I met a wonderful lady the other day. I listened to her ‘history’ and instantly decided that I would write about her story as a great example of a Hybrid Careerist in action. She’s someone who has worked in many seemingly disparate domains, but whose work life has been rich and full.

Then, next day, I listened to Terrance Holt, on the radio.  Holt is a literature professor turned geriatrician and author. He trained, ‘late’ in life, alongside young graduates who told him he was “old” to be doing what he was attempting. Both stories resound with two things; It’s never too late, and you’re only limited by your own hesitation to try.

Angela is a Web Site Developer and Social Media Consultant, someone upon whom many small business operators are leaning, as we grapple the complexities of social media, and the absolute necessity of participating.

What I found remarkable about Angela was her career life story. How has she come to being working in IT? Certainly not by means of a straightforward linear progression, beginning with a Web Design course at tertiary level. Angela has worked in banking, beauty therapy, (has a Diploma in Health Science), retail, travel, home duties as mother of two, and now self employed. Angela quite rightly characterises her career choices as those in the realm of “helping people”, and it is through her commitment to this motivating force that she is enjoying her current success.

Angela’s hybrid career is similar to that of many who have successfully identified their values and motivations, as well as their transferable skills, in order to find lasting contentment in their work. In our rapidly changing job market, individuals are being challenged to be adaptable, and to engage in a concerted process of ‘life planning’ that many contemporary career educators are advocating. We are being provided with the knowledge to discover how to go about reinventing ourselves, pushed about by technological and market forces, and have begun listening to our spouses, and our spiritual selves, when our jobs begin to interfere with our emotional well-being.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/internal-medicine2c-terrence-holt/6262108

Angela’s website is: http://geekgirldesigns.com