Career Change Part 1: Reaching a Decision

What do you think when people say “I'm going to change careers?” Something small, something big, or something way off the beaten path?

I spent more than thirty years in information technology (IT). I started in college, worked in IT on and off for three years, then spent all of my time from 1984 through 2014 in various fields in IT. During this time I helped create a business, ran another on my own, and worked for corporations and governments. I was a systems programmer (the sysprog supports computer operating systems), a database administrator (a DBA creates and maintains huge collections of related information), an automation and productivity programmer, a data security and privacy expert, and even managed a few projects.

Some would argue a change from systems programmer to DBA, or from DBA to data security, is a big change. Many point out the natural progression in IT is from programmer to project manager to manager. I feel I made two career changes, one from DBA to sysprog, and then from sysprog to data security and privacy. There is overlap; for example, all three fields require some programming.

However, I made those changes while employed at the same company. That gave me three advantages. First, people already knew I could perform at a high level. Second, I showed competence in the field before taking on the responsibilities. Third, and most important, by moving within the same company I never had to worry about missing paychecks. I simply moved from one chain of command to another, often without having to leave my desk or move my things.

Now I am trying to do what I have always wanted to do: teach science. Of course, that begs two questions.

1. “If you 'always' wanted to teach science, why did you wait so long?”
2. “Why make that change now?”

The first question, why did I wait so long, has a complex answer. There are a number of reasons, but for purposes of this essay those reasons are, for the most part, irrelevant.

As for “Why make that change now?”, the answer is simple and begins in 2009. Until then, while I did have an occasional bad day, I enjoyed what I was doing in IT. It was challenging and interesting, the money was good, and I didn't have a strong reason to change jobs. Early in 2009 I was setting security policy for health care applications, which I found useful and challenging, but that changed from setting policy to auditing others' policies. I did not find IT audit interesting; quite the reverse, I found it dull and uninspiring. And then the unthinkable happened. Before I could change jobs, I got laid off.

I'll be totally honest: I did not take it very well. The biggest reason was that I had invested much of my self-worth in my IT abilities; I was almost always ranked in the top 10% - 20% of performers. Getting laid off despite being a top performer was a huge blow to my self-image. From June of 2010 through June of 2012, I often spent 60 hours per week looking for work but finding nothing. Almost nobody was hiring IT people, and most of the few jobs that did appear required relocation. After being told several times “Someone with your resume should never be unemployed” but not finding work, I thought, “It has to be me.”

Because of those feelings, it didn't occur to me to pursue other options; I thought I had to validate my worth in IT. When I finally did find an IT consulting job, it proved unbearably dull. Shortly after that job ended, a friend offered me a position I thought would let me use my technical expertise. It did not; the actual reason for the position was to take over as a director. I am not middle management material, and getting laid off due to budget cuts was a relief of sorts.

I now realize two things. First, I no longer get job satisfaction from IT. Second, I want to use my best talents, not simply take a job I'm “good enough” at. All of the skill evaluation tools I've used list teaching as one of the top three appropriate disciplines for my skill set and personality.

The decision to enter teaching comes with some big challenges. First was achieving a master's degree in a subject, which I did in 2012. Second, I must pass content exams to get a teaching certificate; I am prepared to take these exams in January. Third, I must enroll in a teacher training program, which takes place during the summer of 2015.

Another challenge is monetary. The teaching course costs more money than I have right now. Fortunately there are grant programs for retraining, and I can make up the difference between the cost and the available grant money. Of bigger concern is the fact that I cannot work while taking this course; a large part of the course is student teaching. Coupled with the class hours, this will be a full-time endeavor and I will not have time to hold a second job during the summer.

Those are the obvious challenges. A more subtle challenge to this career change is pressure from others to “just take a job in IT.” I am fully invested in this career change... but others are not. I'm sure they think they're helping, but their advice runs counter to advice from career experts and entrepreneurs, who are always reinventing themselves. I've been in and out of teacher training programs for the last ten years, and have quit before because “I can't take time off from work to finish student teaching.” I see this as my last and best chance to finish a program. If I wait any longer, I will be too old to take that leap. If I take an IT job now, I'd have to quit in May to do the teacher training program. Many people who are out of work take retraining programs; why do people see teacher training as something less than other professional retraining programs?

I am ready to take the bull by the horns. I have done everything I can up to this point, set my plans, and am preparing for the necessary work to enter the field of education. I am keeping a diary of this process, and will write another blog on the experience once I am a member of the teaching profession. Until then, please wish me luck. Thank you.

Is the Internet making us dysfunctional?

That's a provocative title.  In a word, no... but the ability to post our opinions world-wide and immediately on the Internet does tend to exaggerate our flaws.

While the Internet is a source of real knowledge, it is a two-edged sword.  One edge educates us, the other is a vast sea of misinformation and, to be blunt, crap which can poison attitudes.  Always check the fine print; who is actually supporting the claims?  Who is behind the web site?  What is their agenda (we all have one)?  Just because you disagree doesn't make them wrong (or you right).

I understand why our immediate reaction to something we disagree with is an emotional response... but why can't we then step back and ask ourselves, "Why did I react that way?"

There have been a number of things on the Internet lately which I've seen, and often commented on, in which some people (nobody I know) will react to in an almost violent way.  Comments are vituperative, divisive, hateful, and bigoted, and when someone calls them on it the writer turns on them with as much anger as their original post contained.

Nothing positive can come of that.  Of course I don't expect anyone to check their emotions at the door; but once you've gotten over your gut reaction, think about what is really going on.  Do some digging, some research, and some careful thought.  Grover Norquist is not an unbiased source; neither is Al Gore.  Try Politifact, Snopes, or some clearly independent news source.  And always get a second or third opinion.  Consensus doesn't necessarily equal reality, but it is closer than a single source would be.

There are always N+1 versions of a story:  everyone's opinion and the real story.  There is nothing to say any "Nth" version of a story is the only right one.  Perhaps your version is better... but what makes it better?  Facts, or just your opinion?  What are the "facts", anyway?  A statement made by your minister isn't a fact unless it is backed up by evidence, so something he or she said in their sermon isn't necessarily a fact.  Please be open to disagreement, as well as to be proven wrong (or at least inaccurate).  If you make a claim later proven false, acknowledge that fact.  It is not a sin to change your mind in the face of new evidence; in fact it is a sign of foolishness not to change your mind in that situation (confirmation bias is a very pervasive and pernicious problem).

I'm not asking you not to react emotionally; all I'm asking you to do is to remember there is more to being a productive member of a civilized society than gut reaction.

Things to think about when you're unemployed

When you are unemployed, most people will tell you looking for work should be your full-time job.  I don't buy that.  I do think you should spend some time every weekday looking for your next job... but if you spend 10 - 12 hours a day on it, some of those hours will not be productive, and some will be downright unproductive.

I believe you should spend some focus on constructive things to help you find work.  You can find many of those things in many places on the Internet, in local classes, local job fairs, or from your state Department of Labor.

On the other hand, those sources do not tell you everything.  I want to point out some things you can do besides simply look for work which will help you in both your short- and long-term search for your next job.

1. Find and join at least one group of people in your area, preferably one with at least a few members looking for work.  If you cannot find one, start one.  There are two good reasons for this.  First, networking is the best way to get a job.  Second, moving from an environment with a lot of people to one with nobody (i.e., an office to a home) the people skills are the first to go.
2. Maintain connections with people you used to work with.  If Facebook is the only option, I guess you have to do that, but LinkedIn is better.
3. Speaking of LinkedIn, become more active in it.  Join groups related to your job skills.  Join groups related to companies you want to work for.  Connect to recruiters and even HR people; develop some sort of relationship with them.  Follow companies as well as people you respect. 
4. Keep up-to-date on your field, publicly.  Commenting on people's posts may be the only way to do it, but be creative to find other ways.  If you do not use your skills they get moved from immediate memory to long-term memory, and in interviews any hesitation is seen as bad. 
5. Learn how to market yourself.  This is distasteful to some, but a must in this modern economy. 
6. Learn new "soft skills" or develop your existing one.  Tech abilities are not as important as being a good teammate. 
7. Do not let searching for jobs take over your life.  People will tell you searching for work is a full-time job, and it is time-consuming... but it's really easy to waste a lot of time on it.  I do not look for work every day because it is pointless (openings stay posted for a week or two at least)... but if I see a job or two I really want I'll put in whatever time I need to qualify for it. 
8. When applying for work, match your resume to what the job is looking for.  I use a base resume, vetted by several recruiters, modifying certain aspects of it to conform to the requirements specified in the position's description.  This does not mean keep dozens of resumes; it does mean making minor changes to make sure key words from the job posting are reflected in your resume.
9. Speaking of resumes, it is impossible to get agreement on the "best" format; I've had a situation where one IT recruiter told me my resume was perfect, and another IT recruiter from the same company, one week later, tell me it was impossible to read.  While there are general guidelines (tell how you did what you did, not just what you did, and give details) there is no one format that works for everything. 
10. Realize you are not unemployed because you're unemployable... you are unemployed because of a lack of job openings in your area for your skill set.  This may mean one of two things:  either your skill set is no longer in demand, or it is in demand but there are no openings.  Regardless, it may be necessary to learn new skills or even change fields.  For an IT person this may be difficult, especially when your skills should be in demand but aren't (there are still a lot of mainframes out there).  Also, don't get down on yourself... not easy to do for some, but really, who else will help you if you don't help yourself? 
11. Do not listen to people who tell you what to do or how to do things you're not able to do.  Examples include "always be positive" (negative feelings are just temporary, and sometimes can spur you to do something different), "just move to where the jobs are" (sometimes you simply cannot relocate, and who's to tell you you can't live where you want to anyway?), and "apply to jobs you aren't really qualified for but could learn" (in today's job market HR people use keyword scanners, and if you don't meet their must-haves your resume will never be looked at by a person).  Of course these are general rules, not hard-and-fast... the best thing is to go with your gut. 
12. If you find days tend to run together, sleep is a problem, worry winds you up... realize you're not alone.  Find a way to manage this which works with your personality.  Set a schedule so you have something to do each day; for example,

• get up at 8:00 AM, eat a good breakfast
• spend an hour scanning job boards and networking
• spend another hour apply to any job finds, otherwise take a class or something similar
• for an hour or two, pick an area of your living space and clean or rearrange things. Another option is running errands
• do a 15-20 minute workout
• eat a healthy lunch
• spend an hour to read the paper, a book, or magazine
• do another 15-20 minute workout, shower
• spend an hour or two looking at and/or applying to finds from the morning
• eat a healthy dinner
• take two hours to work on a project you've been wanting to do

Above all, while a schedule should have you constructively busy, it should be flexible enough to allow for daily interruptions, longer periods of job search, or whatever keeps you employable and alive, not just living.

If you are unemployed, I hope these suggestions help you.  They are also good suggestions for retirement; that is, keep yourself busy doing something you enjoy.

Where education reform goes wrong in Connecticut: Part One

According to Governor Dannel P. Malloy's proposal to improve education, minority students are three times as likely to be far behind in math. Why should this be? There is clearly not an intelligence gap; there is no difference in math ability between ethnic groups. The problem is not one of race, it is poverty. According to the Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey foundation, in 2011 the percentage of Connecticut school-age children living in a family where no person is working full-time is 26%, and the percentage of children living in poverty (income below $22K for a family of four) is 12%.

Those numbers don't tell the full story. Numbers for child poverty in Connecticut are a close match for the "behind in math" numbers in the governor's proposal. The child poverty rate in urban areas with primarily minority populations (such as Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven) are almost as high as the numbers of children who are behind in math… and have been getting worse, according to the state's own data. Looking solely at ethnic groups, the percentage of child poverty for Hispanics is 31%; African Americans, 25%; non-Hispanic whites 5%. The US Department of Education numbers for students behind in math for the same groups are 51%, 50%, and 14% respectively.

There will always be some children behind in math; our children are not, in Garrison Keillor's words, "all above average". Consider this: Hispanics are six times more likely to be poor than whites, and African Americans five times as likely… but both minority groups are less than four times as likely to be behind as whites. Thus it is clear the education gap is not caused by failing schools and poor teachers but by the simple connection between poverty and a lack of education.

The correlation of these data is clear, the reasons less so… but it is definitely a problem when more than 1/3 of the population of a city is so poor surviving becomes more important than attending school. Remove poverty and students of all ethnicities will perform at essentially the same level.

In 2004 Connecticut set a goal to cut the poverty rate in half by 2014. Since the poverty rate has actually risen since then (10% in 2001, 11% in 2003, 12% in 2011), making that goal seems impossible. Participation in most of Connecticut's programs for poverty is below 50%; according to a 2009 report from the Urban Institute (paid for by the State of Connecticut), poverty could be reduced by implementing stronger outreach efforts and improving access to programs, particularly by removing the 21-month lifetime earnings limit while at the same time reduce the earned income credit for those programs.

Therefore, it is my opinion undoing some of the "reforms" of the Rowland and Rell administrations would be the best step toward closing the education gap.

Unemployment: the golden opportunity

Are you newly unemployed? Been unemployed for a year or more? Being unemployed is frustrating; it can also be demeaning, stressful, and even make you question your belief in yourself. On the other hand, being unemployed can also be your ticket to a new and better job, a better you, and a happier life… if you do more than simply try to find another job.

Relying solely upon your own intuition to resolve a jobless situation is not a good use of resources. Being human, we each have our preconceived notions of what is "best" for us; these notions come from our genetics, our upbringing, and our experiences as we travel life's journey. Those preconceptions sometimes act as blinders, restricting our sights within a narrow view in much the same way as they guide a horse's vision, incidentally preventing us from seeing opportunities away from our current path.

I can't tell you what to do; that is your own decision. I can share with you things you can try, give you some hints about things to think about, and help you discover how to take off your blinders. This is only advice; please feel free to take away whatever works for you and ignore the rest.

I assume you are already aware of the advice given by employers, recruiters, job web sites, and peers, such as how to format a resume, how to interview, how to market yourself, and so on. This essay isn't about how to find work; it's about the process of self-discovery you can follow rather than simply trying to find a job "just like your previous job." I deliberately left out most of that advice because you've heard it all before.

Point One: don't panic when you're laid off, or it's been a long time and you still can't find work. It is highly likely this situation isn't your fault. Most people don't find work immediately upon being laid off. Maybe there are no or very few jobs available in your field, or the economy is bad. If you need to upgrade your skills, do so; if not, focus some of your energy on other things.

Point Two: do some self-checking. Why did you choose your current field? As an old joke says, "I thought I wanted a career; turns out I just wanted paychecks." Is that true for you? Are you happy in your current career? Really happy, or just sort of happy? In your current career, do you feel you have strong skills which aren't being used effectively? Are your skills valuable in other fields? How do you know? This brings us to Points Three and Four.

Point Three: find people who share your interests. In the professional networking site LinkedIn, there are numerous groups for almost any area of interest you can think of. You should certainly join at least two groups for your current field; for example, there are many groups for people who work with mainframe computers. Browse or search the group list for other topics which interest you. Join a few which seem most interesting to you and read a few of the discussions. Maybe the focus of the group doesn't fit your interest; maybe that interest isn't for you. Above all, remember you are trying to find what interests you the most. You are not locked in to your choices; if the group isn't helping you with your interests, or that topic isn't really "grabbing" you, find another group.

Point Four: network, especially with people who share your interests. It's easy and natural to network with peers; IT with IT people, marketing and sales with marketers and salespeople, and so on. Career counselors and recruiters will tell you that's the most efficient way of finding a new job. But what if there is something you always wanted to try? What are your other interests? Step One is to find out what your interests are; this is Step Two, talking to people who share those interests. This is the best way to know if you are on the right track and, more importantly, how to get into a field which excites you. Do you get excited cooking for others? Talking to chefs and caterers will give you insights into those professions you can't get elsewhere. Do you want to make a difference in education? Join a few groups such as Education Innovation and Innovative Educators and find out what it takes, what ideas are out there… maybe you have a few new ones of your own to contribute.

Point Five: you do not have to make looking for work a full-time job. Many career websites, recruiters, and well-meaning colleagues say that… but there is a saturation point, a level of effort which no longer gives results. Of course, if your financial situation demands you be working (maybe you can't pay your bills), that's different. However, if it's not an emergency (for example, you have savings to live off of, your spouse works, etc.), exploring other career opportunities is looking for work.

Looking for work and not finding it, day in and day out, can be frustrating. We all want to succeed at something, do something with a positive result, so take a break from your job search and find something else to do. Organize your picture collection for a day… or half a day. Have you been meaning to clean out the garage but were "too busy"? Do it. Take a hike… literally. Take a day or two to work on a volunteer project. Spend time with your family. Remember, you took vacation days from your paying job, so you should take "vacation days" from looking for work full-time.

Point Six: if you find career possibilities, follow up on them. Within your interest groups you make connections to people who are employed doing what you want to do. Ask them how to get involved, whom to talk to in your area, what training or certifications you need, and so on. Point Four is nice; you find people to hang out with and talk about interesting things. However, if you don't follow up, that's all it is: talk. Get involved, do something constructive. If your interests involve "spreading the word" on something you think is important, reach outside of the group to others, get them interested too. That's what networking is all about: spreading the word.

Point Seven: don't just ask for help, give it. Praise freely, criticize rarely. Give gentle, non-judgmental feedback in discussions. If someone asks a question answer it if you can, share the name of someone who knows the answer, or point them in a direction which will help them answer their own question. If someone is new to a field you've made a career of, share your experiences with them.

I hope this essay has been helpful to you. Good hunting!