New Post has been published on Military Spouse
New Post has been published on http://militaryspouse.com/career/jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none-moving-your-degree-with-you/
Jack of All Trades, Master of None: Moving Your Degree With You
There was a time in my life when I was pursuing the path to becoming a licensed counselor I had grand plans of one day owning my own practice. That’s when I ran into the same problem that many of us run into as military spouses. Licensing and certification issues.
Instead of making the decision to pursue my PhD in counseling, I decided to forgo all the trouble of getting re-certified and relicensed every time I had to move. I chose to wait until my service member retires and we find our “forever home.” But what on Earth could I do with a B.S. in Social Psychology? As it turns out, I could do a LOT.
When it comes to education and employment, military spouses have to approach our careers just like everything else: creatively, resourcefully and totally out of the box. Social Psychology is all about understanding human behavior in social situations … i.e. PEOPLE. Since most jobs involve people, all I had to do was get creative with my skillset to find meaningful employment as my hubby took me along on this adventure. I’ve since used my skills in training and development and now as a full time writer!
But what about those other specific degrees? If you find yourself in an employment pickle or can’t match your degree to available career opportunities in your area, check the list below for some ideas!
If you’ve obtained your Juris Doctorate to practice law, chances are you’re already aware of the red-tape nightmare of the licensing issues. There are many military spouses who have found success despite these issues and have even gone on to work towards easing them across state lines. MSJDN is an organizations of military spouse lawyers who have done just that! But there are always alternatives if you’re forced into situations where you can’t use your education to the fullest extent.
When a friend of mine PCS’d to California a few years back, she was able to use her JD as an immigration attorney. She wasn’t required to take the bar exam in that state to work in that field, and since she was passionate about immigration anyway, she dove in head first! She worked first with a nonprofit and was then recruited by a firm after she won an award from the California Bar Association for her work with detained immigrants.
Psychology is the study of the human mind and behavior. There are a slew of fields you could work in while you pursue higher education or go through the licensing process. Media and advertising would be a great field to consider since psych grads have valuable insight into how people think and can analyze complex problems while communicating them with ease. Media roles like management, writing or production could lead to other opportunities and a diverse resume.
Human resources is also an option and can be used in the public and the private sectors. Areas such as professional development, coaching, recruitment and public relations all fit the bill under the umbrella of a psychology degree.
Whether it’s music, fashion, film or any of the other humanities, you might be thinking to yourself, “What the heck can I do with a Fashion Degree in the middle of nowhere?” Well, since most of the arts and humanities deal with the creative side of our world, then maybe you need to use it and get creative with it! Liberal arts are versatile but you may need to pick up a technical skill to help solidify your resume.
Take a marketing class or a course that can teach you the basics of coding and you could nail a job as a graphic designer or work for an advertising agency. Hit up a nonprofit and see if they would let you volunteer your new skills to help beef up that experience and you could really have something to tide you over until you begin your film career as the next James Cameron.
There are so many ways you can use your degree if you just think outside of that box. If you truly want to use that amazing degree you worked so hard for, you may not always be doing what you initially set out to do. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be successful! The path to success looks different for everyone, but here are a few more tips to make sure your big, beautiful brain gets its due:
Know what you DON’T want to do. If you have a degree in in the social sciences but can’t stand the thought of data entry or probability and statistics (yuck!), make sure that your job search doesn’t include those tasks.
Concentrate on the “roles and responsibilities” section of the position description instead of the “required qualifications.” If your education gives you the skills to perform the required tasks, then be creative in your cover letter by leveraging those transferrable skills.
Ask to shadow someone who is doing a job you might be interested in. There’s a lot to be said about a potential hire who wants to get a feel for a certain position. On one hand, you’ll be able to see if the position is something you could be successful at. On the other hand, it shows great initiative on your part for the hiring manager. At the very least you’ll be able to network with others in the area and in that line of work.
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