"I was a bartender for 15 years before becoming a doula around 2015, diving into birth, postpartum, and end-of-life work and education. That work was deeply fulfilling. I supported people through life's most vulnerable moments, but the financial instability and long overnight shifts took their toll after nearly a decade. When the pandemic hit New York City in 2020, doulas were temporarily banned from hospitals."
"Suddenly, I had time to reimagine what I wanted next. I'd always loved technology and computer science but figured that without a bachelor's degree, that dream wasn't for me. But something shifted during the pandemic. My mindset changed from "Maybe someday" to "it's now or never." I started doing things that scared me: trying pole dancing, saying no without guilt, and pursuing a career that many would say I wasn't "qualified" for."
I retired as a birth and postpartum doula and returned to school for UX/UI design. I applied to three jobs every night to secure full-time pay and applied to 83 jobs in September without receiving any offers. I have worked in multiple industries since 2000 and pursued design out of passion while holding an internship but needing a full-time role to cover bills. I spent 15 years as a bartender before becoming a doula around 2015 and found that pandemic restrictions created space to rethink career goals. I embraced risk, pursued design education, and shifted into studio management to obtain steady pay.
Read at Business Insider
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]