If you had told me when I was 32, at the height of my career salary-wise, making six-figures, that in the next two years I would quit my job with no prospects and change careers to an industry where professionals are leaving in droves, I would have LAUGHED.
Let me take you way back first.
After high school in 2005, I went to college to become a teacher. Two years into that program, with an associate degree in hand, I quit school to begin working in the association management industry. It was a great career for me. I worked my way through various positions: receptionist, office manager, association manager, marketing sales analyst, systems training analyst, customer care manager, and compliance supervisor. You name it, I did it.
After 11 years in the industry, I knew a lot. My experience helped me in each of my positions, and I had a very prosperous career ahead of me if I wanted. I was met with a career opportunity that would allow me to make six figures. How could I pass that up?
It was great while it was great.
Then management changes came, and the “old boys club” made my mental health decline fast. Was the money great? YES! Was it worth my happiness and negative mental state all the time? NO!
So, I quit my job while having NO prospects lined up. And guess what? The pandemic began one month later. There were COUNTLESS “shoulda, woulda, coulda’s” had I kept my job and managed everything while working from home.
I ended up finding a job at, you guessed it, a management company, since that’s where all my experience lies. But a year into that position, as a second-time surrogate, I found myself on bedrest in Connecticut while my son stayed with my parents and my husband worked in Texas. During my nearly six weeks in the hospital, I was alone for 23 hours a day. That left me to my thoughts…and lots and lots of movies.
Time to re-evaluate my future.
I decided then that I HAD to get into a career that would give me the most time possible with my family. I weighed my options. Should I stick with what I was good at and had all the experience in (association management) or pursue one of the three careers I’d always had in the back of my mind?
- Nursing
- HR
- Education
Nursing was nixed pretty quickly considering 1.) I’m not super great at science; 2.) It would take a long time to accomplish; and 3.) If I worked a job with 12-hour shifts, that wouldn’t fit with my ultimate goal of having time with my family.
Next? HR. The head of HR at one of the association management companies I used to work, and where my husband is also a VP, is nearing retirement age. If I wanted to get into a new career, I’m sure I would be welcomed with open arms there. However, I don’t know that I’d be happy in HR. I have some friends in the industry and am pretty familiar with it. And there wouldn’t be as much time to be available for my family.
Last up was education. My original career choice that I only stopped because back then, money talked, and I was making more in association management. But this go around, I want to have time with my family and a job I know I will enjoy and love. I also come from a family of educators and know what I’m getting myself into.
More importantly though? I will have every single school break off with my son, which means I get all the time with my family. That is my number one priority!
So, 1.5 years into the pandemic, I quit my job a second time, also with no immediate prospects, since I would be going to school full time.
Pros of Going Back to School in Your Thirties
- You know what you want. At this point, you’ve probably had multiple jobs in multiple professions. You know a bit more about what you want than you did when you were 22.
- You’re more mature. School wasn’t always a priority for me when I was 18–20. But now that I know what I want and it’s “do or die,” I’m putting in the work every dang day.
- You know your strengths and weaknesses. I feel like a completely different student this go-around with how I study, what I struggle with, what I’m good at, and so forth.
- Your time management is better. How many times when you were just out of high school in your early college days would you wait until the last minute? Yeah…me too!
- You have a support system. For me this is my husband and son and my mom and dad. Maybe it’s your friends or coworkers.
- You can apply your professional and personal experience to your studies. I’ve applied so many professional and personal experiences to my degree. And going into education, having a five-year-old who will start kindergarten next year has helped a lot!
People always say it’s never too late to go back to school or change your career trajectory. And our Collin County Moms Contributors are living proof! Read more about local moms going back to school and making career moves:
