Today\u2019s blog is going to be a bit different from my previous ones. I want to take the time to reflect on my decision to move from one career to a completely new one. This has been weighing on my mind pretty much since I started the course but now that I\u2019m reaching the final few weeks, my thoughts have only been intensifying. Before we go any further, I do want to point out that I am 100% confident in my decision to change careers, but what I do find a little intimidating is all the little things that came with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My previous job was a medic. At times, it could be a high stress environment considering there were people\u2019s lives at stake, but it allowed me to develop a pretty good ability to read my environment. I could tell when a patient was feeling distressed, or a situation was escalating. As soon as I could see any signs, I knew what action to take, and I knew how the periodically re-assess the situation and adjust if necessary. In that job, I was confident in myself and in my abilities. I did not hesitate to do what I needed to do, and I always knew where to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going into a new career, I\u2019m not so confident. I know in the back of my mind that the uncertainty I\u2019m feeling is completely normal, but a part of me wishes that I could fast forward to the part where I\u2019m better able to trust myself and my abilities. I\u2019m not saying I don\u2019t feel sure of myself when I\u2019m completing projects and stuff for school. What I\u2019m saying is that I\u2019m not sure about the work environment that is related to everything I learned. For example, while I was going through EMT school I knew what the book told me to do, the book wasn\u2019t wrong but at the same time it wasn\u2019t right because once I started my first job, I quickly realized that everything I learned was just a guideline. Well, the guideline that OSU has provided me is coming to an end and I\u2019m excited and nervous to put everything I\u2019ve learned to use. I just wish it would hurry up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I started encountering the nay-sayers two weeks before I left my previous job and that\u2019s only because I kept my mouth completely shut about what my plans were. Only my family, close friends, and supervisor knew what was going on. I\u2019d seen other peers get completely torn down by voicing their plans to the point where they changed their minds and decided to stay in a place where they were unhappy. I wasn\u2019t particularly worried about what others would say nor was I concerned with them \u2018changing my mind\u2019 but I didn\u2019t think it was their business and I left it at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I thought I\u2019d seen the end of them once I left my job, but I was completely wrong. My husband continued his career in the military and got a job in Belgium. It\u2019s normal for the base to hold various events for families. It\u2019s a great way to meet people and make friends but I quickly learned that there were nay-sayers here as well. It\u2019s normal for other military spouses to be stay at home mothers but at times it seemed that anyone who wanted more than that seemed to be a bit of an outcast. I was lucky to find a good group of friends right after my arrival. They\u2019ve been supportive, loving, and totally understand why I can\u2019t grab lunch because I\u2019m busy doing homework. I do have some Belgian friends as well but they are a little wary over American\u2019s in general so they seem to keep us at an arm\u2019s length. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s hard making friends. It\u2019s especially hard making friends with similar interests. That\u2019s why I was so happy to meet other people at OSU. I believe that there is a sense of community via the unofficial slack and other resources. I\u2019m truly grateful for meeting all of my virtual friends and I\u2019m excited to meet more like minded people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This thought has crossed my mind a few times but I don\u2019t dwell on it. I know this is just a little insecurity that is in no way true. As an older applicant I believe that I bring a little extra something to the table. I have plenty of experience working with others and leading teams. I know how to manage budgets and properly conduct inventory. I also know how to collaborate with other agencies\/departments to get work done. These are skills that were not taught to me at any school. I learned them through trial and error and wonderful mentorship. So yes, I may be a bit older than the other applicants for an entry-level role but I bring with me plenty of skills and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m definitely not the first person to do a career change. I believe this post-bacc program is proof of it but it\u2019s easy to get caught up in our insecurities. There may always be a voice of doubt deep in the back of our brains but I believe the key is to set goals and achieve them. We are all capable of accomplishing what we put our minds to. So right now I\u2019m putting my mind on my job search. I know that I can do it and I can\u2019t wait to find out how it goes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today\u2019s blog is going to be a bit different from my previous ones. I want to take the time to reflect on my decision to move from one career to a completely new one. This has been weighing on my mind pretty much since I started the course but now that I\u2019m reaching the final… Continue reading New Beginnings<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11643,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shemakesblank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shemakesblank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shemakesblank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shemakesblank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11643"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shemakesblank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shemakesblank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shemakesblank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions\/33"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shemakesblank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shemakesblank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shemakesblank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}