So, 26 years ago, I graduated from business school with a Legal Assistant Degree.
Of course when I was in school, we learned typing on a typewriter to do all the documents on. Landed a great job for a partner right out of school and worked for them until they dissolved and both partners went to very large firms about an hour commute away from my home.
I then decided that I would temp for all the firms I made connections with over those 7 years, instead of driving into Detroit every day, which worked out well. I had just delivered my second child, so I wanted to work my own hours anyway, so I chose to work 3 days a week temping. Well, three years into that, my second child was diagnosed with cancer, which lead me to stop working to take care of her. That is when I started my stay-at-home mom adventure upon which I had my third child.
For the next 10 years, I stayed home to raise my children, then when my kids were 20, 13 and 10, I took a job managing our local Beach and Boating Club that we belonged to. I am now starting my 6 summer running the Club, which I love, but in all reality, I really am going to need to go back to a year-round job. The Club is only seasonal, my kids are becoming young adults and well I am gonna need an income once I loose the rest of my income in January 2013.
But since I have worked in a law firm, things have certainly changed. Not so much law wise, but technology wise, so this old mamma has to go back to school to catch up to the young mammas.
I registered for a Certified class in Excel, Word and Powerpoint to produce various types of business documents, maintain computerized records, track expenses, services, product, customers and staff. To create handouts and presentations and improve my keyboarding to make me more competative in the business law world and to fill the gap in my resume.
The one thing I have going for me is I have great networking connections with many past lawyers that I have kept in contact with.
I am hoping to land a job in the field of law I am interested in or managing another Club that is year round sometime in late 2011 or early 2012. I am going to keep running our local seasonal Club as long as I can. I don't necessarily have to be there, just keep it running smoothly. I actually have until January 2013 to find a great paying job. Super excited.
Going Back to School
February 26th, 2011 at 05:37 am
February 26th, 2011 at 06:14 am
I hear you on the changing technology. I used to be a librarian, but everything has changed since then. I don't think I could ever be hired back by a library without a total overhaul!
February 26th, 2011 at 06:31 am
Me three on the technology - back in the day, we made the school computers compute using a program, which we wrote, punched out on ticker tape. (From that auspicious start, my husband soared; me not so much, but I can mostly run my laptop if it's working right, plus I married him, and well, I'm pretty well set when the thing acts up:-)
February 28th, 2011 at 07:47 pm
Good luck with going back to school!
March 9th, 2011 at 06:41 pm