The pivot
I’ve been chatting with some of my furloughed global health friends the past few weeks, and the idea of a career pivot has come up a few times. Pivot is an elegant word, isn’t it? I love the sleek change of direction implied, the illusion of intentional action when so often these pivots require months or years of floundering.
I have already attempted a career pivot, when I went back to school for my MPH in my late 30s after several years of the aforementioned floundering. I imagined coming out of school and working as a maternal health researcher or a health policy analyst only to realize that the careers I envisioned would likely require me to start from an entry level position and work my way up or to earn a Ph.D. It’s hard to take an entry-level position when you are 40. Hard to find an employer willing to put a middle-aged person in an entry-level job. Also difficult to ask your family to relocate repeatedly so you can chase a better job. All of that career building is much more easily done when you are in your 20s.
I do think public health jobs will return eventually because infectious diseases are no joke (Exhibit A: measles), but that may take years. What is everyone to do in the meantime?
I met with a career counselor earlier this week to seek advice. I need to preface this anecdote: The counseling session was provided for free by my alma mater. The counselor had punched in a series of questions to ChatGPT about how we could improve my LinkedIn profile. He began to show me the AI responses.
“As a writer, you must hate these AI things, huh?” he asked cheerfully.
The irony of the situation — that he had already outsourced his work to the machines — was lost on him.
He did not offer false hope but did point me to job and networking boards that might be helpful.
I don’t know that I have another pivot in me. I have thought about which careers would offer long-term security in the face of government instability and AI, not only for myself but also for my children. Nursing? Some specialities in medicine? A skilled trade? Can anyone picture me as a carpenter?
I am in the fortunate position of not needing to work full time for now, but my brain needs to work. While I wait for the chaos to end, I am starting a public health newsletter — Woman Child Health — to report on health policy and research related to women and children.
Diversions
I had hoped to write something lighter today. If you need a diversion, how about this live feed of a pair of bald eagles who have just had three eggs hatch?
Or, if you need a reminder that AI is still a poor substitute for the creativity of a human writer, read this old Esquire profile of Mister Rogers — a favorite of mine and perfect for our current era. Apologies for the format; Esquire charges for access on its website because good writing has value.