My younger son will be in school full-time next year. I am going to take the opportunity to go to college, as I couldn’t earlier when my elder child appeared unexpectedly.
What do I want to be when I grow up? I have no idea. I never thought I’d have the opportunity to get a degree, so I didn’t dwell on it. I have no idea how to even go about deciding what course of study I should take.
I do know that I’d like a degree that will (theoretically; I realize that there are no guarantees in life) get me a job, just not learning for the sake of learning. Can anyone point me to somewhere that can help me figure it out?
What do you like to do? Can you get a qualification in that?
I have an academic background but I have often toyed with the fantasy of going back to a technical school and learning a trade - I could be a carpenter, electrician, sound engineer, etc. These qualifications, unlike, say, a history degree, have clear career paths and skills that can be transferred across contexts (e.g. it’s easier to find work as a tradesperson than as a (say) policy analyst or middle manager, in just about any situation). These professions are often in demand. Lots of jurisdictions have apprenticeship programs for this sort of thing, so you can work and make a bit of money while you’re learning.
What sort of job would you like? Office work? Independent contracting? Project-based? Do you know anyone whose lifestyle you respect, who has a job they love? What is it, and what do they love about it? Ask them for advice. In general, ask everyone you meet if they like their job and why. This should help narrow things down a little in your mind in terms of what you might like and might not.
Do you have any opportunities for connections to folks who could help you out in the long term (e.g. places you could maybe get hired if only you knew more about XXX)? Find out their needs and try to tailor your education towards them.
In general tho, whatever you choose, my advice would be don’t take anything that doesn’t have a co-op or apprenticeship program or some sort of serious placement assistance as part of the package (a “Campus Career Centre” just isn’t enough these days). It’s just too hard to start from scratch coming out of school.
As a corollary to this, what can you do? If your a math and science person, then the obvious answer is to pick the most interesting engineering degree. If you shriek at the sight of a calculus problem, then perhaps engineering isn’t the best choice. Tell us:
(1) What you’re good at and
(2) What you like to do
and we will give you some suggestions.
Also, how old are you, and how committed to a career would you be?
I’m good at people. I excelled in the property and casualty insurance industry in Canada, before I moved to the US (where the rules are all different, and I haven’t worked in insurance since). I don’t particularly enjoy it, but I was really good at it.
I prefer things that are cut and dried, as opposed to many different answers for the same question sort of things.
I don’t know if I would be good at it, but chemistry and pharmacy intrigue me. We live in Baltimore, which is the home to Johns Hopkins and several other excellent hospitals, so perhaps something in health would be a good idea. I have often thought about nursing.
I am 37, and I would not be going to school unless I was committed to a career. We have been able, so far, for me to stay home with our kids; I have had a few part-time jobs but nothing I would consider doing full-time for the rest of my life. I have effectively been out of the workforce for 6 and a half years.
You should look into getting your general education credits out of the way at a local community college. That gives you the opportunity to try out a few different things at a much lower cost than at a four-year college. Be sure to check that the credits will transfer appropriately; most schools are pretty good about that, but you can get burned if you’re not careful.
I think it’d definitely be worth your while to try out a chemistry course or two. If you like it and you’re good at it, there are lots of pretty good jobs to be had. If not, there are other opportunities, and if not, you’ll probably need it anyway for any medical track.
The standard book for picking out careers is What Color is Your Parachute?, which is definitely worth looking through. The other thing you should consider is looking at all the undergraduate majors at your local schools, figuring out which ones interest you, and looking at what sorts of careers they can lead to.
My first thought was pharmacology since you appeared to enjoy working with the pharmacy folks during your time there. Maybe something in that field backed up with a healthy dose of IT since everything in the world is getting more and more computerised.
I’ve also noticed how many people seem to come to you for counsel. Have you considered counseling? As a profession, I mean.
If you’re interested in nursing – and can hack the math and science courses – go for it. My best friend got his nursing degree when he was in his mid 40s, so you’re definitely not too old.
If you get your nursing degree, you definitely need to move back to Calgary.
Can you get in contact with your local unemployment insurance office and find out what workshops they have available? I took some excellent career direction workshops through EI. If you don’t qualify for them because you aren’t on EI, perhaps they could direct you to some workshops for the general public. Maybe your local colleges would have something like that, too.
This. Take advantage of a couple of years to try things out while figuring out what you want to do. Talk to other people about what they’re doing and where they’re headed. I’ve known several people who changed tracks 2 or 3 times in the first couple of years, but the initial class requirements are all pretty much the same.
Ultrafilter and FCM, that’s the route I plan to take. Baltimore County Community College has excellent programs, and that way we don’t pay as much as we would if I were to go to Hopkins, Towson, or wherever for the full four years.
Nursing has always been a draw for me because you can move anywhere and still be able to work (barring a few local certification courses, IIRC). That’s important to me, so that I have the option to work in Canada if we choose to move back North at some point.
