The Long Journey to a New Career Path

Something happened around the time I returned from maternity leave last July and came back to work with a promotion.  It was the same job but with potentially more challenging projects.  It proved itself to be true, but it also proved to show me that I wasn't enjoying my job much at all.  Stress started to set in, short deadlines were more often, demanding requests got me fired up, and truly a lack of interest on my part was happening.  By February of this year, I knew that I could not do this job for the rest of my life.  But I honestly didn't know what I wanted to do.  At the request of a friend, she urged me to try a different place doing the same thing I do now.  I went through one round of interviews and realized that if I'm going to change jobs, I need to change industries too.  While clinical research is extremely important, I just cannot stand to budget and write for another clinical trial. I found myself zoning out quite often.  So, I declined to move forward.  It took me a few months after that to figure out what I wanted to do before realizing I'd love to do public relations and marketing types of work. 

Through a friend, I learned of a position at the American Society of Anesthesiology for a Communications Specialist.  I went through a phone screening and a two hour interview to eventually get turned down for the position.  I learned, however, that I would have been a) settling for a much lesser job description than I'm qualified for and b) taking a major pay cut. It was a blow to the ego to get turned down, but I kept going.

A month later, I found the perfect (yes, perfect) job for me at Duke Children's and spent a Wednesday evening perfecting my resume and cover letter to send to the director.  Within eight hours, I was contacted for an interview, and from there I had a month's worth of interviews with everyone involved in that group.  I had been given the impression before leaving to go to the beach that I would have a job offer when I returned.  However, it turned out that due to a horrific pay cut, I was not offered the job.  They knew what I made now and knew I would never accept the position taking $13,000 less than I make now. I read the email the last night of our beach trip.  I was beyond devastated and just couldn't understand why this would happen after all of that effort.  I spent a few days honestly feeling down and depressed but a few days later started the search again.  I was determined to find something that would work out.

I went to lunch with my friend, Erika, that following Friday and she told me about a position with her company for a proposal writer with some marketing responsibilities.  Honestly, I didn't have high expectations, but I decided to give it a shot and learn more about it. I forwarded her my resume and cover letter, and within a day I was contacted for an initial interview.  I passed that interview and grammar/writing test and was contacted the next day for a second interview which was with the director.  Still not sure if I wanted the job, I accepted to learn even more.  I met with the Director of Proposals and Marketing the Friday of that week and instantly loved her and everything she said about the company.  She asked my salary, and I got nervous.  This had been an issue with the past few opportunities I had.  So, I told her my current salary and explained that I was willing to take a pay cut.  I also explained that I wasn't looking for more money.  I ultimately wanted a job where I was happy.

The following Tuesday, I was offered the job. 

...making more than I make now.

I honestly couldn't believe it.  I had also applied for two other jobs in the meantime knowing those would require a pay cut for sure.  I heard from one of those companies the same day asking for an interview.  I suddenly got really nervous because it was all becoming real.  I had a lot of things to weigh--mainly the company benefits vs Duke's benefits.  There is really no comparison to Duke's benefits---they are excellent.  But, it came down to what meant more to me.  So, I accepted the position and prepared to tell my HR representative and my manager.  Technically, I'm required to give 30 days notice, but thankfully my manager waived that for me so that I can begin work September 1!

I'm feeling a lot of emotions, but the main one at the moment is nervousness.  I've been with Duke for seven years, and I've made a lot of close friendships.  The good news is that this company is within walking distance of where I work now.  I will be able to take three days off between jobs which will also be during Tyler's transition to kindergarten.  I will then get paid a lump sum for over 80 vacation hours I have.  I really will miss my vacation accrual rate at Duke!! 

I'm not sure I would have made the jump had it not been for a close friend who constantly pushes me to go after things.  I've also made the commitment to make photography more of a priority in the next year.  The new company that I will be working for provides achievement tests and scoring services for state governments, other testing companies, and various organizations.  In my interview, I was told that they encourage volunteering which is perfect since I would love to do that at Tyler's school.  I'm also helping to work on a calendar/photo shoot project for Duke Children's.  Yes, they didn't give me the job but want me to do volunteer work for them.  Funny, huh? ;)

So, that is my new life news.  It's been a bumpy road for a while, but I pray that this is a new beginning not only for me but for my family.  Life is about to get crazy with Tyler starting elementary school and baseball, so I need a job that can help me be more of a mom and less of a stressed worker. 

It's actually pretty neat to read over this post and see how it all turned out.  :)