At age 16 I knew for certain what I wanted to do when I grew up. I was a licensed ham radio operator and I wanted to design radio equipment. My family had no money for college, so I borrowed my way through school, worked summer jobs, and supported myself during my last college year by teaching guitar. This was the turbulent 60s, when the folk music scare was in full swing.
I spent 15 years in industry, living my dream, but after seven years at my first job, we had a merger and I lost my job. I landed on my feet, finding a job within a week at a larger company, but losing my job left a really bitter taste in my mouth and I vowed that no one would do that to me again.
Most of the next 8 years were distasteful as well. The man who ran my department managed through intimidation, and I knew I would not stand for his bullying for any longer than necessary. Early on, I began rethinking my career. A friend was in a MBA program and encouraged me to enroll. It was a Master’s in Economics program, as NC State University had no MBA program yet. I took the first course in microeconomics, then saw a course on Organizational Psychology.
I was managing a department of 63 people at the time, and I reasoned that the psychology course could really help me. I took it and fell in love with the discipline.
I applied for admission to get a master’s degree and was accepted. Those were the happiest days of my academic career, and by the time I finished the MS, I had taken additional courses that interested me, so I applied for the doctoral program and was accepted.
The next step was the game-changer. I had taken a seminar on project management a couple of years earlier and the fellow teaching it was a former NASA engineer who had gone to Vanderbilt University to get an MBA and was tapped into teaching the seminar. He advised me to contact his agency and propose teaching for them. I did, and they asked me to teach Leadership Skills for Project Managers, which was right up my alley. I had done my master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation on leadership and had managed projects for most of my 15 years, so it was a natural.
I eventually developed a certificate program in project management and became independent of the agency, so for 40 years, beginning in 1981, I taught in 30 countries, with more than 60,000 individuals taking my seminars. Along the way I wrote 15 books, published by McGraw-Hill, AMACOM, and Perseus.
Now the reason for telling you this is that I wanted you to know how I went through the struggle of changing careers. It isn’t easy. I had lived and breathed electronics since I was 14 years old, invested blood, sweat, and tears in becoming an engineer, but discovered that the life of an engineer isn’t the same as that of a teen in a hobby.
Now I coach people on career change. I administer the Strong Inventory to help them discover what kind of careers would really float their boat, as is said, and I help them determine exactly what motivates them and how that enters into career choice, and through a session or two of coaching I help them decide how to proceed in changing careers.
I did this with several of my grandchildren as well and am happy to say it helped them choose their majors in college. Three of them have now graduated and are pursuing their careers.
Changing careers was the best thing I did. I have said to friends that I didn’t work a day in my 40-year career teaching seminars. It isn’t work when you love what you do. I got to circle the globe twice flying business class, visiting exchange students that we hosted who were from Japan, Sweden, France, and Austria, and along the way I met thousands of interesting professionals and contributed to their lives by helping them learn new skills.
I receive emails from people all over the world who have read my books and benefitted from them. In short, I love helping people find their way in life. It isn’t easy, even with help, but it can shorten the transition dramatically. If you would like to find out if this service would be right for you, use the Contact Us form on my website to inquire. https://lewisinstituteinc.com.
