It's Never Too Late To Start A New Career
What do you want to be when you grow up?
This seems to be the never-ending question. We get asked this as small children and it seems to continue into adulthood. Joe never knew how to answer this question. He thought being a knight sounded cool but quickly learned that there were not many opportunities for a California kid to be a knight. Joe was your average kid who grew into your average teenager. He had his tight circle of friends and just like so many of them, he was constantly tested with that dreaded question, what do you want to do when you graduate? But unlike his friends, he had no idea how to answer this question. He was great at math and science, but could never see himself as a teacher, like his mom. Public speaking was not his thing. His dad had a successful job as an accountant. Maybe that was the right path for him. He was quick to do fast math in his head and had a natural instinct for problem solving, much like his dad. But did he really want the same view day after day?
When it came time during his senior year to declare his plans for life after graduation, he followed the advice of his guidance counselor, after all, that is what they are there for, right? He applied to several colleges in the area and was excited when he was accepted into all of them. He chose his home for the next four years and felt relieved when he was finally able to answer the question of what he was going to do with his life.
College life wasn't all that different from high school. Well, with the exception of random, late-night parties, pizza for every meal of the day and of course, living in close proximity to girls he wasn't related to. He attended his classes, despite several requirements that had nothing to do with business accounting. Besides nearly failing his modern dance class for skipping the day he was supposed to do a presentation, he soared through his academic classes with a solid 3.8 GPA.
Four years of classes and a mountain of debt later, Joe walked the stage and accepted his bachelor's degree. It was great to hear his parents brag about their son, the college graduate. He immediately began applying for jobs in the accounting field. He knew his student loans would be looking for payback. Despite having done all the 'right' things, he could not seem to get a foot in the door. Changing directions was not an option, right? Just when he considered taking a job in the pizzaria down the street, he was offered a job as a file clerk for an accountant. It may not have been his dream job but it was a job.
Two years later Joe sat in a cubicle, crunching numbers, and counting down the hours till he could clock out. He was getting ready to celebrate his 25th birthday when he had the epiphany...he hated his job! He hated that his days were always the same. He hated the simplicity of it all. And he really hated the stupid walls he looked at day after day. How did he end up here?
Does Joe's story sound familiar?
But wait. It's not over...
Joe went home that night to his one bedroom apartment and brought his laptop to life. He scrolled through his social media and saw an old friend from school was sharing pictures about his job as a private pilot. Joe started doing a little exploration and found Coast Flight Training.
Fast forward to a year later. Six months after enrolling in the program at CFT and his daily view would never be the same. Blue skies and gentle tail winds were a part of his daily work life. He had already recouped the cost of the program and was now saving to buy his first home. Joe is living his best life and all it took was the guts to pivot.
OneDegree Careers is a platform created to help career seekers explore and choose a high-paying skilled career that doesn’t require college debt. Sign up today for free career mentoring.
Other Interesting Articles:
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/bootcamps-job-guarantee/