I’ve always known it would be time to go back to work. At some point. In the future. But now that future is fast upon me – my daughter goes to kindergarten next year. I write this as a 40-year-old thinking about a new career, resumes, portfolios and interviews: Oh my!
You see, I’m preparing not only to go back to work but also to work down a whole new career path. Gone are the days of the career I chose at 19. Here, I hope, are the days of being fulfilled by my job. Of LIKING my job. Maybe even LOVING it. They say to do what you love, but is that really possible? I can turn a hobby into a job, right? Right? Please don’t tell me this only happens in the movies.
My last (paying) job was not a good one. In a nutshell, it was as close to a dream job as I could have imagined in my chosen field, but my coworkers made it a nightmare. After a few years, I had to take medication to sleep and not panic in anticipation of what would be said and done to me the next day. I mean, really – who uses someone’s mother’s cancer diagnosis against them? But I digress. I quit that job – something I DO NOT regret. It likely saved my sanity in one way, though it did send me into years of depression, self-worth issues, and a lack of trust in just about everyone. It was a darned-if-you do/darned-if-you don’t experience. Needless to say, I have no desire to work in that particular field anymore.
I’m beyond lucky to have a husband employed in a field that lets us enjoy a very nice life regardless of my paid employment. I am hopelessly aware, though, that it would be nicer and much more secure, with a second income. I’ve spent countless nights worrying about what I would do when that future came around. Would going for what I love to do be more prosperous than what I’ve done in the past? Can I break into a new field without a formal education? If it could be asked, I asked myself. Usually, on a sleepless night at 2 a.m. as I listened to my husband snoring beside me.
Back to the present. After countless sleepless nights, I decided to take the first steps. I’ve met a lot of people where I live over the years, and while it freaks me out that I’m becoming my father – who knew almost everyone in the town I grew up, it certainly does pay to have contacts. I contacted a friend who owns a business that I could work with and proposed a plan of attack with her and her business. We met for coffee, talked about our kids (a few weeks apart in age), and I laid out what we could do together. It went better than expected. My plan has been hatched, and while nothing is set in stone, I may be on my way to a career I can’t wait to get out of bed for.
