By: Briana Rukavishnikov
Speakers: Rebecca and Marybeth
Key takeaway- Career paths can be “straight or curvy”
Marybeth had a “straight” path and started off with having no idea that she wanted to be a teacher, but she knew she enjoyed playing and hanging out with children
She became a teacher, got additional training, and then had a leadership role
Rebecca started off loving business and marketing, then she moved to Nyc and worked in management and consulting. After 9 years she became burnt out, and did not love the business world. She then used her grad school money to travel and she traveled for a year. What helped her understand why she wanted to switch is someone else's story, who explained that outside of their job she wanted to learn other things too.
She volunteered in nicu, cuddled babies, and realized she was spending a lot of her free time with kids which made her rethink her career choices. And her marketing job involved learning about baby products. After she started off working in nonprofits, which helped her figure out her love for teaching.
Things Rebecca learned are, skills are transferable, jobs aren't just about their information, and people are also looking for problem solving skills, and more
Your career is much longer than you think, and you shouldn't compare with other people
You don't have to feel stuck - try new things
Key takeaway - endless job possibilities
Public School realm
Teacher - Paraprofessional- degree and license not required, can just be going to a good college
Interventionist - special education teacher, therapist etc.
Principal/assistant principal - assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, superintendent, can be related to finance
Child related jobs that aren't school related
Travel - au pair
Small business owner - family daycare
Child development - research(good program at Harvard)
Business - design children's products
Author - children books or tv shows
Entertainment for children - (personal story) - a yoyo guy made so much money from connecting his love for children and his love for yoyoing
Mary Beth's favorite moments- working with special need kids is fulfilling because you get to see their growth, and you get to help them build foundation skills, such as communicating and social skills
Key takeaway - Networking does not have to be awkward
Most people are flattered when you reach out for advice or support
Push through nerves to work with people
Even when you feel awkward remember that older people remember the scary times from when they were younger and can understand what you are going through
Key takeaway - Take the risk
Rebecca's risks - moving to a new city, going back to school, never asking for help
Mary Beth's risks - never asking for help, thinking you need to be able to do everything listed on a job description
A long time ago people believed you had to pick a career and stick with it your whole life, but times have changed
Rebecca doesn't teach the same content every year, and she learns about the current events in childcare to teach different things, this helps her stay more interested and passionate about her job
Something Marybeth wished she knew was how hard this career was going to be and to prepare herself for it, especially talking to parents
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WOW great event!