Eric Olinger, 36, of Longmont, CO had worked in lumber and hardware for most of his life. After being let go several times, Eric decided to take charge and find a recession proof job. His research pointed him at the nursing field. He entered nursing school at a community college and has just recently become a certified nursing assistant. He plans to continue his schooling and move further up the medical profession ladder. Eric bets, "People are still going to need medical care no matter what."
Joseph Vogel, 52, of Aurora, CO was a certified master technician in the automobile industry. After losing his job at Ford, Vogel also decided to go back to community college to become a radiology technician. "Trying to go back to school at an older age is tough," he says, "but you can do it. It's frightening, it's scary, it's literally life changing, but you can do it." This past Tuesday, Vogel cleared a final certification test. His new job awaits at the University of Colorado Hospital.
Laura Woods, of Hygiene, CO has been a real estate broker for the last several years. Her career in real estate wasn't unsuccessful, but in a round about way taught her that what she really wanted to do was teach. Woods just landed and has started as a full-time fourth grade teacher. When asked if she has any advice for others looking for work or considering a change, Wood says, "Go for it. You only go around the block once, and you're not going to know what you truly love unless you try different things."
When I began to reflect on these three individual I thought, how did these folks get the job they wanted even amidst all the gloomsters out there claiming there are no jobs to be had?
Then I stumbled upon a new book, "Get the Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring" by Ford Myers. The top Amazon review is quoted below:
There is nothing I dislike more than reading a self-help book that turns out to be filled with re-warmed platitudes and stale ideas. That is definitely not the case with "Get the Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring". Ford R. Myers gets straight to real time solutions, with a step by step approach that gets the job done. Finding yourself unemployed is not a pleasurable circumstance in the best economic times. In today's environment it can be downright terrifying.If you are searching for meaningful work on this Labor Day, I truly wish you Good News and Good Fortune.
From new graduates to those displaced later in their careers, this book is the best tool in your job search arsenal. So buy it, read it, do the exercises, regain your confidence and get out there, armed with a realistic strategic plan to do what needs to be done to "Get the Job You Want When No One's Hiring".
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Eric did not enter "nursing school". He entered a program to become a certified nursing assistant...BIG DIFFERENCE.
ReplyDeleteI saw this story on CNN and while I am very proud of Eric and his achievements (and please do not take offense, Eric. Once you go through nursing school for your hard-earned degree and the right to call yourself a nurse, you will understand), I am hopping mad about the way the title "Nurse" is thrown around. Certified Nursing Assistants are very important to patient care. They have a hard job, and I respect what they do. They are not, however, nurses. Even the title of this article is incorrect. Eric does not work in "nursing" any more than a nurse is a doctor who practices "medicine".
Here is my email to CNN:
Eric Olinger was repeatedly referred to as a "nurse" during this segment. Attending school for 3-6 months to become a Certified Nurse Assistant does not make one a nurse any more than going to school to be a nurse makes one a physician. Only a few times was he correctly called a nurse assistant. There is a HUGE difference. Furthermore, it is AGAINST THE LAW in every single state to refer to yourself as a nurse when you are not either an LPN, LVN, or RN. Your carelessness is a slap in the face to all nurses, especially those with bachelor degrees, who have to complete a very rigorous educational program and then pass very difficult state exams for licensure. Then we must practice to high standards day after day or have our hard earned licenses yanked. CNA's receive only the most basic training...how to check vital signs, do patient care such as bathing and toileting, and in some cases give medications (and never by injection or IV). I cannot even begin to list all the extremely complex assessments, lab data, technical equipment and procedures nurses must manage. Please do not contribute to the false idea nursing is an easy profession of emptying bedpans and checking blood pressure that anyone who goes to technical school for 3-6 months can do. You need better fact checkers, Call me if you ever do a program on real nurses.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI think you are missing the point of this article.
The point is that these folks (Eric included) have decided to look at professions at are a bit more recession proof than the ones they were in...
Having been in the patient care industry as a certified paramedic, I have no patience for nurses, doctors, or any other health care profession grandstanding and saying "my education is bigger and better than yours."
Your comment on "real nurses" to CNN underscores my assertion. Unfortunately for you, Certified Nursing Assistants have the term "Nursing" in their title.
GNE