Did you change career when you moved to the US?

[Stuart and Katie 13]

If you did, how did you come to the career you chose?

In the UK I worked in I.T. for nearly 10 years but never really enjoyed it, now I would like to change my career and wonder if anyone else has had the same experience.

Thanks a lot.

[bunnygirl 86]

Sorry, not there yet but I'm planning on doing this.

I'm currently a project manager, have been for 12 years now, but I want to work in mental health so I'm going to college once I'm in the US to retrain

What is it you'd like to do?

[lil2be 11]

I was a teacher, an educator, a graphic designer and a librarian for over 5 years before I moved here. I changed my career to become a nurse. I finished my pn school, got my license. Now almost done with RN school.

Good luck to you.

[Stuart and Katie 13]

Sorry, not there yet but I'm planning on doing this.

I'm currently a project manager, have been for 12 years now, but I want to work in mental health so I'm going to college once I'm in the US to retrain

What is it you'd like to do?

Have you got a place on a course then? Do you mind if I ask, does it cost a lot of money?

As for me, I'm not sure yet. I'm going to sit down and look at my options.

I was a teacher, an educator, a graphic designer and a librarian for over 5 years before I moved here. I changed my career to become a nurse. I finished my pn school, got my license. Now almost done with RN school.

Good luck to you.

Wow you have a lot of different skills. How long did you take to get your license?

[lil2be 11]

Well, speaking that my language is not English. So I had to take ESL classes for 2 semesters. Prerequisite classes for nursing about another 2 years (6 full semesters). And I had to maintain 3.8 GPA to be able to get in a nursing school here in MI. I finished my PN classes in a year and sat for my board exam and passed on the first try. So it was about 4 years from start to finish.

Edited June 17, 2014 by lil2be

[Stuart and Katie 13]

Well, speaking that my language is not English. So I had to take ESL classes for 2 semesters. Prerequisite classes for nursing about another 2 years (6 full semesters). And I had to maintain 3.8 GPA to be able to get in a nursing school here in MI. I finished my PN classes in a year and sat for my board exam and passed on the first try. So it was about 4 years from start to finish.

Ah so you were at nursing school in Michigan. My mother-in-law is a retired wound care nurse living in Warren, MI.

[lil2be 11]

Yes I have been living in MI since 2005. Warren is not far from where I live. I used to date someone who live in Warren for a couple of year. So I know Warren quite well.

I am still in RN program. I attend OCC (one of the largest community colleges in MI and best well known for nursing program.) I can say that it is one of the top hardest nursing schools-- lots of skills trainning, lots of hours required for externship and a lot of skills to deal with faculty! (Nurses eat their youngs! LoL) well, it is hard but it is doable. Healthcare job seems to be high in job market but you have to have a passion to do it. Otherwise, it won't work for anyone.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Yep..Airforce in Canada......Did my EMT-B once in the USA and then went on to get my RN's!

[Girl from Celebes 588]

If you did, how did you come to the career you chose?

In the UK I worked in I.T. for nearly 10 years but never really enjoyed it, now I would like to change my career and wonder if anyone else has had the same experience.

Thanks a lot.

I was a journalist for over 10 years - last occupation as an editor- before moved to the US. I am still writing on my blog but I guess am still interest being a journalist or a writer whenever I have my EAD. I also have an account on Elance. Just to see what they offer for being a freelancer. Also I read book about most high paying federal jobs in the US. That is quite interesting to me if I wanted to change my career.

Edited June 17, 2014 by Girl from Celebes

[elle13 15]

I was a corporate lawyer (solicitor) in the UK. When I first moved to the US, I wasn't not licensed to practice US law and so I found a job in corporate real estate for a retailer. It's quite interesting and I enjoyed it, and they didn't need any real estate management degree or anything like that, just a bachelors and the right experience. Learnt a lot and more importantly, got to know a lot of different people from various parts of the US. For me, that was important as I have no alumni or business network here in the US.

Generally, tuition fees in the US is much higher than in the UK, so do keep that in mind. A lot of jobs do not require a specific degree - business analysts, investment bankers, real estate analysts etc. come from all kinds of background. They just need stellar grades and good experience. I wasn't able to go back to school to retrain due to the fees involved so I just kept applying until I found something. I had 4 different kinds of CVs (all completely true, nothing falsified) tailored to the specific sector I was applying for. You have to really make it easy for them to tick all the boxes for you. I'm sure you're doing everything you can - just keep at it!

[Kumi and Drake 14]

Fortunately, I didn't have to, although I almost did change my career/industry of choice because I found it hard to find the job that I'm specialized at. After college, I worked as a corporate video editor for a university and applying in this field of industry here in the US made me realize I was under qualified for some, and/or my lack of experience in the industry here in the US made it hard for me to find an employer that will consider me. It's getting the interviews, but not getting the job offer.

I did look into (and still currently considering) working online as a freelance video specialist, but I need to invest on a good computer and a bunch of software... which isn't our priority right now >.<

[markonline1 11]

I'm in the process of doing so. I worked in aviation for 15 years. This seems to be a closed door over here, so I'm studying for my real estate license and about to become an iCracked iTech.

Edited July 1, 2014 by markonline1

[namour7997 2]

I guess it's part of the journey as an immigrant, i'm totally in a different career now. Should i want to be in the same career, I would need to be licensed and take the Bar examination.

[drenie_elyonie 12]

Hey guys,

I'm totally in the same boat. I was in I.T. for 3 years back in my home country, and i'm now contemplating whether to keep looking for I.T. jobs or finding entry level work and go back to school. I'm finding it really difficult to go back to I.T. since a lot of the companies here don't seem too keen on investing time to train new hires in the tools that they use. Back home I was used to doing tasks that we're less complicated than what is the norm here. Here, employers expect you to be an expert before they hire you...which is fair but the skills and tools are so varied that it's hard to be an expert in one especially since I didn't spend too much time on any one of those tools, maybe just months...That's why I want to go back to school and get a fresh start. I figure i'm still young enough and the experience of learning alongside other people with sharpen my people skills and I'll get better at interacting with Americans. I have a phone interview in a few minutes....so nervous! The position is quite technical and I'm not sure if they would be open to someone like me. I'm not familiar with the tools that they use but I have a track record for learning quickly.

Question, if I'm only a green card holder with barely enough credit, what are my options for paying for a college education? Can I get a loan or a scholarship, or will I have to pay for it myself? I really want to study again but our income is limited and we can't afford tuition right now.

[drenie_elyonie 12]

To the mods and the OP, sorry for posting my questions on this forum. I just thought it would also help the OP if they were answered. If I need to create a new post please tell me and I will promptly do that