How to switch career fields and not mess myself up financially

[Anonymous]

Hi all.

I’m wanting to switch career fields. But, I also don’t want to mess up my finances. I’ve been in retail almost 5 years, I started in college. I earned two bachelor’s degrees (Political Science and Russian).

I work in retail, and I absolutely hate it. I enjoy working with customers, I just feel like I’m wasting my time, as I spent a lot of time and money at school and none of my studies were related to retail.

My plan was to translate Russian out of college, but I’ve exhausted all options and while it is still my dream job, I have to be able to pay the bills while trying to obtain this goal.

I am interested in many different fields (finance being one), but I do not have the schooling for it. While I could get an entry level job and work my way into something worthwhile, I also don’t want to give up being able to pay bills comfortably. Can anyone give some advice on how I can go about switching career fields? I have a fairly sporadic schedule working in retail (management level which requires me to be here at any hours of the day).

Thanks for any and all suggestions

[iv]

PolySci and Russian?  Have you considered working for an intelligence agency?

(Serious question, and not in any way a political comment.  CIA and FBI both really need people with language skills.)

https://www.cia.gov/careers/language-opportunities

https://www.fbijobs.gov/career-paths/language-analysts

If that's not something you are interested in, and you want to pursue a different field, one that requires a specific degree - consider an online degree (from a "real" regionally-accredited college).  Either an additional BS/BA in your new field, or even an MS/MA if you can qualify for entry.

The online class schedule will let you work around your retail schedule issues, and will help with building contacts in your new field (not as much networking as a resident program helps with, perhaps, but it's still good exposure).

If you do pursue finance, there is definitely demand in big financal data companies for fluent Russian speakers...

[Anonymous]

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@iv wrote:

PolySci and Russian?  Have you considered working for an intelligence agency?

(Serious question, and not in any way a political comment.  CIA and FBI both really need people with language skills.)

https://www.cia.gov/careers/language-opportunities

https://www.fbijobs.gov/career-paths/language-analysts

If that's not something you are interested in, and you want to pursue a different field, one that requires a specific degree - consider an online degree (from a "real" regionally-accredited college).  Either an additional BS/BA in your new field, or even an MS/MA if you can qualify for entry.

The online class schedule will let you work around your retail schedule issues, and will help with building contacts in your new field (not as much networking as a resident program helps with, perhaps, but it's still good exposure).

If you do pursue finance, there is definitely demand in big financal data companies for fluent Russian speakers...

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I have considered it and have tried, but it won't hurt to try again. I actually pick up languages easily and it is a hobby of mine. I can understand most Slavic languages, and have learned other languages to a decent level in the past and it wouldn't take much for me to get to a higher level in them again (Hebrew, Arabic, Farsi, etc.)

I want to move back to where I went to college as I love the town, and I could go back to school and it wouldn't take a lot of credits for another degree. They offer a bachelor's in Business Admin online, but not finance (which they offer on campus).

I hadn't considered there being a connection between finance and my russian skills. I will definitely look into it!

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous following on your career choices think about the State Department and Translator services.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymousfollowing on your career choices think about the State Department and Translator services.

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I actually met with them at a career fair in my last year of school (2016). They told me they didn't have any kind of jobs as to what I was wanting to do. I don't know if I was describing it wrong, but they pointed me towards the 3 letter agencies since one of them was also there. I'll do some more research with them to see if things have changed and what they have to offer! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Honestly don't focus too much on the field you want to go into matching your degree 100%. More often than not, people end up in jobs that have little or nothing to do with what they received their degree in.

I got out of retail & service industry work by taking a phone Customer Service/Client Support rep position at a medical supply distributor. The retail background suits it well with the customer service tie in, but gets you on a standard M-F schedule in an office setting. Once you're in with a company, it can be possible to move around and do different things there. I ended up in Accounting and have been doing it for close to 20 years (and still have no degree in it!)

It all boils down to getting that first office job.