A Career Change View

By: Jacklyn Hughes

So it is that time, the time when you wake up one morning and know that you need to change careers. I am a single Mom and have a teenager. I also have been working as a hairstylist for over 15 years and have run a successful business, but the time is now to grow up and get a “real job”, as certain people have told me.

Since when did hairdressing not count as a real job? I thought that is what I’ve had all along! I pay my bills, put food on the table, I raise my daughter and can afford to send her to a good school, and I’ve traveled all around the world. I’m proud of my accomplishments and my skills. I’ve won awards and many of my clients literally travel in from other cities for their appointments. I’m in demand and yet there are some who still look down on my profession. This is the attitude I’m facing. My mountain to climb as I reinvent myself.

Why am I looking for a career change at this point? Simply put, I want more. I love a challenge and I love business. I’m good at it. I have a real knack for projects and planning and still, I love people and working as part of a team.

My first thought was “I know, I’ll go work in a corporate office!” I figured that with my public relation skills, my success at running my own business and several years doing volunteer project management for a non- profit organization, that it would be a piece of cake. I saw job postings and what they wanted for skills and I knew I could do the job. I figured I would just go in and apply (or apply online in most cases), and land a new job and I’d be off and running. Oh, how wrong I was. Apparently there is a stigma still attached to hairstylists. We are still too-often considered uneducated and it’s assumed we do not have the first clue on how to operate a business. I was shut down. Now what?

I did some investigation and realized that I was missing that “piece of paper”, a certification or degree that companies are looking for. Years of experience behind me didn’t seem to count as much as having taken a course, so being the type of person I am I thought I’d start with something I love and know I could do well in - project management. The course was interesting and, just as I thought, I loved it. I could feel my creative juices flowing page after page. I completed the entire course and then when it came to write the final so I could get some letters behind my name, (because in the corporate world those letters seem to mean everything) I discovered I need several project hours before I can write the exam. Again I thought no problem as I had volunteered and did project management with a non-profit organization for several years. Unfortunately, according to the course advisor the hours needed to be paid hours not volunteer. It didn’t count. Now what? I need to get experience but I can't get a job, without a job I can't get experience, so here I was stuck in a cliché.

I did what every resourceful person would do-I Googled to find information on making a career change. There is a lot of great information out there for women who are taking the plunge to reinvent themselves like I am. More and more women are returning to the work force because of the economy, and competition for jobs is definitely more tough.

I’d like to share an article that helped put things into focus for me:

Career Change: How To Make It Happen

After reading this article I started a plan of action.

1) I researched what fields I was interested in and what it would take to enter and advance in each field.

2) I spoke to different vocational sources and discussed what options were available for a mature student.

3) I made a list of achievable goals to create a step-by-step plan for my career transition.

I returned to university and I am currently enrolled in distance learning for Business Management. I still run my business and still work with all the different clients. I still play mom's taxi service to my teenager and several of her friends. I am still striving to cross the threshold of hairstylist to corporate business woman.

With each completed course I get closer to achieving my goal. The hardest part is taking the first steps, but you can do it!

Picking A Career That Suits Your Lifestyle

Did you ever hear the phrase “If you find a career doing exactly what you love, you will never work a day in your life”? This theory couldn't possibly be more realistic as unfortunately too many people figure this out a little too late in life. Choosing a career should be exciting and not something you do just to provide for yourself financially, but for a life choice that will shape the person you want to be for years to come.

Going about choosing a career is the fun part evaluate any education, skill sets and paths you would like to take in your employment and make a list of options to begin the process. No job should be out of your realm of consideration as anything is possible with the right attitude and a little determination. You would be amazed at the amount of recent college graduates with a fortune in school loans to repay and a flashy degree under their belts with zero direction for which career path they plan on taking. Don’t be those people, have a specific goal in mind and do the necessary research to find the steps needed to get you there.

Using the internet when choosing a career may be the easiest platform to explore every possible option. Let the search engines do all the work for you by typing in the degree or any type of education you currently possess and see which career choices can be obtained with those assets. Think outside of the box and don’t form any limitations as to what you can do for the rest of your life. If you’re seeking a particular career in a field that requires additional skills or training that you don’t have, inquire with the company about any training programs and inform them you’re a fast learner and very eager to begin a long career in that exact field. Most employers will accept experience working on the job for months or years in place of a degree, so do not settle for a job that is half of what you desire just due to a lack in education as hundreds of eager job seekers get into reputable companies without it.

For additional help choosing a career, you can surf through the endless websites that help you find a career and even provide resume building services and tools to help you locate the best job that aligns with your skills and experience. Headhunters and job placement facilities can also be proactive to guide you in the right direction and they typically have advertisements in local newspapers and on the web for all their current openings. Keep in mind when you go through some of these organizations they will charge you a fee for finding you the career, or they can also charge the client or employer for their recruitment services. Find out those fees that could potentially be applied to your earnings prior to singing any agreements for employment. The world is yours for the taking, don’t settle for a career in a field that you don’t want, instead make the most of your options and continue to pursue your passion.

Women Are Getting Jobs As Pyschics

Chances are that if you are a regular user of the internet or watch a lot of late evening television that you have come into contact with an advertisement for psychic services. Psychics, mediums, and the like are now becoming part of more than just a questionable livelihood and instead are finding a home in a wide range of respected professions. While there are still people that doubt the validity of a psychic reading, there are other people that are utilizing psychics to assist in a wide variety of ways in a range of career fields.

One field where psychics are finding jobs today is in the entertainment industry. It seems as though every week there is at least one talk show that has a psychic as a special guest to help audience members reconnect with lost loved ones or answer burning questions about what the future holds. These psychics often use their abilities to shock and awe audiences with their knowledge of specific details about people that they have never before met. It has also become a celebrity trend to have a psychic on the payroll to provide input and answers regarding important business and life decisions. Many of these psychics have been able to make a career of guest appearances and some psychics have even been offered book deals and other opportunities in the entertainment world.

Another profession where psychics are starting to find a place to fit in is with the police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. For years, people were skeptical about offerings from psychics about the location of a missing child or the perpetrator behind a disappearance. This attitude has changed in recent years as many respected and renowned psychics have worked with the police and the FBI to solve a variety of crimes. Psychics are now being called upon in certain cases where they may be able to provide details or essential pieces of information that the police would be unable to discover without the effort of the psychic. Many countries outside of the United States have been using psychics in their detective work for a number of years and this trend has just recently made its way into the United States. There are several television shows and movies that glamorize the paranormal gifts of psychics in the crime world, but the psychics that work with law enforcement in the real world is far less glamorous.

The jobs that are available to those thought to be gifted with the ability to tap into the paranormal world are expanding as the needs of society continue to expand. Formerly looked at in a negative light, true psychics today are earning more respect for their craft and are relied upon more frequently in the professions that are listed above. Be aware that there are a wide range of individuals that may claim to have psychic abilities, however only a small percentage of those claiming to be psychic may actually have a proven track record of psychic success.