Page 85 - Marky Stein - Fearless Career Change_ The Fast Track to Success in a New Field (2004)

Eight Fast-Track Strategies for Successful Career Changers

For example, a training period that lasts more than a year while
paying minimum wage is really not equitable. A two-week to six-
month training period with clearly delineated responsibilities, expec-
tations, and supervision and that pays somewhere just about or sub-
stantially above minimum wage is a much more reasonable exchange.
When a company offers you on-the-job training, ask who your
supervisor will be and what you can expect to learn during the paid
training period. Don’t let the company use your talents unsuper-
vised and pay you less than it pays other workers to do the same
tasks any employee might routinely perform.

Consider asking for an informal written
agreement with the employer that states what
“milestones” you must master before becoming
a full-fledged employee paid at a normal wage.

The agreement can state both what is expected of you as the
trainee and what is expected from the employer. It should also
clearly state the name or names of your supervisor(s) and the man-
ner in which you will be evaluated at the end of the training period.
More about how, precisely, to target the companies with which
you want to form an on-the-job training program and how to get in
touch with an owner or manager is outlined in Chapter 8 under
the heading “direct contact.”

Strategy 4. Internship
An internship (sometimes paid and sometimes unpaid) trades the
intern’s labor and talent in exchange for his or her learning or
advancing in a new occupation. Are internships only for students,
right out of high school or college? Absolutely not. I’ve known peo-
ple well into their mature years who take advantage of internships.
I sought out an internship in career counseling with a government
agency in Santa Cruz, California, when I was just starting out as a
career coach.
I called the agency, asked for the manager of the career
counseling staff, and asked whether or not they had an internship

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