Post by iheartbanjos on Jun 24, 2020 8:10:03 GMT -5
I’m in pharmaceutical sales. I was in medical device sales for 14 years, which was pretty intense and my whole family was burnt out with my job (it involves a ton of travel.) I quit and stayed home for a few years and am very happy in pharma. It’s interesting, there is continuous training, and lots of opportunity for growth. No travel besides meetings, and during a normal school year, I can complete my job during the school day/after school activities. It’s a great mom job.
I’m a middle school humanities teacher, which I have always loved until recently. I don’t have any plans to leave but I’m dreading more remote teaching.
I also own a specialized sporting goods company with my brother, which I’ve always known I could turn to for actual work if I decide to leave teaching. We’ve taken a massive hit with COVID so I’m not sure there will be a place for me for awhile.
And even doing the stuff you DO like is accomplished differently now. For me, what I like the most is the problem solving/team aspects of being a lawyer. That meant research and solo thinking, but also getting to know people and projects and having those dialogues that seem discursive but reveal things that are critical to understanding, etc.
The research is still the same, but the other parts are all scheduled calls on discrete topics and LOT of videoconferences. I find talking to floating heads weird. There's less conversation and more monologuing.
It's so much more exhausting to be "on camera" than it is to be in a meeting or on a call. And it's so much harder to extract the key information because it's a more formal(?) interchange. In any event, I end each day way more drained than I did before.
I think I'm just venting now.
underwaterrhymes , have you thought about transitioning to policy? My social worker friend did that when she felt similarly about being taken for granted/needing something new. She uses her same degree but now to craft programs and research initiatives that she used to be carrying out.
So not underwater rhymes - but I would love to get into policy, but have no idea how. How was your friend able to transition?
She worked with her university's alumni program. I'm not 100% sure of all of the mechanics, but one of her former professors had a connection and helped out too.
Post by litskispeciality on Jun 24, 2020 10:47:56 GMT -5
In theory I throw out the general term of higher ed as there are some perks like a lot of time off, school dependent you might get Friday's off in the summer and a small holiday break. With your background you could probably manage the grant center or somewhere they do fundraising, which obviously will be in greater need, but I know the flip side of it's the same job in a different environment.
Post by doctoranda on Jun 24, 2020 13:14:06 GMT -5
I am a professor at a small Jesuit university and teach anthropology and sociology. I love my job. My department is small but very nice and I really appreciate the social justice orientation of the institution. I love teaching and doing research. With my kind of contract I don't have much service and my service is mostly external and consists of fulfilling roles in professional organizations and committees for awards. Very enjoyable. Also not much pressure to produce scholarship or rake in big grants. However, I also have less job security than a Tenure Track prof. The things I appreciate most are the freedom (what I teach & research and how I devote my time), always learning new stuff, and the social aspect of teaching and ethnographic research.
I want to add that I think it is really hard to make a life-long career in nonprofits. (Maybe that's true of a lot of industries? 40-50 years is a long time). My role was considered "overhead," so when I felt strongly about the mission it was hard to advocate for the salary I know I was worth. It felt like I was taking it directly from the hands of constituents. In a small organization it would also mess with the financials since a lot grants (and even individual donors) look at the percentage of funds that go to overhead.
I am very happy to be in an industry now where I don't feel guilty making what I'm worth.
A lot of my coworkers at previous nonprofits came from or went to academia. There seems to be a natural similarity. I also know people who came from or went to community outreach departments at major corporations. Since I always worked in healthcare nonprofits in a pharma-heavy area, some people were able to transition into pharma work as well.
I love my job now, but it took me a long time to get to this position. And FWIW, I'm working on my exit strategy because I don't want my boss' job so I'm not sure how much upward mobility is left (not that I'm necessarily looking for it).
That said, I've been approached more than once about transitioning to professional teaching. In my federal job we have certification requirements that are done through a professional university. I could easily transition to a teaching job there, which is definitely something I would love to do. It's low stress, some travel, but mostly regional. I'm hoping in the 5 years for that to be my next step.
So not underwater rhymes - but I would love to get into policy, but have no idea how. How was your friend able to transition?
She worked with her university's alumni program. I'm not 100% sure of all of the mechanics, but one of her former professors had a connection and helped out too.
Thank you, that is a resource I hadn't thought about tapping into.
Project Manager sounds very similar to what I do. I’m Director of Operations and a lot of what I do is solving problems, from ensuring leases renew to making sure everyone’s technology is working to onboarding new staff.
Getting your PMP certification would be a good step if you want to continue doing similar work but transition out of your niche. Not as involved as a degree, but it’s a very well known and respected certification.
underwaterrhymes, you live in the Chicago area, yes? You might want to check out the professional development classes at my forefront.org. I used to work there long ago, when it was the Donors Forum, and remember a lot of people used the classes and issue-oriented programs to network. They also have a library with resources for job seekers in the nonprofit sector.
Pharmacist by training and work for my state dept of health services on our electronic health record. I love it - most days it feels like I’m working on puzzles. Like everything, it has it’s stresses, but compared to other health care, it is a dream.
underwaterrhymes, you live in the Chicago area, yes? You might want to check out the professional development classes at my forefront.org. I used to work there long ago, when it was the Donors Forum, and remember a lot of people used the classes and issue-oriented programs to network. They also have a library with resources for job seekers in the nonprofit sector.
I actually got an email from them today! I was signed up for a virtual Summit but got caught up in work and missed it. I’m going to watch when I have time, but I’ll check out what else they have too. Thanks!
I work with the finance team at a start-up. I will say that I don't do a ton of the finance stuff and would say I am more in operations but also handle working with our investors and I do some equity management stuff. It's a start-up, so I wear a lot of hats, lol. I am taking time off to get my MBA, but I would like to get back into start-up ops when I am done, albeit at a higher level I suppose. I really enjoy the fast pace, the unpredictability, and the ability to have my hand in a lot of projects. There is risk...I see how the money flows and if we didn't have a CEO who was willing to dump millions in when it was needed, we would ave closed our doors a while ago. But with that stress, there can also be rewards - my fingers are crossed for a possible IPO on the horizon.
I'd take a look at your job and think about what it is you don't like. The ops work? The non-profit sector? Work/life balance? There are plent of ways you can shift without completely starting over.
Side question: are you still planning to move overseas for your MBA or has Covid affected your plans?
Still planning on it as long as I can get my visa sorted in time. If not, the university has a contingency plan...but...positive thinking lol
It’s either brilliant or completely delusional to take myself out of the employment pool for a year right now. Time will tell while one.