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Designing your future Once upon a time, you knew what to expect in your work life: go to school, get a job, maybe change jobs once (usually in the same field), retire. Sometimes I long for those days of certainty, though they probably look more certain in retrospect than they did at the time! Job security was a function of hard work and loyalty. Now career development has a different meaning. It's switching jobs as often as needed to get a promotion. It's landing on your feet when your company is bought out or goes under. It's learning to roll with the punches as you're thrown into a new job when the company reorganizes. It's taking early retirement when your employer announces layoffs. There are many scenarios What's your situation? Are you thinking about These changes can be dictated by circumstance or by personal choice. If it's your choice, you're probably excited by the possibility. If not, you might feel trapped, paralyzed or at the very least confused. I know I did. My job was ambiguous. No one was able to tell me what I should be doing, what direction I should go, even where the company was heading. I filled in the blanks as best I could. Seeing, and seizing, the opportunity In the midst of this confusion there is opportunity. After much soul-searching, I decided I could no longer live with the drifting and uncertainty. If my employers didn't know where they were headed, maybe I should help them figure it out! So I decided to go back to school, thinking I could cover two bases. First, I would anticipate, possibly help direct, the future direction of my company. Second, I would prepare myself to wing it if my job (or my company!) should suddenly disappear. I would at least prepare myself to live and work in a computer-based world. Now I have many more options than I had before, and I'm much less anxious about my future. More freedom = more responsibility The key is to take charge of your own career development. No one else will do it for you. Even if they did, you don't want to be at their mercy. What's the first step in gaining control over your career? Get a solid educational foundation. Then never stop learning. A high school diploma used to offer entry into the job market, and if you worked hard, you could count on a decent living and, probably, a retirement pension. Now a bachelor's degree is often the minimum requirement - not just to enter the job market, but to give you the basics you need to keep up with it. Graduate degrees and second degrees have become increasingly common. Education is no longer something you get before you enter the "real" world. It is an integral, ongoing part of that world, and may take many forms - all valuable. Educational alternatives include traditional degrees, dual degrees (e.g., MS/MBA), undergraduate and graduate certificates, professional education, on-the-job training, even individual non-credit courses. Anything to help you stay current, explore new areas, support your personal development, and increase your value to yourself, your family, your community, as well as to your employer. You can design your own career Taking charge is a creative activity, requiring the hallmarks of creativity: self-awareness, reflection, flexibility, problem solving and, above all, courage. And I like to think of it as a design process: 10/31/00 TOP |
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