How many of y'all are doing what you went to school for?

[AGDee]

My bachelor's degree is in Occupational Therapy and I did that for 13 years. As things in health care were getting more and more precarious, I realized there were no longer opportunities for OTs to advance. Within hospitals restructuring their organizations, OTs were now reporting to unit managers (nurses), not other OTs as they had. I've never been one to just "be" and the thought of being a Staff OT for another 25 years was discouraging. There was also less funding for inpatient mental health, especially for adolescents, so programs were closing all over the place. Under the threat of closure of the unit where I worked, I decided to take some online courses and get a Microsoft certification and get a job in IT. I got the certifications I wanted over the course of a year and transferred, within the same health system, to an entry level IT position. That position paid MORE than a veteran OT position, which really gave me pause.

Another 13 years later, I am finishing up a master's in IT Security and have been working in IT Security specifically for over two years now. In the 13 years I worked as an OT, my income increased by about 8%. In the 13 years I've worked in OT, my income has more than doubled. It was a very smart move and offers me a lot more variety, job choice, and opportunities for advancement.