Changing careers and finding high-quality career counseling.

[TheIronStar]

I'm currently doing software development in a financial services firm. I'm getting pretty sick and tired of it--I strongly am starting to believe that coding just isn't for me, and I question my interest in financial-related stuff.

The problem is that I don't know of anything else that anyone would hire me for that will support me at anything near level of income besides what I am doing now. I have a bachelor's degree (college apparently being the new high school). I am being pushed into applying for business school by my parents and their friends, but personally I'm sick of this entire industry and of being their satellite (the only jobs and internships I ever got were via nepotism--all the job-searching, resume-polishing crap that people who supposedly knew what they were talking about turned out to be 100% full of crap, getting me zero responses year after year).

I made the mistake of dealing with the career counselors during my college days. They were essentially a waste of my time. I am looking for more direction and preferably higher quality advice and advisors. Where would I look to find high-quality career counseling? (At the moment I have no way of distinguishing the high-powered wizards from the chumps du jour until it's too late.)

Thanks for any help. The frustration's burning me out.

[mustard76]

Originally Posted by TheIronStar

Where would I look to find high-quality career counseling?

I enjoy the CareerFYI podcast.

CareerFYI - The Premier Career Information Resource

[intentionengine]

How about a slightly different approach?

I've lived most of my adult life in Australia and there isn't as much pressure here to forge an unsatisfying highly paid career as the U.S and I know 'cause I'm American and had the pressure applied in my teens and early twenties.
I feel for your plight. Perhaps life balanced aproach is a better option when looking for advice.

I mentor young people @ Slingshot

My own experience has been

1. Seek out a mentor. Someone who is right were you want to be or has been recently. I've found recent retirees especialy ones who have retired early know that there is more to life than a job you hate.
As you can see here in these forums, most people really love to be asked for advise and support people who have a need for their experience and expertise. Mentoring is almost always free and a valuable experience if you get a good match. If you don't get a good match, keep seeking.

Look out for any mentoring organizations in your area. Generally they will be retirees but many are high up in their chosen field.

2. Seek out a life coach. Sounds like you're looking for more than a career and perhaps a really good life coach will help you define what you really want, your life purpose and guide you through the process. This is a good idea to do while you still have your current job and the funds to support life coaching.

3. Dare to dream and do it. You'll be surprised by what you can achieve when you make that 'one descision'.

Also I think your parents and others will find it hard to argue with you getting a mentor and who knows you might end up being one in the future passing on the gift of giving.

Happy New Year,

Brendan

P.S your username suggests to me you have all the potential. You are an Iron (strong) Star(bright).

[TheIronStar]

Originally Posted by mustard76

I enjoy the CareerFYI podcast.

CareerFYI - The Premier Career Information Resource

Thanks, Mustard.

Originally Posted by intentionengine

How about a slightly different approach?

I've lived most of my adult life in Australia and there isn't as much pressure here to forge an unsatisfying highly paid career as the U.S and I know 'cause I'm American and had the pressure applied in my teens and early twenties.
I feel for your plight. Perhaps life balanced aproach is a better option when looking for advice.

I understand. Some of the pressure is also self-inflicted as well--I do like the money and (to some extent) what it can buy. It's frustrating that I don't know what else to do because if I choose anything else I'm all but guaranteed to take a serious step down incomewise. And if I refuse to do any future computer- or financial-related work [both of which I'd be glad to have a break from], that's a serious limitation from what I see on the online job boards (true, they've never been any use to me in the past, but I have no other information on other careers).

It's gotten to the point where I don't even know what I might actually like anymore.

Originally Posted by intentionengine

1. Seek out a mentor. Someone who is right were you want to be or has been recently. I've found recent retirees especialy ones who have retired early know that there is more to life than a job you hate.

Yes, definitely. I'm tired of this job and job type, and even more sickened at not really having any competitive advantage in being hireable for anything else. I'd do this, but I don't know what career I'd actually like though.

Originally Posted by intentionengine

2. Seek out a life coach. Sounds like you're looking for more than a career and perhaps a really good life coach will help you define what you really want, your life purpose and guide you through the process. This is a good idea to do while you still have your current job and the funds to support life coaching.

I see. What is a life coach?

Originally Posted by intentionengine

3. Dare to dream and do it. You'll be surprised by what you can achieve when you make that 'one descision'.

I know. I've seen it in other people. It's tough when all my remaining dreams are gone though.

Originally Posted by intentionengine

P.S your username suggests to me you have all the potential. You are an Iron (strong) Star(bright).

Thanks, intentionengine.

[intentionengine]

You're welcome


Life coaching is used by a growing number of psychologists to aid clients with transitions in their personal life, and in the process of self-actualization. Life coaching draws from a number of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, career counseling, and numerous other types of counseling. The coach, or counselor, applies mentoring, values assessment, behavior modification, behavior modeling, goal-setting, and other techniques in assisting clients.


See here

See here

Cheers,

Brendan

[Dwane J.]

Originally Posted by TheIronStar

Where would I look to find high-quality career counseling?

Try the National Career Development Association
NCDA

They maintain a list of Master Career Counselors and Master Career Development

I could have written your post about 3 years ago. During that time I worked with a C.C. talking about career changes.

It was somewhat helpful but ultimately only you can make a change.

The same goes with a mentor. I highly recommend finding one but again they wont have the answers for you. They can only guide you through their life experience.

Quick advise on finding a mentor; Anyone in your life can be a mentor. It might not be an official relationship, just someone you admire. I have several people I call my "mentor". One is an official relationship the others are indirect.

I'm not coding for a living anymore but still involved with technology. Like you taking a pay cut is hard to do.

Here are a couple of ideas:

Try volunteering with an industry that you think you might enjoy.

Ask for a temporary leave of absence from work. Use this time for some soul searching, maybe some traveling would help clear your mind

The sooner you make this journey the better off you will be. The older you get the harder it is to make this kind of change.

I'm 32 and looking back I wish I had experimented with different careers during my 20's. If I had seen a CC earlier in my career I might have made the switch.

[Ellesse]

Almost 7 years ago when I made the career switch from an accountant to a financial systems implementation consultant, I told myself this :
- "I'm still young, and can jolly well go back to auditing/accounting if things does not work out"
- "I would rather fail at what I love than to succeed in something that I hate"

I wished I had a career coach at that time to talk to but I knew they wouldn't be able to make decisions for me as well. Eventually, it's back to how much I wanted to move on that propelled the change because at the end of the day, I know only myself will be held responsible for my own actions.

Perhaps you can try consider mind-mapping as a good way to brainstorm some good ideas, while taking the leave/break suggested by Dwane. I've tried mindmapping before and realise it's a very useful and interesting tool. Wished I'd known about it back then.

I've noticed Dwane J has a mindmapping site so you might want to check it out too. Share your mindmap with family or friends who may give you some other good suggestions, design a plan of action and perserve!

All the best in your pursuit...

[mustard76]

As you think about what you want to do next, think about what you like about your current situation, not just what you want to change. You could spend so much effort focusing on what you want to change that you could lose sight of the things you like.

There has to be a reason you chose your current job in the first place. Maybe it was the money, the routine, the people, etc.

As you transition into your next job you want to keep the things you like about your current situation and change the things you don't.

[TheIronStar]

Originally Posted by Dwane J.

Try the National Career Development Association
NCDA

I'm not coding for a living anymore but still involved with technology. Like you taking a pay cut is hard to do.

Here are a couple of ideas:

Try volunteering with an industry that you think you might enjoy.

Ask for a temporary leave of absence from work. Use this time for some soul searching, maybe some traveling would help clear your mind

The sooner you make this journey the better off you will be. The older you get the harder it is to make this kind of change.

I'm 32 and looking back I wish I had experimented with different careers during my 20's. If I had seen a CC earlier in my career I might have made the switch.

Thanks, Dwane. With me not only is taking the pay cut hard to do, but there's also the matter of whether or not I'll actually be able to find a job at all doing anything else. Not everyone has the opportunity to experiment with careers in their 20s--some of us (me included) don't get to enjoy the diverse choices of internships in college nor a highly mobile career life afterwards due to not being offered the opportunities.

I'm definitely aware that it's difficult to make the change later in life (I'm glad I'm still single and [relatively] young at 27).

Originally Posted by Ellesse

Almost 7 years ago when I made the career switch from an accountant to a financial systems implementation consultant, I told myself this :
- "I'm still young, and can jolly well go back to auditing/accounting if things does not work out"
- "I would rather fail at what I love than to succeed in something that I hate"

I wished I had a career coach at that time to talk to but I knew they wouldn't be able to make decisions for me as well. Eventually, it's back to how much I wanted to move on that propelled the change because at the end of the day, I know only myself will be held responsible for my own actions.

Perhaps you can try consider mind-mapping as a good way to brainstorm some good ideas, while taking the leave/break suggested by Dwane. I've tried mindmapping before and realise it's a very useful and interesting tool. Wished I'd known about it back then.

All the best in your pursuit...

I understand. I don't really know if I'll be able to return if I quit the industry though--I'm not sure if I'll truly be competitive with the market. I'd like to do just that though, try something else and hope to come back if I'm desperate for money.

What is mind-mapping? I know no one can make decisions for me, it's just that I've lost all sight of what I actually like at all, and that I'd like to do something better but don't know what or how I would get any hope of competitive advantage in it to get in nor how to excel enough to be able to make it big.

Originally Posted by mustard76

As you think about what you want to do next, think about what you like about your current situation, not just what you want to change. You could spend so much effort focusing on what you want to change that you could lose sight of the things you like.

There has to be a reason you chose your current job in the first place. Maybe it was the money, the routine, the people, etc.

As you transition into your next job you want to keep the things you like about your current situation and change the things you don't.

My specific job is secure, but the industry and overall line of work isn't (outsourcing and downward wage pressure due to white-collar labor globalization). I took the job because it was the only work I could find after years despite being educated (college is the new high school, it is said), and I'm there because there's not so much pressure on me or my department, and it's better pay and benefits than anything else I know of that a bachelor's degree alone can get. The routine is quite okay too (8-to-6).

I want more adventure in my life. I hate the local area (I'm sick of suburbia), and I'd like to be in different cities or even countries while I'm still young. I'd like to see other lines of work. I'd like to find a job without forever being limited to what nepotism via my family's friends can provide for me, and no longer be indebted as such nor limited as such again. I'd like to eventually "find my passion" and learn of a way to make this kind of money (and, later on, more) doing something I'd genuinely like.

People talk of "Turn your passion into empire". I wish I knew how I could find what I'm passionate about at all and how I can turn it into empire.

[dgorila1]

Do you want to get out of computers all together, or just programming? Since the IT field has many options, maybe you could try a different portion of the industry (network, website development, security, etc). With your programming experience and degree you should still be able to get paid close to what you're making now if not more. I'm starting training in the IT field as my career change. I've been investigating it allot and found that the IT community tends to be close knit (meaning that everyone knows everyone else), especially in geographic areas. Thats why all of the people I know that leave one company to go to another do it professionally and cordially (i.e. never "burn your bridges"). You never know who you may work with/for again down the road. If you're interested in computers but just need a change, try one of the other fields. From what I have seen so far, there are many people that have all the certifications but no degree and they are making very good money. Having a degree just increases the money they can make and bumps them up on the totem pole.

[TheIronStar]

Originally Posted by dgorila1

Do you want to get out of computers all together, or just programming? Since the IT field has many options, maybe you could try a different portion of the industry (network, website development, security, etc). With your programming experience and degree you should still be able to get paid close to what you're making now if not more. I'm starting training in the IT field as my career change. I've been investigating it allot and found that the IT community tends to be close knit (meaning that everyone knows everyone else), especially in geographic areas. Thats why all of the people I know that leave one company to go to another do it professionally and cordially (i.e. never "burn your bridges"). You never know who you may work with/for again down the road. If you're interested in computers but just need a change, try one of the other fields. From what I have seen so far, there are many people that have all the certifications but no degree and they are making very good money. Having a degree just increases the money they can make and bumps them up on the totem pole.

Well, I've always been a pretty poor programmer (I would never survive even a true bachelor's in computer science, let alone a master's). My current opinion on my major in school is that it was essentially a 1990s cash cow major which ended up leaving me a a weak, overglorified web programmer with some ideas of tech-consulting processes (which in real life don't seem to apply outside of consulting--I've been working in financial services now for almost four years and I've never dealt with planning a single use case). I've actually forgotten a lot of what I knew, but I've learned a bit in other places. The main problem with staying in computers is that I strongly suspect I'll never be able to truly excel or even stay competitive with the market for long.

I know less than nothing of networking, hardware, security, or the like.

The problem with leaving computers behind is that I have nothing near any kind of hireability, let alone competitive advantage, in anything else. I could possibly move in my workplace or short-term job path to something closer to the financial side of things (and soon be paid even better), but I'm getting tired of it all and I feel I could live a happy life never seeing an integral in my life again. This entire career path was chosen for me and I'm not sure I like it.

The path is open to me to make a bunch more money--I need only follow along in being pushed into business school by my parents' friends and go back to this industry. I just don't know why I hate it all.

I just don't know what I'd really like, nor how to make it big there or do some genuine wealth creation later in life while doing so.

[Dani]

You sound like me 2 years ago Ironstar.

I had a very well paying IT job, between 6 - $800 a day, but I was absolutely miserable. I like programming and I am pretty good at it, but day in and day out the same thing with no creativity just got to me.

But the job was too good to give up and start again. Or so I thought.

What I realised, was that I was spending like a madman all the money I was earning just to prop up my happiness. I was spending at least a grand a week on clubbing alone, and I didn't even really enjoy them.

I eventually took an extended holiday to Japan to visit a friend for a month, and realised how much life I was missing.

6 months later he offered to let me take over his apartment and furniture in Japan because he was coming back to Aus. I jumped at the chance and quit my job the following day. 3 weeks later I was on a plane to Japan.

The income drop was significant, but it is coming back up. But more importantly it was worth it. The thing with life is, it respects people taking educated risks and rewards them accordingly.

If you are unhappy with your life, I am betting a lot of it has to do with the fact that you either have no goals right now, or feel you aren't working towards your goals, because of your job. Either of these are a surefire recipie for being miserable.

I would suggest working out what you -want- to do. When you do something you love, the money will follow.

You might take a pay cut for a while, but your life will shift to match that, and in a couple of months you won't even notice the difference. I don't notice it now, I feel like I live basically the same life I did when I was earning more than 4x as much except I love it now. I am doing what I want to, life coaching and business building, and everything just comes to me as and when I need it.

Interestingly enough, I wrote a post on my new blog yesterday about exactly this topic.

[Rapid]

Hi, there.

I recommend:

What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles - Read the section on the 5 best and worst ways to apply for jobs and do the exercises in chapters 7-9 to find out what your favorite skills, values, and passions are. As they say: "Know thyself."
How You Really Get Hired by John LaFevre
Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters by Jay Levinson.
Career, Education, and Life Advice from Marty Nemko - Lots of free articles and a radio show archive. He has some unconventional ideas.

Don't just read the books and articles though. Research companies. Use the advice to create a portfolio showcasing your work and write cover letters custom-tailored for your favorite prospective employers. Don't rely on sending out resumes.

I don't recommend paying expensive fees for life and career coaching when you can get them for free or cheap. I speak from experience. People have the tendency to over-rely on "experts" or "authority figures" to tell them what to do. Paying someone else to coach you may make you feel as though you are doing something to advance towards your goal, but you're actually postponing starting on the work that you need to do for yourself.

Besides reading books about different career options, you can also conduct informational interviews with relatives, friends, their acquaintences, members of trade associations, etc.. The only cost to you is money for thank-you cards, meals out (offer to treat people in return for their time), and thank-you gifts.

Fill in this Statement in order to focus your search:

"I am interested in ________ (action verb), ________ (action verb), and ___________ (action verb) at a _______________ (type of company) located in ____________ (city)."

I've spent hundreds of dollars on career tests. The results were informative. But what motivated me to really go after what I'm looking for was my lay off (please see my post "full-time versus contract"). Suddenly my time is in my control and fear propelled me to take action. What will it take for you to take action?

Family and friends may mean well, but they don't always know what is best for us. Take time for solitude and self-reflection. Away from all the "noises," you will be able to listen to your intuition and develop self reliance.

There you have it. Some straight talk from a fellow adventurer of life. Now stop reading this and pursue your dream!

[careerassesments78]

it's not uncommon for an individual to change their career choice or to move into another career entirely at least once in their working lifetime, and for many they may change careers three or more times. Career development, therefore, is important to know and understand. Career-Wise Australia | Career Counselling, Testing, Guidance, and Change Kit