Career change tips : Please help! Confused grad student

Former liberal arts major with years of experience as a marketing copywriter. A number of factors brought me back to grad school (Masters in Social Work, or MSW). I put a lot of thought into the decision, but ultimately I think the MSW was a mistake due to the job demands, the high caseloads, and most of all the salaries, which are terrible! (Initially I hoped to start a private practice but this is very difficult nowadays due to managed care).

I am nearing graduation and I have NO IDEA what I want to do, but amscared to get stuck in "female ghetto jobs,"i.e. jobs that are traditionally held by women and are grossly underpaid. I'm afraid that if my career goes in that direction I will be at a big disadvantage salary-wise if I choose to transition to a corporate job in the future.

How can I figure out what other careers might match my skills and pay more than social work per se but still be tolerable? How can I put my advanced degree to my best advantage? And finally, how do I explain to a potential future employer my thought process for investing so much time and money in a degree and then not working in the field?

My goals are to find a job that:
Pays well. I would like to make a minimum of $45k to start (???)
Where my Master's Degree will not be considered completely irrelevant or a mistake
That is a decent match for my skills. I'm a big-picture thinker (not a details person)

Strong interests:
Health care (I have several internships in the field)

Background in:
Marketing communications (copywriting & editing)

I would be so grateful for any advice you can offer. Please be kind...I am am feeling very nervous about the situation. I am willing to consider additional education but probably not right away.

Take yourself directly to your school's career center and do not pass Go. They can help you with first off, doing testing to see where your skills, interests and abilities lie, then they can show you related careers for your majors that you may not have considered.

Tess

If you live in a large city, you might look into working at or directing an employee assistance program. Many large companies have in-house EAP specialists who deal with a variety of employee problems, from stress management to drug addiction to finding sick-child daycare. Your graduate degree would certainly qualify you for that kind of job. It might be more of a "woman's work" job than you're looking for but the salary would be close to what you want. In many cases, the EAP provides referrals and doesn't get invovled in long-term therapeutic relationships with clients. You might also be well-suited to some kind of healthcare-related writing job.

I also think education of any kind is never wasted or "a mistake." You will soon have a graduate degree that you worked hard to achieve. A great holiday gift to yourself. So congratulations!

Any degree that yield no return on investment is a WASTE! Not only in $$$ invested but time. Just think you could have been working and gernering more experience while you were in scool. That being said, the return does not have to be immediate. But it does have to materialize at some point. 99% of jobs do not want to pay for a degree if it is not required for the job. I have a JD but you will be surprised how no one will pay for it unless yuour are practicing law.

If a degree is only valued for its monetary return, then , yes, I agree with you. Many degrees can be considered a waste. But being an educated human being pays off in ways that can't always be reported on a tax return. It's a quality of life thing. The original poster's MSW might not lead her into a social work career, which she doesn't want anyway, but it it certainly qualifies her for many other kinds of jobs. A Master's is a minimal requirement for many kinds of social service-related jobs. It's the bachelor's degree in social work that can be considered useless, or a "waste."

I have to agree with everyone that by having your masters, it does stand for something: committment and dedication to meeting a goal and successfully completing those goals. Allbeit, you do not want to purse something with social services, what if you looked at organizations who specialize in social service that need something with marketing experience.

I would recommend you trying indeed.com and simplyhired.com. On those websites, you can do work searches to companies in zipcode areas close to your home.

In my opinion, you have skills sets that transcend into other areas. Take advantage of that. If someone says that is not related to the task at hand, you have to rebut back by saying more is always better. Good luck!!!!

JaninaP*,

I understand the challenge that you're facing. Sometimes we have to just get honest with ourselves and by that I mean learning what is really important to us as an individual. Your degrees do mean something, but what is more important is that you know what it is you want in life. Career centers can be helpful, though they often deploy knowledge-based or skill and competency-based assessments to determine the careers you should consider. What's really important is that you learn where your personal preferences lay and in what environments you will most likely find success. With that being said, I would recommend that you explore preference-based assessments that align individuals to the work what they would most enjoy and find satisfying than to work whereby they may have a given ability or training. It's like when you go to a school counselor and they see that you're good in math. They then recommend that you should consider becoming an accountant or math teacher. Just because you have demonstrated and ability, it doesn't mean that you want to wake up every morning with a passion for exercising it. The two assessments that i would consider to support your decision-making would be the full traditional Meyers-Briggs, or the more recent Serengeti Assessments, both Level 1 and 2. Aside from assessments, take the time to explore the internet's many services whereby you can learn how many diverse opportunities exist. I actually searched under the words "jobs for people who like excitement" and found a number of jobs that were of interest to me. Good luck Janina. I hope that you find the career and lifestyle that you deserve.

I too have a JD that has largely gone unused, in spite of all the well-meaning comments from career advisors about "transferable skills". However, I believe the demand for MSWs is greater than for JDs, at least according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Given that she does not want to be in a "female ghetto", I would suggest targeting large private foundations where she can use her marketing skills as well as her education. Development/external relations might be a good bet. Two that come to mind are Casey Family Programs and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They are nationwide and there are others like them. The pay will be better than a staff job inside a human services agency.

The other route would be first-level supervisory positions in government jobs. The pay is WAY better and the benefits are usually very good as well. For example, public housing authorities.

Good luck!

Janina -

Have you considered a general management consulting firm? They will usually take people from any background. See if your school or anyone you know has connections (Accenture, Bain, etc. - the big ones like that).

I have a friend who did health care social work, and at a large hospital, her caseload was not overwhelming because there were so many people around to share it. That isn't to say it wasn't hard, but it may just be that a typical community action agency or counseling agency isn't your thing.

I think the EAP route could be a good one.

Also, how willing are you to relocate? That could play a big role in what you look for.

You guys have great ideas!

I'm interested in a lot of these ideas...how can I find out more about the ones listed below? I'm interested in learning what the work would be like, what the pay would be, and how to market myself for these types of positions.

General management consulting firm
EAP worker
Government jobs

About EAP--was under the impression that most companies hire outside firms to offer EAP services. Somehow I got the impression that it didn't pay that well, but maybe I'm wrong.

I'd consider working in human resources (supposed to be a route to good pay with an MSW) but I really don't think I'd like it. Something about screening out "risky" candidates and helping to fire/lay people off just doesn't appeal to me.

I'm open to more ideas and also suggestions about how to explore these potential careers. Thanks :)

Career Tips

Please help! Confused grad student