Sometimes the decision to start over can be unwillingly made for us.
Cold hard statistics related to the coronavirus pandemic can make the justification for a self-initiated change of career easier to accept.
Did you know that as of May 2020, over 5.4 Americans were grappling with severe food insecurity?
About one in every four children in the United States have no idea where their next meal is coming from. About 1.5 billion children globally were uprooted from schools after the coronavirus outbreak.
It is in schools where many children get their meals.
American food bank systems are being stretched to their breaking point.
Meanwhile, over 50 million Americans are now forcibly unemployed because of the pandemic. In a sign of these Orwellian times, they are now labeled as, “nonessential.”
However, because of the way the government counts unemployment metrics, this number could be much higher.
Part-time employees and those not looking for work are not counted.
So, in reality, over 70 million Americans could be out of work.
I list these statistics not just to highlight the consequences of the pandemic, which has become politicized, but to illustrate several points.
Life is not fair. And sometimes change is forced upon us, which in turn forces us to adapt to change.
And fair or not, sometimes we must attain new certifications, skills, and new careers.
Online Opportunities for Online Career Changes
Often, I have written about the need to take advantage of the online work opportunities that are abundant in the 21st century.
Too often, I have written that people should find freelance writing opportunities, like the kind I take advantage of.
It was wrong. I want to emphasize that whatever your talents and skills, you should find a way to monetize it online.
Also, while I am freelance, there are numerous employers offering salaried telecommuting opportunities based on relevant skills and experiences. (This might be a more preferable option for many since medical benefits would be a perk.)
Right now, there are big opportunities for telecommuting computer programmers.
Most computer programmers make anywhere between $41,000 to $100,000. $63,000 is the median salary for most of these jobs. With enough skill and experience, you could easily be a computer programmer from home.
For one thing, there are multiple online education websites offering classes for free to people devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Coursera
Coursera has over 4,000 online classes that are offered in conjunction with over 200 colleges and universities. Here is a listing of its computer programming courses.
edX
edX is an online education website that was founded by revered educational institutions Harvard and MIT. It offers over 2,500 online classes by over 140 colleges and universities. For a limited time, edX is offering many free computer programming courses.
You can find more free and affordable online classes here.
Many of these classes are free, but many start at $20. You may have to pay up to $150 for certification, which is the catch of the free classes.
I don’t mean to make starting over and learning new life and career skills, like computer programming, sound easy.
Change isn’t easy, but sometimes life forces us to adapt.
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Allen Francis was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years with no money, no financial literacy, and no responsibility when he had money. To him, the phrase “personal finance,” contains the power that anyone has to grow their own wealth. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including focusing on your needs instead of your wants, asking for help when you need it, saving and investing in your own small business.