I definitely do not want to go back to school for nursing like our dear friend Just Bee, but I may have to do that just to get into a new field!
I don't recommend it, either!
You say you volunteer at a hospital so you must be familiar with the environment. Are they hiring HUCs or techs? Some training would be involved, but I have to say I don't recommend that, either!
(When I first started toying with the nursing idea, I became a HUC and then a tech. Many hospitals have eliminated the HUC position.)
Since you are not in a "desperate" situation and your husband sounds like a peach, I would use this stretch of unemployment as an opportunity to try on a new career. What did you want to do when you were 17? 20? 25?
When I was laid off after September 11, 2001, I applied for 82 jobs in 7 months. I ended up working at a non-profit arts organization and it fulfilled that crazy need I had when I first when off to a university at 17 to major in theater/film. I loved it and stayed three years. Met the most wonderful people -- every day was an adventure. Especially since the place was in one of the worst areas in town!
I had the opportunity to "wear different hats" and do a little bit of everything. I just wanted to do something completely different, something fun. I had applied for jobs at the hospitals, schools, colleges, museums, doggy daycare, and even our local public TV station. Ended up working in community theater and it was a fantastic transition period for me. Gave me time to reconnect with what I had loved as well as time to figure out what to do next. (I did just about everything but perform, ironically.)
Are there any little gourmet shops in your area? Places that sell food or places that sell culinary items? There are stores like that here and some offer cooking classes. Have you thought about working for a caterer? Or starting your own business?
What do you love? What's your passion?
Just Bee, my passion is what I am trained to do museum professional/historian. I hope that I can find another position in my field, but they are getting scarce. I wonder how long it would take to get training as a x-ray tech do you know?
I definitely do not want to go back to school for nursing like our dear friend Just Bee, but I may have to do that just to get into a new field!
I don't recommend it, either!
You say you volunteer at a hospital so you must be familiar with the environment. Are they hiring HUCs or techs? Some training would be involved, but I have to say I don't recommend that, either!
Since you are not in a "desperate" situation and your husband sounds like a peach, I would use this stretch of unemployment as an opportunity to try on a new career. What did you want to do when you were 17? 20? 25?
When I was laid off after September 11, 2001, I applied for 82 jobs in 7 months. I ended up working at a non-profit arts organization and it fulfilled that crazy need I had when I first when off to a university at 17 to major in theater/film. I loved it and stayed three years. Met the most wonderful people -- every day was an adventure. Especially since the place was in one of the worst areas in town!
I had the opportunity to "wear different hats" and do a little bit of everything. I just wanted to do something completely different, something fun. I had applied for jobs at the hospitals, schools, colleges, museums, doggy daycare, and even our local public TV station. Ended up working in community theater and it was a fantastic transition period for me. Gave me time to reconnect with what I had loved as well as time to figure out what to do next. (I did just about everything but perform, ironically.)
Are there any little gourmet shops in your area? Places that sell food or places that sell culinary items? There are stores like that here and some offer cooking classes. Have you thought about working for a caterer? Or starting your own business?
What do you love? What's your passion?
Just Bee, my passion is what I am trained to do museum professional/historian. I hope that I can find another position in my field, but they are getting scarce. I wonder how long it would take to get training as a x-ray tech do you know?
Depends. Several community colleges offer training in Radiologic Technology and that's generally a 2-year program -- if, of course, you have all the prerequisites required. Our local community college program is 5 terms, and prereqs include Psych, and Anatomy & Physiology I and II, as well as general ed courses that you'd probably already have in your transcripts.
Healthcare programs are popular and they attract a variety of students. Some are older with previous work/life experience and degrees; others are there only to delay a future in the state penitentiary. Did that sound a tad harsh? But I issue that as a warning that your classmates may be a mixed bag. A few of them probably shouldn't be allowed to work with vulnerable people.
