NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com
The fear of losing their job is making some Washington workers take a fresh look at their careers, says a study released in April.
About 57 percent of respondents, with an annual income of $40,000 or less, said they would change careers if nothing stood in their way, according to the Workplace Confidence Survey, sponsored by Everest College, which has six campuses in the Seattle area.
About 65 percent of survey respondents reported suffering from work-related stress about potential pay and job loss. A total of 502 adult Washington workers were interviewed for the survey in early March.
For many feeling stuck in their jobs, the recession is an opportunity to do something different, said Maureen Moriarty, a career transition coach and founder of Pathways to Change in Sammamish. A lot of her clients are talking about going back to school to learn new skills needed for jobs in the health care industry, which has survived the recession better than most sectors of the economy.
Workers today need to be lifelong learners with the globalization of the economy and quick-paced technological changes, Moriarty said. That'll help take care of some of their work-related stress, she said.
— Associated Press
By back to university in my 50s on June 8, 2009 9:22 AM
Going back to school can be like jumping onto a shrinking iceflow. I went back to finish a BA and go on and get a teaching certificate to become a school teacher, but the disastrous hiring situation for teachers makes it difficult to forsee any employment in the field...coupled with school loans that are impossible to pay back without employment. The job market is in such flux right now that it is not always easy to know what the cost of further education will actually secure in the job market for the next few years.
By Mr. Smith on June 8, 2009 12:42 PM
I too am trying to complete my BA. Employers looking at "soft skills" and appearing to be "objective" with qualifications surrounding open positions, coupled with the current economic conditions, it seem that it is every man/woman for his/her self.
By Me too on June 9, 2009 11:04 AM
I too went back to school to get a teaching certificate. I got a great sales pitch, about doing meaningful work in direct contrast to my previous corporate existence. I too have massive student loan debt and no job prospects save substituting (and they're not hiring those even in Seattle). ALL of the adult re-education industry is churning out teachers: DeVry, City U, Antioch, and the University of Phoenix, which is making so much moeny they've purchased the naming rights to the most expensive stadium in the NFL. Personally, I'd like to see some sort of government protections from people being taken in by these "schools", but of course "conservatives" will decry me as "socialist" and "a victim". Good luck, people.