Career Development Category Archives - General Assembly Blog | Page 2

If you can’t imagine slogging away for decades in loyal service to a single company, only to be rewarded with 3pm cake and a gold watch to celebrate your retirement, you’re not alone. For today’s workers, who change careers about as often as they change hair styles, that sort of employment monogamy seems positively naivet. Whether in search of a better work-life balance (currently noted as the number one driver for a career change), higher compensation, or more fulfillment, people are moving from career opportunity to career opportunity at an increasingly rapid pace, picking up valuable–if not disparate–skills along the way. 

The challenge for today’s career changers isn’t putting a positive spin on “career hopping” (which is no longer viewed as a negative), but simply standing out in a sea of candidates. In order to get noticed, job applicants can’t just write a resume, they need to craft a compelling career narrative. Sound daunting? It’s really not. This ultimate guide will tell you in five easy resume-writing steps exactly how to land a career you love, even if you have no prior experience in your area of interest. 

Technical jobs are some of the highest-paying ones out there. If you want to get into tech, you’ll need to master a set of hard and soft skills and your tech interview skills to land the job you love.

Technical interviews are designed to assess candidates’ problem-solving skills inside the company and their suitability for the role, including their depth of knowledge in the field or any potential difficulties that may arise on the job. They also aim to gauge whether applicants have good communication skills and problem-solving abilities.

To start, here are some critical tech interview do’s and don’ts.

Trying something new career-wise can be as scary as it is exhilarating. That’s why we’re excited to launch Workshop Wednesdays, which gives you a way to dip your toe into doing something different.  So, whether you’re looking to change your career and break into tech or if you’re just looking to level-up your skills, Workshop Wednesdays allows you to test the waters, so you can dive into either track with confidence. 

Just like our courses, these workshops will be led by our team of expert instructors, who have real world experience in today’s most in-demand fields including data, coding, UX design, product management and marketing. 

Every Wednesday from September 14th until October 19th, join your peers from all around the world to experience our most popular workshops (ranging from $60 to $200 USD in value) — completely free.* Better yet? All Workshop Wednesday participants will get $200 (in your local currency including: USD, AUD, SGD, GBP, EUR) to use towards a GA part-time or immersive course of their choosing (T&Cs apply). 

If you’re unhappy with your current company or career trajectory, you’re not alone. 20% of Americans have changed careers since 2020; 46% of Americans are seriously considering one. In the past two years, more and more people are choosing to take back their life as they recognize their own worth and choose to resign. 

The thought of making a career shift can feel scary. Resigning from your job—or your entire career—doesn’t have to be difficult or full of regret. In fact, it can be a good thing.

Shenae Simmons, Technical Support Engineer at Plaid and GA Alumna, sat down with us, to share her story of leaving an industry and creating a new path. Keep reading to get the highlights of that conversation. 

Many teachers are preparing to close their classroom doors for the last time: The NEA reports that 55% of teachers are considering leaving the teaching profession earlier than planned. That number is almost double the number reporting that in July 2020.

Ninety percent of teachers say that they’re burned out by staffing shortages, low pay, pandemic changes, and student absences. If that describes you, you might be asking, what job can I do if I don’t want to teach anymore?

3 Signs Teaching Is No Longer Working for You

If any of these signs sound familiar, it might be time to look into second careers for teachers.

1. You don’t love teaching anymore

Many teachers get into teaching because they have a passion for it. They love working with people and seeing the lightbulb moment when students truly understand the ideas they’ve been teaching. After years of pandemic changes, increased workload, and burnout, you may not feel that love anymore. You may even have experienced depression or dread going to work every day.

One in three nurses is considering leaving the profession, and the departure is growing.

McKinsey & Company found that 32% of nurses were considering a career change in November 2021, up from 22% less than a year earlier. Despite decent pay and high demand, nursing and hospital work have grown more challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic due to staffing shortages and other hindering factors.

Nursing is stable. It pays well, you tell yourself. So why do you dream of leaving?

I Want To Leave Nursing. What Else Can I Do? 

If you’re reading this article, it’s likely because you’re one of that 32%. More and more nurses experience burnout— 43.4% of former nurses cited burnout as a reason for their decision to leave.

Poor leadership and the emotional toll of working with sick and dying patients may be draining you. You may want a change because your family situation has changed and shift work no longer works with your lifestyle. Perhaps you want to develop and use skills outside of your current job responsibilities.

Getting into tech doesn’t have to be complicated. Nowadays, it’s common for people to change careers even if you don’t have a university degree. As a result, it’s becoming increasingly common for career changers to do online courses, part-time classes, or bootcamps to pivot into a new career.

Despite Brexit and the pandemic, UK’s tech industry is booming. According to last year’s Tech Nation Report, the number of unique tech jobs advertised in the UK outweighed that of other European countries by 259% on average.

UK employers are always looking for new tech talent — keep reading to discover our top 10 tips to break into tech without a university degree.

Tip #1: Your Transferable Skills are a Gold Mine

You’ve probably heard about transferable skills as someone looking to change careers. But what are transferable skills, and which are the most important?

How old were you when you chose your career path? 

Likely it was some time in your early 20s — when you chose your university or college major, started looking for full time work, or maybe just felt societal pressure to make a decision about what career you wanted to pursue. 

Whenever it was, you’re likely a different person then you were at that age. You know more, there are new career options and your interests might have changed altogether. People evolve, and it’s okay for your career to evolve with you. 

But a big change comes with obstacles, both internally and externally. 

“I’m not good enough”

 “It’s financially impossible” 

“I don’t have the right connections”

…these are some of the lies we tell ourselves that get in the way of making a positive change. We get it, change is scary and hard. But you know what’s more scary? Staying in a job you don’t like. That’s why it’s time to put those anxieties aside.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through some common career change myths and actionable steps to help you overcome your fears.