When  I was in school, many many years back, girls didn’t have quite the options they do now. I was told maybe I could become a secretary, or a teacher, a policewoman or a nurse (NOT a doctor, mind you). I think Mr Evans, our cute Welsh Geography teacher, who doubled as Careers Advisor, just lobbed those suggestions at us randomly. There certainly weren’t any careers ‘quizzes’, such as my much favoured Morrisby Online Career Assessment, and we were never told about University until our school joined-up with the Boys Grammar.Mind you, the boys were a dreadful distraction, so it took a lot of determination to concentrate in class. I have an old school report from 4th year (year 9) that says, “Karen seems a little distracted this term”.

When my year 12 Geography teacher, Mr Robbins, said I should go to university to study Geography, I glibly responded; “But I don’t want to be a Geography teacher”. Sorry Mr Robbins, that was a bit of a conversation stopper! He might, had I not been a bit too up myself, explained that a degree can open doors, that subjects became pathways to a varied future. All I knew was that I could cook and that if I trained in catering I could go anywhere, preferably away from the little town I was stuck in.

So I pursued a career in Corporate Hospitality and I did quite well in London for a few years, but quite quickly I was out of the kitchen and doing the administration and supervision of services. It was hugely demanding; long hours and a wide range of responsibilities. At one stage I had 75 staff across 5 locations for a major accountancy firm in the City of London. I had the hiring, and sometimes even the firing  of staff; the operating budgets to manage, new facilities to project manage (I kid you not) and the overseeing of the day to day business operations to supervise. It was essential for me to have a good team of managers for each location, as I simply could not be everywhere, and training them and helping them to advance in their careers became my most rewarding of tasks.

Fast forward several years, and 2 babies later and that part of my career-life is long in the past. I moved to Australia and no longer had family support or indeed a professional network. So I happily stayed at home to raise my girls and did some volunteering for a charity. 

I became involved in fundraising for research into miscarriage and ‘neonatal death’ (the death of the baby in utero), because I had lost 2 pregnancies mid-term. Very personal stuff to be sharing, I know, but because of the support I had received by compassionate people at that time, I decided I wanted to give back, and so trained to be a grief counsellor. What I had never appreciated was that happenstance, an incident in life, can impact and alter what matters to you. 

I did that work for many years, plus helping out with fundraising events, and then decided to go for that degree. But no, not in Geography! I enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Behavioural Studies, at Monash University. Having completed my degree, with flying colours (meaning an HD average across my transcript, as well as two Dean’s Awards for academic excellence) I then completed a Professional Certificate in Adolescent Counselling, also at Monash, and am now studying Career Development at Swinburne Institute of Technology.

So is there a logic, and linear progression, a predictability to my story? I’d say not really. I would never have thought I’d be in a school talking to young people about following their passion, believing in themselves and taking responsibility. I don’t have any regrets, because I’ve remained self-motivated and keen to keep learning all of the time; to learn how to use computers, to blog, to coach, to counsel.

So if you’re not sure, ask. If there’s someone you respect and admire, a mentor, talk to them. If you can’t think of anyone, watch a movie or listen to music that inspires you. S Club 7’s track, Don’t Stop, is a favourite of mine when I need to get myself moving/thinking positively. A good one to dance and sing loudly to!

And significantly, if you experience something that impacts you deeply, don’t disregard its usefulness. It helps you to focus on what matters most to you, your priorities. After all, if you do work that Matters to you, it doesn’t feel like work.

And remember, It’s never too late to reinvent!