For most people, New Year’s resolutions are merely something to talk about as the clock strikes midnight on December 31. By the first week of January, however, most of these life promises are long forgotten.

But that’s rarely the case for individuals who make the big decision to change their lives by changing careers.

“Generally people change careers for more potential growth,” says Michael Cubbin, dean of career services and student affairs for DeVry University — South Florida. “I think that a resurgence of IT jobs, including computer programming, will find some people that avoided the technology field a few years ago turning to it for great pay and challenge.”

According to About.com, “finding a better job” is one of the top 10 New Year’s resolutions. But changing careers isn’t just about finding a new job; it’s about finding a new direction in life.

Many career changers are taking the leap by first returning to school for retraining or brushing up on old skills.

Sue Sours is one example. At age 54, she lost her job due to a work-related injury, ending a 30-year career in quality control and 18 years of management. “It was a giant wake-up call that they could replace me in the blink of an eye,” Sours says.

A network communications management major at DeVry University’s Miramar, Fla., campus, Sours plans to turn her hobby of building and repairing computers into a new career.

“I believe that computers are the future of technology only if they are networked and that’s why I chose my major,” she says. “As stand-alone devices, computers make very expensive typewriters, calculators and games.”

Opportunities for computer and information systems managers are growing at a faster rate than most other professions, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2006 to 2007 Occupational Outlook Handbook. Employment opportunities are expected to grow faster than the average — or more than 27 percent — for all occupations through the year 2014. The Handbook credits this growth with technological advancements that will boost the employment of computer-related workers and, as a result, the demand for managers to direct these workers also will increase.

Despite the downturn in the technology sector in the early part of the decade, the outlook for computer and information systems managers remains strong, according to the Handbook. To remain competitive, firms will continue to install sophisticated computer networks and set up more complex Internet and intranet sites. Keeping a computer network running smoothly is essential to almost every organization. Firms will be more willing to hire managers who can accomplish that, the Handbook notes.

Technology isn’t the only field attracting career changers. Valiant Hardy is seeking a Bachelor’s degree in Technical Management at DeVry in Valley Forge, Penn. He worked for 10 years as an engineer technician, helping engineers to design and develop test and measurement equipment for the broadcast industry. After his company was bought and sold by several companies, eventually he was downsized. He now attends DeVry and is strengthening his technical skills as well as his management skills because he aspires to a management role in any number of industry sectors.

“Prior to coming to DeVry, I never would have thought of pursuing a management position,” he says. “But I began to realize that I needed to go back to school in order to advance my career and increase my earning potential.”

For anyone thinking of launching a career change, John Petrik , dean of Student and Career Services at DeVry University’s Addison, Ill., campus offers some tips to consider before moving forward.

“Follow your heart and know what passion and interest you have for moving into a new career and make sure you research the field,” he says. “Assess your transferable skills and rewrite your resume to focus on the new position or career path you choose,” he says.

Cubbin and Petrik both stress the importance of building a new network. “At DeVry, we connect students with organizations related to their new field,” says Cubbin. “For example, a student working in entry level health care completing a degree in human resources was connected to the HR Consortium in Broward County (Fla.) to meet people in her new field before she graduated.”

Both the students and career service professionals agree that education was a great springboard to a career change. “DeVry opened up a whole new world for me,” says Sours. “And working with fellow students in clubs and organizations has shown me that I want to share the wisdom and experience I have gained with young people. It’s a way to make the world a better place in a lasting way, which is the greatest legacy of all.”

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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