Career Pivots | Is Returning To Study A Must?
Based on current statistics just under 30% of Australians hold a Bachelor's level degree or higher – and we know there is a major disconnect in primary and secondary education that is empowering students to imagine a future that might not include university. My own journey through the education system was no different to many others.
I was placed in what would be perceived a high performing class for core subjects, but the traditional education framework just did not do it for me so once high school was done - I headed out into the workforce instead of moving on to university - promising myself that when my lack of tertiary education held me back from getting the job I desired I would head to Uni. But it never did. Only once in my career as an employee over 15 years was I questioned about why I didn’t have a degree! And although the inference was that it reflected negatively on me – I still got the job 😉
When the lockdowns started in 2020, I anticipated a huge handbrake on my business – I lost $40,000 of potential revenue overnight.
So I decided to return to study and do my grad cert in career development and education (a fancy way of saying I am a qualified career coach held to some incredibly important ethical standards!)
I have worked in recruitment for more than 10 years and have seen and spoken with so many people across different stages of their career who think they MUST return to study if they want to navigate a career change. The problem lies in the mistaken belief that if you return to study you will be guaranteed a role. So, the question remains within the fashion industry as a mid-senior level professional - do you need to return to study to get where you want to go?
Ask yourself what will you come out of a Bachelor's or master’s having gained compared to what you might have to sacrifice? For me just doing a post-grad that was one year online was a huge commitment that ran alongside my business. That anticipated handbrake turned out to be only a bump in the road – and soon balancing social, work and study was challenging – luckily lockdowns were a feature of 2020, so I managed but the workload was immense. I chose a highly theoretical course and for a logical thinker who tries to find the best solution the fastest this was so hard to comprehend. I am glad I completed my course and this course is the ONLY way to gain the accreditation necessary to join the professional body – so for me, it was a no brainer.
Is there a way to gain access to the information you need without having to commit both your time and money to a long-term degree? There are SO many learning platforms that you can access – LinkedIn learning, Google Digital Marketing courses, and Hubspot Academy to name but a few. Even universities have free and short courses that you can utilise to upskill. This is an amazing way to build your personal brand too – connecting you with industry peers and showcasing your ability to seek out new information and education to ensure you remain relevant to today’s market.
Could you invest that time in networking instead? These are all ways to get tangible insights into the role or function you are seeking to see how much transferable skill set could be applied without needing to return to study. By being disciplined with your networking strategy – investing three hours a week for example in having meaningful and purpose-driven interactions, offering to buy someone a coffee etc you could learn more and connect in with a valuable network.
Consider getting a mentor or paying a Coach. Coaches are there to support you with a framework for getting clear on what you want and how to close the gap – they help you to challenge and rewrite that internal narrative that might be feeding you nasty untruths about your ability – or telling you that without your master’s you won’t get anywhere 😉
Job shadowing – a friend of mine recently quit her job and needed a complete career change. She created a plan to explore three different industries and roles that piqued her interest and she thought she could be good at. She arranged to spend a day in each to identify what a day REALLY looked like – one of these roles would require her to return to study (which she was reluctant to do) – at the end of her shadowing, she had zeroed in on what she thought she would be really good at and eliminated roles where the actual day to day was very different to what she imagined! Because she was so focused on her strategy – she created strong opportunities – arranged 6 interviews and within 2 weeks had 3 offers. Job shadowing is so powerful!
Tertiary education alone will not guarantee that role – as always, we need a really effective strategy to go alongside it.
There is always a time and a place for study – and tertiary education is so valuable but never underestimate your professional experience and the network you would have consequently built – these can be just as if not more important in getting you where you want to go!
Have you navigated a career pivot with or without returning to study? We would love to hear from you if so! Our Coaching program waitlist is currently open for a July intake! Contact hello@thetalentmill.com.au to be added to the waitlist and gain information on the program!
Team TM x
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