Running head: CAREER EXPLORATION 1

Career Exploration Assignment 1: Interview About Career Change at Midlife

Justin S. Caverio

Bridgewater State University

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Introduction

For this career exploration assignment, I decided to interview my former neighbor, Mr. X,

who was involved in a midlife career change. Mr. X recently transitioned from his career as a

security guard of 15 years, to a surgical technologist and now works in a medical center

operating room. During our interview we discussed the reasons for his career change, events

leading up to it, how it has affected his life, and what his plans are for the future. In this paper I

will highlight Mr. X’s career transition and how it relates to career counseling theories and

concepts. Some of these theories and concepts are status attainment theory, effect of work

environment on the individual, cognitive information-processing approach to decision making,

models of transitions and crises, and fulfillment (Sharf, 2013).

Mr. X is a 40-year-old Haitian American who lives in Massachusetts. He has been

living in the United States since he was 15 years old. When Mr. X graduated high school, he was

unsure of the career path he wanted to pursue. His father had no college background and worked

in a local factory. His mother stayed at home to raise Mr. X and his six siblings. According to

status attainment theory, a person’s first job can be predicted by the socioeconomic status of their

father’s occupation and education (Sharf, 2013). This theory directly aligns with Mr. X’s

decision to look for a job right after high school. He had considered college but was not highly

encouraged by his parents or his high school teachers, so it felt natural for him to start working.

Mr. X began working as a full-time security guard for a local mill and continued there as a

security guard for the next 15 years.

Reasons for Change

When Mr. X began working as a security guard, he enjoyed the work and the

environment, however after a few years he began to feel that he was no longer moving forward.
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He had already achieved the promotions available and he felt there was nowhere else for him to

go within the company. Mr. X no longer felt challenged and his job became monotonous to him.

He began to feel depressed and unfulfilled. The concept of, effect of the work environment on

the individual explains that, just as an individual can affect his or her work, the work has an

effect on the individual (Sharf, 2013). Mr. X’s work was having a negative impact on him and his

well-being. Another factor in Mr. X’s desire for career change was, Mr. X’s work did not match

his personality. Mr. X is an extravert and enjoys interacting with people. He often found himself

working the overnight shift and had minimal interaction with others. Finally, Mr. X felt as though

he needed a job where he could make more money to improve his quality of life and save for his

future. These are the reasons Mr. X began to realize he needed a career change.

Developing a Plan

When Mr. X determined a career transition was inevitable, he began the cognitive

information-processing approach to decision making. This process involves five sequential skills

or stages. They are communication, analysis, synthesis, valuing, and execution, known as the

acronym, CASVE (Sharp, 2013). Mr. X began communicating with friends and peers about his

feelings and began planning a transition. His transition is what Schlossberg would classify as an

anticipated career transition, since Mr. X was preparing for it, and it was not unexpected (Sharf,

2013). One of the people who influenced him was his younger brother, Mr. T.

Mr. T, unlike Mr. X, had attended college directly after high school and achieved his

bachelors’ degree in medical science. Mr. T suggested Mr. X pursue a career in the medical field,

as well. Mr. X began to explore his options using what is referred to as the analysis skill of the

cognitive information-processing approach (Sharf, 2013). He researched salaries and amount of

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schooling required for various occupations in the medical field, and eventually visited a career

counselor at New England Institute of Technology (NEIT), in Rhode Island.

Exploring Options

Mr. X’s career counselor at NEIT, assessed Mr. X’s personality traits using helping skills

and attending skills. The career counselor’s goal was to find a program that would be a good

match for Mr. X’s personality. Since personality theories and career counseling theories are

closely intertwined (Sharf, 2013), this approach made sense. After exploring Mr. X’s interests

and ambitions, the career counselor at NEIT suggested a few programs within the health science

field for Mr. X to consider. This narrowing down of options, or crystallization, refers to the

synthesis skill of the cognitive information-processing approach to decision making, or the third

skill of CASVE (Sharf, 2013). Mr. X immediately began to research job projections and trends

for occupations within the health science field. The weighing and valuing of the different options

is the fourth skill of the cognitive information-processing approach (Sharf, 2013). Through the

valuing process, Mr. X became convinced of the path he wanted to take. Mr. X decided to enter

an associate degree program called, Health Science with a Concentration in Surgical

Technologies. Mr. X completed the paperwork for registration and was enrolled in class the

following week. The execution of those decisions demonstrated the fifth and final skill of the

cognitive information-processing approach (Sharf, 2013).

Mr. X used a federal grant and student loans to pay for the classes. He knew it would be

expensive but saw it as a worthy investment for his future. The concept of human capitol theory

shows that individuals invest in their own education and training in order to receive increased

lifetime earnings (Sharf, 2013). In taking out student loans, Mr. X made a conscious decision to

invest in his own education, in hopes of a positive return in the future.

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Making Adjustments

Mr. X felt excited about the idea of directly helping people and of achieving an associate

degree. Since the program required Mr. X attend courses full-time, he had to leave his job as a

security guard and find a part-time job that would allow him the flexibility to attend classes and

study. This was a voluntary transition, according to Schlossberg’s transition theory, because Mr.

X quit his job and was not involuntarily laid off or fired (Sharf, 2013). Fortunately, Mr. X was

offered a part-time job in the BJ’s tire bay, where he was able to construct his work schedule

around his NEIT class schedule.

Coping with Crisis

As Mr. X entered his final year his class work intensified. He ran into a major setback

when he received a C in one of his classes. This was an unanticipated, involuntary crisis (Sharf,

2013), for Mr. X, because it was sudden and unexpected. His program specified that all grades

must be a B or higher. During this time, Mr. X was overwhelmed and in shock. Hopson and

Adams’ model for understanding crises, shows this is a normal reaction called immobilization

(Sharf, 2013). Mr. X experienced self-doubt, which is another stage of Hopson and Adams’

model for understanding crises (Sharf, 2013). Eventually Mr. X entered Hopson and Adams’

letting go stage of understanding crises, when he was able to let go of his frustration (Sharf,

2013), and he began to self-reflect. After re-evaluating his situation and adjusting his work

schedule, Mr. X continued with his other coursework and re-enrolled in the class he did not pass.

At that point, he had entered the testing out stage of understanding crises and was able to

overcome the challenge of his crisis (Sharf, 2013). He began working on his resume’ and

practicing for job interviews. Mr. X shared with me, that before he graduated, he already had an
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entry-level job secured at Cape Cop Hospital. His support system at NEIT was a tremendous

factor in his ability to deal with crisis.

Fulfillment

Today, about 3 years later, Mr. X is a Lead Surgical Technologist at Brigham and

Women’s Medical Center at Patriot Place, Foxboro. His duties include setting-up and sterilizing

operating rooms and equipment, assisting surgeons with surgeries, and planning overviews for

upcoming cases. He proudly proclaims that his main job is acting as the barrier between patients

and possible infections. Mr. X now works closer to home, has a great work schedule, and loves

the hours and people with whom he works. Mr. X now feels much more fulfillment in his job

where he can use his skills and training received from his college program. Mr. X told me that he

feels that he now has a career, whereas before he felt like he only had a job. He knows if

something were to happen to his current position, he could go to a similar position, somewhere

else and make the same or a higher salary. He stated that another benefit to his job is that he is

able to take care of people that need help, as opposed to his former job as a security guard, which

consisted mainly of patrolling and ensuring doors and fences remained locked. He is much

happier and feels a stronger sense of accomplishment today. Mr. X clearly has found his calling

in his new career. He now experiences fulfillment, purpose, and a wholeness of living, a concept

that Bloch and Richmond refer to as spirituality (Sharf, 2013).

Future Plans

When asked about his future plans, Mr. X admitted that although there are positions

where he could make a higher salary, he enjoys what he is doing and loves where he works. He

recently finished paying off his student loan and hopes to pay off his auto loan within the next

year. At that point he will be debt-free and may buy a house. For now, Mr. X plans to remain
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working at his current location where he experiences balance, energy, community, calling,

harmony, and unity, themes Bloch and Richmond view as crucial to spirituality and holistic life

(Sharf, 2013).

Conclusion

Through my analysis, I learned that a successful midlife career transition is achievable

and can be extremely fulfilling. Status attainment theory shows that Mr. X’s family history and

lack of involvement in his career plans were likely factors in his initial choice of an unsatisfying

career (Sharf, 2013). Mr. X showed that through adversity and perseverance, successful midlife

career transition can drastically improve one’s work environment and spiritual well-being. Mr.

X’s willingness to invest in himself, as explained in human capitol theory (Sharf, 2013), proved

to be a worthy investment, and a positive decision. The competence, capabilities and guidance

from his career counselor were paramount in the success of Mr. X’s transition process. It is

evident that as career counselors, having awareness and understanding of career counseling

theories and concepts, can have lasting impact on an individual and can ultimately help change

the course of one’s life.

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References

Sharf, Richard. (2013). Applying career development theory to counseling, sixth edition.

Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.