career

06/02/2021 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

Stop Wasting Time: These Are The Signs That Your Career Isn’t For You

In the US, only 32 percent of employees are engaged with their work. The lack of interest can be because of different reasons. But one of them can be that people choose careers that aren’t for them. If you belong to this group of disengaged employees, here are the signs to look for to know if your career isn’t for you.

You Can’t Relate to Your Colleagues

One of the most evident signs that you are in a career that isn’t for you is when you can’t relate to your colleagues. Generally, your coworkers and other people in your profession are great people to create relationships beyond work. Most of us end up making lifelong friends with people that share our career choices.

It is about sharing the same passion and interests. But when you are in a career you hate, those topics that others find interesting you’ll probably hate too. For example, if you are a full stack developer and one of your colleagues is excitedly explaining the last project he is working on, you will only find it boring.

Also, you won’t be able to understand how some of your coworkers are so excited every day about going to work. You won’t be able to relate to what they find so incredible or satisfying. This can also be due to the current company you work in, but if it also happens with other colleagues in the industry, then you know what it probably means.

You Run From People Asking About Your Career

When you are passionate about something, people only have to mention it to make you go on a monologue. But if you are on a career that isn’t for you, the opposite will probably happen. You will feel like running every time someone asks you about your career, and you will probably give a short answer and change the subject.

Maybe you don’t do it consciously, but pay attention to your reactions when people ask the dreaded question. It can also happen that you start complaining non-stop. It is also a sign that you at least are in a job you hate.

You Feel Like an Actor

If you feel like an actor or an impostor every time you go to work, then that is another sign you are in a career that isn’t for you. When people are in places they don’t like, they sometimes have to put up a façade. When you are in a career you hate, you probably have to put a mask in the office.

Having a bad attitude will probably only give you more trouble at work. If you feel like you can’t be yourself during office hours, then that career isn’t for you. You shouldn’t have to become somebody else every day. And in the end, it will make you feel more miserable than doing dull tasks or going against your values.

Your Career Doesn’t Align With Your Values

Our core values are probably the ones that define our actions. They help us decide what the best path for us is. Sometimes, they also help us identify what is good or bad. And when the career you choose doesn’t align with them, you feel like you are doing something wrong.

For example, suppose your values go against mistreating animals, and you are in a profession where the industry is about killing animals for consumption. In that case, it is very clear that you will feel conflicted. Maybe you are only doing it for the money, but going against your values just because of the good pay will make you feel hollow in the long run.

It’s Disappearing

Finally, the last sign that you should change your career is if your current one is disappearing. The truth is that technology has changed a lot of things in our world, including taking over several tasks that humans used to do. And even if you are in a career you like, it won’t serve you if it will disappear in the next decade.

You can consider making a career change in the tech industry. It will only take a few months if you enroll in a coding boot camp. And you can even learn the skills with free coding courses. It is something to think about for the future.

In Summary

Staying in a career that isn’t for you will only have a negative impact on your life. You can identify if your career is a good match by looking for the right signs. For example, if you can’t relate to your colleagues, don’t like people asking about your work, have to put up a facade every day, or your work doesn’t align with your values, then it is probably time for a change.

Another reason why you may change careers is if your profession is disappearing. It may sound discouraging, but it is better to make a decision early on. And you could be learning with an online course while you still continue your current job.

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

01/20/2021 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

Why Studying Is The Best Thing You Can Do While Unemployed

Covid-19 increased unemployment in many countries. The United States suffered from business closures, wage cuts, and massive layoffs due to the pandemic's economic effects. If you lost your job during the virus, you should know that there are still many alternatives to generate income and access professional training. In this article, you will learn why it is essential to study during unemployment and how this knowledge will help you earn more money and have stability.

A Bootcamp May Be the Solution

Even though universities closed during the virus, many educational companies took advantage of this opportunity to prepare new students. Bootcamps were the main winners in this context. These schools have physical locations, but they also allow their students to attend classes online and earn a degree.

If you are unemployed, it is time to use your savings for a smart investment: education. How effective is studying in a bootcamp? Much more than you think! Check out the main advantages of these courses:

You can expand your knowledge to improve your skills or start from scratch

Bootcamps are a great idea for the unemployed. If you were in a technology company and were laid off, you can now reinforce all your knowledge and add new skills to your resume. If you want to learn, you can access beginner courses in different careers, including data science, software engineering, coding, cybersecurity, and much more.

You can start a free course and pay for it when you get a job

If you are looking for a smart way to invest your savings, you may like the bootcamp option. An average course costs between $7,000-$13,000. But you should also know the free option, with which you can take the full course and pay for it when you get a job.

You can work in a large company in the United States

Despite the coronavirus, many tech companies continue to hire employees. This is your chance to start a bootcamp and land the job of your dreams. General Assembly, one of the best bootcamps in the country according to Career Karma, has hiring partners companies such as Condé Nast, Visa, Google, L'Oreal, and Microsoft.

Learning A New Language

The pandemic was the opportunity for many unemployed people to start learning a new language. This knowledge is more important than you think and can be decisive if you are looking for a new job. Pay attention to the following advantages of knowing another language:

Increase your chances of getting a job

According to CNN, approximately 50 million Americans speak Spanish: this is 13 percent of the population. This figure is small, considering that in Germany almost 50 percent of the population can speak English. This means that there are people capable of working in bilingual jobs or jobs assigned to a specific language in the United States. Speaking a second language doubles your chances of getting a job, not only in physical companies but in freelance contracts.

Improve your professional level

If your resume shows that you speak two or more languages, then your professional image improves considerably. Learning a new language is a long process, but it allows you better communication with other people, more comfort, more chances of finding work, and new ways of understanding cultures. If you are unemployed and need to optimize your professional experience, a new language will be a perfect idea.

Take an Online Course to Learn Something New

While bootcamps and language courses help you directly with your job performance, it is not a bad idea to learn about thematic classes. According to The Conversation, online courses received massive numbers of students during Covid-19. This website published that the Coursera platform increased 640 percent this March compared to March 2019. Do you think it is a bad idea to take a course?

This new knowledge also allows you to discover new areas of your life, learn exciting skills, and generate money. One of the advantages of the Internet is that it offers many offers for all tastes: you can learn to cook, repair your PC, design with Adobe Illustrator, create clean energy, and much more!

Conclusion

Being out of work is a challenging experience. We know it perfectly. Therefore, you must take these tips into account. Investing in education can be essential in your future since this knowledge will serve you for new jobs or ventures. Use the tools you have and overcome any obstacle—at the end of the day, you will be grateful.

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

07/23/2018 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

Is Getting Professional Certification Worth It?

If you’re trying to get ahead in your career, then it can be hard to know where to invest your time, energy and finances. What will provide the most return on your investment?

Working a lot of overtime rarely seems to impress employers with your work ethic as much as you’d like. Instead, they seem to just add more to your workload without rewarding you. Volunteering for projects and stepping up to take on more can be a strategy to get in line for a promotion or have things in your portfolio or resume if you apply for a job elsewhere, but even on-the-job experience only takes you so far. Employers still seem to reward professional qualifications disproportionately.

Health care careers in particular benefit from accredited programs and certification. If you’re interested in or already employed in a health care job such as nursing, physical therapy or medical assistant, then professional certification can improve your employability, give you more confidence and respect at work, and boost your pay.

Some of this is due to employer perception that those who have invested in a formal certification or qualification have skills that exceed those that can be earned on the job. In other cases, an HR process or department may award points or automatically bump employees up a notch when they show evidence of formal qualifications.

If you’d like to move forward in your career, earn more money and get more respect, then getting a professional certification offers higher return on investment than just about anything else in which you can invest yourself. In most cases, you can find local campuses for convenience to pursue certification – just search online for “colleges near me” and check out the quality of their offerings.

In many cases, it’s possible to pursue certification part-time or in a flexible format while you’re already working. If you’re disappointed with your current career progress and want to pursue a more successful future, then certification can offer a clear and proactive path toward greater employability and opportunity.

If you’re a student and don’t yet have work experience, then certification can be an alternative to a work history. It offers prospective employers the assurance that you have specific, recent and relevant understanding of their needs and will be a good investment. They want to know that you bring skill and knowledge to the job without requiring a lot of training on their part. Many employers hire in a crunch situation, where they need someone who can hit the ground running, and they just don’t have the capacity to bring someone in and teach them everything they need to know.

Professional certification is a worthwhile investment of your time, energy and funds if you want to proactively improve your future prospects. If you’re a midstream professional looking for a way to kick-start your career and move forward, or if you’re a student looking for a head start on the competition, then you should look into professional certification programs near you.