Posted by Tabitha on January 24, 2003, at 1:56:30
In reply to Re: Midlife Career Change--tabitha and mls/msw, posted by lostsailor on January 23, 2003, at 19:16:15
Thanks for so many interesting and thought-provoking responses. About the options I listed, I thought therapist because I really believe it helps people, and the process fascinates me. But it requires 2 years school, plus 2 years internship (minimum wage) to get licensed, which is kind of a long haul. I'm not sure the actual practice of it would suit my personality. I'm probably too introverted to have to interact with people all day long. I can't figure out the income statistics I saw either. If they bill 60-120 per hour, then how do the median salaries end up in the 30-40k range?
The physician assistant idea came up because health care seems like a secure profession, good income, your choice of location, consistent demand over economic boom and bust. But working in a medical facility probably doesn't fit my personality either. Too highly scheduled, too much face time with people. Plus I'm more interested in the mind and ideas than the body anyway. I wish I were more interested in it, instead of just thinking it's a "good" field. That sort of thinking is how I ended up in engineering.
Librarian or something related probably fits my interests best, since I love to read and research things. My programming talents might be of use there too. The salary expectation is frightening though. I don't have expensive tastes, but I want to always own a home, and I need retirement savings, and I'd just flip out if I had to use HMO type health care and couldn't afford to go around it. There also aren't any MLS programs at any schools in my town, so I'd have to relocate, or do distance learning. Part of the appeal of the career change is spending a couple years as a student again, getting that interaction with people. If any of the local universities had a program in it, I think I'd start right away. Looks like the good programs are in the Midwest or East. It would be hard to leave the west coast. It just seems wrong.
poster:Tabitha
thread:35659
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030120/msgs/35714.html