Employment Support Specialist👀

Recently, I have started thinking about changing careers to become an employment support specialist.

For someone like me who has worked in the manufacturing industry for a long time, this is a challenge in a completely different field.

Honestly, I feel anxious.

“Can I really do this?”

“This is a completely different job from what I’ve done before, will I be able to handle it properly?”

I sometimes find myself thinking things like that.

Even so, there is a reason why I am interested in the job of an employment support specialist.

The desire to “be useful to others”

I have always had a desire to do work that can be useful to others.

Because of that feeling, I obtained a career consultant certification, which I had been interested in for some time.

I wanted to listen to people struggling with their work or careers and help them find a way of working that is true to themselves.

That was the thought behind getting the certification.

Just because I have the certification doesn’t mean I can immediately support people.

It requires not just knowledge, but also experience.

That is why I have come to want to acquire the skills to support others by engaging with people in the actual field from now on.

That is when I noticed the job of supporting the employment of people with disabilities.

I want to become a “person who can provide support”

As I researched the job of an employment support specialist, I realized it is not just about introducing jobs.

Listening to a person’s worries and hopes.

Thinking together about the difficulties they face in their daily life and work.

Preparing for employment.

And even after they find a job, supporting them so they can continue to work.

It is a job where you walk alongside each individual and help them move forward.

I feel attracted to such work.

I myself have struggled with work and life in the past.

That is why, when someone else is struggling,

I don’t want to just easily say,

“It will be okay.”

I want to be a person who can understand their feelings and think together with them.

That is what I think.

Anxiety because it is a completely different industry

However, for someone like me who has worked in manufacturing for a long time, the world of welfare and disability support is a completely different industry.

My knowledge and experience are not yet sufficient.

“Can I really do this even without experience?”

“Won’t I be unable to do anything once I enter the field?”

I have such anxieties as well.

But there is no one who can do everything from the start.

Learning what you don’t know, accumulating experience, and gradually increasing what you can do.

That might be the same as how I learned my work in the manufacturing industry.

I also believe that the experience I have cultivated so far is by no means wasted.

Working with people.

Communicating with those around me.

Thinking about the causes when problems occur.

Having faced one job for a long time.

Such experiences might also be useful in a job that supports someone else.

Another major anxiety: “Income”

And what I must think about realistically is income.

If I change jobs, there is no guarantee I can maintain my current income.

For someone like me with a family, the issue of income is very significant.

I cannot decide just based on the feeling that “it is a job I want to do.”

Protecting my family’s livelihood is also important.

That is why,

I must think carefully about how to balance the feeling of “wanting to do work that is useful to others” with my family’s livelihood.

Even so, I want to take a step forward

I have anxieties.

It is a career change to a completely different industry.

I also have worries about the income side.

I still don’t know if I can really do it.

Even so,

“I want to be useful to others.”

“I want to become a person who can support someone.”

These feelings have not changed from before.

That is why I want to cherish the feelings I had when I obtained my career consultant certification.

A challenge in a completely different industry starting at age 38.

I don’t think it will be easy at all.

But when I think about my future life,

I think it is okay to have not only the option of

“continuing the same job as before,”

but also the path of

“challenging myself with a job that walks alongside someone’s life.”

First, I will look up job openings and learn about the job content.

I will study the necessary qualifications and knowledge.

And if I actually end up working, I will gain experience in the field.

Without rushing, one step at a time.

Someday,

I hope a day will come when I can think,

“I am glad I chose this job.”

I am still in the middle of hesitation, but I think I will try to move forward little by little.