Social workers, teachers and nurses: the new "it" careers for women?

I went to my five year high school reunion last Friday. It was a lot of fun. I was able to see my best friend Keith who just spent the past 15 months teaching in Japan and traveling third world countries. I spoke with old friends whom I've kept in contact with and talked to old acquaintances that I may or may not have ran across on Facebook. Some people looked exactly the same, others were nearly unrecognizable. All in all, it was an interesting experience.

The most memorable part of the night had to be when an ex-classmate stumbled up to Keith and me with two full drinks in hand.

"Ryan Healy. I saw you on 60 minutes. Wow, we've come a long ways since listening to Bone Thugs N Harmony in eighth grade."

I replied, "Hey man, we sure have!"

He then proceeded to dump his full vodka and tonic into his other full vodka and tonic; no joke. Of course, the drink had to go somewhere, and that somewhere ended up being all over my sweater.

I've had my fair share of drinks spilled on me over the years, so I wasn't too upset. But then he decided to fall into me and drool all over my shoes. This was a little too much for me to handle. So I gave him a quick pat on the back and wished him well.

Apparently, he hasn't come quite as far as he thinks since the old days. But somebody's got to be that guy, right?

Anyway, back to the point. You cannot go through a high school reunion without asking and answering the question, "What are you doing these days?" It gets annoying to answer, but I'm always interested to hear from others.

After a couple hours of telling my life story and intently listening to everyone else's life stories, Keith and I bumped into each other and decided it was time to take a break and hide out in the corner next to the food. We came to a very interesting realization. A huge majority of females from the Cheshire High School class of 2002 were social workers, teachers, or nurses.

I was totally surprised. My life since college has been spent in two places; an overly expensive city dominated by the federal government and consulting firms, and online with bloggers, web designers and entrepreneurs. Keith spent his time teaching eight year olds in Japan and hanging out with Japanese fishermen at night. Neither of us had any idea how popular these three career paths have become. And in all honesty, I'm still wondering if my town is an anomaly, and not representative of our generation as a whole.

I certainly hope this is representative of our generation. All three of these careers are not only extremely important to our country, our children and our economy, but they are personally rewarding as well. Nurses save lives, teachers shape lives and depending where they work, social workers do both.

Nursing has been ranked as one of the most popular careers for 2007, but the other two aren't typically in the top ten. Further, there isn't a whole lot of money in these fields. People are pursuing them because they are meaningful jobs, because they have a passion for helping people, and because they are rewarding. And honestly, what else can you ask for from a job?

My questions now are, why are an overwhelmingly large percentage of women pursuing these paths? Are we going back to a society where men are expected to bring in the money, not because women are staying home, but because women are pursuing the truly rewarding and important careers? Or is my town just an anomaly?

A Millennial's Muse – Part 6: Why, Thank You

Dear Fellow Millenials,

Five months into my journey as a first-time cubicle resident, and I'm glad to have you along for this reflective trip back in time. You're a terrific passenger, but I wouldn't mind if you talked a little more. Come on, really, how is my driving?

As we approach Thanksgiving, I think it apropos to shower this week's muse with happenings that end on a thankful note.

Growing Pains

My department – including Magnum, Dark-humored Dan, myself, and a mainstream person lacking even one feature I could characterize for your amusement – had a social dynamic that neared perfection, as if Human Resources did a casting call and found the ideal ensemble. On a day like any other, I received below-the-belt news; HR was interviewing for another assistant, my status counterpart. I was often bored, yet we needed more hands on deck.

I didn't take the news too well. See, in my family, I'm the favorite child. I like to be the one thought of as cute, young and adorable, and I wanted symmetry between my own family and my work family. I voiced my concern to Magnum and the HR recruiter.

"Wait, am I still going to be the favorite?? (Notice my lack of regard for Dark-humored Dan's feelings, as he was standing right next to me) Why do we need another assistant? I'm cute. I'm young. Some might say "adorable." (And yes, I did make a quotations hand gesture) What more do you need? You can even call me "baby" but please, please, don't put me in the corner." Name that movie.

The hiring was postponed for months after the budget was "revisited." If it ain't broke, don't fix it. For this I was oh so thankful.

Popcorn Wednesday

The company's first client was in the popcorn industry. A popcorn party was held on the second Wednesday of each month to bring us back to our roots and boost company morale. When the turnover rate is over 25 percent, there's nothing an old-fashioned popcorn machine can do to fix it. A chocolate fountain – maybe. I enjoyed the popcorn parties, and any excuse to exit the cube was reason to be thankful.

Neighbors — Inside and Out

Neighbor and I defied the cubicle wall barrier and went out for lunch together after months of speaking through a partition. We were both nervous about having that much face-to-face time. I proposed that we sit side-by-side to avoid seeing the other person. Neighbor suggested sitting at separate tables, back-to-back. We ended up sitting next to each other (putting a small vase between us) and brought a co-worker so we had someone else to look at. All went well, and we avoided any one-night-stand feelings of awkwardness, thank goodness.

Could it be?

I met Helen Thomas. Who's that, right? Many know her as a recognizable face in the crowd of reporters at White House press conferences. I knew her from a cameo role in the movie Dave, where she played herself for about three seconds.

I was out to lunch when I spotted her. Where I grew up (Florida), if you see someone famous, you approach them and ask for their autograph. You're usually encountering a mouse (Mickey) or a duck (Donald) in costume in Orlando. Why change course now?

I walked in Helen's direction, but she was eating chicken wings like they were going on the endangered species list. I didn't think it was appropriate to interrupt her with animal skin between her teeth and a bone hanging out of her mouth. Finally, she came up for air and shook my hand (which then became greasy, but no problem). She's so small and very gracious – except with the chicken.

Bloody Hell

There was a blood drive and I signed up since I did anything that allowed me to flee the cube. I entered the blood donation room and was horrified by the chairs which resembled the electric chair, the blood technician with an obscenely long pinky finger nail and five hairs of a length fit for braiding extending from the middle of his neck, and the supply of sodas which reminded me that I could potentially pass out, only to be revived by Coke – not of the diet variety. The registrar asked if I brought my ID.

"No."

Registrar: "Okay, well go back to your desk to get it and then come back."

"Okay…" (Yeah, like I would return to a cave that I knew had a hungry bear inside.)

I went to my cube and, over our shared wall, told Neighbor that I was having serious doubts and wanted to keep all of my blood. Neighbor assured me that I was doing a great thing and offered to keep me company, even hold my hand. Fine…

When the blood from a finger prick to test my iron level didn't immediately dissolve in a testing solution, the technician put it in a centrifuge for further testing and if it wasn't at least 38 percent, I couldn't donate.

How I prayed for a deficient iron level, you can't even imagine.

The result: 39 percent

I didn't vocalize the thought brewing inside me. That thought being: "F–k."

I was led (pulled) to the chair, but in the end, my veins were too small for the size needle they were using to draw blood. I could rest assured, though, that my veins were not too small for me (which was conveyed to suppress the look of horror on my face that I had inadequate veins – the look no match, though, for the sense of gratitude I felt for being able to keep my blood.

Thankfully yours,
Jackie

Making the transition from corporate to startup

There's a great coffee shop in downtown Madison that I go to called Fair Trade with a collection of regulars I've never talked to.

But I feel like I know their life stories because I've spent so much time examining the way they go about their day.

One of the most interesting regulars is a middle-aged blind man.

His cane speaks to the room as if it were giving him an introduction. Everyone looks to see what the unusually rhythmic beat is all about. Then they nestle their heads back into their books, laptops, diaries and that's that.

He taps his way over to the table next to me and takes off his jacket. He struggles to get his bearings, so I give his chair a little nudge to steer him in the right direction.

"Thank you," he says.

He then strides his way up to the cashier – a journey he must have made hundreds of times before—orders a cup of joe, and returns to his table, mug in hand. People watch, wondering if he's going to position his coffee flat on the table surface. I watch too.

I wonder to what extent he feels the ogling eyes around him. Even I can sense when someone is drilling away at me with curious stares. What's it like when you can't stare back?

While I'm working, and he is eating, I look up and notice the blind man is "looking" around the room. I wonder what he is looking for.

It only takes about five minutes before he stops looking. Whatever it is he wanted enough was enough. With the same amount of ease it took for him to take off his jacket and sit down, he put it back on, stood up and headed for the door: Tap, tap, tap…

I couldn't work anymore. I began to feel sick. Because right before he exited the shop, I realized exactly what he wanted.

You see, there's a reason I try to do work on State Street in the midst of University of Wisconsin's college community. It offers me a better chance of connecting with people and easing a portion of the loneliness of living in a new city.

I get a window seat at Fair Trade every day so I can be close to the bustle on State Street. I used to think that watching it makes me feel like I'm a part of the action. But in fact, watching it only serves to remind me that I'm an outsider.

I used to think that doing a startup would be so cool and that I'd be happy doing it anywhere. But moving to a new city with no friends is hard – even if you have the best job in the world.

I read that the life of a startup is essentially a lonely task, but I didn't believe it until I lived it for myself, here in Madison. And I know I'm learning a lot about business right now, but I wonder if I'm losing some part of myself as well.

So back to that guy. He wanted exactly what I did – an opportunity to connect when you feel like a complete outsider.

One thing that I always pride myself on is my willingness to talk to anyone. And I barely said a word to him.

Do you know your interaction style?

As most of our long-time readers know, J.T. O'Donnell is one of our favorite career coaches. She first showed up on Employee Evolution when we had about 50 subscribers, little direction and a terribly ugly design. She gave Ryan Paugh and me a ton of great insight about our careers, transitioning from college to the real world and, of course, the generation gap.

Two months ago, I asked JT to help out my friend Eric. Eric graduated Penn State with a degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management in 2006, and spent the next year traveling the Middle East and attempting to figure out what to do with his life. Like many people our age, a year after graduation he was still a little lost.

No more than two weeks after taking JT's Interactive Style Assessment Tool, speaking with JT, and getting his head on straight, Eric was hired as the manager of an upscale restaurant in Manhattan. He loves his job, and to this day, he credits JT for "getting his ass in gear."

Well, lucky for us, JT just made her Interactive Style Assessment Tool open to anyone who would like to take the test. The other day, JT told me,

"We are finding that generational differences intensify in the workplace even more when opposing Interaction Styles are in play. (ie. Baby Boomers with a 'Commander' Interaction Style are struggling to connect with Millenials who find the style particularly insufferable on-the-job.)"

Regardless of generation, we all need to know our working style and our co-workers styles. Before Ryan and I took the test, we each guessed both our own and each others style. Turns out, Ryan has an Empathy style, and I have a Commander style (I guess it's not just the baby boomers!).

The cool part is, we both guessed exactly right. Apparently we have learned something from working together for the past nine months!

Give the tool a try with your co-workers. At the very least, take five minutes and do it yourself. You may be surprised what you learn.

Click here to take the test for free.

Standing out from the crowd can make a job search difficult

For the past two and a half years, my brother Dan has been running SloopyMenus.com, an online food ordering service at Ohio State University. Since launch, the site has grown exponentially and it is now the "go-to" place to order food at OSU.

Dan's main role is sales and marketing. He speaks with restaurant and bar owners, university reps and students, on a daily basis. He also comes up with marketing ideas like the "Sloopy Menus mobile," (yes, they actually stripped and painted an old car), Sloopy Menus beer-pong balls and Sloopy Menus sponsored happy hours.

He's had a lot of success. But, like most young entrepreneurs, getting straight A's is not his top priority. Don't get me wrong, his grades are still above average, but when you get a taste of entrepreneurship as a college student, you understand that grades don't count for jack in the real world.

The thing is, now Dan's a senior. His friends are buying suits, going to career fairs and interviewing for jobs. He has been "anti-corporate" since day one, but he doesn't necessarily have the next great idea, so he decided to jump on the bandwagon and see what this job hunt thing is all about.

A few weeks ago, Dan went to an information session for a mid-sized company at Eddie George's bar/restaurant and decided to stay and introduce himself afterwards. He immediately hit it off with the recruiter. They talked business, sports, politics and whatever else two guys talk about at a bar. The next day he had an interview with the same guy. The interview went well, they exchanged thank yous, and Dan left assuming he had the job.

Turns out, Dan didn't even make it to the second round interview. He was shocked, pissed off and really confused. Here he was, a small business owner since 19 years old. He had decent grades and a knack for conversing with older people. And he didn't even make it to the second-round interview for an average company.

What Dan didn't realize is the company made a great decision by turning him down. How could someone who ran their own business for three years, called all the shots and made connections with big-shots in the city ever be satisfied with a run-of-the-mill, entry level job?

Someone like Dan would have gone nuts in a position like this, and he probably would have jumped ship in less than a year. Because that's what us Millennials do, right? We don't settle. But my brother still didn't understand how the company wouldn't want him; it was a serious blow to his ego.

Here's the thing; if you want the job hunt to be easy and you want a run-of-the-mill entry-level job, don't be abnormal. Get good grades, be gracious and don't talk to a recruiter like he is your buddy or a potential business connection. Most companies want average entry-level workers because most companies are pretty average. There's just not much opportunity for a 22 year old to manage a project or take real responsibilities in the majority of organizations.

But if you want to do something exciting; something you are really passionate about, you have to be abnormal. My brother didn't realize it at the time, but this company did him a huge favor. He now sees that just because his friends are doing it one way, does not mean he needs to follow. He's back on track to do something he really wants to do. And thank god. I was starting to get a little worried.