Changing Career
A student wrote to me: “I graduated in Business Administration three years ago and currently working for a small company. It does not pay much and the job is boring so I have been thinking about changing my career into something better. Since last year I have planned to go back to school to get another degree but I am not sure which career would be better for me? Please advice.
Answer: You have to make your own decision about what career that you want to pursue. By thinking about career change but not doing anything about it is a waste of your precious time. Changing career is a big decision that requires you to conduct your own research and monitoring market trend to identify which field of study that will be best for you. This is not about finding out what companies are hiring to find another job but about getting information about a new career that allows you to enjoy and better your future. This is not about looking for job since you already have a job but find out which career would be best for you.
Since you know your current job is not good for you, you should be careful to distinguish between a job and a career so you will not make the same mistake again. If you do not understand what you really like, what is your passion, what skills that you enjoy, and what area that you are interested in, how can you make a good decision on the next career?
Going back to school is a good idea if you want to learn something new but it is an investment of time and money so you must be serious about it. By returning to school the second time, you must concentrate on learning well to build your skills. You will need someone to help you as you going through this process because there will be time when you feel like giving up. Talk to your parents or relatives who may help you and encourage you when you are depressed. In this step, you should not do it by yourself but need support.
You also need to understand that the cause for high unemployment and bad economy today is the world is going through a transition period where things change but most people have not adjusted to it. The financial crisis was created by bad management oversight where people who supposed to monitor did not do that. It is the result of the obsolete hierarchical system where nobody is responsible for anything and waits for someone at the top to make decision for them. The same thing was happening with the housing market where low level management cannot make decision and top level people do not know how to take corrective actions. We are seeing the same thing with the current crisis in Europe, and soon it will spread to other countries too. You need to understand this when select your next career change because you must ask yourself “What would be the next high demand area that I can build my career on.” If you have to invest time and efforts in another degree, it must help you to advance and grow, not just finding you another job.
When you find an area that may interested you, you need to go and talk to people who are working in that area to learn more about their jobs. Some people may share with you information of their work if you know how to ask. Of course people can give you their opinions but they do not know what is best for you. This is where you must make the decision. You have to decide what is right for you because you are the person who has to live with it.
The issue today is with globalization and changing technology, every country is experiencing a huge skills problem as a result of the education system failing to keep up with rising skills demands, and it is getting worse. There is a surge in demand for higher skills that most universities simply cannot keep pace. So you also must select the right school that have the right training because not every school can teach the skill requirements by industry. Today the industry no longer cares about what you know; the industry only cares about what you can do with what you know. Few years ago, a college graduates can get a good job in office or factory to earn enough to raise a family, put their children through school. That is no longer possible because the issue is not about economic fiscal as expressed in macro or micro economic theories but about global competition where the deficit is in the understanding about education and the role it plays in the knowledge economy.
By returning to school you must select what is needed and will be needed, what is in high demand today and tomorrow so you can build a long term career. You must research; review both the local market and the global market because it is very likely that you may work for global companies. Of course it is not easy making a career change. Any change is difficult and requires preparation and planning but with determination and courage, I think you will do well.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
