Check most bios on Jill Biden and you will find references like this one from the New York Times: "Dr. Biden gave up her high school teaching job to raise the boys and the couple's daughter, Ashley, born in 1981. She returned to work in the mid-1990s at the community college."
A bit more digging reveals that Biden took a complete career break from 1981 until 1985, and then entered Villanova University to begin a two-year master's degree program from which she graduated in 1987. Biden completed her second master's at West Chester University in 1991 and worked part time for Delaware's Rockford Center psychiatric hospital adolescent program during this time. In 1993, she started working as a professor of English at Delaware Technical and Community College where she is today.
Going back to school to jump start a career relaunch the way Jill Biden did is an excellent back-to-work strategy that can be calibrated to a person's schedule and professional goals. When doing research for Back on the Career Track, we interviewed women who participated in post-baccalaureate certificate programs and graduate school programs of every conceivable length and schedule.
Take MBA programs, for instance. We learned about six-year, part-time MBA programs such as Boston University's Self-Paced Professional Evening MBA. Classes are typically offered at night when a spouse or relative can babysit, but one mom we spoke to was able to schedule some of her classes in this program during the day while her kids were in school.
Traditional, two-year, full-time MBA programs worked for women with older children. A mom with teenagers enrolled in a top-tier, full-time MBA program down the street from where she lived, bringing her sixth grader to class with her when he had vacation and she didn't. In 2006, Pepperdine University in Southern California introduced a "Morning MBA" program to fit the schedules of moms with school-age kids. Classes are offered Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:30a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for 28 months with a seven-week break during the two summers.
Women on break from careers in scientific or technical fields participated in one year post-baccalaureate certificate programs such as the Biotechnology Post-baccalaureate Program at California State University, Los Angeles in order to get a concentrated refresher in their field. Note that certificate students entering the program with old bachelor's degrees may need to repeat a prerequisite as part of, or in addition to, the certificate program requirements.
Some women switched fields by participating in a certificate program, like the relauncher who enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania's Certificate in Fundraising Program. Others, having missed the technological revolution, are taking classes one at a time, to update their skills in spreadsheet and power point creation. Finally, don't forget online courses! A dean at Northeastern University reports that the heaviest users of their online courses between midnight and 4 a.m. are at-home moms.
Academic institutions offer programs in all types of configurations. Find the one that works for you and begin your career relaunch by starting in the classroom. Not only will you get updated in your chosen field, but you will meet contacts who will help you when you are ready to start looking for paid work.
Photo Credit: Associated Press http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/08/25/article-0-0265A5AF00000578-390_468x658.jpg
Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin are the co-authors of
the acclaimed career reentry book Back on the Career Track: A
Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work, and the
co-founders of iRelaunch, a company providing
career reentry programming, events, and information to employers,
universities, organizations and to mid-career professionals in all
stages of career break.
For more information on Relaunching, see iRelaunch and check out Back on the Career Track. Carol and Vivian can be reached at info@iRelaunch.com. Washington, D.C. area residents on career break should attend The Career Relaunch Forum, an all day return to work conference, on November 12, 2008 at George Washington University's Marvin Center.
Carol Fishman Cohen Vivian Steir Rabin
