Changing careers

[jobob]

That's great. I agree with Emily, too!

[Dogmama]

Thank you all for your input. It really helped me sort things out. Sometimes I get caught in the squirrel cage of my brain & make myself crazy.

The woman who owns the place is very flexible & wants me to draw up a curriculum for each level of obedience. I already have this from a previous dog training position. It's good to follow a format because 10 people & their dogs in a beginning class can be challenging for the first few classes!

[azfiddle]

This has been a interesting thread to read.

Dogmama, glad to hear that there may be some windows opening up for you with the dog training.

I am 56, and teach middle school science. Theoretically could retire from teaching in July of this year. But the AZ state retirement isn't enough to live on with our current expenses ( about 6 more years on our mortgage, kids not totally independent) so I can't just retire. I'm finding teaching is more and more demanding as a profession. Classes are bigger, so much emphasis is on test scores, and money is pretty tight. I am in a district that has been ranked #1 in the state, and they expect a lot of the teachers. It can be more physically demanding now that I'm a little older - sometimes it's harder to hear students, for example and I'm on my feet all day.

I have been trying to think about what kind of career change I might be able to make and not sure. I have my MS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and worked as a field biologist before becoming a teacher. I don't know what kind of opportunities are out there for a person with my skills and background.

My husband works at a community college and I can take classes for $10 plus books- but am not sure if they offer an career programs that interest me. I briefly looked at the para-legal program but don't think I'm really suited for it, and heard there aren't that many opportunities any way.

I did speak to the executive direction of the Tucson Audubon Society (large, well-organized, well-funded, many programs), as I have lots of natural history education and research experience but of course the job opportunities might not come up at an appropriate time.

Any way- just wanted to join in the discussion...

[snapdragen]

azfiddle - not sure if this is something you'd like. My brother was a teacher in New York, he semi-retired and now does online tutoring. I'm not even sure how he got into that, but he enjoyed it.

He's taking a break right now, he and SIL are in Botswana for a year while she does research and teaches at the University.

[Dogmama]

I did speak to the executive direction of the Tucson Audubon Society (large, well-organized, well-funded, many programs), as I have lots of natural history education and research experience but of course the job opportunities might not come up at an appropriate time.

Any way- just wanted to join in the discussion...

OK, this is a little "woo woo out there crunchy granola" That's my warning.

I like to put out the intention to the Universe/God/Higher Power. So, if I were in your position, I might say/think/feel that I want to do something that uses my talents, education and will be fulfilling. Then wait and watch.

I've done some things that I thought I'd enjoy but they didn't work out. It's hard (for me) to abandon things without feeling like a failure/quitter or other lovely things society heaps on in spades. For example, I did dog training with a fairly well known person in town. I found that she was riddled with insecurities, used very harsh methods that I couldn't do, was demeaning, belittling and moody. After several months, I had to leave. Luckily, the person I'm working for now is well aware of this other trainer & understands why I left. I also taught spinning for quite awhile but found that 6AM just didn't work for my body. So, I had to say, "I love to teach, but need a later class." That served me well when the boutique-style fitness club approached me about teaching a M/W/F 5:45 AM class (BTW, I'm subbing for them now - perfect way to find out if they are a "fit" for me.)

So, my experience has been to put out the intention & trust that it will be answered. And, know that you may go down several paths. I am not sure that I'm on the right path, but I'm willing to take the risk. The key (for me, again) is to not beat myself up when I think I've made a mistakes. After all, mistakes are just situations that we don't learn from.

Enough of this philosophy. I'm going riding.