes.

I am by no mean immune to hard work, understanding I am starting from basically the bottom, and I have to go where the jobs are. The positive is I am learning a ton, I have never been more creative and stimulated at a job, I am better at building relationships (thanks to age and learning from past mistakes!) and I do enjoy getting up for work (((FINALLY!!!!) I am also putting my years of being a space geek to good use! Lots of books to read, old and new, and attending some pretty cool events!

What's your best advice for a major career change?

[SteveinMN]

What's your best advice for a major career change?
Keep working your way in and network, network, network. Keep learning about your chosen field. Get involved in aerospace-related things, whether it's writing related articles for a general-interest news site or advising STEM students. Talk to people in the field and ask them who else you could talk to, to learn and possibly get involved in aerospace-related projects. Volunteer if you can. And make your goal known. No harm in telling people your (long-term) goal is a job in the business.

[Txbeauty]

Keep working your way in and network, network, network. Keep learning about your chosen field. Get involved in aerospace-related things, whether it's writing related articles for a general-interest news site or advising STEM students. Talk to people in the field and ask them who else you could talk to, to learn and possibly get involved in aerospace-related projects. Volunteer if you can. And make your goal known. No harm in telling people your (long-term) goal is a job in the business.

Thanks Steve! I think I have hit on most of these in the past 2 years. The only one is I have kept my desires, as far as goals, under wraps from most people (not in aerospace) Too many critics and not enough time! I just want to live and enjoy this ride! :)

[Tammy]

On the odd age 40s invisible thing under #3 -

At work I’m not invisible cause lots of old white women are nurses and are valued for their input. Since about age 50 I notice that I’m invisible in some social spaces. I just go with it. But it can be annoying when I actually have something to contribute and people don’t seem to notice that I’m there.

Do you see this devaluing and talking down to as being done toward men also? Aerospace is quite a different world from healthcare.

[Txbeauty]

Tammy,
Here is something I noticed. I spent time in the military, so I would say at that time, it was probably heavily dominated by men. And I never had a problem. Did I have to prove myself? Sure did but they accepted me along the way and there was no drama.

I find that I do better in a more male heavy situation. Interesting huh? I think it's because I detest drama, gossip and wasting time critiquing something like a woman's clothes, hair or weight, which I often here and see as what most drama is about with other women.

I like working with some women, but they have to be very straightforward and not into chit chat, though I love deep conversations. I guess I may have a more male dominated personality. I really do like to examine these traits and the why behind them.

And as far as a simple answer to your question, no. But I am finding the aerospace industry to run a little different than healthcare and academic areas I have worked in.

[JaneV2.0]

I did better working with men, too. I preferred having to prove myself to knowing who's "in" or "out" on any given day. I agree completely with appreciating straightforward, mostly no-nonsense people.

I made a run at changing careers from IT to technical writing/editing at just the wrong time. I was making progress until the downturn of 2000 hit and I didn't have enough work experience to carry me through. I probably should have started a few years earlier, but oh well.

[Yppej]

I also work better with men on average, one reason I have stayed at my job with a construction materials wholesaler though I could probably make more and/or have a fancier title elsewhere. Our benefits are also very good, probably due to the stereotype that men must provide for their families. There is one female salesperson in my office who tries to create drama but I avoid her and it.

[Simplemind]

I also worked in a male dominated workplace but part of that time I was in a female dominated department where we had constant drama. I won't put it entirely on the female sex because I believe the environment was a set up for conflict. We had assignments that changed every four hours so there was no ownership over work or work station. I much preferred the male energy which was most often focused on the work at hand. That is not to say they couldn't also be gossipy and small minded but it didn't dominate.

[Txbeauty]

The most drama I experienced was at my last job in healthcare. I would say it was 80% female, so I do feel there is something to this. And I did not fit in, at all. I love have meaningful conversations and some fun at work, but there was this one gal who would just stand there, every meeting, arms crossed and constantly angry faced. She was horrible to work with. All she wanted to talk about was her newest diet and how fit she was and HER accomplishments. I don't even know what she actually did for the company but she was a Director. She was always the root of a lot of drama, plenty of it made up. I will never understand anyone past the age of knowing better and having established morals, who has worked and been in the world, who has to lie to cause drama. The whole lot of them was constantly kissing the CEO's backside, saying how wonderful of a person she was. I am sure she was, outside of work. I honestly didn't know how she was a CEO in healthcare, as she came from a Communications background and didn't even know what half her people did for jobs. I spent an hour 1 day, explaining the workflow of my department and she was floored at all the work we did. I was pretty self sustaining in building my department and hired females that were not gossipy. They worked super hard, we had some fun and we laughed a lot but the gossip/drama just never happened.

[Txbeauty]

Example of today's "work":
1. Made another contact at a very big organization, that I am truly interested in learning more about. I am very direct, as in, hey, I want to learn, how can I help you, let's make this happen. I guess that age things comes in handy.
2. I am narrowing down a possible certification/Masters program. I am rather excited. I am hoping it holds for the FALL, because I am in a position to start.
3. Working on writing some articles and submitting them to 2 journals/online magazines. I have NEVER done this before but I want to diversify and get my name out there.
4. Decluttering- this is so important to me to have a non career related focus, even though it helps me in the end, because I don't thrive in chaos at home.
5. Walking- I went and completed 3 slow miles today. It was awesome!

[ApatheticNoMore]

My boyfriend has worked in construction for years (though his is a white collar job). He's never worked in a workplace that isn't dysfunctional, abusive and psychotic in some sense.

I, having only worked only in computer geekery in many industries, observe it in *wonder*. I mean I've worked in abusive workplaces, it's not that I haven't seen that, but it's the exception not the rule for me, he's like never seen NORMAL, has no concept of what a workplace without bullying and abuse is. They'll pick up any weakness and run wit it, everyday at the current job he's watching a coworker get bullied.

So the baseline normal that I understand as normal (though of course if in an abusive workplace I lose track of that too, caught up in the trauma), just isn't there. And again I observe in wonder why every workplace he goes to ends up dysfunctional, while he thinks it's work as such. I don't glorify work as such or imagine it some kind of paradise, but NO, I can only conclude it's the industry. Male dominated yea HECK NO I'm not glorifying that. But I.T. like I do is kind of male? Yea white collar, different universe. My last abusive workplace was female bullying on the manipulative sort, but the things my bf has seen: straight out overt racism in the workplace, chairs being thrown, etc.. And I'm just: jaw drops when I hear it.

[Txbeauty]

My boyfriend has worked in construction for years (though his is a white collar job). He's never worked in a workplace that isn't dysfunctional, abusive and psychotic in some sense.

I, having only worked only in computer geekery in many industries, observe it in *wonder*. I mean I've worked in abusive workplaces, it's not that I haven't seen that, but it's the exception not the rule for me, he's like never seen NORMAL, has no concept of what a workplace without bullying and abuse is. They'll pick up any weakness and run wit it, everyday at the current job he's watching a coworker get bullied.

So the baseline normal that I understand as normal (though of course if in an abusive workplace I lose track of that too, caught up in the trauma), just isn't there. And again I observe in wonder why every workplace he goes to ends up dysfunctional, while he thinks it's work as such. I don't glorify work as such or imagine it some kind of paradise, but NO, I can only conclude it's the industry. Male dominated yea HECK NO I'm not glorifying that. But I.T. is kind of male? Yea white collar, different universe. My last abusive workplace was female bullying on the manipulative sort, but the things my bf has seen: straight out overt racism in the workplace, chairs being thrown, etc.. And I'm just: jaw drops when I hear it.


Holy cow! That is incredible! I have been front row to some abusive, manipulating situations. I hope you have recovered from those things. It can be very stressful and scary.

[Teacher Terry]

Reading this makes me happy to be retired:))

[JaneV2.0]

My workplace was an absolute dream compared to what you describe.
There was the occasional kerfuffle, but I was fortunate enough to miss them. We mostly all got along.

[Tybee]

I had a different experience of working in mostly male work environments. There was so much sexual harrassment. My first job working for women, I thought, gosh, this is what it's like to work in an environment where I am respected as a person. It was a whole new take on work itself.

BTW, the healthy work environment was IKEA, and the awful environment was a very upscale lawfirm. I still have nightmares (literally) about that place and working there. The IKEA job was considered demeaning by my ex-husband, who would say to the children, "so your mom still folds towels for a living." It was considered a low-skilled pink collar kind of job.

My "great" job at the lawfirm was the stuff of nightmares.

I think times have changed, for the better.

[Teacher Terry]

All work has value and your ex sounds like a jerk.

[Tybee]

Yes, he was. And yes, it does!
IKEA was actually a fabulous employer. It paid tuition reimbursement, 401k, and I got health insurance, and I worked only 20 hours a week. The health insurance paid massive medical bills, which made my real rate of pay there quite a bit more.