How to Change Careers

Is it time for a career change?

You may be the victim of a downsizing or merger layoff that leaves you without your long-term job and career after 10 or 20 or more years. You might be ready to graduate from a program with a degree that is not in your current line of work but in one to which you want to transition soon. You may be burned out from a job that does not suit you as well. You may be a young adult that has found, after three moths in the job, that the career field you chose is simply not right for you and you set out to seek your Dream Job. Or, you could be a retiree seeking to return to work for a variety of reasons.

Congratulations! You are part of a growing sector of Americans that is transitioning into a second, third - even a fourth career. This is becoming the norm, so do not worry that you are different from the rest of America and will never work again. Further, the number of Green Collar and related jobs will increase at a rate during the next 100 years that will far outpace the rate of jobs lost to overseas outsourcing.

There may be no need for you to pursue a substantial amount of further education in order to secure and thrive in a new job and career in a different field of work than you have currently been pursuing. Listed below are several high-paying jobs in healthcare/medicine, criminology, and fashion design that need no further academic degree if you already possess one. Some need a certificate earned in a short-term course.

In order to pay for additional education, your employer's Outsourcing Services connected to layoff package can help, or you can contact your local County Jobs Office, County Workforce Development Office, or WIA [Workforce Investment Act] offices. Look them up in the county government listings in the phone directory or call the County Commissioners Office for information. Sometimes these workforce offices are listed as something akin to Michigan Works!

Jobs requiring less than a BA/BS degree and offering high earnings.

Paralegal: $39,130

Paralegals are legal assistants to attorneys. They prepare briefs for trials, hearings, and depositions and do other interesting and sometimes complex procedures.

Many have an AA degree or a certification through a paralegal training program, although a few attorney's practices may still train a select small percentage of people on the job. Certificates take only a few months of training, however.

CSI Style - Forensic Science Technician: $44,010

Collect, catalogue, and analyze physical evidence and date, and document lab results to solve crimes and convict the right individuals. Computer skills, concentration, and confidentiality are required.

Any training in math and science you already have would be a big plus and an AA degree or a certificate in a physical science would be good.

Fashion Designer: $55,840

One of my younger clients successfully pursued education in a vocational school toward a certificate in Fashion Design. He gained recognition and work while still in school! Innovation is key to success in this line of work and it helps if you are passionate about it.

Watch Project Runway to see excellent examples of this. It also takes a bit of an engineering eye, requiring visual- spatial skills in order to be a success in pattern-making.

Designers may have a two-year AA degree in fashion design, fine arts, or a related field. My student is studying Graphic Design as well. He is creating demonstration uniforms for a senior project and for our next martial arts tournament.

Diagnostic Medical Sonographer: $52,490

Again, this job is being included in Travel Medicine more regularly in light of the shortage of healthcare professionals in many portions of the country and world the world. Diagnostic medical sonographers work in obstetrics and gynecology [OB/GYN], abdominal/breast sonography, or neurosonography - brain scans, other neuro-scans. An AA degree necessary includes anatomy, physics, and physiology and if you have had some of this coursework within another degree, then you may be ale to skip those curses.

Dental Hygienist: $58,350

Dental Hygienists have become one of the healthcare occupations, along with Dentists, that has been picked up in the overall Travel Nursing and Travel Medicine field that is very lucrative. If you are free to travel, this may be the right career transition for you.

Dental hygienist is a job title in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' group of ensured fast-growing occupations for the long term. Practice requires the associate degree or a certificate from a school accredited by the American Dental Association Commission of Dental Accreditation.

Green Jobs: ~$30Ks and abover annually

Careers that promote sustainability and environmental stewardship are cutting edge and mainstream already in many major cities - Washington DC, Philadelphia and western metropolises. Interestingly, for hundreds of years in China, when workers have retired, many have been assigned volunteer duties in sustainable avocation.

In America, these are paid positions that are increasing the nation's economy and will continue to do so long term. One of the best things I have ever seen along these lines is a water treatment plant in the America West that treats water by running is through a long system of plant roots. The water is crystal clear on the other end, without the use of chemicals and filters that must be disposed and discarded. Plant life can help boost American economy with many more new jobs and greatly reduced costs.

If you are in the market for a new career, try the Green market of jobs. Networking will help -- Volunteer at a Green agency and make your connections toward a fulfilling career that not only provides income, but a sense of greater - or new - purpose.