Choosing a career pathway that leaves your options open

Career choices and options

There are many ways of being in the circle of life. There's a fitting career for anyone, no matter what your inclinations are. However, finding the right career for you may be a daunting task. If you're like me, you might try many different trades, finding something interesting in each, but never quite finding everything you're looking for in something.worth doing with your time. Also, in these days of economic difficulty, that career you once had may no longer exist. Or as you grow and mature, it may no longer fit you. Either way, it helps to be informed. That's just what the DVD set will give you: information on career clusters and pathways.

My friends and I often play a sort of game, where we say things like:'when I grow up I want to be...' or 'When I come back (reincarnate) I want to come as ...' And then we go on to name the career paths we once said no to. The path's not taken have a certain allure to them and frankly, sometimes starting over is the right thing to do. 'If I had to do it all over again...' what would become possible for you?

The thing is, with the economy the way it is, perhaps this is the time to do it all over again. Your career options may have been cut short, or, like some people in my generation, you may just have given this one path all you want. When you reach the succes you dreamt of, when you come to the top of your class, when you have just gotten tired of doing the same old thing over and over... it's time to figure out whether you're a one trick pony or are going to start over on a path to a new and exciting career.

My personal path

I've been around the career block a few times and I know a thing or two about many professions. I was in manufacturing, making power shades: motorized roman windowshades at a small factory in Aspen Colorado. The boss was a kind man with a hankering for Classical music and we were creating these little motor gear trains in a factory about the size of a classroom. As the only female there I tried my hand at seamstressing but for me, this had too much 'stress' in it so I kept working on the greasy side. I also was a doughnut baker and worked as an artist on pop-art scultures.

I was in the packaging industry as well. For quite a while I worked in a factory packaging rice cakes. When I got home at the end of a night shift, I would take a shower and the scent of puffed rice would be so strong on me...

I worked in health care, youth care, the psychiatric ward... I worked with homeless, jobless, clueless (youngsters). I worked as a waitress for a very brief while, it really didn't serve me. I worked as a babysitter with the very young. In a number of jobs I worked myself up from a lackey to manager.

Finally, at age 41, I decided on a new career path. I started my own bussiness as an online coach for problems that have shame and guilt related to it, most notably, childhood sexual abuse. This is where I found my personal niche.

Recently I wrote a book on healing childhood sexual abuse and it came out last februari in The Netherlands. Currently I'm working on the translation of it to the American market.

I've found my career by trial and error. Many errors, in fact, though I wouldn't have missed any of the experiences I've had. It's made my life a rich tapestry of experiences that have really helped me in the writing of my book, making it alive with examples that people can relate to.

The cover of my book

This is the cover of the Dutch version of the book. Currently looking for a publisher in the US.

Source: personal property

One trick pony?

The beauty of the career clusters as they are portrayed in this DVD series by careerpathwaysonline is that you can instantly find out what other careers are in your cluster. The job switch you might make can be within your cluster leaving you with a minimum of extra education to consider. This will make your previous experience still count for something in the workplace because people will be able to see that you've worked in a similar field.

The other thing it does is, it gives you a broader look at what is out there. If your next step is guided by what you allready know, most likely it's going to guide you to something you allready know and are tired of by now. Learning something new, learning something about the possibilities out there sets you up to really do something new and different for a change.

The advantage of sticking with a category or career cluster you know is of course also it's pitfall. If you're looking to make a switch you might indeed be better off looking at the things you don't know. If you're in a technical profession, take a look at the healthcare cluster. If you're managerial and looking for a real change, try manufacturing. There's a whole world to discover out there!