Changing Careers In An Uncertain Economic Climate: Are you courageous or just plain crazy?

After 10 years in the telecommunications industry, I decided it was high time to shift gears and pursue the career in communications I had always dreamed of. When I shared this dream with colleagues and friends, many of them were aghast and incredulous. “What if you never find your dream job?,” some asked. “Not everyone is lucky enough to have a fulfilling career, so why do you want to risk it?,” a few folks wondered out loud. “Aren’t you afraid that you may fail?,” an old acquaintance asked. Not to be outdone, a dear friend of mine finally asked what everyone else was probably thinking: “Are you crazy?”

WordNet, defines crazy as brainsick: affected with madness or insanity; a man who had gone mad. I knew that my decisions to leave the telecom industry, apply to graduate school and pursue a communications job in public affairs, public relations or media relations was a bold and courageous move.  But, was I cuckoo? Hardly.

Sure, I decided to pursue my career goals while America lay in the grasp of soaring unemployment, a mortgage meltdown and a near financial collapse. But, I don’t think I have gone mad, I think I have tapped into a well of courage, tenacity and mettle that had been dormant for longer than I care to remember. For me, deciding to pursue a career in communications was a no-brainer. I graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Temple University and spent a semester abroad in London, England as a marketing and communications intern at a Top 40 radio station.

I spent the better part of my career in telecom developing and maintaining strategic relationships with customers, writing and editing training materials and procedural documents, and preparing and presenting PowerPoint presentations to senior leadership. I chaired monthly brainstorming meetings with group managers and managed a $15M annual budget. Telecommunications touches nearly everyone’s lives so what better place to hone my communications skills than a telephone/cell phone/broadband company that consistently ranks in the top 20 of the annual Forbes’ Fortune 500 ranking of America’s largest corporations?

So, armed with a toolbox of transferable communications skills and a wealth of experience, I bid adieu to my telecom tenure and said hello to the next phase of my career. I began my first semester in the Master of Arts in Communication program at The Johns Hopkins University last fall and never looked back. Since then, I have become a blogger, a researcher and an author of literature reviews on media issues. I have sharpened my critical thinking skills, learned about a variety of research methods and how to evaluate and edit the work of others.

As a Johns Hopkins student, I landed an amazing Public Relations internship at an award-winning national newspaper. I drafted and edited press releases and pitched stories to reporters. I supported an fantastic team of publicists in developing and implementing special projects. I also had the opportunity to learn about both internal and external communications being executed in a deadline-driven environment.

So, while I continue my search for my dream communications job, I continue to do what I have always done quite well: multitask. I enrolled in a Public Relations Writing course where I have weekly writing assignments which will make a great portfolio. I network on LinkedIn and keep my Facebook and Twitter pages up to date because as the saying goes, “Be ready so you don’t have to get ready or people will think you are crazy!”