quote:

Originally posted by jillybean:
D-Sorry to hear about your work, sounds very frustrating for you.

In the past I've expressed an interest in Criminal Justice/working with Juvenile Probation. I still have an interest but I have sent out interest emails to several colleges about their paralegal programs. Many years ago I looked into paralegal schools. Something about this feels right. With CJ, I never actually brought myself to request further info. There are so many avenues you can take as a paralegal. I'm not sure if I should get a certificate or go for the AS degree. There is a BS degree as well but that will have to wait. I am very excited about this(and a little nervous), and I waiting patiently to hear from these schools.

Jill

Jill, as a paralegal myself, the one thing you REALLY need to make sure you do is get into an ABA approved paralegal program. If you already have a B.S/B.A. the certification should be enough.

Dawn

D-Sorry to hear about your work, sounds very frustrating for you.

In the past I've expressed an interest in Criminal Justice/working with Juvenile Probation. I still have an interest but I have sent out interest emails to several colleges about their paralegal programs. Many years ago I looked into paralegal schools. Something about this feels right. With CJ, I never actually brought myself to request further info. There are so many avenues you can take as a paralegal. I'm not sure if I should get a certificate or go for the AS degree. There is a BS degree as well but that will have to wait. I am very excited about this(and a little nervous), and I waiting patiently to hear from these schools.

Jill

Well...I didn't get my mini-job done. NOT MY FAULT! My boss says only employees of a certain "rank" or higher can nominate people for awards.

<sigh>

The other contractor I work with on a team of 8 (2 contractors, a few civilians, a few military) have put in HUGE hours getting a project off the ground. I designed a database...he's been doggedly entering data...there are 12 months' worth of data, and he's done half of them, with the rest split between team members. The database is for use outside our team, for people who plan things, need to know basic history of dates, etc. I've done a huge amount of research fleshing it out...but because neither of us have that special title, it doesn't matter.

I e-mailed the boss above mine (she can't nominate, either) what I'd written. His response was that another team, who is in the limelight currently, because of all the things going on in the Middle East, will be nominated. Thing is, this team has gotten the award every quarter for the past five quarters. Yes, please, award them another one.

<deep breath>

I'll continue troubleshooting and fleshing out the database. I'm learning a tremendous amount of history and politics, and that will serve me well when/if another opportunity comes up at the base. It's a great piece of work, and *I* recognize that, as do my co-workers and the people from other areas who've complimented us on it. I'm proud of it.

quote:

Originally posted by p7eggyc:
Can someone who is reading the book tell me...am I supposed to read these every day or something?

Yes, read them at least two times a day and when you are feeling your resolve getting low.

: )

Ok, well, I'm not getting real far and soon I'm off to Denver for the bulk of the rest of today. I did find 2 jobs I wanted to apply for so I'm planning on coming home and working on those 2 tonight and getting them off to her.
One is a job that I applied for and got an initial positive response from the recruiter but the hiring manager misinterpreted my resume so what better reason to redo it?

I did however take a cue from the Beck conversation and write up a list of things that completing my job search would enable me to do so I wanted to share that. Can someone who is reading the book tell me...am I supposed to read these every day or something? Seems like I remember someone saying that. Makes sense to me...I've had good luck with affirmations. Maybe I should change the tense of these to be as if they've already happened since that is the way affirmations have worked for me in the past. Anyway...here they are:

Successfully completing my job search enables me:
...to know I did something challenging
...to live in Westminster
...to have a job that is more satisfying and stimulating
...to have a job that builds for my future
...to find a house I enjoy more and can invest time and $ in to make it what I want it to be
...to have more time to spend with family during the week
...to have more time at home on the weekends
...to put fewer miles on my car and me
...to have more flexibility to see friends
...to have better shopping and recreation oppty's
...to entertain
...to find a better balance in my life

Peg

Here's my short term goal, Peg.

Finish my last 7 sections of Calculus by Friday of next week.

Mostly so I can have my 3 free weeks of "vacation" from school. And one week of just working 1 job the week before school kicks into high gear.

But all my financial aid is set, I've got all my books for fall semester, I'm slowly wading through more hurdles in the college of engineering, and am just trying to avoid that wall that I'm facing for one more week.

At the moment, though I'm totally exhausted and beyond completely unmotivated to do any more studying. So thanks for the short term goal idea, Peg. I needed the accountability to someone other than my calc teacher.

Peg--I need to put together a small blurb about why my group deserves an award. I'd like to have that done by Sunday night.

I think I'll shoot for having the cover letter/resume to her by Sunday night and then send them out early next week. That's the part I'm not sure I can get done 5x.

Peg

Peg, good job getting back in the hunt. I don't think you'll have any trouble finding five positions by the end of the week. But will you actually apply for them or just show your coach your tailored resume and cover letter for each one?

Wow, Susan, things are moving and shaking for you. I just know something is going to work out so that you feel like things are in a better balance. It's just a matter of patience and putting yourself out there I'm sure.

I did a little, and I do mean little, bit on my job search last night. I really need to get back with it. I've been working with a personal coach this year and we were focusing on finding a romantic relationship but with all that has happened since Jan. 1, that doesn't seem like a good thing to be pursuing with vigor so I asked her if she was willing to switch focus to the job search and she agreed. Yeah! I want more than ever to get myself moved down to the north suburbs of Denver. She did some major surgery on my resume and I'm not sure I agree with the changes but at least it got me to open the darn thing on the computer and take another look. She wants me to find 5 positions that I want and write up the resume/cover letter before the end of the week. I think that might be a bit ambitious but I am going to give it a shot. Even one or 2 would be better than I have been doing.

So, that being said, I'm committing to check back in here before Sunday night with a report on how many I got done. Anyone else have a short term goal they want to join me on? What small thing could you do in the next 3-4 days? And if you feel like it, someone can pester me if I haven't followed through.

Peg

Cool Susan! I hope that something pans out and the road becomes clearer.

So after I posted this thought about going part-time in my current job (along with a long working mommy angst vent in the Group Journal) all kinds of things have happened.

The job that I interviewed for way back in March and April has resurfaced. There's a new boss who has to fill several positions very quickly, and after interviewing me by phone today, she wants to meet me.

And I had an interview this evening for what sounds like a really fun part-time job really close to home. With only a 12-15 hour/week schedule, it would mean a huge pay cut, but pay is not the primary consideration.

So now I have (potentially) a lot more options to consider. And of course, I still have no idea what I really want to do.

*Sigh*

After much thought and consideration, I've decided that my best option at this point is to ask my boss for a part-time schedule. I'd like to work four days/week, which will give me plenty of hours to keep my benefits and also allow me one free day to volunteer at school, get DS involved in sports and activities he misses because no one can take him in the afternoon, and not waste my whole weekend on errands.

I have a pretty good idea of when and how I'm going to present this to her. But I would sure appreciate any insight or suggestions.

PS - That other opportunity fell through. After many, many weeks of "We're sorry this is taking so long," they re-posted the position. Sheesh.

quote:

Originally posted by D in St Pete:

quote:

One big negative would be working 12 hour shifts over night on weekends. Really, really good money, but could be an "interesting" experiment.

Depending on who you are, you might enjoy it more than you think! so long as you can keep yourself busy , the time always seems to go by quickly for me.

I agree, Diana.

I have never worked an official 12-hour shift, but I work a 10 1/2-hour day every day Tuesday to Friday and, in the old days, I used to stay late pretty frequently, so I'd say I was coming darn close to 12 hours many of those days.

When a compressed schedule was first offered in my Agency years ago, I went from 8 1/2 hours to 9 1/2 hours a day really had no problem adjusting. Some years later, when they started offering the 10 1/2 hour day, I switched to that and, I think, because I transitioned from 8 to 9 to 10 over a long period of time, it was not a big deal to me (other than having to adjust my bedtime and waking time). A lot of people say "I could never stay at work 10 1/2 hours!" but I actually really enjoy it, not the least because of the perks (3-day weekend every week).

Staying busy, though, is really the key. I have a job where, even if there is no active work coming in from the customers, I always have writing work that I can be doing. If I was in a job where my time was not able to be fully utilized, I don't think I would enjoy the 10 1/2 hour schedule.

In addition to PT, take a peek into Occupational and Cardiac Rehabilitation, too. Cardiac Rehab was my focus and the graduate program I was accepted to before life derailed that plan. Cardiac and Occupational Rehab are a little different than straight PT, but with your knowledge of "healthy living", you might really enjoy that career path as well.

As the baby boomers get older, nearly all health care fields, especially the preventive and rehab ones, will have a lot of openings (as will/does nursing).

It might be easier than you think to get your foot in the door; definitely do as Brie suggested and check universities/colleges, but don't forget to check community colleges, too. Many offer 2- or 3-year programs to launch you right into many areas of health care OR to focus on getting you into a specialized health care school.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jillybean:
So, where do I go from here? Any suggestions?
/QUOTE]

Talk to your therapist to see what was involved in becoming a PT. Contact local universities to see about their programs. You may even want to ask if you could shadow a therapist for a week to see if it's really something you'd be interested in.

(Very cool!)

It has been a long time since I've posted in this thread. My career goal was heading towards criminal justice and working with youth in juvenile probation. BUT-I have been going to physical therapy for a few weeks now and quite honestly I am fascinated by the practice of PT! I love going there(well, I hate some of the exercises but I love to see what they do). Could it be that this could be a new career path? I know getting a degree in PT is very hard-but I am seriously fascinated by what goes on there. Being able to help people deal with and hopefully eliminate their pain and discomfort really appeals to me. So, where do I go from here? Any suggestions?

Jill

PS: I spend a lot of my time at PT asking questions-"what does this do, what is that machine for, what do you do to treat X ailment?", I wonder if they get irritated w/me? I NEVER, EVER had this interest in dentistry-which is my current profession-dental staffing. I think about doing what I love, what really holds my interest, and I am seriously considering PT!!

quote:

One big negative would be working 12 hour shifts over night on weekends. Really, really good money, but could be an "interesting" experiment.

I've volunteered, multiple times, to cover overnight shifts. Depending on who you are, you might enjoy it more than you think! We work 12-hour shifts when things start happening "over there"; so long as you can keep yourself busy (and take 2 meals with you!), the time always seems to go by quickly for me.

Good luck! It sounds like you're making your own luck in this, though, which is even better.

Laura,
I quit working and borrowed also when I went back to school and I really think it was the best choice for me. I knew I couldn't keep up that sort of pace. I hate the loan payment and wish maybe I'd figured out how to borrow less but it was worth it to be able to focus on my school and finish faster and get my new, more lucrative, more interesting career rolling.

You are doing a great job taking care of yourself and constantly evaluating and changing what's not working. Good job!

Peg

Wow, Laura!

Good luck! I hope it all turns out for you.

Linda