{"id":2014,"date":"2020-08-17T21:34:04","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T21:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backtoworkconnect.ie\/?p=2014"},"modified":"2020-08-17T21:34:06","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T21:34:06","slug":"nurse-social-worker-solicitor-coach-the-story-of-a-career-changer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backtoworkconnect.ie\/careerhub\/nurse-social-worker-solicitor-coach-the-story-of-a-career-changer\/","title":{"rendered":"Nurse, Social Worker, Solicitor, Coach \u2013 The Story of a Career Changer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Choosing a career always seems like such a momentous, finite decision. However, it certainly does not have to be. Collette Bryson, founder of Engage Life Coaching, shares her story.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When I grow up\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Did you always know what you wanted to be when you grew up?\u00a0 When well-meaning adults asked you what you wanted to be, did you pipe up immediately and confidently with the one and only career you considered pursuing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years I answered, without doubt or a second thought \u201cNurse\u201d to anyone who asked me.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why?\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have no idea.\u00a0 I just had this notion.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were no nurses in the family and no-one \u201cencouraging\u201d me down that road.\u00a0 It was just a feeling I had.\u00a0 I played nurse.\u00a0 I was interested in it. It stayed with me until my teens. It was accepted within my family that that was what I was going to be. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beware the voices! (yours and others\u2019)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

However, at a parent teacher meeting, my parents were told that I \u201ccould do better than nursing\u201d. And so began the seeds of doubt.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you experienced these?\u00a0 The voices in your head saying \u201cAm I cut out for this?\u201d or \u201cMaybe there\u2019s something else for me\u201d?\u00a0 The opinions of others, especially people who you think must <\/em>know about this stuff (i.e. teachers) seep into our sub-conscious and start planting thoughts.\u00a0 Same goes for well-meaning parents. And others who may tell you, for example, to become a teacher because you come from a long line of teachers, or to become a doctor because you shine at science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I began to look at other options and decided that Social Work was for me. I applied for third-level sociology courses (not knowing much about this subject or career, other than the noble act of \u201chelping\u201d appealed to me).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fluke events and assumptions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly, a fluke event led me down a road where I would spend 20 years as a general practice solicitor. A career I had never considered (law appearing too \u201chard\u201d or demanding and requiring high grades to get in).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An A Level teacher went to a conference and came back with brochures on a new degree course which hadn\u2019t made it to the centralised application system, so was accepting direct entries.\u00a0 BA (Hons) Government and Law at the University of Ulster (as was).\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It looked interesting! Some law subject, some government subjects and an economics module.\u00a0 I applied, obtained the grades and was accepted on the course.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Student Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 years studying for that degree, but without too much thought as to what I might become, or where it might lead me.\u00a0 The option then arose to apply for the solicitor\u2019s training course in Northern Ireland.\u00a0 This involved two 3-hour exams of an aptitude type basis and for which there was little preparation you could do.\u00a0 I found that I actually enjoyed this type of practical \u201capply the law\u201d scenario, and I got a place on the solicitor\u2019s training course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, I had to get an office to take me on as an apprentice solicitor.\u00a0 Again, a bit of a fluke involved in where I ended up training, as it was quite difficult to get a master! (Especially if you didn\u2019t have any contacts in law, which I didn\u2019t, so I had to grab what was out there).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that is how I ended up becoming a solicitor and spending 20 years as a general practice solicitor.  And I lived happily ever after, right?  Career sorted!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A career for life?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I enjoyed very much working as a solicitor, the time flew. And as the years went by, the Celtic tiger roared and life was good.\u00a0 Not a thought was lost on my career path or where I wanted to end up.\u00a0 I just kept on going and kept on working merrily away.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I loved it (most of the time!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until that is, I returned from my second maternity leave in May 2008. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world had changed.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My secure job was not so secure, and the employment market was on its knees.\u00a0 It sometimes takes a crisis to get us thinking about life, the universe and everything.\u00a0 The economy, together with my own family and personal circumstances, got me thinking.\u00a0 By the time a voluntary redundancy was on the cards in 2012, I was ready to go.\u00a0 I needed a different work-life balance.\u00a0 A break.\u00a0 A different way of working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t know what it was, but I was ready for a change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So… I jumped!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comfort zone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, this is when I staged a career change. Right??<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrong!\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten months later, having been a stay at home mum by choice, I got a bit itchy.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I needed to do something.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The job market was still not so great, so when a job very similar to my last one came up, I took it.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In retrospect, this wasn\u2019t the right move for me then.\u00a0 It was a nice job, with a nice employer and ticked a lot of boxes for me.\u00a0 But it didn\u2019t address that old feeling of unease, work-life balance, the different way of working that I knew I needed when I had left my previous job.\u00a0 At the time it was easier for me to slip back to the comfort of what I knew.\u00a0 I knew I could do that job and I wanted back to work. So, I ended up back where I started \u2013 as a general practice solicitor in a small firm with all that encompasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When to leave the comfort zone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, after 4 years, (and with the help of coaching), I decided to leave law.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For good?\u00a0 Who knows!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through coaching, I discussed my issues as I saw them.\u00a0 At that time, it was practical family stuff and how my full-time, full-on job just didn\u2019t fit this time of my life.\u00a0 We looked at my work values.\u00a0 What was important for me to have from a job? The answers to that became my guiding light, enabling me to make decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I handed in my notice, and set about making a career change.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Values guide decisions\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you are having trouble making a decision, I would recommend that you examine your values and ask yourself the following questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n