I'm in the process of looking for a new job.
For the past nine years I have taught Sociology for a small community college in central Washington State. It has been my passion. For MOST of that time I have also held down various full time positions. These have changed from time to time:
Caregiver Training Coordinator
Information & Referral Manager
Executive Director of non profit
Marketing Director for a retirement community
Learning Specialist at a different college, designing & evaluating pilot programs to enhance student retention and success
Interim Director of College Prep - being in charge of all the GED/ESL/ABE classes across five counties.
And now...back to being an Executive Director again of a different non-profit.
But through it all, I defined my IDENTITY as being a teacher who happened to take on other jobs to help pay the bills.
However, in these economic hard times the school where I worked is having to cut back in some significant ways. They cancelled 90 classes. They laid off 18 full time employees (classified and exempt technical) and did away with nearly all their adjunct instructors. Their IT department is operating at 40%. It's not looking good. I was one of the ones that got cut. So that job that meant so very much to me is now gone.
I will miss it in a lot of ways. In a few ways, it is a relief. But one of the realities is that I was counting on that job to provide insurance benefits for my family after my husband retires, which is not all that far away. That is no longer an option for me. My current full time job as Director of a small non profit does not provide any sort of benefits. So I am looking for a new position that will give me the insurance that we most definitely need.
I've applied for half a dozen jobs so far and have several more I plan to apply for this weekend. As I go through this process I've been giving a lot of thought to why we work and what it is I need to get from a job.
Yesterday as I went about town doing my errands I asked several people I encountered at the bank, the library and the grocery store the following questions:
1. What is the best and worst part of your job?
2. If you could be instantly qualified to do any job in the universe, what would you most like to do?
3. Do you know what steps it would take to make that sort of job a reality for you now?
4. Are you willing to do things to get closer to doing the work of your dreams?
I'm not sure which baffles me more - the fact that there are a lot of people who have utterly NO CLUE about what they really want, or people who know exactly what they want, understand what it would take to get there, yet are completely unwilling to take the necessary steps to get there.
So right now I'm putting a lot of energy into getting as clear as I can on what sort of work I would most want to do and then identifying the steps I need to take to make it come true.
I'm apprehensive about it a bit, caught in the trap of uncertainty about the future. But mostly I am practicing trusts in the universe to help me find whatever path that is meant for me.
It should be an interesting journey.
3 comments:
1. What is the best and worst part of your job?
2. If you could be instantly qualified to do any job in the universe, what would you most like to do?
3. Do you know what steps it would take to make that sort of job a reality for you now?
4. Are you willing to do things to get closer to doing the work of your dreams?
Here are my answers: Right now, I do not have a paid job. Does that mean I don't work? My "job" is homemaker and family coordinator, which includes laundry, cleaning, scheduling, cooking, landscaping, etc. The worst part of my job is having my son argue with me about food every time we sit down to eat. The best part is feeling that I've created a happy home environment and two healthy kids and a successful marriage. Sometimes, I think that staying out of the "official" job scene has helped me to achieve that.
2. I would like to be a field biologist.
3. I have done the necessary training! I have contacts! But I feel that I have needed to be at home with the young 'uns to keep the home scene running smoothly.
4. Now that Orion is 7, I am actually signed on to do some field work in southern California this spring to survey for rare plants in some areas where there are plans to develop wind farms and large solar arrays. I'm very excited to get back into my career!!!!
I think we are lucky to even be thinking about a career instead of just a "job." There is a difference.
Hey Kath;
Having spent a number of years as a stay at home mom I would TOTALLY agree with you that the "job" of homemaker can be both frustrating and rewarding. Yet no matter what turns my career now takes me, I will always believe the years I spent shaping the lives of my sons (and being taught by them in oh so many ways) were among my most significant achievments.
If I could be instantly qualified, I would be a psychologist. Hands down. The question of--do I want to put in the time & work to get qualified is the reason I'm not headed there now. I'm indecisive and I hate that about myself right now. But I think I'm leaning towards the idea that I am not willing to put in the time and work at this point in my life, at the expense of time with my small children. So that dream may pass for good.
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