Hey, I'm 56 and proud of it! I have loved every birthday I've ever had, and I'm not going to stop now. But I guess I am not your typical 56 either. I mean, I have spent my life learning, and I continue to do so. I have never even considered becoming a couch potato. I'm an adventurer. Technology doesn't frighten me, it fascinates me.
Naturally, since I'm thinking about what career I could get into next, I'm looking around on the internet. I just ran across a site that said basically, to be very careful how I speak, so as not to give them the idea that I'm old and set in my ways. Huh? Please let me be as old as I am. It will only take one look at me to see that I'm not 27. But think how positive that may be. It may mean years of experience. It may mean wisdom. It may mean that I grew up when hard work was a very important part of the American dream. Set in my ways?
Frankly, I am somewhat of an efficiency expert. I am constantly looking for new and better ways to do things. I would be more likely to have a problem with an employer who refused to even consider faster, less expensive, and more efficient ways of doing things, than an employer would be to have a problem with me being set in my ways. At the same time, when I'm not the boss, I'm not the boss! Expecting someone to consider my suggestions is not the same thing as insisting they be adopted. The person in charge may have reasons unknown to me for not adopting them.
If I keep chasing this rabbit, I'm bound to catch it. What kind of work should I do?
Friday, July 29, 2011
Assessing what interests me
What are some things I've enjoyed doing recently? Well, I love working with kids. I spent three weeks helping a new mom take care of her twin infants and a two year old, while their military dad was working.
I was a nanny in the past, for a few years between missions. I loved that job! But who wants a nanny of 56? I'd be more like a grandma, and most people want a nanny that can run around and be active with the kids. I still know how to play, but I'm not real good at running any more.
I spent a few weeks helping a friend by taking care of her mom, who has Alzheimer's. I enjoyed that too, although I found it somewhat limiting, since the woman needed someone to pretty much spend every waking hour with her.
Another thing I like doing is designing curriculum for the deaf children in Hispanic developing countries . There is very little in Spanish that is appropriate for them. Most school books presume a vocabulary of thousands of words, and they come to school with only a handful. I have a strong desire to write a full Spanish program for them, but the financing of that eludes me. I would have to write it after hours of whatever job I end up with, and that may mean it never gets done, or takes years to complete.
Teaching language is something I am good at. I'm trilingual (English, Spanish, Sign Language) so I have three languages to draw on. My work has involved a lot of language teaching, mostly teaching a first language, and some second language teaching. I know how to teach a language directly without going through another language.
Translating. Because I have been a professional interpreter, I get things like how to stay out of a conversation, and just translate. I understand confidentiality. I'm good at real-time translating, as long as I'm' within my vocabulary limitations. For example, I probably would not be able to translate engineering terms.
Computers. Or should I say Macs? I can use PC's, and have often been able to troubleshoot minor problems or figure out how to do something special on a PC, for a friend who is less computer savvy. But when it comes to Macs, I can do or learn how to do anything. I'm the friend people call when they need to know how to do something on their Mac. (Or iPad or iPod)
Presenting workshops is one thing I am generally good at, given that I know the material well. I like my workshops to be fun, interesting, and profitable to the attendees.
Travel doesn't bother me. Okay, I hate the airport security part as much as the next person; you have to be an octopus if you are traveling alone. Taking off/putting on shoes, pulling out passport and tickets repeatedly, getting a laptop in/out of the bag, carrying a jacket and pulling a wheeled carry-on all at the same time can be daunting. But once that is over, the rest is pretty pleasant. I enjoy a job that involves travel. I also enjoy staying home.
Multicultural work is interesting. I get that there are cultural differences. I have integrated bits and pieces of other cultures into my own life, and been enriched by them. I know better than to think that American culture is superior to all other cultures. At the same time, it is my culture, and I enjoy it.
I was a nanny in the past, for a few years between missions. I loved that job! But who wants a nanny of 56? I'd be more like a grandma, and most people want a nanny that can run around and be active with the kids. I still know how to play, but I'm not real good at running any more.
I spent a few weeks helping a friend by taking care of her mom, who has Alzheimer's. I enjoyed that too, although I found it somewhat limiting, since the woman needed someone to pretty much spend every waking hour with her.
Another thing I like doing is designing curriculum for the deaf children in Hispanic developing countries . There is very little in Spanish that is appropriate for them. Most school books presume a vocabulary of thousands of words, and they come to school with only a handful. I have a strong desire to write a full Spanish program for them, but the financing of that eludes me. I would have to write it after hours of whatever job I end up with, and that may mean it never gets done, or takes years to complete.
Teaching language is something I am good at. I'm trilingual (English, Spanish, Sign Language) so I have three languages to draw on. My work has involved a lot of language teaching, mostly teaching a first language, and some second language teaching. I know how to teach a language directly without going through another language.
Translating. Because I have been a professional interpreter, I get things like how to stay out of a conversation, and just translate. I understand confidentiality. I'm good at real-time translating, as long as I'm' within my vocabulary limitations. For example, I probably would not be able to translate engineering terms.
Computers. Or should I say Macs? I can use PC's, and have often been able to troubleshoot minor problems or figure out how to do something special on a PC, for a friend who is less computer savvy. But when it comes to Macs, I can do or learn how to do anything. I'm the friend people call when they need to know how to do something on their Mac. (Or iPad or iPod)
Presenting workshops is one thing I am generally good at, given that I know the material well. I like my workshops to be fun, interesting, and profitable to the attendees.
Travel doesn't bother me. Okay, I hate the airport security part as much as the next person; you have to be an octopus if you are traveling alone. Taking off/putting on shoes, pulling out passport and tickets repeatedly, getting a laptop in/out of the bag, carrying a jacket and pulling a wheeled carry-on all at the same time can be daunting. But once that is over, the rest is pretty pleasant. I enjoy a job that involves travel. I also enjoy staying home.
Multicultural work is interesting. I get that there are cultural differences. I have integrated bits and pieces of other cultures into my own life, and been enriched by them. I know better than to think that American culture is superior to all other cultures. At the same time, it is my culture, and I enjoy it.
Finding myself anew & pieces of paper
Deciding on a career change at my age is like finding myself anew. I have to analyze who I am and what I really want to do. What one job could possibly include all my greatest interests and skills? Or at least enough of them to keep me interested? That is what this blog is about. Okay, I admit it. I am mostly talking to myself. It helps me sort things out sometimes.
Now I could go back to just interpreting (Sign Language.) But there are a few problems with that.
Now I could go back to just interpreting (Sign Language.) But there are a few problems with that.
- I don't have a degree in interpreting. These degrees came long after I joined up.
- I don't have current certification (or QAS). I had certification years ago, but let it lapse, as it had no application to my job for about 20 years.
These two issues alone are huge. I could perhaps find an interpreting job where they don't get the interpreter is a skilled professional, and pay accordingly, but if I find a position open where they pay a reasonable rate, they are going to expect certification and/or college.
I have the skills for the job, I'm just lacking the pieces of paper to prove it.
Note: I'm writing informally, well aware of the fact that I will start some sentences with "and," finish them with "to" or use sentence fragments. I'm doing that on purpose. It is a conversation, not a formal treatise. I could go through the blog and revise everything to cut out these things, but this is more fun.
Debt free = college free
I have been debt-free almost my whole life. If I need a car, I pay cash. If I don't have enough cash, I do without the car. Ditto with smaller purchases. I don't have a house of my own, although I would like to have one. My work has pretty much precluded home ownership thus far, but perhaps in the future things will change.
Facing US life again is scary, I have to admit. Re-entry, a.k.a reverse culture shock, is always much worse than entering a foreign country. This being my second re-entry, as I was here ten years between missions, I know what to expect, and am not so hard on myself.
Still, thinking about a job in the USA is daunting. One reason is that US jobs seem to require college degrees even when the position really has nothing to do with what one learns in college. Why don't I have a college degree? I refused to go into debt to go to college. After working my way partly through, in a minimum wage state, I decided that I liked to eat, more than I liked to go to college. I couldn't afford both. And frankly, I saw enough of college to realize I didn't need it.
In my first college English class we were given a test. The professor said that if we scored above a certain score, we could probably test out of the class. I scored 99% in the ninth stanine, which was the highest you could score. There was the result of good parental English models and years of reading. I dropped the class. I took a basic math class, since I didn't know where I was heading yet. It was a work-at-your-own-speed class. You did the work on your own, then took a test. I passed the semester class in three weeks, allowing me more time for other, more difficult classes as the semester went on.
The one class I took in college that has proven to be very worthwhile, was a typing class! I took that class twice, even though I passed it the first time, as I wanted to improve my speed. At that time, no one had home computers. We were still using electric (and even manual) typewriters. Knowing how to touch type has been a real timesaver in many ways. My job has required a lot of emailing and written correspondence, as well as writing up performance evaluations, and developing new materials, all of which required a lot of typing.
Personally, I think that more jobs ought to determine if a person is qualified by interviews and testing. There should be a lot more flexibility than there is currently. Why are young people being required to go into thousands of dollars of debt to land a job that in reality only uses high school level skills?
Speaking of high school, today's college has become like high school in my time, in many ways. When I was in high school, it was rare to find a person who had less than adequate reading skills, and most had decent writing and math skills as well. Not everyone knew advanced math, but basic math was a given. Today's college students are not always as qualified scholastically as yesterday's high school graduates.
Self education has always been important to me. Life fascinates me. When I was in high school, and even younger, it was rare that I passed a day without reading at least one book. More recently, I read fewer books and do more research, much of it internet based. This is because few (English) books were available to me in the country I lived in.
Life is interesting. I always want to know more. When a child came to our school who didn't ever want to look a person in the eye, I researched it, and found that it might be autism. I researched autism deeply, learning everything I could about it. This is the way I treat every subject that piques my interest.
My curiosity has not killed me, as it did the proverbial cat; rather it has moved me into the category of life-long learner. I have learned two languages pretty much on my own initiative, without formal schooling, and become fluent in both. (I'm thinking about a third! Languages are so much fun.)
I am a minor mac geek. This began when a nine year old taught me the basics, many years ago. My thirst for knowledge propelled me onward to learn more than the average, although less than the expert, computer user.
Technology is so fun to me. Sometimes people of my age are intimidated by new technology and fear it. Ipads and ipods, GPS systems etc. Fun. Enough said. But I do need a job that will pay for my new Mac every couple of years. :)
Boredom? I can remember when I was younger I would get bored. I cannot even imagine being bored in today's world, when there are so many interesting things available to do, to see, to learn. Perhaps being over fifty helps; time flies fast at this age.
Facing US life again is scary, I have to admit. Re-entry, a.k.a reverse culture shock, is always much worse than entering a foreign country. This being my second re-entry, as I was here ten years between missions, I know what to expect, and am not so hard on myself.
Still, thinking about a job in the USA is daunting. One reason is that US jobs seem to require college degrees even when the position really has nothing to do with what one learns in college. Why don't I have a college degree? I refused to go into debt to go to college. After working my way partly through, in a minimum wage state, I decided that I liked to eat, more than I liked to go to college. I couldn't afford both. And frankly, I saw enough of college to realize I didn't need it.
In my first college English class we were given a test. The professor said that if we scored above a certain score, we could probably test out of the class. I scored 99% in the ninth stanine, which was the highest you could score. There was the result of good parental English models and years of reading. I dropped the class. I took a basic math class, since I didn't know where I was heading yet. It was a work-at-your-own-speed class. You did the work on your own, then took a test. I passed the semester class in three weeks, allowing me more time for other, more difficult classes as the semester went on.
The one class I took in college that has proven to be very worthwhile, was a typing class! I took that class twice, even though I passed it the first time, as I wanted to improve my speed. At that time, no one had home computers. We were still using electric (and even manual) typewriters. Knowing how to touch type has been a real timesaver in many ways. My job has required a lot of emailing and written correspondence, as well as writing up performance evaluations, and developing new materials, all of which required a lot of typing.
Personally, I think that more jobs ought to determine if a person is qualified by interviews and testing. There should be a lot more flexibility than there is currently. Why are young people being required to go into thousands of dollars of debt to land a job that in reality only uses high school level skills?
Speaking of high school, today's college has become like high school in my time, in many ways. When I was in high school, it was rare to find a person who had less than adequate reading skills, and most had decent writing and math skills as well. Not everyone knew advanced math, but basic math was a given. Today's college students are not always as qualified scholastically as yesterday's high school graduates.
Self education has always been important to me. Life fascinates me. When I was in high school, and even younger, it was rare that I passed a day without reading at least one book. More recently, I read fewer books and do more research, much of it internet based. This is because few (English) books were available to me in the country I lived in.
Life is interesting. I always want to know more. When a child came to our school who didn't ever want to look a person in the eye, I researched it, and found that it might be autism. I researched autism deeply, learning everything I could about it. This is the way I treat every subject that piques my interest.
My curiosity has not killed me, as it did the proverbial cat; rather it has moved me into the category of life-long learner. I have learned two languages pretty much on my own initiative, without formal schooling, and become fluent in both. (I'm thinking about a third! Languages are so much fun.)
I am a minor mac geek. This began when a nine year old taught me the basics, many years ago. My thirst for knowledge propelled me onward to learn more than the average, although less than the expert, computer user.
Technology is so fun to me. Sometimes people of my age are intimidated by new technology and fear it. Ipads and ipods, GPS systems etc. Fun. Enough said. But I do need a job that will pay for my new Mac every couple of years. :)
Boredom? I can remember when I was younger I would get bored. I cannot even imagine being bored in today's world, when there are so many interesting things available to do, to see, to learn. Perhaps being over fifty helps; time flies fast at this age.
Over fifty, and changing careers
Fifty-six, to be exact. Now, after many years of working, I find myself in need of a career change. I loved my job. I love my job history! In fact, I have always refused keep any kind of job I could not love. But then I'm good at finding value and joy in a wide variety of jobs. Why do I need to change? Because my recent mission, that of setting up and training the staff needed for a deaf school in a developing country, is complete. The school is functioning.
Here is what I have done, including those first awful jobs you get when you are sixteen and desperate. I've never been fired from a job in my life. Most jobs I've had, I could easily return to, given the same supervisor and an opening. But I have grown, and I'd really like to have a job that takes many of my skills into account.
Those Awful Teen years
File clerk at a drug company
McDonald's, selling burgers
Waitress at a chain restaurant
Waitress at a nice deli restaurant
Work in retail store
-----------------
Working as an adult
Factory work, repetitive job (Loved it! My hands busy, my mind free to think; this was the first job I had that I really enjoyed, despite what people say about factory jobs being boring. I was the fastest, most efficient person they had ever seen in my position.)
High school staff interpreter (Sign Language)
Vocational school staff interpreter (Sign Language)
College (NTID) staff interpreter (Sign Language)
missionary
pioneer missions
Deaf ministry startup
evangelism
training leaders
missionary part 2
The second mission needs more explaining, because it is more recent and relevant to my current job search. I went to a developing country, got together with a local teacher of the deaf that I knew, and we went on to establish a school for the deaf.
This job, over the seven years the mission took from start to finish, and leave it in local hands included and/or required:
Creativity
A sense of humor
A sense of adventure
Good people skills
Mobility
Flexibility
A "can do" attitude
Conflict resolution
Ability to stick to a budget
Counseling parents & students
Responsibility for the normal functions of a small school
Teaching
Bicultural awareness
Training teachers
Supervising
Personnel screening/hiring
Developing materials & teaching methods
Mac geekness (for troubleshooting computer issues)
A variety of computer work (mac)
Fluency in three languages (English, Sign Language and Spanish)
Presenting school workshops
Presenting workshops for government teacher training (*Cued Spanish)
Adapting Cued Spanish to the local Spanish accent.
Internet research
Basic website development
Knowledge of a variety of learning difficulties and disabilities
Negotiation skills
Interaction with government offices
Budget planning
Travel and living in foreign countries
Attending workshops
Planning & supervision of short term work teams & volunteers
Teaching language to children without a language (direct method, immersion)
*Cued Spanish is a method which is very useful in teaching Hispanic deaf children to read.
It was a very fulfilling job. I miss it, and yet am glad it is finished. It is good to be back in the land of running water and 24/7 electricity.
I thought of starting a new school, elsewhere, but frankly, living full-time in a developing country is difficult at my age. I'm off to a new adventure in the USA! It is possible that I will work outside the country at times, but my home base will be in the USA. What can I do?
Here is what I have done, including those first awful jobs you get when you are sixteen and desperate. I've never been fired from a job in my life. Most jobs I've had, I could easily return to, given the same supervisor and an opening. But I have grown, and I'd really like to have a job that takes many of my skills into account.
Those Awful Teen years
File clerk at a drug company
McDonald's, selling burgers
Waitress at a chain restaurant
Waitress at a nice deli restaurant
Work in retail store
-----------------
Working as an adult
Factory work, repetitive job (Loved it! My hands busy, my mind free to think; this was the first job I had that I really enjoyed, despite what people say about factory jobs being boring. I was the fastest, most efficient person they had ever seen in my position.)
High school staff interpreter (Sign Language)
Vocational school staff interpreter (Sign Language)
College (NTID) staff interpreter (Sign Language)
missionary
pioneer missions
Deaf ministry startup
evangelism
training leaders
missionary part 2
The second mission needs more explaining, because it is more recent and relevant to my current job search. I went to a developing country, got together with a local teacher of the deaf that I knew, and we went on to establish a school for the deaf.
This job, over the seven years the mission took from start to finish, and leave it in local hands included and/or required:
Creativity
A sense of humor
A sense of adventure
Good people skills
Mobility
Flexibility
A "can do" attitude
Conflict resolution
Ability to stick to a budget
Counseling parents & students
Responsibility for the normal functions of a small school
Teaching
Bicultural awareness
Training teachers
Supervising
Personnel screening/hiring
Developing materials & teaching methods
Mac geekness (for troubleshooting computer issues)
A variety of computer work (mac)
Fluency in three languages (English, Sign Language and Spanish)
Presenting school workshops
Presenting workshops for government teacher training (*Cued Spanish)
Adapting Cued Spanish to the local Spanish accent.
Internet research
Basic website development
Knowledge of a variety of learning difficulties and disabilities
Negotiation skills
Interaction with government offices
Budget planning
Travel and living in foreign countries
Attending workshops
Planning & supervision of short term work teams & volunteers
Teaching language to children without a language (direct method, immersion)
*Cued Spanish is a method which is very useful in teaching Hispanic deaf children to read.
It was a very fulfilling job. I miss it, and yet am glad it is finished. It is good to be back in the land of running water and 24/7 electricity.
I thought of starting a new school, elsewhere, but frankly, living full-time in a developing country is difficult at my age. I'm off to a new adventure in the USA! It is possible that I will work outside the country at times, but my home base will be in the USA. What can I do?
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