Readers:
Dr. Randall Hansen, a nationally recognized career expert, is the Career Doctor.
Discover more about Dr. Hansen, read about the purpose of this column,
and find previous issues of this column at the home of The Career Doctor.
If you have any college, career, or job-related questions or comments that Dr. Hansen could
provide valuable assistance with, please
feel free to email him at: careerdr@quintcareers.com.
Dr. Hansen writes this column on a biweekly basis.
Terry writes:
My name is Terry, and I would like to ask you a question that will decide my future career.
Should I pick a career based on my passion or on salary? By the way, I'm a high
school senior and am preparing for college. If you be so kind, please write me back
soon as possible.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Hmm. Passion or salary? Well, I am an idealist, so I say why not both?
Of course, if I had to choose one, I would ALWAYS say follow your passion.
Sometimes I think people think that following their passion excludes them
from making money. However, the opposite rarely happens -- chasing down
the higher salary rarely results in finding a career passion.
The great news for you is that you have years to find your passion. And years
to make and execute a plan where you’ll make money living your passion.
But let’s look at the flip side. Even if you don’t find a way to make a lot of
money with your passion, you will still have the satisfaction and joy that you
derive from the job. However, if you make a lot of money but are bored or
dislike your job, you will feel a growing sense of being empty and unsatisfied.
How can you find your passion? With a lot of self-assessment. Sure, you
can take some assessment tests, but you should also look at your
strengths and weaknesses, as well as the activities you most enjoy
accomplishing. At your age, you should also spend a lot of time researching
careers, talking to people about their jobs, and doing what you can to help
narrow your choices.
Just remember to take your time. The real goal of college is a solid education --
and any major will give you that. Focus on obtaining the degree. Do that while
also gaining some experience along the way, and doors will open up for you
by the time you graduate.
Anonymous writes:
I have been a stay at home mom for the past ten years and am currently
going through a divorce. At the moment I am driving a school bus because
the hours are great. But now that my children are older, I want to get back
into the job world. I have a resume and have applied for many jobs with no
response. I have plenty of experience. How do I get employers to notice me?
What am I doing wrong? I really need the income and am willing to start just
about anywhere.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Without seeing your resume, my sense is that you have been out of your f
ield for 10 years, some of that time driving a bus. In just about any occupation,
being away that long a period of time probably means you do not know the
latest technology or other developments that have been made.
Getting no interest from prospective employers is a sign that you have some
fundamental problems – with your resume (and/or cover letter), with your experience,
or with your job-search strategy.
First, don’t be or sound so desperate. Employers don’t want to hire people who
will work just about “anywhere.” You need to believe in yourself before you can
convince an employer to believe in you.
Second, consider finding a temp agency that handles job-seekers in your occupation.
You need to gain some new experience to help show that the gap means nothing in
terms of your abilities to do a quality job.
Third, you may need to get some help on developing a resume that sells your
skills and abilities.
Finally, keep open to the fact that you may need to get more education or training to
updates your skills.
Q:
Anonymous writes:
I am in a real pickle. I am 34 years old and have never had a job I've enjoyed.
I graduated from college with a BA in psychology in 1993 but I chose not to
pursue a graduate degree in psychology at the time because I felt I was too
burned out to take on graduate school at that time and I wanted to try my hand
in broadcasting production, a childhood dream of mine.
Well, I am afraid I have worked myself into a corner. For the past few years I
have worked in publishing off and on to avoid being a secretary in order to
support myself, not broadcasting. I have not done anything in psychology, not
even an internship. My GRE scores have lapsed and I have not maintained any
relationship with my professors. I want to finally leave all of this behind me and
go back to psychology, but I have been out of school for so long, I don't know if
I can even get a job in the field with a BA and no experience.
What should I do? Or what should I do first?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Well, you’re making the first -- and most important -- step now, so that’s great.
You need to decide exactly where your life should go from here forward. We know
it is not publishing, but have you totally closed the door on broadcasting?
Take a weekend to really evaluate your career goals. What are some of your favorite
activities? What do you enjoy doing? Which career best uses your strengths and
interests? What do you see yourself doing over the next 5 to 10 years?
If your answer is broadcasting, then you need to take a much deeper jump into
the field. Start with informational interviews to see whether you need more training
or certifications. You need to get your foot in the door -- and networking is the way to do it.
If your answer is psychology, then it’s time to see which of your old professors are
still at your alma mater and contact them. We faculty love hearing from our old students,
even if they have been out of touch for a few years. Solicit their advice on strategies for
getting into a graduate program. Study and re-take the GREs if you need to. Conduct
some informational interviews with professionals in the area of psychology you see
yourself working -- more to learn about the careers than for networking (although it
never hurts to network).
Bottomline: Whether you believe it or not, you are in total control of your future.
You just need to decide the direction -- and go at it with full force and dedication.
For help with graduate school decisions, check out the
Graduate School Resources
section of Quintessential Careers.
Q:
John writes:
I wanted to ask you a question. Who makes more money -- a forensic scientist or a
coroner, and about how much does each one make?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
While I think it is important to know the earnings potential of a career, by now,
if you are a regular reader of my column, you know that I really frown on having
monetary considerations too high a priority when choosing a career. That said,
these careers are at least in the same field.
Coroners are public officials, appointed or elected, who seek to investigate the
cause of death in situations where questionable deaths occur. They are responsible
for assigning cause of death and list them on the death certificate.
Forensic scientists work in laboratories, at crime scenes, in offices, and in morgues,
analyzing and researching evidence. They may work for federal, state and local
government, forensic laboratories, medical examiners offices, hospitals, universities,
toxicology laboratories, police departments, medical examiner/coroner offices, or
as independent forensic science consultants.
Entry-level forensic lab technicians earn about $30,000 annually, while more
experienced and better educated scientists can make more than $70,000 annually.
Wages for coroners seem a little harder to nail down, but seem to range from
$43,000 to $58,000 annually.
Two sources are Careers
in Forensics, from the Virginia Department of Education and
Career: Coroners, from
ISEEK, the Internet System for Education and Employment Knowledge from the State of Minnesota.
Not sure which you want to do? Conduct some informational interviews with professionals from both fields.
