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Archive for the ‘Career ideas’ Category
Monday, February 15th, 2010
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What did you want to be when you grew up?
Not many 5 year olds dream about being town planners when they grow up. But when being an astronaut, ballerina or train driver starts to look a bit less realistic, it’s a career your students or clients should consider. They may not play with building blocks any more, but through planning they can shape the world around them and help build a better future.
What do planners actually do?
Planning’s a flexible, varied and rewarding career with opportunities to work in all sorts of locations, in lots of different fields. Instead of being stuck in the same routine, day in, day out, a job in planning can mean working with local communities, in some of the UK’s most spectacular scenery, or in countries across the world. There’s not only a great view, but the satisfaction of creating a greener future and better places for communities to live and work.
Planners are working on the Olympic site, finding sustainable energy solutions, putting villages back together after the tsunami, creating better housing, managing flood risk, designing skateboard parks….and doing a whole host of other things you may not have thought of. These days, town planners tend to refer to themselves as spatial planners, because there’s so much more to their profession than planning towns.
A flight path, not a pigeon hole
Unlike the rigid entry requirements for some professions, people can come into planning from a wide variety of backgrounds – humanities, social sciences, design, law – and it’s an ideal next step for students who’re interested in geography but aren’t sure what to do with it. You don’t have to decide on a career in planning when choosing GCSE options; many people working in planning studied other subjects as undergraduates.
But as well as that flexibility, there’s a path to professional qualification and Chartered Town Planner status. And the credibility and improved career prospects that come with it.
Something for everyone
Because planning is so varied, there are jobs to suit all types of people. There are roles for those who are analytical and like working with detail, those who work well with people and want to get involved with their local community, and those who are into design and making things work better. Planners don’t all work for local authorities – they’re in the public, private and voluntary sectors, and working as self-employed consultants.
Planners have a huge amount of scope to develop their career, with options from urban design to environmental planning, regeneration, transport planning, heritage and conservation, and policy. Whatever field they work in, one of their top priorities is protecting the environment, and they are involved with promoting energy efficiency, finding sustainable solutions and tackling the effects of climate change.
Planning: their career?
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), the professional body for people working in planning, has produced a new set of careers materials:
· Planning Your Career, a booklet that aims to answer all your questions about planning as a career path.
· Postcards and an A3 poster for your classrooms and notice boards.
· Updated careers section on our website, with a new resources page at www.rtpi.org.uk/careers where you can download copies of the materials.
Planning; a career for people who want to keep growing after they grow up.
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Saturday, February 6th, 2010
Back in November I was approached by Woman & Home and asked if I would be one of their experts to work with a reader, helping them with a career decision. I was assigned to Christine who had worked in nursing for all her working life and at 65 was not ready to retire but wanted a new challenge, but what?
I had a couple of sessions with Christine where I found out more about the sort of person she is and options for her to consider. You can read more about my work with Christine on page 72 of the March 2010 edition of Woman & Home.
Many of us want to continue working after a typical retirement age but want to try something different. It’s unlikely that you will want to retrain for something new, so it’s often best to look for something that has a link to what you have done before.
If this situation resonates with you, you may like to consider the following:
- Think about why you are thinking about moving to a new company or job, be clear what you no longer want. Then consider talking to your employer to see if you can adjust the job to suit you – perhaps to work 3 days a week, work more from home or step back from a stressful job to one at a lower level.
- Decide if you could do something similar as a consultant, this is often a way of keeping the income high, and if you have suitable skills you could possibly earn as much in 2 days a week as you do in a week of working full time.
- If you really want to do something different, one approach is to look at your skills and abilities and see how you can use them in a different way. Then identify possible career paths. You may be able to do this on your own, but if not working with a career coach would help.
Don’t just think about work, what is it that you want to do in life – from holidays, to hobbies, including relationships and learning. Some people have so many things that they want to do they wonder how they will fit it in to the rest of their life. This is when it will be helpful to make a list you can then prioritise and categorise. If there are places you want to visit, and some of these are quite active, maybe you should schedule your walk up the Sand Dunes of Sossusvlei, Namibia and the trip to Everest Base Camp sooner rather than later!
Can I help at all? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch
Denise Taylor, chartered psychologist and award winning career coach. Denise is also the author of ‘How to get a job in a recession’ and the forthcoming ‘Now you’ve been shortlisted’.
Posted in Career ideas, Over 50s
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Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
I spoke with a journalist whilst I was away. She was researching for an article on whether now is a good time to study for an MBA when the market is shrinking. It depends! Yes if you want to stretch beyond a profession and into general management and you have the potential for senior roles, but if you are unlikely to progress further whilst it may be enriching, it could also be frustrating if you don’t get to use your knowledge, plus it’s expensive and intellectually demanding.
If you do choose to study, research your options, whilst you can make amazing contacts at London Business School, Warwick or Henley the costs are high. I got my MBA via the Open University, it gets high levels of student satisfaction and you can study part time which mans you can put what you learn into practice, but there is much more working alone.
Posted in CAREER MANAGEMENT, Career ideas
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Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
Recently spoke to a friend of a friend who wants to change careers but isn’t sure how to go about doing it – well buy my book was my first thought, but I think he needs some initial help in deciding what job it is that he wants to do. He’s an ex teacher who got rather stressed and has been working in admin but wants to move into museum work but thinks it will be hard.
I asked her 7 questions and it was clear that he hadn’t really thought this through. If you are thinking of a change of career to a broad area, like museum work, ask yourself the following questions:
- What specific job appeals to you – for this museum work job there are plenty of different jobs from training, to being a curator?
- What skills and abilities are needed to be successful in this job?
- How do you measure up to the requirements of the job?
- Who can you talk to so you can find out more about the job?
- What else can you offer that differentiates you from others?
- What do you need to do to become a credible candidate?
- What are you prepared to do to get this job?
Answering these questions lets you know if this is a career path worth pursuing.
Why not answer these questions and let me know how you get on.
Posted in Career Advice, Career Discovery, Career ideas
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
300,000 eco-jobs to be created in the next 20 years
Thinking about a career with longevity? Green energy might be a good option to choose.
The Government’s Renewable Energy Strategy aims to get Britain generating 15% of its power from renewables by 2020.
160,000 jobs will be created through building extra wind turbines, 10,000 from building 10 new nuclear power plants and 50,000 from carbon capture sites . Also 1,500 jobs could be created over the next 10 years by the Severn Tidal Power project.
Posted in Career ideas
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Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
One of my clients is interested in this as a possible career path so I have done some research for her. An article on The Caterer web site suggests finding out more about your relevant skills and experience and then contacting guides direct such as The AA and Michelin.
You could contact them initially to ask for an information pack, and then you can prepare an excellent application letter and also ensure that your CV is fully targeted at their requirements.
Another web site says that what is needed is a very good knowledge of food and wine, good communication skills, flexibility to travel and the stamina to eat more meals in a day than you may actually want to and to meet the deadlines of submitting the review.
How does one become an inspector? What are the qualifications to become an inspector?
Michelin employs a team of full-time professional restaurant and hotel inspectors who anonymously evaluate establishments for potential inclusion in the Michelin Guides. All inspectors receive extensive in-house training and generally have a culinary or hospitality industry background.
When positions are available they are posted on Michelin’s U.S. careers Web site under Career Search. If no positions are listed, it means we are not currently hiring. Even if no job is currently available, please create a personal profile so that you will be added to our database of potential applicants. You can check the site periodically to see if new positions have been posted. As the Michelin Guides expand in North America, the inspector team will continue to grow.
From a comprehensive article (it is towards the bottom of this page) there are details on how someone becomes a Michelin Inspector. It includes people usually having spent 5-10 years in the industry, 1 6 month period of in-depth training. They then do about 130-150 nights in a hotel, and eat between 240 and 260 meals.
You can also read a very interesting article on being an AA inspector here.
Posted in Career ideas
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Sunday, February 15th, 2009
Taking place at Olympia, London from 13 – 15 March 2009, the event is designed for anyone who longs to pursue a new professional or personal goal.
One Life Live provides both the inspiration to make a change, along with very real solutions to ensure you can achieve your ambitions.
The event will see over 300 exhibitors come together in eight zones – each offering inspiration and guidance for those looking to make a change to their lives; Be Your Own Boss, New Careers and Learning, Travel & Career Breaks, Free Time, Volunteering and Fundraising, Life Change, Health and Wellbeing and Green & Sustainable Living. Amazing People will be in the New Careers and Learning Zone
The show also plays host to over 100 free practical seminars, a range of clinics offering free one-to-one life and career coaching and inspirational speakers.
I have 5 pairs of tickets to give away for free, so if you are interested let me know and you may be lucky!
Special offer
Simply quote our stand number V40 as the discount code when booking and you’ll receive the special offer of 2 TICKETS FOR £22 (a saving of £6 on the advance price) when booking online at www.onelifelive.co.uk
We look forward to seeing you there.
Posted in Career ideas, INSPIRATION
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Friday, January 9th, 2009
I’ve had an enquiry from someone who is considering teaching and wanted to know about options. There are a number of options, I could detail lots of information here, but better to look for yourself as there will be links to other useful sites.
The Learn Direct site can also offers free advice.
There’s a choice between doing a first degree followed by a PGCE or a B Ed. You also need to consider whether to choose to study full time or part time. I did all my degrees via part time study and my bachelor degree in psychology and MBA via the Open University – I think they are excellent! You would do a first degree and then could follow up with a PGCE
The reason I chose to study via the OU was because I could study part time along side working, you could undertake relevant work experience alongside your studies and could study quicker depending on the amount of time you had – I did one course a year and that was meant to take 12 hours a week, I generally spent about 7 hours when I didn’t have an assignment and lots more time the weeks I did.
Alongside part time study you could also do some relevant work experience such as being a teaching assistant and you can read more here
http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/profiles/profile180/
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Thursday, August 14th, 2008
Music Distributor
- The Pros: You will be one of the first to know when new albums are coming out and can work closely with record labels and record stores.
- The Cons: you will have to sell releases you don’t like and entry level jobs can involve you in packaging and distribution
Sound Engineer
- The Pros: If you love technical stuff you may well love this job, and you can get to go on tour and be part of a live show
- The Cons: You have to be able to adapt to different equipment and work hard to make poor equipment produce a great sound
Music PR
- The Pros: Can pay well and you will work closely with the media
- The Cons: It can be really hard work to get to talk with people, like other forms of PR it can be glamorous but a lot of work getting people to pick up on the story
Record Producer
- Pros: You can gain as much recognition as the artist and work with many different bands and artists
- Cons: you might need to work for free while you build a reputation and you have to really understand the technology.
Music Journalist
- Pros: Can get to talk with your favourite artists and shape peoples thoughts about bands, venues etc.
- Cons: It’s highly competitive and you need to work hard and smart to get the story/interview
Cover Art Designer
- Pros: You can become an icon! People remember the cover of an album
- Cons: you can get ripped off without good legal protection of your work and may need to work for free until you build a reputation.
I’ve worked with a few clients who tried to make a successful career in the music business but after 10 years or so haven’t made enough money and are consulting me so they can find a job that will enable them to settle down and buy a house. But there will be many people who are making a success of this career path and obviously don’t need to contact me.
If the music trade interests you work out which is your best path, and if you want to talk it through with someone do get in touch.
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Saturday, August 9th, 2008
If you love music you might like to think about a career in the music industry – this may be through your musical or vocal skills through joining a band but there are lots of jobs associated with the musicians that you might like to consider.
There are some useful details on websites and you might like to look at:
http://musicians.about.com/od/otherindustrycareers/bb/choosecareer.htm and http://musicians.about.com/od/otherindustrycareers/bb/choosemusicjob2.htm
Different options to consider are
Working for a Record Label
- The Pros – You’ll learn lots about the music industry
- The Cons: You might not like the music and you could spend most of your time on fairly routine admin work.
Music Manager
- The Pros: You take a major role in every element of a bands career working with music you love
- The Cons: You might need to spend money up front and when things go wrong you take the blame
Music Promoters
- The Pros: The thrill of a successful event, you get to work with bands you love
- The Cons: It can be hard to make money and it can be hard getting people to come to the event
Music Agent
- The Pros: You can help put a show together and work with bands you love
- The Cons: It can be hard to get established as an agent and you may need to work for nothing till you build a name for yourself
I’ve worked with a few clients who tried to make a successful career in the music business but after 10 years or so haven’t made enough money and are consulting me so they can find a job that will enable them to settle down and buy a house. But there will be many people who are making a success of this career path and obviously don’t need to contact me.
If the music trade interests you work out which is your best path, and if you want to talk it through with someone do get in touch.
Posted in Career ideas
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