Thoughts on Switching Careers
I graduated from college back in May 2013 with a BA in sociology degree (aka worthless degree if you want a decent salary). Because I knew that my job prospects were going to be shit, I enrolled in my university’s technical writing certificate program. That move landed me a full-time paid co-op (like an internship) that lasted for 7 months before I got offered a permanent full-time job at the company. I stayed at that company as a technical writer for 3 years.
During those 3 years, I learned a LOT but not what I expected. Technical writing, at its core, is taking complicated information and distilling it in a way that’s most accessible to your designated audience. It’s not something you need to go to college for, but it sure helps if you graduate from a program that has a good network of alumni and job opportunities.
I’m a first generation college student and I’m also the first in my family to work a white collar job. It was/is a big deal.
Anyways, let me get back to what I learned that I didn’t in school:
Networking: It’s imperative that you meet as many people within your department and outside your department to establish those professional relationships. Why? That’s my next point.
Office Politics: You can’t avoid it and if you want your career to thrive, you have to learn how to navigate it. This determines so many aspects of your job. Whether or not you’re going to get cooperation from your colleagues to strategically being placed on the “good” projects vs the “bad” ones. Getting the insider tips or advice on how to impress certain managers so that you get noticed.
Perception is Reality: When you have hundreds of people working in cubicles, cliques form and gossip runs rampant. Not everyone is watching everyone else’s moves, but things do not go unnoticed. One prime example that I was warned about was when you came in for work and when you left.
Getting Buy-In: Again, this goes back to 1 & 2 but the ability to assess different people’s needs and frame your own needs to align is crucial. Everyone is busy; everyone has their own priorities. Being able to persuade people to go along with your ideas and then execute them to prove yourself is a skill.
Honestly, you can google a shit ton of stuff on the job. I’ve also learned people are pretty forgiving if you don’t know something, but follow up with how you could do something or say you’ll do research to figure it out. Essentially, how well can you solve a problem (that may not always have a clear cut answer) seemed to be what I *really* needed to know.
Anyways, so I started to realize that after 3 years of technical writing, I felt stuck. I didn’t feel like I was being challenged and I wasn’t happy with my manager’s management style. Back in September, I did a program that puts you through training to become a software development engineer in test (SDET/QA). I graduated beginning of February and now am in the contract phase.
The ultimate goal is that by August/September, I’ll be offered a permanent full-time position at the company I’m at. The work is definitely a lot more challenging and I’m learning so much. But the truth is, I don’t know if this is what I want to do for the next 10 years. Next 4-5 years, yes definitely.
I don’t know how this will work out. I took a significant pay cut to take advantage of this opportunity because I knew long-term, this is the right choice. I’ve gone through most of my savings and had to get a second job. My goal is that my salary doubles when I’m offered a permanent position.
I don’t regret leaving my old job which was comfortable and safe. It’s going to be a hard and exhausting few months, but I’m keeping my eyes on the prize and hoping the payoff will be worth it.
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