Reflections, Aspirations, Hopes & Plans
At 40, I am on my 3rd career. Three completely different careers may seem like a lot but I see it as an organic progression rather than jumping around. After receiving a Biology degree I started my professional life as a laboratory technician. After a few years, I began a lateral entry teaching program. I taught high school biology for three years before returning to the laboratory to work for a researcher. After losing funding for the research, I transferred to an education specialist position with the companies Health and Safety office. I thought that a background in secondary education and laboratory science would be sufficient to excel in the position. I found myself lacking the skills I needed to teach adults, drive attendance and design instruction. I did not enter a graduate program without serious consideration. I performed an informal return on investment investigation before attending graduate school. I was not going to invest years, time away from my family and the money towards a graduate degree that was not going to pay off in the long run. My choice was a calculated move to increase job skills, salary, and career opportunities.
Here I am, after three and a half years writing my last assignment. When I look back to where I started, the growth is undeniable. Graduate school has changed my perspective, personally and professionally. I can truly say that I am a different person having participated in this experience. Some of the most significant changes, revelations and examples of growth are:
So where am I going? I plan to continue on my path with lifelong learning. While it may not include another graduate degree, there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of out there. Professionally, I have already made one move. I started this career as a training department of one in a major medical center. My first goal was to join a larger training department with other training and development professionals to work with and learn from. I have attained that goal and have worked to improve the department by offering professional development opportunities through our team meetings. I use topics from this program to education and help my colleagues improve their skills and root our training and development products in researched methods and techniques. Moving forward I would like to pursue a position that allows me to guide the direction of a training and development program.
Here I am, after three and a half years writing my last assignment. When I look back to where I started, the growth is undeniable. Graduate school has changed my perspective, personally and professionally. I can truly say that I am a different person having participated in this experience. Some of the most significant changes, revelations and examples of growth are:
- Systems view: Reading Oshry’s book was a revelation for me. It opened my mind to systems thinking. Clearly system thinking was not a new concept for me. I hold a biology degree and many of our studies focused on the ‘eco’system view of study. This was the first time I thought about applying the theory to other situations. This revelation helped me become more open minded and a better listener. Knowing that each stakeholder has their own perspective and that those perspectives can expand my total understanding. At the same time I was having my mind opened to the systems view, I received what I perceived as harsh criticism on a training project. With my systems view, I could now release the personal attachment to the project and see the bigger picture. It was a freeing experience.
- Rooting decisions with relevant research: I make decisions every day in my career. Simple ones, like where to put an interactive button, or to even add and interactive button. More complex ones, like should we include job aids with instruction or should we offer a workshop instead of a manual. Through this program, I have learned that there is relevant research to support this decision making process.
- Lifelong learning: My learning will never be done as long as I am a practicing training and development professional. I will constantly need to pursue knowledge to support my decision making process. Lifelong learning is also important to stay relevant and be able to predict where the market and consumers are going. Will they want more eLearning, distance learning, workshops, on the job training or something new? How will I know the latest technologies? It is all accomplished through lifelong learning
So where am I going? I plan to continue on my path with lifelong learning. While it may not include another graduate degree, there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of out there. Professionally, I have already made one move. I started this career as a training department of one in a major medical center. My first goal was to join a larger training department with other training and development professionals to work with and learn from. I have attained that goal and have worked to improve the department by offering professional development opportunities through our team meetings. I use topics from this program to education and help my colleagues improve their skills and root our training and development products in researched methods and techniques. Moving forward I would like to pursue a position that allows me to guide the direction of a training and development program.