Career Preparation: Marathon or a Sprint?

Thanks for launching this important discussion Chrissie!

I write this from a study carrel at my local library. I get up every so often to walk around and reflect on what I'm doing. As I approach the front desk, I see my 23-year old daughter (I'll call her Darling Daughter or DD for short) working the front desk. DD started working at the library in early 2023 as a part-time assistant. As of July 2024, she now works full time in circulation. 

If you had told me any of this six years ago, I'm not sure I would have believed it. In 2017-18, DD was barely surviving. She battled suicidal ideation and a host of physical problems. My wife and I were at our wit's end as we wondered how best to help her. The thought of her going off to college or working any type of job seemed remote. 

As we found the root cause of her illness and got DD the proper help and medications, she got better. (Full credit to DD for working so hard on her recovery and battling through her anxiety and depression.)  While she never went off to college, she did take dual enrollment classes starting at age 16. She accumulated two years of college credit at our local community college and then enrolled in a fully online program at a four-year school. After taking college courses over almost seven years, she graduated with a degree in English in May 2024 with a perfect 4.0 GPA!

Career prep took the form of us brainstorming possible jobs from time to time. DD is a very talented writer and artist. How could she use these talents in the marketplace, we wondered? 

As a child, DD talked about wanting to be a librarian. She loves books and is a voracious reader. I encouraged her to do an information interview with the director of our local public library. The director walked her through several avenues of library careers. DD also did other information interviews with other librarians at the university where I had worked. Each interview gave her valuable information, insight, and contacts. 

A few months after the information interview, she found herself interviewing for the part-time job mentioned earlier. As she was finishing her degree, a full-time position opened up in her department which she received.  I'm so proud of DD and grateful to God for her healing!

Career prep is a marathon. Sometimes we are sprinting. Sometimes we are walking. Sometimes we are moving so slow it almost seems like we are going backward. Encourage your students as they move along at their own pace in this important race.

Steve Schmidt, Moderator

LINCS Reading and Writing Group 

Do you see career preparation with adult learners as a marathon or a sprint? 

I see career preparation (and learning anything) as the first 26 miles in a marathon. As someone who just ran my first marathon last month, I'll try to explain what I mean. 

Miles 1-10: Feeling good, hopeful, and energized. The possibilities feel real.

Miles 11-16: I'm only halfway there?! Here there's still some excitement and energy, but there is the realization that the path is not a simple and quick as it felt.

Miles 17-23: I can't do this. I'm not made for this. Everything else is better than me. This is when teachers become essential in building community and helping people through the difficulty. 

Miles 24-26: I can finish this. I am almost there. This will not break me.

That last .2 miles: This is a celebration of all of the hard work and realizing just how far you've come.

I feel this way every time that I attempt something new. Knowing this is helpful as I reflect on how I learn. I can anticipate that I will feel like a failure or an imposter. I know that if I persist, it will pass. However, I've learned it through years of figuring it out on my own. As a teacher, I try to model that thought process and share what I've learned about myself in case it helps someone else.