Are there career counselor that can help me downgrade my job?

September 22, 2015 6:47 AM

Are there career counselors that can help me transition out of a white collar IT job to perhaps a blue-ish collar or non-corporate job?

From my previous question, I'm looking to get out of the corporate world and would like to find something non-corporate, I just have no idea what that will be.

From my understanding career counselors primarily help white collar people find white collar jobs. Am I wrong about this? Is there a certain term I should be looking for? A certain type of counselor?

How do I even find one? How do I begin the process of transitioning out? I've worked at the same place for a long time (25 years) so I have zero experience looking for work in the internet age.

I'm in the Boston area and will not be re-locating. Specific recommendations or general advice is welcome.

posted by Tubesox to Work & Money (2 answers total)

Are there any (public) vocational schools in your area? You might be able to talk to a guidance counselor at one of those.
posted by Etrigan at 6:52 AM on September 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

Based on what you said in your previous post, you might want to look into volunteering with local theatre groups to help build sets. That seems like something that you'd enjoy. It wouldn't be a job, necessarily, but it would give you some experience to show off to potential employers, and you might meet someone who could help you in your job search.

The other thing I'd suggest is to start building/making stuff as a side project, and selling it on Etsy. With some luck, you might be able to skip the job search altogether and work for yourself.
posted by kevinbelt at 10:31 AM on September 22, 2015