Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Job search anxiety after obtaining degree.
#1
I will be graduating with my MS in just 19 days. It's kind of hard to believe that I'm so close. I only have 1 more exam to take and a group project to turn in that is almost complete. :willynilly:

I've had the same job for 10+ years at the same law firm even though I've been promoted over time and now work as a legal project manager.

Well, I know I've reached the ceiling at my job as far as earning potential and I think it may be time to branch out and really use my skill set. The benefits at my current drop aren't very good and I feel stifled as far as making more progress there.

But, now I have this issue where as graduation approaches, I'm starting to feel a little nervous about being back on the job market. Obviously, I wouldn't leave this job until I found another one but with all the mergers, lay-offs, and changes to various industries lately, I'm unnerved by leaving my relative job security behind. I don't want to become complacent and not reach my full potential, but at the same time I nervous about a possible transition. Has anyone experienced this? Any advice?

Thanks!
Don't miss out on something great just because it might also be difficult.

Road traveled: AA (2013) > BS (2014) > MS (2016) > Doctorate (2024)

If God hadn't been there for me, I never would have made it. Psalm 94:16-19
Reply
#2
Don't know what you're salary is, but have you ever looked into Federal jobs?
Reply
#3
tsimmns Wrote:Don't know what you're salary is, but have you ever looked into Federal jobs?

+1, or other state/government jobs as the benefits and pay are the most, it's also more worth it for job security
In Progress: Walden MBA | TESU BA Biology & Computer Science
Graduate Certificate: Global Management & Entrepreneurship, ASU (Freebie)

Completed: TESU ASNSM Biology, BSBA (ACBSP Accredited 2017)
Universidad Isabel I: ENEB MBA, Big Data & BI, Digital Marketing & E-Commerce
Certs: 6Sigma/Lean/Scrum, ITIL | Cisco/CompTIA/MTA | Coursera/Edx/Udacity

The Basic Approach | Plans | DegreeForum Community Supported Wiki
~Note~ Read/Review forum posts & Wiki Links to Sample Degree Plans
Degree Planning Advice | New To DegreeForum? How This Area Works

[Image: e7P9EJ4.jpeg]
Reply
#4
It seems like just yesterday you were thinking about getting an associate degree, and here you are with a masters. Smile

+1 about federal/ state jobs.
BA, MA, EdS, MMT, etc.
83 hours of ACE-worthy credits
Reply
#5
I think it was just yesterday lol. My first semester back was in 2013. I've taken a full course load since then. Honestly can't believe that I'm at the end. Have you to thank for a lot of it because you were so patient with all my questions. ��

Maybe that's why the anxiety. I don't think I'm feeling my worth yet.

I don't know if it's because I'm ex-military but government jobs just do not appeal to me. Also, I make more now than I could make in most government jobs.
Don't miss out on something great just because it might also be difficult.

Road traveled: AA (2013) > BS (2014) > MS (2016) > Doctorate (2024)

If God hadn't been there for me, I never would have made it. Psalm 94:16-19
Reply
#6
Everything you want is on the other side of fear. Wink

I left a job that I'd had for 18 years when we moved to NC. Shortly after moving here, I finished my MS, and applied for a job that was a "reach" for my qualifications, didn't expect to hear from them at all. In fact, in that same pile of jobs, I applied for a handful of jobs that I was over-qualified for as well, thinking they were good fall back ideas. Funny story, none of the jobs I was SURE would call did, but the "reach" job called me immediately. (I almost didn't go to the interview because I almost chickened out) They hired me, and I had a really great experience.

In the end, it wasn't a good fit with my homeschool schedule, BUT I finished the semester, and it really "broke the ice" in my head in so many ways. It gave me the encouragement to go a different direction that was so much more in my lane with my talents and passions....but I'm not sure I'd have that confidence now if I hadn't put myself out there right away.

EDIT: search burbuja0512's posts about resumes, jobs, etc. She's AMAZING and has an AMAZING job that she talks about how she worked her way up into that position. Seriously, good stuff in her posts.
Reply
#7
KayV Wrote:+1 about federal/ state jobs.

Working for the Fed is a double edged sword. On the one hand, you can't beat the job security and the bennies. On the other, if you are a hard charging type A, you are going to feel stuck in bureaucratic muck
CLEPS Passed: 10 DSST Passed: 11 TECEPS: 1

PrLoko-isms
Don't waste time by trying to save time. The only sure way to complete your degree is to knock out credits quickly and efficiently.

Don't let easiness bite you in the rear. Know your endgame (where you want to be) and plan backward from there. Your education is a means to an end.

Be honest professionally, socially and academically. There are people (especially little ones) who look up to you and they're going by your example.

Be proud. Whether you're an Engineer or Fast Food worker, there is honor and dignity in hard work.

Picking on people weaker than you only proves that you are a weak person.
Reply
#8
Hmm. Maybe what you're feeling is like those folks who lose weight, but still feel overweight. There's a cognitive dissonance. You've gotten your degrees, but it doesn't feel real. Know what can make that happen? Get out there a get a new job.

If you take a new job, you won't have the vaunted reputation you have now. Guess what? I suspect that you're the sort of person who will soon reclaim that reputation. Use your network to ascertain that you'll be hired by a company/firm that is on solid footing.

Good luck!
TESU BSBA - GM, September 2015

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Earl Nightingale, radio personality and motivational speaker
Reply
#9
Prloko Wrote:Working for the Fed is a double edged sword. On the one hand, you can't beat the job security and the bennies. On the other, if you are a hard charging type A, you are going to feel stuck in bureaucratic muck

Worse, the higher up you go the more you have to manage and even create the muck.
Reply
#10
Sagan Wrote:Worse, the higher up you go the more you have to manage and even create the muck.

When I was in the military, we called that "embracing The Suck".
CLEPS Passed: 10 DSST Passed: 11 TECEPS: 1

PrLoko-isms
Don't waste time by trying to save time. The only sure way to complete your degree is to knock out credits quickly and efficiently.

Don't let easiness bite you in the rear. Know your endgame (where you want to be) and plan backward from there. Your education is a means to an end.

Be honest professionally, socially and academically. There are people (especially little ones) who look up to you and they're going by your example.

Be proud. Whether you're an Engineer or Fast Food worker, there is honor and dignity in hard work.

Picking on people weaker than you only proves that you are a weak person.
Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Abide University Honorary Doctors Degree bjcheung77 0 542 07-07-2023, 02:17 PM
Last Post: bjcheung77
  TEFL opportunities without a degree Personherebb9 3 488 06-11-2023, 03:09 AM
Last Post: bjcheung77
  for those who have a math degree - is your job math related ? bluebooger 0 528 03-22-2022, 11:42 AM
Last Post: bluebooger
  How has getting a degree from the Big Three (and others) changed your career or life? schristian10 3 929 01-21-2022, 09:43 AM
Last Post: williammosher
  Dr. Amy Cuddy 8 years for 1 degree ashkir 3 950 07-11-2021, 01:56 PM
Last Post: ashkir
  Degree Forgery Alpha 8 1,568 04-28-2021, 05:16 PM
Last Post: bjcheung77
  History of Degree "Hacking" collegehacked 8 2,667 07-13-2020, 09:48 AM
Last Post: collegehacked
  Excelsior Graduate earns Master's degree. Oh yeah, she's 14 MNomadic 7 1,635 06-17-2020, 02:51 PM
Last Post: bluebooger
  For Sale: Southeastern US Bachelor Degree Granting College bjcheung77 6 1,954 06-04-2020, 10:03 AM
Last Post: lillingworth
  How has your degree improved your life? kevinmane 21 6,420 03-12-2020, 04:27 AM
Last Post: Zo_ey

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)