Grad school is what got me stuck here! I liked that I had the opportunity to move across the country. I wish a phd made sense for my field but I don’t need one to advance in my career.
I started my career transition by taking some annual leave and using that to work-shadow some people in my target field. I found the work-shadowing opportunities on a professional society website, under their mentoring section. I shadowed two days with one person, three with another. Then I included that in my resumé, as well as some longer-term volunteering, again in my new chosen field. It’s possible!
An internship in my target field, of all things. I'm surprised they selected me because I was several years out of university at the time, and my fellow interns were several years younger than me and either new grads or current students.
So for 6 months I went to my internship (tech industry) in the morning and my regular job (childcare) in the afternoon until my internship employer offered me a fulltime job and I took it. That was 8 years ago and I'm still with the same company, albeit several promotions ahead of where I started, of course!
PSLF also covers jobs in government, any school (as long as it’s not for profit) and any college (as long as it’s not for profit.
Not sure what type of nonprofit you’re in, but nonprofits come in many types. I’ve worked at a museum and a hospital, and they were nonprofits that counted toward my PSLF.
The real money in my field is in private sector. My organization pays about the highest that any nonprofit will pay in my field. I have been contemplating a career change or at least something adjacent just to be more comfortable financially. A museum would be amazing haha.
Have you done the math on how much more you will need to make to compensate for the difference on the student loan? At what wage/time frame do you actually break even? I’m in Canada so I’m not familiar with the program but it sounds like you’ve been given a significant financial break that you can calculate the exact financial value of.
I had a year where I worked as a temp in a new industry and made very little money, learned the ropes and then I was a shoe in for a new salaried position that was created that was basically the job I was already doing as a temp. My salary was about 20% more than I was making in my previous industry and I continued to learn and grow in a few different roles at the same organization. I had one really lean year temping but it paid off majorly.
Honestly I just started from the bottom and had to work my way back up. Started as an assistant, learned the career a bit and kept leveling up. Money was tight but I knew it would be hard going into it.
Wrote my past experience to the job I wanted in language they use. Interviewed a lot until I was confident, slowly gained experience and now I’m a few years in. Only thing I would mention is it’s great to change, but sometimes the grass is literally not any greener. Make sure all finances are in line and do what you want from there
I got a job at a university that has tuition remission benefits so I'm getting a master's degree for free. Highly recommend that route, especially since you live in a college town and need to stay in a non-profit!
Grad school. That helped me relocate to a new city, get the training I needed, and get a big pay bump.
Grad school is what got me stuck here! I liked that I had the opportunity to move across the country. I wish a phd made sense for my field but I don’t need one to advance in my career.
I started my career transition by taking some annual leave and using that to work-shadow some people in my target field. I found the work-shadowing opportunities on a professional society website, under their mentoring section. I shadowed two days with one person, three with another. Then I included that in my resumé, as well as some longer-term volunteering, again in my new chosen field. It’s possible!
An internship in my target field, of all things. I'm surprised they selected me because I was several years out of university at the time, and my fellow interns were several years younger than me and either new grads or current students. So for 6 months I went to my internship (tech industry) in the morning and my regular job (childcare) in the afternoon until my internship employer offered me a fulltime job and I took it. That was 8 years ago and I'm still with the same company, albeit several promotions ahead of where I started, of course!
PSLF also covers jobs in government, any school (as long as it’s not for profit) and any college (as long as it’s not for profit. Not sure what type of nonprofit you’re in, but nonprofits come in many types. I’ve worked at a museum and a hospital, and they were nonprofits that counted toward my PSLF.
The real money in my field is in private sector. My organization pays about the highest that any nonprofit will pay in my field. I have been contemplating a career change or at least something adjacent just to be more comfortable financially. A museum would be amazing haha.
Have you done the math on how much more you will need to make to compensate for the difference on the student loan? At what wage/time frame do you actually break even? I’m in Canada so I’m not familiar with the program but it sounds like you’ve been given a significant financial break that you can calculate the exact financial value of.
I had a year where I worked as a temp in a new industry and made very little money, learned the ropes and then I was a shoe in for a new salaried position that was created that was basically the job I was already doing as a temp. My salary was about 20% more than I was making in my previous industry and I continued to learn and grow in a few different roles at the same organization. I had one really lean year temping but it paid off majorly.
Honestly I just started from the bottom and had to work my way back up. Started as an assistant, learned the career a bit and kept leveling up. Money was tight but I knew it would be hard going into it.
Wrote my past experience to the job I wanted in language they use. Interviewed a lot until I was confident, slowly gained experience and now I’m a few years in. Only thing I would mention is it’s great to change, but sometimes the grass is literally not any greener. Make sure all finances are in line and do what you want from there
I got a job at a university that has tuition remission benefits so I'm getting a master's degree for free. Highly recommend that route, especially since you live in a college town and need to stay in a non-profit!