Episode 26 – Marc and Elizabeth answer some of your job search questions related to late in life graduate degrees!
Description:
In this episode, Marc answers career pivot job search questions with his trusty sidekick, Elizabeth Rabaey. Listen, to pivot your career in the second half of life!
Key Takeaways:
[2:05] Elizabeth shares her story, and how Marc has helped guide her to her latest pivot, which has worked out well. You can learn about her career pivots in Episode 020.
[2:50] Q1: I am in my 50s. Faced with divorce, I panicked and went to graduate school. I owe $11K on my school loan with two more years to go. I will have a child in college next year. I don’t want to take debt with me into retirement. I am working part-time in my field of study. What is Marc’s honest opinion, should I quit school, or continue?
[4:01] A1: Ask yourself, will this Master’s degree make you educated, or employable? You need to know before any Master’s program. Ask the college to show you alumni like you in age, background, and experience, that have come out of the program with a job
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[5:11] You have sunk $11K into this. Do you hold onto a bad investment, or get out? Go with your gut, after you find out if it is a good program for you. Your child’s college cannot take up your career and retirement. Let them get a two-year community college certificate, get a job, and go back later for a four-year degree. Things have changed.
[9:41] Q2: After being downsized, I went back to graduate school, earned a Master’s degree in nonprofit management. I took a year off to care for a family member. Now I get almost no response to my resume. I am 65 years old, have long and varied experience, and strong skills. What should I do?
[10:23] A2: Why did you get this degree? (It looked good.) Where are you applying? (Job boards for nonprofits). You have no experience at nonprofits. Target what you want to do, and pick a nonprofit where the cause is important to you. Do your homework, and also pull up their Form 990 from Guidestar.org. Do they have money to pay you?
[13:40] Marc got his nonprofit job by walking into a conference, and targeting five nonprofits. He met with five executive directors. He got the job at the nonprofit, without ever applying for a job. In a nonprofit, relationships are the key.
[14:56] Q3: I have just moved back to the U.S. from Africa. I have a PhD in linguistics and have spent the last decade translating the Bible into different languages, which was very fulfilling. I am lost about what to do next. What do you think?
[15:19] A: This is a needle in a haystack. Marc gave this client a method to find the needle. He said to look at the top ten schools for linguistics PhDs, and look for graduates on LinkedIn, and find out what they are doing. This was a mission-driven individual, so I said to look for mission-oriented keywords. What can they tell you?
[16:43] Marc tells of another client who, after working in nonprofits, went to a Ruby on Rails programming bootcamp, and now has a government contractor offer, for which they need a top-secret security clearance, which takes nine months to a year.
[19:31] Now that Marc’s latest book, Repurpose Your Career, A Practical Guide to the 2nd Half of Life, is out, he has time to work with you! Go to CareerPivot.com and click on the Contact Me button, or go to the speaker pipe and leave Marc a voice message. Marc says, Let’s talk! You can also ask a question he can answer on the show!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Contact Marc, and ask questions at: Careerpivot.com/contact-me
Arizona State Global Pathways Institute
Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller
with Susan Lahey
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