what to do

[ValleyGal]

I was laid off just before the new year from a job that bored me, although the company was fantastic! In fact, when my boss laid me off, he told me that he was aware they were under-utilizing my skills, and IF he gets this contract in March, he wants to call me back to work in a role more suited to my skills and education. I absolutely would love to work for this agency in that capacity!

One of my struggles is that my boss is huge on loyalty. If I'm out there looking for other work, and turn him down, it might burn a bridge in the future. But that's not my only concern... I know that I need to look out for myself and my own career - my career is more important to me than it is to him.

My other struggle is this. I qualify for certain government initiatives now that I am freshly laid off. One thing I can do is further training to "specialize" my generalist degree (in social work). They will not cover a master's program, but they will cover certain post-grad certifications and diplomas. I've found two that I'm particularly interested in - one in mental health and addictions and the other in facilities licensing. I am equally interested in both. One is much more specialized than the other, and they both pay about the same. Current openings are 8 positions in one and 2 in the other - the 8 are casual and the two are part time.

I do not know which to choose! How can I make this choice?? Life would be so much easier if someone would just tell me what to do and then I could just get on with things and do it.

 

[psalms 91]

Pray about it. Where are you most interested? What will help you but take less of your time in case you do get called back? All things to consider and pray about

 

[Brighten04]

If it was me, I would take some classes to increase my professional growth. If the financial incentives are enough to cover the cost and pay my rent for a couple of months, I could meet my other needs with a part time job. Pray about it for you have several options.

 

[ValleyGal]

There are two equally appealing educational programs I could take - one in mental health/addictions and the other for licensing officer. Both are post-grad, both are equal length, and the jobs for both pay about the same. I am relatively well-suited to both positions.

When you pray and you receive no direction one way or the other, how do you make the choice?

 

[Alithis]

There are two equally appealing educational programs I could take - one in mental health/addictions and the other for licensing officer. Both are post-grad, both are equal length, and the jobs for both pay about the same. I am relatively well-suited to both positions.

When you pray and you receive no direction one way or the other, how do you make the choice?

james - but let him ask in faith nothing wavering ....

we pray and God answers we fast and wait . God answers.

yeah ,i know, its becoming an uncommon teaching in the church.. as if the things of this world some how became more important .

 

[Lamb]

Oh no! I'm sorry that you got laid off..but now on to your next life adventure!

Could you talk to a university adviser and get some advice? Maybe take a look at the classes offered and see which ones you're most interested in taking which could help with your decision?

 

[tango]

There are two equally appealing educational programs I could take - one in mental health/addictions and the other for licensing officer. Both are post-grad, both are equal length, and the jobs for both pay about the same. I am relatively well-suited to both positions.

When you pray and you receive no direction one way or the other, how do you make the choice?

It's easy to get into the mindset that one choice is The Right Thing and therefore, by implication, the other choice is The Wrong Thing and end up paralysed by indecision desperately afraid of making The Wrong Choice. That generally seems like an unhealthy place to be.

Sometimes I can't help wondering if God's silence can be taken to mean "either is fine by me, pick whichever one you want".

Do you have a preference, a sense that one is closer to what you want to be doing? If so why not go with that one? If you get a sense of God leading you then test the leading and follow it but in the absence of any leading decide based on whatever criteria work for you.

 

[ValleyGal]

Tango, that's exactly it! Both would be great professions, I'd be great at both, and they both appeal to me. Actually, I went for an informational interview today with someone in mental health/geriatric mental health, and when I explained my options, she mentioned the facilities licensing officer might be "too" specific. In mental health and addictions, I would qualify to work in either/or, as well as in geriatrics, and I am not limited to the health authority like I would be with facilities licensing.

The only thing that would make one or the other the "wrong" choice is if there are no jobs at the end of the program, and no one can guarantee that, ever.

When I first went into social work, I wanted to get a job in a facility and do geriatric social work. But my first year in, I met a lady who was a social worker and did investigations into facilities and I thought that would also be great. My overall goal is to ensure our elders receive high standards in their quality of care. Both career paths could lead to that outcome, although with mental health and addictions, it is not restricted to geriatrics - or healthcare, for that matter. I could get a job in a recovery home, etc.

UGH! I'm not a good decision-maker! lol. I will continue with my informational interviews and see where they take me. I'm also registered to go into a workshop on career interests. Hopefully it will help me to clarify my "self" in each of these roles. Why couldn't life just be simpler??? I'd rather just get called back to work!

 

[GenesisGirl]

I think since this is a decision that will affect you for years to come that taking your time in coming to the best decision should also take time. If you keep investigating along with prayer you will find it will be an easy answer as time goes on.

Tango, that's exactly it! Both would be great professions, I'd be great at both, and they both appeal to me. Actually, I went for an informational interview today with someone in mental health/geriatric mental health, and when I explained my options, she mentioned the facilities licensing officer might be "too" specific. In mental health and addictions, I would qualify to work in either/or, as well as in geriatrics, and I am not limited to the health authority like I would be with facilities licensing.

The only thing that would make one or the other the "wrong" choice is if there are no jobs at the end of the program, and no one can guarantee that, ever.

When I first went into social work, I wanted to get a job in a facility and do geriatric social work. But my first year in, I met a lady who was a social worker and did investigations into facilities and I thought that would also be great. My overall goal is to ensure our elders receive high standards in their quality of care. Both career paths could lead to that outcome, although with mental health and addictions, it is not restricted to geriatrics - or healthcare, for that matter. I could get a job in a recovery home, etc.

UGH! I'm not a good decision-maker! lol. I will continue with my informational interviews and see where they take me. I'm also registered to go into a workshop on career interests. Hopefully it will help me to clarify my "self" in each of these roles. Why couldn't life just be simpler??? I'd rather just get called back to work!

 

[tango]

Tango, that's exactly it! Both would be great professions, I'd be great at both, and they both appeal to me. Actually, I went for an informational interview today with someone in mental health/geriatric mental health, and when I explained my options, she mentioned the facilities licensing officer might be "too" specific. In mental health and addictions, I would qualify to work in either/or, as well as in geriatrics, and I am not limited to the health authority like I would be with facilities licensing.

The only thing that would make one or the other the "wrong" choice is if there are no jobs at the end of the program, and no one can guarantee that, ever.

When I first went into social work, I wanted to get a job in a facility and do geriatric social work. But my first year in, I met a lady who was a social worker and did investigations into facilities and I thought that would also be great. My overall goal is to ensure our elders receive high standards in their quality of care. Both career paths could lead to that outcome, although with mental health and addictions, it is not restricted to geriatrics - or healthcare, for that matter. I could get a job in a recovery home, etc.

UGH! I'm not a good decision-maker! lol. I will continue with my informational interviews and see where they take me. I'm also registered to go into a workshop on career interests. Hopefully it will help me to clarify my "self" in each of these roles. Why couldn't life just be simpler??? I'd rather just get called back to work!

Sadly nothing can be guaranteed any more.

From what you've posted here it sounds like the mental health/addictions option would be better, in that it would let you focus on the geriatric care that's close to your heart while also allowing you to branch out in the (admittedly unlikely) event that people stopped getting old and needing care.

If you don't need to make a decision yet then look into both options further. Just be aware that it's very easy to endlessly stall making a decision out of fear - once all the information is gathered you need to pick which one you're going to do (or decide to do neither) before running out of time makes the decision to do neither for you.

 

[tango]

I think since this is a decision that will affect you for years to come that taking your time in coming to the best decision should also take time. If you keep investigating along with prayer you will find it will be an easy answer as time goes on.

It may be an easy answer but that's not necessarily always the case.

A few years ago I was looking at a decision that would have huge life-changing outcomes. I thought the change was what God wanted and for a time so many signs pointed that way that a Christian friend of mine jokingly said he could imagine God asking me how many more times I was going to turn the proverbial fleece. But within about six months everything that had neatly fallen into place fell out of place. Then over the course of some years I considered the options and prayed about them (thankfully this was a decision that could theoretically wait more or less forever) until finally I could see everything lining up to say the change was the right thing to do. But then having made the change some of the elements I'd wanted to be in place promptly fell out of place, leaving me wondering whether I'd missed God's will completely.

But then I figured that if it was clearly not God's will for me to have done it then he had plenty of opportunities to make that clear, and looking back it seems that things that apparently fell out of place may have only been there to teach me a specific lesson. Sometimes casting out the things that are bad for us can be painful, sometimes doing the right thing can cause issues even within the church, but God can be trusted. And if it wasn't a specific part of God's master plan that "tango will do this, then", God can work it for good if I let him.

 

[TurtleHare]

How soon do you need to make your decision?

 

[ValleyGal]

As soon as possible. Today I attended an orientation where I learned that I should submit a pre-application for both programs. I don't think the licensing program will be accepted because it has to be completed under one year - and the practicum for licensing is the one piece that goes beyond the one year mark. However, the practicum for Mental Health and Addictions has too many hours (she thinks it's only allowed to be 160 hours, but this one is 260).

The application package for the Mental Health and Addictions program has to be submitted to the college by the end of the month and I still have to order my transcript from my university. I'll submit it just in case it is the one the funding comes through for. Unfortunately, it does not start until September, where the other one starts any time. I can take three courses before being accepted into the program.

Bottom line is I will submit the pre-application for both and see what my funding source approves. This is the easy way out of making the decision....let them make it for me! LOL

 

[psalms 91]

Funding is critical so perhaps a good way to go

 

[Lamb]

Bottom line is I will submit the pre-application for both and see what my funding source approves. This is the easy way out of making the decision....let them make it for me! LOL

Since you don't lean too strongly one way or the other and are fond of both positions, this might be best in letting your decision get made

 

[ValleyGal]

I applied for the Mental Health and Addictions program yesterday - the deadline for September is January 31. There were three parts of the application - submit transcript request (it will be mailed on Monday), submit the application form (faxed it in early afternoon), and email statement of intent and resume (sent about 4:00). I have already heard from the director I emailed....she is very impressed with the clarity of my statement and has already decided to admit me to the program. That didn't take long. lol.

I have till March 18 to apply for the other one. That one requires a whole lot more work, as I need to submit all transcripts from all colleges, and for me that's six of them. That's a lot of work! I'm also going to need 3 reference letters, and a whole host of other paperwork just to get in the door to a program that may or may not land me a job - one of a kind, extremely specialized specifically for the health authority, with no guarantees.... I dunno.... Mental Health is sounding better and better... still, I'll submit the pre-applications for both.

 

[Lamb]

Mental Health DOES sound easier!! It was a great sign that you were contacted already too!

 

[psalms 91]

Yes congrats

 

[ValleyGal]

Thanks. I think the other program is too specific with no guarantee of a job after, so I'm not going to apply. While I wait for this Mental Health and Addictions program, I still have to look for work. There is also another program i qualify for - subsidized wages. The job developer will take over my job search and find an employer willing to put me to work for half wages, while the government pays the other half of the wages for six months. I'm kinda nervous about this approach, though, because I don't know how much to trust that she would find a job for me that would be permanent and go beyond the six months, or actually pay at least a living wage. I'll have to meet with her to find out. Otherwise, I'll be happy to go take the mental health and addictions program.

Of course, it would be even better if my old boss would get this contract and just call me back. That would be best. I miss working!!

 

[Lamb]

I'm not sure what God has in store for you but prayers that He lets you know soon and relieves you of anxiety about all this!!