My Path to a New Career

I think I realized that I wanted to have a career in the medical field sometime during high school. I went back and forth between the legal field and the medical field. It was the medical field that won that battle, hands down. When I was about 22 years old, I started medical assistant school. I never finished but got three quarters of the way through. I found out I was pregnant during school and left to move back home.

After I had the baby, I found a medical assisting job. Actually, I went through about five jobs in the course of a few years. I found one that I really enjoyed, in an OB/GYN office. I always loved pregnancy and babies so I finally found what I thought was my calling. I worked in a few different offices part time. I was mainly at one though and stayed there for a total of seven years. I learned a lot and had a lot of duties. I worked at the front desk answering phones, filing charts, checking patients in and out, taking copays and balancing the day's income. I worked in the back office taking blood pressures, drawing blood, setting up non-stress tests, assisting the physicians with minor surgeries and office procedures, sterilizing instruments and ordering supplies. I eventually started doing other office duties as well. I worked in the billing office some days and was an assistant to the RN other days, calling patients with test results. I also learned how to pre-certify surgeries and C-sections. I did a little bit of everything in that office and learned a lot. I loved it there.

I applied for three different nursing schools when my daughter was about two years old. I was instantly accepted into all three. I decided to go to the community college's program since I was already a student there. I had all my college credits completed with the exception of the nursing courses. I started nursing school in the fall of 2001 but dropped out half way through the first semester. I had too much going on and something needed to go before my sanity did. I took an indefinite leave of absence. I was working at the OB/GYN office about 30 hours a week, working in the postpartum unit of the hospital one overnight a week, going to college, raising my daughter, planning my upcoming October wedding and experiencing infertility issues. I couldn't handle it all anymore so I quit the hospital job and left college, for now.

I got married in October 2001 and finally got pregnant the following year. When I had my second child, I decided that I wanted to stay at home to raise him so I only worked at the office on random evenings. When I found out I was pregnant with my third child, only 11 months after having my second child, I knew that school wasn't in the near future. It seemed that when I thought about returning to school, something would happen to delay it. I decided that after I gave birth the third time, that I would re enroll in school and apply for the nursing program again. When my third child was six months old, I found out that I was pregnant for the fourth time. School was once again on the back burner.

I had my fourth and final child in December of 2005 and decided a few months later to re apply for school. I did just that and was told that I had an excellent shot of getting into this college's nursing program. After applying and speaking to the counselors, I had to sit down and figure out if going back to school was feasible. After reviewing the class schedule and the internship details, I decided that nursing just wasn't going to happen for me. Not now, maybe never. The part time schedule was more like a full time one. I can not afford to have a babysitter watch my kids for eight hours a day, three to four days a week. I also didn't want to leave my kids for that amount of time either. On top of that, the studying at home would be overwhelming with four kids running circles around me. It was time to change my career.

I decided that I have to take at least one class so that I do not lose all the credits that I earned years earlier. I thought that maybe nutrition would be a good way to go. I took one nutrition class and enjoyed it but realized that there are a lot of chemistry courses to take to get my degree and chemistry was not my strongest class. I would also be in school for about five more years just to be able to sit for my dietitian certification exam. Not happening at 33 years old. I was at a loss at this point but determined to not let my thirty some credits go to waste. I told myself that I am going to get a degree, in something.

I answered an ad in the local paper in early 2007 for a writer for that paper. I instantly got hired. I always enjoyed writing and was told by past professors that I was good at it but I for some reason never considered it as a career choice. I started writing for the paper and was told that I had talent. I was a bit shocked. I started getting story ideas and all of them were approved and very much liked. I also was getting assignments to cover local events. I thought to myself, wow I really enjoy this. This is the perfect job. I didn't need a babysitter and I worked from home. I am in control of the amount of work that I do as well. The thought crossed my mind to major in journalism, so I talked to my editor at the paper about it. He gave me the pros and cons of the job and said to go for it. I have been a journalism major now for two semesters and loving the freedom that I have. Many of my courses are done online, so I do not need to pay a babysitter or leave my kids. I am almost done since almost all of my previous credits transfered over. I will have my associates degree by next fall and I am so excited.

It took a while to finally come to terms with the fact that I was not going to be an RN. After a lot of thought and consideration, it does seem like the right choice for me. I am loving the freedom that writing gives me. I can write from home and chose my own stories. The extra money that I bring into my house has helped us out a lot as well. My daughter tells everyone that she knows that I am a news reporter and she feels proud. That makes me feel proud. I have had the chance to express myself in such a way that others can understand how I feel and can relate. I feel that I can save someone from some of my stories as well. I had done an enterprise story about car seat safety. If I saved one child from injuries because they weren't in a car seat or the car seat wasn't properly secured, then my job was done correctly.

Even though I am not a nurse, I can still try to save lives with my stories. I can entertain, inform and educate others. I recently got my own column, an entertainment report. I do this each month now and I enjoy it so much. I love celebrity gossip and entertainment issues and it shows in my column. I have found my new niche in life and many have told me this over the course of this past year.

Changing careers in your thirties and forties is a great way to make your life a little more exciting and interesting. I highly suggest it if you feel that your current career isn't as fun as before or if your life has changed in a way that makes it difficult to stay with your job. Having children is the most common reason that women go to college later in life or change their careers later in life. Do what works for you and make sure you enjoy it.