HELP, career advice needed

Have you talked with a recruiter? I'm not sure where you live, but in the Boston area, you could contact a recruiting company to help you find a job without paying a cent. They get commission when they place some one - the company that hires you pays the commission.

Another thought is to go back to your college and speak with a career counselor. I used to work in the placement office at my college and they had a counselor that worked directly with alumni - again it should be no cost to you.

thanks for your response. I'm in Orlando. I have a phone number for a head hunter and I will contact her!
I may also go to the career center at UCF and speak to someone. I actually thought of that idea also but going on campus is a real pain so I put it off!

Is anyone working in a field that they absolutely love?

You need to focus. Think of the things you can do, and the things you like to do, and the things you do that you can get paid for. Where do these three areas overlap? That's what you should be thinking about when it comes to a career.

There are a lot of Financial Analysts out there, and in my field there is some overlap (I'm a Data Analyst/Reporting Analyst). Knowing data and databases is helpful but not necessary. It's more helpful if you know the financial services field. This means your experience, certainly, but it probably also means, as was suggested, going back to school. School can be online which may turn out to be more convenient as you have a young child at home.

I'd also ditch these two defeatist ideas: (1) you'll take pretty much anything and (2) you'll take pretty much any salary. You won't, or at least you shouldn't. Going into a hellish job for little money is a lousy way to live your life. Go to www.salary.com and look up Financial Analyst, everything from the beginners up to people who are just one step below Director or VP. See what they make in the Orlando area. That website will also tell you what those people do in a typical day, so that will give you a better idea of what kinds of classes you should be taking. An MBA may or may not be in your future -- you may do better simply taking some computer classes and keeping up with/refreshing your industry knowledge.

Another idea: if there's a local organization for financial services personnel, join it. Go to their meetings and bring your busines card. Don't have business cards? You can make your own on a PC, just buy card stock (Avery Dennison sells it) and you can use either an imaging program or if you like something just for business cards try a specific program. I use Business Card Factory and it's okay. I hand out business cards all the time and I explain them by saying I've figured out how to use my program. It shows not only that I'm creative and go-getter-y (I know that's not a word, but you know what I mean) enough to do that, but also that I'm intellectually curious enough to just go out and teach myself computer programs. Anyway, the idea is to network, network and then network some more.

There are lots of recruiters out there. Go with the person you know but look into others if you feel they can help you. Get your resume onto www.monster.com . Get yourself some resume advice. Go to job fairs.

There are lots and lots of things you can be doing that will increase your chances of finding work. I've listed a number that have helped me. I hope they help you, too.

Wow thanks, excellent stuff.
Youre right about my defeatist attitude. I was never like this. I have someone around me that is really negative and it has been rubbing off on me. I'm told the economy is bad, the job market is bad, etc etc.

I know networking is the key. I need to try to get out there.
I've exhaused my current network. Many people i know are either out of work or unhappy with their job.

Also, what if I dont know what I like? I like to make money. Honestly, I would be happy in a job that was really competitive, like sales or something, and I had the opportunity to make lots of money.

You can network online, too. There are definitely sites out there. Hmm sales is kind of a specific type of person. It's not just that they like to make money (everyone likes to make money) but it's also that they can turn on the charm just like that and can rattle off all sorts of figures by heart. It's not for everyone.

You might want to go to a career counselor and take an assessment test. They usually give you an idea not so much of specific fields but of the kinds of jobs you'd be best at, e. g. let's say the assessment test showed you were creative. Well, there's lots of ways to be creative, from photography to website design to becoming an author and about a thousand ways in between.

Every job, unless you're a volunteer, is going to make you money, though of course some jobs get you more money faster. But that really shouldn't be the be-all and end-all of a job because at the end of the day it's a hard life if all you do is try to rake in the dollars. I used to practice law and it's possible to make scads of money doing that, but you also have to work serious hours, usually an average of a ten-plus hour day of billing which means, if you're honest, it's more like twelve hours per day of working. Do enough of that and you won't watch your child grow up. Or you'll develop something stress-related. No one needs that, but some people actually do thrive on it. And perhaps you're one of them, but I do encourage you to ask a professional and have an assessment done, because Law School ain't cheap and it's a lot to go through if it turns out you end up hating it.

I did end up hating it, but I started off liking it and I also started off not working so much for the money but for the love of the intellectualism involved, and the love of justice. I do different things now because for me it's not all about the bucks, it's more about being able to have a life outside of work and work my brain in a way that I like and where I have skills. But everyone's different and I am not knocking the people who stay in it.

All I'm saying, and I hope it's clear, is that doing something you like and making money at it is the best of all possible worlds. Just working for money, though, is pure drudgery. You've got a good opportunity now to choose a future path for yourself. I hope it's a good path.

It may be a good time for retraining. Being out for 2 years is hard enough without the additional difficulties from the industry that you've worked in. If you have recent training and past experience that can often overcome 1) the job hopping and 2) the being out for two years and 3) your lack of focus.

I went back to school while I was still home with my second child and that turned out to be the best thing I ever did. I had years of past experience but no recent experience. The recent education turned out to be just the ticket.