*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a careers story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.
As a single mother in her 40s, I felt as though I had come to a standstill in my career. While I was making a modest living, my financial goals were far from being fulfilled. I wanted my financial future to be secure, as well as having some money to put away toward my children's college education. I decided it was high time to take control of my future and started taking steps toward achieving my financial and career goals.
While I had my doubts about my capability to juggle the responsibilities of a full-time job, taking care of my children, and going back to earn my college degree; I decided to give it a shot. What did I have to lose? If I was successful, I would be on the road to a better live for me and my children. If I was not successful, at least I would know I had tried. I approached my human resources department to find out if there was any assistance available to me to obtain my degree. Unfortunately, my employer has no program in place to assist employees in obtaining their degrees. I was on my own.
I decided to pursue an online degree through the University of Phoenix and was able to obtain financial assistance after applying through the school financial aid program. For the next three years, I completed classroom assignments at night, after I finished my 8-to-5 day job. My schedule was sometimes brutal with trying to work all day, complete classroom assignments at night, and still keep up with all my children's extra-curricular school activities. However, almost three years to the day after I started my degree program, I graduated with a 3.89 grade point average. I was proud of my accomplishment and approached my boss with my degree in hand. He seemed shocked, yet pleased. However, I found my degree alone was not enough to advance in my particular job, so I started looking for other ways I could advance my career even further.
I work in insurance and have for almost 20 years. During the years when my children were very young, I had quit work to stay at home and care for them. While I was away from work, I let my insurance license and certifications expire. Recently, I found an online program where I could complete the coursework to obtain my insurance license and certifications. I am now a licensed insurance agent once again. My degree, license, and certifications has not led to a new position with my current company, but I am on the lookout for new positions opening up within the company, and plan to apply to any that will advance my career. I am also open to changing companies, although I have been with my present employer for almost seven years now. I found some professional networks, such as LinkedIn, and posted my resume there. I have also registered with Monster Jobs and CareerBuilder. I know something better is out there for me and I am not going to stop until I find it!
6 comments