Future Learning

A Future of Change

The majority of my adult life has been spent in higher education; working and pursuing my degrees. I am very grateful for the opportunity to complete a Master of Arts in Education degree. When I started on this journey my focus was to gain knowledge to help my career as a Learning Specialist. Looking toward the future, my goals are changing. My family recently made a big move that has caused me to relocate far away from my current job. Due to the pandemic my position moved to a hybrid format and it has stayed that way allowing me to continue my work despite the distance. I do love my job but I know as my children get older it will be harder to travel for work. Unfortunately, there are not many career opportunities available in my current field, as it is small and specialized. In the near future I will be changing my career. There will be a lot of learning necessary as I make the switch. I have a few options and goals for my future career change. I have been encouraged to apply with the State of Michigan within their child and family services department. I have also considered becoming certified to teach high school in Michigan. Lastly, I could explore advising and teaching positions at local community colleges. 

For many years I have been encouraged to look into a career with the State of Michigan child and family services department. I have a few friends that are managers in the department and are familiar with what I do now; they have encouraged me to apply. My goal for this career option is to assist young adults as they transition out of the foster care system. This would be similar to my career now, assisting students as they transition from high school to college. This assistance could include time management, organizational skills, resume building, interview skills, and more. My goal is to learn what benefits are available to young adults coming out of foster care. I want to be able to efficiently help them transition into the next part of their life. Another goal I have within this position is to work in parent education. I would like to work with parents as they are learning how to navigate parenting situations. Both of my goals within this career option will utilize the State of Michigan training program as a resource to learn and master the benefits available to both populations. Another possibility would be to work on a degree in social work in the distant future.

I never considered a career teaching in secondary education. Toward the end of my Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program, I realized I may enjoy working with this demographic. My goal would be to obtain my secondary education teaching certification. To work toward this goal I would utilize the Michigan State University, College of Education website. I would also set up a meeting with a specialized advisor to help me set up an action plan to learn what steps I would need to take to complete a certification. Once within a secondary education classroom, my goal would be to implement an ungrading assessment philosophy. A resource I would utilize is the concepts my own teachers have used during my MAED program. I would also utilize Jesse Stommel’s many blog posts, breaking down the best ways to enact ungrading in varying subjects of study.  

Lastly, another career option I can explore would be to work in an advising/teaching position in a community college setting. This demographic would be the most similar to the group I work with now. I would enjoy continuing to work with students in higher education and helping them decide their future goals. My goal would be to learn the institution’s system and course offerings. A resource I could utilize would be training from my supervisor and the registrar system within the institution. For example, Mid-Michigan Community College would be a local community college that I could possibly work at. As with the secondary education position, if I was able to teach at a local community college I would like to implement an ungrading assessment philosophy.       

My journey through higher education has been full of twists and turns. Every interaction has brought me important lessons and experience. To some, my future goals may seem very different and seemingly disconnected. To me it is very clear that I want to continue to educate and help others in whatever context I can. 

Image Attribution:

State of Michigan Flag-Wikipedia State of Michigan

MMCC Logo-Mid-Michigan Community College

Books, Pencils, Glasses-Faculty Focus