A New Chapter: Training and Guts Can Turn Job Loss Into Career Change

From the Los Angeles Times – Monday, January 14, 2002
By Jeffrey Steele

Call it downsizing, a layoff or a corporate restructuring. Whatever it's called, it's claimed your job, and now you're suddenly faced with an uncertain future.

Like anyone else in such a situation, you're filled with questions. Should you seek training that builds on your existing talents and experience? Or is this the moment to break with the past, return to school for a new degree and prepare for a career in an entirely different field?

For many people, the idea of starting a new career is appealing, but decidedly scary. Some feel it may be too late to "reinvent themselves" and start all over. But people can and do make such changes all the time, say career advisors.

"I've seen people completely reinvent themselves," said Vickie Curtin, director of the Women's Opportunities Center at UC Irvine Extension. "They reinvent themselves in their late 40s, mid-50s. They say, 'I've always envisioned doing this,' they come through this center and successfully make pretty radical career changes. Everything from entering a brand new profession to starting their own business to returning to school to get all levels of degrees, to reinventing themselves within their own professions. That's what we see here everyday."

Open to both women and men, the Women's Opportunities Center welcomes about 1,500 job seekers each year, offering career-building workshops on such topics as interviewing, writing resumes, and charting a career course.

Curtin recalled one woman in her 40s who came to the center after working for years in sales and marketing in the telecommunications industry. After enduring a couple of corporate downsizings, she decided to radically change her career and become a chef. She attended the Culinary Institute of America in San Francisco and now runs her own Orange County catering company.

If you've decided that you really want to make a career change and leap into a new field, it may not be necessary to "start all over," said Curtin.

For instance, someone with a business background interested in moving into veterinary medicine might be able to learn about the new industry while using existing skills.

"Before you drop everything, return to school and incur huge tuition bills, work in the field, but work in the field in areas where you already have skill sets," she said.

The person considering a switch to veterinary medicine might consider working for a humane society, a veterinary clinic, a rescue foundation or a pet supply manufacturer. "If you have a marketing background, a human resources background or a computer background, those business functions are going to be necessary" in all these work settings, said Curtin.

In short, transfer the skills you have into the new field, and learn about that career while continuing to earn a living. After a period of time, you'll know whether the field is right for you. "Then you make the jump, whether that's returning to school, or maybe going to school part time while continuing to work," Curtin said. "You're also in the environment of that field for networking. That's the bonus. People can use that scenario for any career change."

Once you do return to school for additional training, view that setting as an opportunity to network, Curtain added. The students in your class are likely to include people already in the industry undertaking professional development and skill building. Instructors are also familiar with the challenges and rewards of the profession.

A number of fields currently provide excellent opportunities for career switchers, according to Curtin. The high demand for employees in these industries may offer some protection against layoffs in the future. Certificate programs provide an excellent pathway into many of these fields.

For instance, demand exists for workers in environmental management with municipalities and private companies. Another hot area is medical manufacturing and product development, an industry that seeks the skills of individuals who have held other jobs within the medical field.

Opportunities also abound in management and fund-raising with nonprofit organizations. "If you have experience in management, budgeting, sales and marketing, public relations or project management, you have great transferable skills into the nonprofit industry," Curtin said. Gaining a certificate in this field will spur advancement, but many career changers can join the field without the benefit of a certificate, and pursue one while working full time.

Paralegals will also be in demand over the next few years, as law firms, corporate legal departments, banks, insurance companies and real estate and title insurance companies seek to reduce costs and enhance the efficiency of legal services.

Finally, job fields related to care for the growing ranks of elderly Americans – such as facilities management in assisted-living centers and nursing homes – will also surge, Curtin said.

Certificate programs

Certificate programs exist to help people find jobs in all these fields. Earning a certificate generally involves one or two three-hour night classes a week over the course of about a year. Certificate programs at university extensions average $3,000 to $6,500, Curtin said.

"If you're making a career change, that's not a lot of money," she said. "It's a small investment with large returns."

Given the shortage of teachers, few job fields currently offer greater opportunity than teaching. And for some, teaching may be an opportunity to work and train at the same time.

Mid-career job changers with college degrees have two options, according to Nancy S. Brownell, director of CalTeach, a statewide information, referral and recruitment center for teachers.

One is to enroll in a formal program at a four-year college or university. This option would involve about 12 months as a full-time student, including a period as a student teacher, and would result in what is called a "clear credential," Brownell said.

The second option would be an alternative certification process, in which the prospective teacher would take part in an intensive four-week training program, then start teaching in a classroom. While teaching, he or she would be mentored by a veteran teacher, and continue taking courses through the school district, a university or an online program. Such an individual would earn a provisional certificate after the initial training period, and a clear credential after a year.

With a dramatic nursing shortage gripping the nation, demand is also high for nurses, said Susan Brank, assistant executive officer of the Sacramento-based California Board of Registered Nursing. "Employers are offering incentives, and scholarships and funding are pretty readily available, sometimes through employers and sometimes through schools," she said.

Those who already have bachelor's degrees may be able to enroll in entry-level master's degree programs in nursing, which are two-year programs offered through universities, Brank said. Those who don't have bachelor's degrees can enroll in two- to three-year associate degree programs, many offered through community colleges in evening and distance-learning formats.

Baccalaureate programs are also available, and those who have already taken some college courses may be able to receive credit for those courses, Brank said.

Training probably needed

If your target job is not one of the above, it's still likely you'll need enhanced training or education to enter the field. To identify the training needed and where to get it, some seek advice from educational counselors, while others consult course catalogs of local university extensions or continuing education providers, said Gary W. Matkin, dean of continuing education at UC Irvine.

These providers represent excellent sources of training for several reasons. Many offer certificate programs, which are much shorter than degrees and more focused on skills that will lead to employment. At UCI Extension, for instance, 30 to 40 certificate programs are offered, most concentrated in information technology, computer and business fields. Other popular programs include interior design, screenwriting, digital arts and teaching English as a second language.

In addition, many university extensions and other continuing education providers make education as convenient as possible, scheduling classes in the evenings and weekends and in satellite locations. And some, among them UCI Extension, also offer Internet-based courses, making education available any time and place.

If you would like to make a career change but don't know what field would be right for you, outside professional counseling might be helpful.

"This counseling might take the form of assessment of skills, abilities and background, interest and aptitudes, even assessment of your financial situation and prospects," Matkin said. "These assessments are typically provided by people skilled in aptitude assessment and in looking at your background and marketability in the current job market."

That may sound like an expensive proposition, but it needn't be. Throughout the state, local work force investment boards sponsor one-stop service centers designed to help people find jobs. Many of these assessment services are available at these centers or through referrals from them, Matkin said.

For instance, in Los Angeles County, there are eight such facilities or WorkSource Centers, said Ann Giagni, director of the work force development division of the city of Los Angeles' community development department. Not only do the centers offer career counseling and assessments, but other free services, including help with writing resumes and searching labor market information.

Career counseling "can be as individual or as comprehensive as the case requires," said Roella Louie, deputy director of the work force development division. "We can do assessments, determine their interests and find training that will get the trained up for something that will get them back into employment."

Use networking

Another means of undertaking an assessment is through networking. "A lot of people find themselves stuck because they don't have enough information," Curtin said.

"That's where networking comes in. We really teach networking to (1) determine what would it take to change industries or make a major career change and (2) to learn the value of your current working skills and transferable skills, either in your current profession or a new one you might be considering."

Above all, remember that while a job loss often seems like an ending, it can also be a beginning to a much brighter career.

"Don't get untracked or psychologically stymied," Matkin said. "Get yourself on track, take a proactive stance toward this situation and use it as an opportunity to reassess your goals and make a realistic self-assessment. And then take some immediate and positive steps to move in a positive direction toward a better career."