Career Tips

Whether to choose a career in education is a difficult but common decision. Many people are interested in education careers. After you match your personality with careers, narrowing your choices based on high-quality career information is critical to making a good career choice. But it takes work to find high-quality information on the Internet; so I’ve started it for you.

Having worked as an adjunct professor myself and raised by a college professor and a public school librarian, I know a little about education careers. With few exceptions, they are political, not well-paid, enjoy iffy job security, and often suffer from a lack of resources. All that said, with the right job fit, education is one of the most rewarding careers in the world. I feel fortunate to have grown up and worked in this environment.

Education is undergoing enormous change from technology, fluid government involvement, college “business models,” and demographics. A few examples of trends:

• the growth in distance learning and Internet based education,
• charter schools and changing public school system funding & structure,
• accountability required by No Child Left Behind and state laws,
• changes in the college professor tenure system, and
• the growing diversity of the American student population.

So whether you are a high school career planner or an adult planning a career change, you need to more about what an education career is like before you leap. The resources I recommend are just a few to get you started, to show the variety of quality career information out there.

Before I recommend these career info links, don’t forget to:

1. Talk with people working in the jobs that interest you – their information will be much more accurate, especially about your geographic region or specialty than any Internet source. Yes, it’s more work but it’s worth it. Learn more about career specific networking.
2. Use your public or school/college library for free subscriptions or links to websites the general public has to pay for. See more tips for taking advantage of the library.
3. Be skeptical of website sources of career information selling something – what is their bias? Where does their information come from? That includes The Career Key. You can learn more at our site about our mission and philosophy (we don’t accept reciprocal linking agreements or advertising).

To start, look at job descriptions, certification requirements, salary, job outlook, and related occupations and websites in the Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook:

Preschool and K-12 Teachers
Post-Secondary (College) Teachers
Education Administrators
Counselors
Librarians

Higher-Ed (college, post-secondary)

• Chronicle.com (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
• Chronicle also offers a great academic blog list focused on academic life and careers.
• For a “real world” perspective on 2009 trends in technology and higher ed from a college IT VP, read this post from “Bytes from Lev”

Secondary School (K-12)

• About Teaching and the First Year (Editor’s Picks from Ed.Gov)
• Teacher Training and Certification Information (Editor’s Picks from Ed.Gov)
• Ed.gov’s State by State Education Department listing (for licensing info)
• Is teaching overrated? Marty Nemko’s USNWR (U.S. News and World Report) article will give you even more reasons to do your informational interviews.
• Life as a Teacher. This UK government site offers more video and interactive media than any U.S. site I’ve seen in offering teachers’ stories about their career paths and daily work.
• What is Teach for America Really Like? (article in USNWR)
• TeacherLingo.com (teacher blogs)
• The School Counselor’s Role (at the American School Counselor Association website)
• Vocational Information Center (VIC) This non-profit, popular website is a source of career information for educators and can help you explore what it might be like to teach subjects that interest you.
• Top 10 Librarian Blogs to Read in ‘09 from Librarian and Information Science News. The great thing about librarians is you know they love media - so you’re guaranteed to find some interesting career info about librarians on the Internet. This blog list is just a sample…

Early Childhood Education & Preschool

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
• Links on Early Childcare and Education Careers from VIC (see above)
• TeacherLingo.com (search for preschool teacher blogs)
• Lead from the Start Blog: views on preschool, policy and the teaching profession

Any suggestions and feedback on this post or any others is appreciated. This is my second post in a series about challenging but rewarding career choices, and finding the best Internet resources for career information. Click here for my first post about women interested in science careers.

With such gloomy job loss numbers, what should be the next move for someone choosing or changing a career? Is any career path safe or secure? Are the “job outlook” numbers published by the government even accurate anymore? See my previous post on tips for evaluating job outlook.

Mulling these questions over for weeks, I’ve come to the conclusion that in the current crisis, you cannot rely much on the advice of economists and labor statisticians to help you make a good career decision.

One thing we know for sure: matching your career with your personality is still the scientifically proven road to job satisfaction. The economic crisis is completely unrelated to the need to identify your values, interests and strengths.

But when you need to narrow down your matching career options, job outlook matters a great deal. Planning exactly where you want to go is more critical than ever. You don’t want spend time and money preparing for a career only to find there are few jobs in it.

To avoid a dead end career choice, here are 5 questions to ask about the top 2 or 3 careers you are considering:

1. Are job opportunities in this industry disappearing for good? According to the New York Times, some jobs are not returning – at least in the near future. Examples: jobs in Financial Services, Housing (Realtors, mortgage brokers, construction and architectural services, etc.), Hospitality (hotel managers, travel agents, etc.), Manufacturing, and Retail. If technology advances, government regulation, drops in consumer spending, and outsourcing are hammering the industry that interests you - find out why. Only then can you predict how permanent the losses might be.
2. If the answer to #1 is yes and you want to still pursue it, what will be your strategy for getting one of the jobs that remain? Is there an industry sector surviving this downturn? How can you organize your education, training, and networking to be successful in that sector?
3. If this industry is not in turmoil, to what extent is this recession impacting it? Where are the opportunities? What is your plan for making yourself stand out from other applicants? List out new skills, volunteer or work experience you can get, connections you can make – and how to achieve them.
4. If government funds this industry (teachers, police officers, social work, etc.), are you prepared for the ups and downs for job security? Politicians are notoriously short-term planners; just because “stimulus” is a hot concept now doesn’t mean money will rain from government trees for long (if ever). Do you have a private-sector and self-employment fallback position? If inflation eats away at your government paycheck, will you need to supplement it and how?
5. Double-check your sources of information. Are you only considering information that supports your desired conclusions? Have you talked to people actually working in the career you want to choose? Make sure you consider all the negatives of your career options - all options have them.

Answering these questions is a great way to narrow down your matching career options. And the information you gather will do more good than any you get from “experts” making job forecasts. Planning and a smart process for making a decision will help you make a good career choice, one you won’t regret.

Keeping your priorities straight, even in a recession, is an important part of being a Career Free Agent. Your long term happiness and job satisfaction are at stake. Tips for being loyal to yourself and your family are part 5 of my 6 part series on The Free Agent Outlook on Work.

Loyalty is such an unused and forgotten words these days. It seems counter intuitive and impractical to think about putting yourself and your family before your job in a recession. But if you truly consider your daily routine and your long-term sanity, you’ll see how this makes sense. Whether your “family” is just you and close friends or two kids, a spouse and a dog – the loyalty principle holds true.

• Know what is important to you and what you value – and protect and nurture them. If you need to write your own eulogy to figure this out – do it. Hint: relationships are probably first. Not sure if your current career conflicts with your values or your personality? Learn more about yourself and how that impacts career choice.
• Don’t wait until there is a crisis – a job loss, a divorce, a health problem; maintain your relationships (professional, personal) in good times.
• Follow the ACIP model of decision-making when you need to make a tough call that you won’t regret. Do you need to find another job to avoid an unethical boss – but you’re worried about the financial consequences? Do you need to quit your job ASAP because it’s so stressful that you have physical symptoms – yet your job options elsewhere are slim?
• Have a life outside of work. Develop personal relationships and satisfy your interests in activities unrelated to your job. Heard of “diversification”? It’s not just for investments. That way, if one part of your life suffers a blow you have another part to rely on.

Still to come, the 6th and final Free Agent Principle: Think “Right” Thoughts. And no, it will not involve stimulants (except a fancy caffeinated beverage, maybe).

For the previous posts for this 6 part series see:
The 6 Principles of the Free Agent Worker
Principle #1: Know and Strengthen Your Marketable Skills
Principle #2: Stay Mobile
Principle #3: Watch Your Company and Industry
Principle #4: Do Your Job Well

It’s hard to find someone who says something new about networking, but I found a new resource from which everyone can benefit. I just finished reading an excellent book by Pitney Bowes executive Keith R. Wyche called “Good Is Not Enough: and Other Unwritten Rules for Minority Professionals.”

Intended for women as well as people of color (but useful for everyone), I found its suggestions unusually practical and useful, especially for Enterprising personalities interested in the corporate world. If you’re thinking about a career in business, you should read this book. It provides a lot of detail about how to succeed in that environment so you can decide whether that career option sounds right to you.

The book is not solely about networking, but includes tips on creating a career blueprint, goal setting, and specific suggestions for excelling in your current job. Mr. Wyche also discusses personality traits and how important it is for your career to match them. He gives an example of someone who switched jobs in a sales career from a supervisory to a non-supervisory position because he didn’t like and wasn’t good supervising people – and as a result ended up happier (and made more money). This person had the good fortune to have Mr. Wyche as a mentor, but also the smarts to sit down and think about his personality traits and what types of jobs matched them. In our words, “Know Yourself.”

I would also recommend this book to Caucasian men for a minority’s perspective on the corporate world in addition to the practical advice. If you haven’t worked for, worked with or supervised someone of color - you will. Being able to work well with different types of people is one of the Foundation Skills (People Skills) described in our article Identify Your Skills. And knowing something about how people approach the world is part of learning that skill. I’m still learning…

News media is now calling rethinking your career options as “giving up” on the job market. Is the negative spin really accurate? I don’t think so. If you really loved your career path and it was perfect for you, I doubt you would be “giving up” on your job search. And unemployment, should you be lucky enough to receive it for more than a few months, is insufficient to live on. So “giving up” to sit on the couch with your TV is a limited option for most.

You may think, easy for her to be upbeat because she’s employed. But I’ve been unemployed, like most people, off and on during my working life. And I have no better job security now than anyone else in the private sector. There is also no surf and turf Career Key Xmas party in my future.

But I admit, the economy is worse than it has ever been in most people’s working experience – and it’s hard to stay positive. Especially if you have, like I do, a nagging suspicion that most people who profited on creating this mess are still sipping mai tais by a pool somewhere….

An optimistic, activist approach is still more likely to result in long term success. Reevaluating your career options is an investment in your future. As long as you avoid procrastination and disorganization by following this 3 step process to choose a career path, it will be the best time and money you’ve ever spent.

Working with like-minded people, people with the same personality type or compatible types, leads to job satisfaction. I’m sure you’ve seen, either in yourself or in others, how this statement, part of Holland’s Theory of Career Choice, rings true. Even celebrities can serve as examples.

I recently saw Elvis Costello interview Sir Elton John on his great new talk show “Spectacle” on the Sundance Channel. Sir John said that early on he knew he wanted to be involved with music. If he couldn’t make it as a musician, he said, he would work in music publishing, songwriting, or some aspect of the business. And true to his goals, he got his start as a “tea boy” in a famous London music publisher’s office, carrying around tea and gathering up stray sheet music. He said that although the work was drudgery, it was exciting to be around and work around musicians and songwriters. We all know how success has followed him.

To find your best place to work,

1. Read these 6 statements about Holland’s Theory of Career Choice.
2. Learn what your highest two personality scores are and think about the types of people you’d enjoy working with. Past job experience and relationships may help guide you.
3. Brainstorm how your life, both through a career and leisure activities, could incorporate your dominant personality types. In your day job, you might work in one environment (social work) and have fun “off the clock” in a different environment (fixing classic cars).
4. Consider careers that combine your top two personality types. Ideally you would find an occupation that was the best of both worlds. For example, an art gallery owner combines the Enterprising and Artistic personality types. You may be able to create one through self-employment. Like a therapist who counsels businesspeople, lawyers, and other Enterprising people.

Using these suggestions to identify working environments that are compatible with your personality will help you choose a career likely to lead to job satisfaction. Why not work with people you like?

On November 27, 2008, one of our best known, influential and respected vocational psychologists, Dr. John L. Holland, died in Baltimore, Maryland. (photo courtesy of American Psychological Association) We are particularly sad to hear of Dr. Holland’s passing. The Career Key and The Self-Employment Key tests, as well as versions of The Career Key test adapted for use in different countries, are scientifically valid measures of the 6 personality types of Holland’s Theory of Career Choice. Dr. Holland’s contributions have helped and will continue to help millions of people through our website, our licensees, as well as through other scientifically valid assessments based on his work.

In 2008, Dr. Holland received the Award of Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology from the American Psychological Association, “presented to a person … who has made distinguished theoretical or empirical advances leading to the understanding or amelioration of important practical problems.”

According to the November 2008 issue of the American Psychologist magazine, the award citation reads:

“For outstanding contributions to vocational psychology and personality. John L. Holland’s hexagonal theory of vocational interests and his research have shown the importance of vocational environment and vocational personality interactions. His research shows that personalities seek out and flourish in career environments they fit and that jobs and career environments are classifiable by the personalities that flourish in them.

Further, he was a pioneer in work on assessments of university environments and their influence on students and in the development of knowledge about nonacademic accomplishments. He also contributed significantly to research on originality and interpersonal competence. With wit, wisdom, and intellectual prowess, he has for five decades influenced and inspired students, colleagues, and practitioners of applied psychology.” [Emphasis added]

To read the complete citation and biography, please visit the NCDA website page here.

To truly realize the benefits of Holland’s Theory and respect his work, it is important for people using career tests to choose ones that are scientifically valid measures. Unfortunately, most online career tests on the Internet are invalid and can harm you. If you are not sure whether a career test is valid, visit our website or please read this short article.

In “Career Exploration North Carolina Style,” 6th grade Waynesville Middle School counselor Annette Husson, Ed.D., highlights the online career center of an organization that licenses The Career Key, the College Foundation of North Carolina (cfnc.org). They also partner with another of our licensees, XAP.com. The article appears in this month’s issue of the American School Counselor Association magazine, School Counselor. CFNC is a nonprofit partnership between Pathways of North Carolina, College Foundation Inc., and the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority.

Ms. Husson describes CFNC’s career center as “divided into four areas: Work, Learn, Life and My Portfolio. Student have an opportunity to take [The Career Key] that matches their interests with careers…”

After describing all of the career center’s benefits, Ms. Husson concludes, “[a]ll in all, this is one well-developed easy-to-use tool for educating North Carolina’s middle and high school students about career options.”

I also have a personal connection with CFNC, because they made it possible for me to attend Princeton University. In 1989, I graduated from the public school system in Raleigh, North Carolina and received financial aid and student loans sufficient to attend an Ivy League school (along with my parents’ help) – no mean feat. In the 10 years I spent paying off my loans, even after I needed a deferral once for unemployment, they were wonderful. I never felt bad about sending in my monthly check to them.

North Carolina students are very lucky to have such high quality educational resources, not just in career planning and financial aid options but also in its educators like Ms. Husson. I am proud to be a product of them.

It’s hard to find someone who says something new about networking, but I found a new resource from which everyone can benefit. I just finished reading an excellent book by Pitney Bowes executive Keith R. Wyche called “Good Is Not Enough: and Other Unwritten Rules for Minority Professionals.”

Intended for women as well as people of color (but useful for everyone), I found its suggestions unusually practical and useful, especially for Enterprising personalities interested in the corporate world. If you’re thinking about a career in business, you should read this book. It provides a lot of detail about how to succeed in that environment so you can decide whether that career option sounds right to you.

The book is not solely about networking, but includes tips on creating a career blueprint, goal setting, and specific suggestions for excelling in your current job. Mr. Wyche also discusses personality traits and how important it is for your career to match them. He gives an example of someone who switched jobs in a sales career from a supervisory to a non-supervisory position because he didn’t like and wasn’t good supervising people – and as a result ended up happier (and made more money). This person had the good fortune to have Mr. Wyche as a mentor, but also the smarts to sit down and think about his personality traits and what types of jobs matched them. In our words, “Know Yourself.”

I would also recommend this book to Caucasian men for a minority’s perspective on the corporate world in addition to the practical advice. If you haven’t worked for, worked with or supervised someone of color - you will. Being able to work well with different types of people is one of the Foundation Skills (People Skills) described in our article Identify Your Skills. And knowing something about how people approach the world is part of learning that skill. I’m still learning…

Like many across the country, we’ve been snowed in here in the Pacific Northwest. You’d think I’d have lots of time to post to The Career Key’s blog – but my young son has had other ideas. Schools are closed so all of us, husband included are holed up at home. And my laptop is like a magnet for my son so having it open and working is impossible. Unless we’re watching The Muppet Show on the Disney website or YouTube….

This is one of my favorite Beaker skits for those Investigative personalities interested in a science career – The Banana Sharpener.

And for Realistic personalities interested in becoming a professional chef, The Swedish Chef Makes Donuts, is a great introduction.

This gives me an idea for a future post, how about matching Muppet personalities to careers? Dark times call for lighter measures… Stay warm!