12: Trusting your gut with a career change

Twenty-seven year old Allison Fedele tells us how she trusted her gut when she started seeing red flags at her 9 to 5 job as a graphic designer. 

In this episode, Allison shares her ups and downs about going to grad school, including how she handled the financial burden in her 20s, and how using the Tombstone Test helped her follow her calling to teach.  


Resources:

Transitioning Life: The Tombstone Test

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/transitioning-life-tombstone-test-nick-kittle/

The Tombstone Test: What Legacy Will You Leave?

https://www.personalgrowthchannel.com/2018/03/the-tombstone-test.html

Did you know that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides tax benefits for education?

https://studentaid.gov/resources/tax-benefits

Student Education Tax Credits

https://www.efile.com/education-or-student-tax-credits/

Education Tax Credits and Deductions You Can Claim

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/education-tax-credits

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Transcript

Lixandra: Hi, everyone. I'm Lixandra Uresta, and this is Career Switch Podcast. This show is here to encourage you to take action with whatever career change you've been considering or are working on. In some episodes, I talk to people who've made their own career switch, whether by choice or circumstance. They share the good, the bad, and the truth about their journey, including what worked for them and what didn't. In other episodes, I speak with experts who offer their best career advice on issues that can come up during the process of making a career change. After all, it takes guts to switch things up, and it's not easy. However, it is possible. I hope you hear something in this episode, an idea, a suggestion, a piece of wisdom that'll spur you into action with your own career switch, whether it's taking that first bold step or trying something new. Welcome. I'm glad you're here. 

Imagine you're at your funeral. What three things would you want written on your tombstone? What would you want people to remember about you after you're gone? It might sound grim to think about these questions, but they make up the Tombstone Test, and it's what spurred 27-year-old Allison Fedele to make a career switch and become an elementary school teacher. In this episode, Allison tells us how she trusted her gut when she started seeing red flags at her 9-to-5 job as a graphic designer. She shares her ups and downs about going to grad school, including how she handled the financial burden in her 20s and how the Tombstone Test helped her follow her calling to teach. Hi, Allison. It's great to have you with us today. Let's dive in. So you started off as a graphic designer. In college, you actually majored in graphic design, right?

Allison: Yes. When I was an undergrad, I took a couple of different internships at local magazines. So that's really where I fell in love with the editorial design specifically and decided to pursue that for long-term.

Lixandra: What did you like about graphic design?

Allison: I really loved how rewarding having like this great finished product was at the end. It really excited me.

Lixandra: So in 2015, you started working as a graphic designer at a magazine. What led you to start thinking about making a career switch?

Allison: So just a couple of months into my time at the magazine, there was a big round of layoffs. My creative director was let go. So that was kind of the first red flag. And then within the next two years that I was there, there were additional rounds of layoffs. So I was already pretty early thinking that I might need to explore something else at some point and magazine might not be a great long-term option. I had the thought of teaching, so that was my initial thing to explore. And then ultimately when my design director was laid off about two years in to being in this position, I knew it was time and it was the right thing to do to make the move.

Lixandra: What teaching options did you look into and why teaching in the first place?

Allison: I definitely looked into that kind of in a broad sense. I thought maybe I could teach art because I had my design and some art background. I had also considered museum education or arts education. So not necessarily teaching in a classroom, but it was something that still would have required going and studying and learning about education. So yeah, I was definitely focused in on that field because of my past experience working

Lixandra: with children. Tell us about your past experience with kids. What was your connection there?

Allison: So for so much of my life from early teenage years through college, I worked as a camp counselor and that's really where the connections started. Some of the best summers of my life were my summers working at camp. My mom was a preschool teacher for a long time, so I had a little glimpse into her world. In 2012, when I graduated from my design program, I began teaching Hebrew and Judaic studies to elementary students at the Sunday school at my home synagogue. I started it because it was a nice, easy income while I was interning and looking for a full-time job, and then I maintained it because it was fun and a little nice break in my normal routine. And I got to a point where with some of the frustration of the changing magazine industry and my feeling like I wanted to try something new, I was so excited to get up and go to this Sunday side job more so than I was to go to my day-to-day design job.

Lixandra: Would you say that was a turning point for you when you realized you preferred your Sunday teaching gig to your nine-to-five job?

Allison: Yeah, I was working for a couple of years with third graders specifically, and they were so much fun. We laughed all the time. It just felt like the right fit. The people that I worked with there, you know, they were teachers, so I would hear about their teaching jobs too. And I felt comfortable in that classroom, even though it was a short block of time, just once a week. But knowing that I felt comfortable and confident in that space made me feel confident in exploring that as a new career.

Lixandra: How did you explore?

Allison: I asked about the work from friends who I had gone either to college or high school with that I'm still in touch with and went into teaching directly out of undergrad. So I'd heard stories from them about their experiences.

Lixandra: And did they encourage you?

Allison: Not so much. Which is interesting. Yeah, a lot of them are like, are you sure? It's really hard. Despite that, any teacher you ask will tell you how rewarding it is. So I guess it's encouraging, even though they're still discouraged sometimes in their day to day. What did they say was hard? I think the biggest challenge for a lot of people is the parents that you have to communicate with all the time. You never know what's going on with the family at home, of course. And they, they're trusting you with their children. So they're expecting a lot and they put a lot on their teachers.

Lixandra: How did you hone in on studying elementary education in particular?

Allison: After going to some education college and grad school fairs and talking around and researching just what kind of jobs were open, it seemed like teaching elementary was more of a sure thing. Elementary teachers are always in demand. So I felt like to start off, that was the right place to start. And then later on, I could always go and add or explore other options if I wanted to be more specialized.

Lixandra: So going to grad school is a big commitment. Did you have any doubts?

Allison: I think my biggest concern going in was how to handle juggling working and going to school. I really wanted to attend a grad program full time so I could spend the least amount of time in school and get right back to working. But when you're in school for teaching, you have to commit to a certain amount of time every semester that you spend visiting classrooms. So you need flexibility for that. So, you know, finding the right balance and being able to find something to still support myself. but get through the program and jump right back into working. That was daunting for sure.

Lixandra: And how did you then work this out and actually decide to go for it?

Allison: I found some great nannying jobs actually. It was like the best fit because it was very flexible and it's a pretty well-paying job. Once I found that I knew, okay, like I'll be okay. I can take care of myself, pay my bills still.

Lixandra: What about the financial aspect? You were 27, so you'd been working for only a few years after graduating college. How did you handle the cost of going to grad school?

Allison: I definitely did a lot of research on financial aid, on scholarships. I also put a lot of effort into just looking into what schools would be most affordable and factoring other things like how far I would need to commute because that adds cost to it. I luckily qualified for some merit-based aid because of my ACT scores and my undergrad grades. So that helped a lot. I did not want to have to take out loans for obvious reasons, but I definitely had researched and looked into that. Thankfully, I had a good amount of savings built up that was able to really fund most of it.

Lixandra: Oh, okay. So you did have enough savings despite being only in your 20s.

Allison: That was part of the timing of my decision too. I, you know, was young enough. I don't, I didn't have a house, a mortgage, children. So it was really just myself, my rent, my like basic utility bills, those kinds of things that I had to worry about on top of school costs. There's also some nice tax benefits and some write-offs you get if you're in school, which my fiance found when I was helping with my taxes. So definitely recommend researching and knowing all of that, because that helps. And it's nice to get a little bonus back after paying so much for your tuition.

Lixandra: OK. So you were in grad school for two years, getting your master's in elementary education and teaching. What ups and downs did you encounter during this time?

Allison: I had a lot of big state exams I needed to take that are required for the teaching certification. And part of that is a big kind of all encompassing project that involves recording yourself teaching and then writing really in depth about it, writing all the lesson plans in like so much detail above and beyond what you really do for your classroom job. For me and for like any New York teacher, this big project is a beast, probably the toughest part of earning your teaching degree. To top it all off, I graduated into a time where there was a hiring freeze in New York City. So it was really tough to have spent two years working so hard for what I thought was going to be a short thing of a job to not go into that situation.

Lixandra: So what did you do?

Allison: I did begin during this time teaching graphic design classes and digital art classes to elementary students at a local art and design school. So it was a nice way to incorporate my new teaching skills.

Lixandra: Let's flip it around and talk about the positives. What kept you motivated? What excited you about teaching?

Allison: I was excited about what I was learning. I was meeting all these interesting people in my classes who also had come from very different backgrounds. So the conversations in these classes were really exciting. And then once I got into the classroom more and started my student teaching, that's really what seals the deal for me. Working with these kids and seeing the progress they make over time, seeing the connection that I make with them every day. That's what I'm in it for. You know, it's so fun. I laugh with my kids all day. They drive me crazy, but we have so much fun.

Lixandra: When this episode airs, you're getting ready to start your second year of teaching. How did your first year go, which was 2020?

Allison: We started the year fully remote because of the pandemic. You know, these kids are really resilient and really impressed me with how they have coped with this crazy world they're in right now. But I have a really great team that I work with. I have a principal that is really supportive and really understanding.

Lixandra: As we wrap up, what three tips do you have for our listeners who are considering or are working on making their own career switch?

Allison: So my first tip, I definitely think it's important to trust your gut. I've always a firm believer in that in any aspect of my life, but I think if something is irking you about what you're doing day to day, listen to what your mind and your heart is telling you for sure. My second piece of advice, I think it's really important to do your research. Like I talked about, I went to some grad school fairs. I have a lot of friends who are teachers, so I had been hearing for a couple of years about their experiences. did a lot of reading and research about different schools and different programs I could look into. So that made my decision about where to ultimately apply for school and then where to look for jobs much easier. And last, I think it's important to think about what are your priorities for yourself and what are, like, what are your real passions? I always think back and I was thinking about this a lot as I was mulling over this idea of a career change. I took a stress management course in my undergrad and we did this thing that he called like the tombstone test. And it was basically had to think about what three things you would want written on your tombstone, which sounds like dark and grim, but it's like, what would you want people to remember about you? And for me, my art and design skills were never the top of my list. You know, I care more about what people remember about me as a person and their relationship with me. And that's so much a part of what I value as a teacher is building relationships.

Lixandra: I love that. Thanks so much, Allison. Thanks to Allison Fedele for being our guest today. Check out the show notes if you're curious to learn more about the tombstone test and about tax benefits for going back to school. 

You can find links to the resources mentioned in this episode and more helpful information in the show notes and on our website, careerswitchpod.com. While you're there, join our mailing list and follow us on Instagram and Twitter at careerswitchpod. So what's your career switch? Are you excited to take action after listening to this episode? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. We'd love to know, along with any feedback you have about the show. We're a new podcast, so please rate, review, and share with your friends and colleagues. It'll help get the show out there. Thanks for listening today. Till next time.