I have known that I needed a career transition for more than a year. I think I outgrew my current job in retail a while back. As I am not rich, I figured I would keep my current job and find a new one. I have been applying to other jobs consistently but nothing seems to happen. I kept praying and hoping that something would happen. But nothing seems to happen. The longer I stay in my retail job, the more I realize that the joy is no longer there.

Despite being sad, I stayed in my job. I honestly need the money to pay my bills and survive. Then a couple of months back I was talking to my friend who drives for Uber and he mentioned in passing that I should go part-time with my regular job.  He was like, “And you can just go part-time with your regular job and drive Uber full-time.” This he said after the umpteenth conversation about being broke and needing a new job or a second job. I just know that I needed extra income. When he said that I should go part-time, I balked. Certainly, I couldn’t get off the career path and go part-time.

The truth is I do not have a career path if I am unhappy with my job. I think I realized I need to do something radically different. I started talking to my sister about the idea. Then we both decided that I should buy a car and drive Uber part-time for a while to build my savings then quit my job. Then I could become a full-time Uber driver. I thought about it. I was excited about it. But somewhere in the excitement, I realized this was just a temporary solution to a long-term problem. I needed something that would allow me to feel like I had a career path. I needed to feel some longevity in my plan. Uber, ubiquitous as it is at the moment, does not make a life-long plan. What if they lose market share? What if they decide to compete and cut prices? What if people decide that quick rides are out and something else is in? I did not want to be trapped in a cycle of looking for something hot to make a good income.

So I decided that I needed to bite the bullet and do a career transition. I had a few criteria for a new career. The most important being longevity. It has to be a career that would be around for a long time. I also wanted something that had space for me to grow. I did not  want to go into a clustered industry and have to throw my elbows around to find a job. I want to be in demand. I also needed a field that was woman and minority friendly. After much thought and consideration, I sent my sister a message it middle of the night: “Nursing or Programming?”

This is how I started my career transition from retail to nursing.