This week we will explore the stages one experiences on their path toward career development. These stages are as follows: growing, exploring, establishing, maintaining, and reinventing

 COLLAPSE

1.Hello Class! This week we will explore the stages one experiences on their path toward career development. These stages are as follows: growing, exploring, establishing, maintaining, and reinventing. These steps towards achieving a particular goal, such as one with a given career, play a pivotal role. The stage I believe fits my point in my given career is the maintaining stage. In this development stage, it was one I could relate to due to the keywords and descriptions involved within it, which were the ones that stood out to me. 

For example, one description described that within this stage, one might feel like they're slowly moving along or are currently stagnant within their career (Post University, 2022). This was a feeling I have been having for a while because since I am a Head Preschool Teacher, I shouldn't move up any further until I have more education or fully finish my degree since the next step would be an elementary school. Thus, this feeling and decision tend to make me feel stuck, which is often a feeling people may experience when waiting to finish their degree or not wanting to undergo change. Though I love the preschool age range, I can go a step further, so I am slowly maintaining this position until I'm ready. Also, another description within this stage discussed a more positive aspect where one continues to learn new information and skills at this step of their career (Post University, 2022). Therefore, even though I may feel stagnant within my career, I still learn new things daily as I teach the kids and run my classroom. I am still changing how I teach and improving as the days go on, so this experience is helping me educate myself and further my career. 

Thus, the overall challenges I discussed are feeling stuck and not being patient with myself. Patience is key, but often times it feels like there is a deadline to be at a certain point in life, and this is something I often hold myself to. However, this ideology can often make me lose patience and want to rush into a new job when in reality everyone's life is different and runs on a different timeline. My challenge then is being too hard on myself since I have made it far already and deserve more time to continue this growth within my career. When looking at my career goals in the future, I see myself entering the reinventing stage, which focuses on transitioning to something new by helping others along the way (Post University, 2022). In other words, once I finish my education, I can transition into this new life, which can finally make me begin my career in a way that feels more impactful and brings change. This is a stage I am excited to enter, and I have to be patient to begin.  

2.Career Development Stages Table – which stage of career development do you feel you are in currently?  All of them; at least growing in developmental portions of; Growing, Exploring, Establishing, and Maintaining.

I perceive myself to currently share in a portion of each of the stages and, I’ll tell you why; I am at retirement age and I see attainable opportunities that were not within my reach in my earlier years but now they are and I am taking advantage of that opportunity.  Exploring, yes I am because I have the freedom of an empty nester so the sky is not my limit we women are now putting heels on the moon.  I work at my leisure, and I have currently focused on school with graduation staring me in the face.

 Establishing: my history is in medical-surgical nursing and real estate brokerage, and I have practiced in both those fields for over 25 years.  So my direction points toward people who are diverse and dynamic so I have the freedom to venture north, south, east, or west.  I am establishing new avenues technology is ever-changing and for people of my age, our past is not as effectual in surprising the future as in our past generation because the world is evolving and literally going to where they have never gone before.

Maintaining my health is a priority of importance, and the new skill is eating vegan and getting the necessary nutrition for my age and activity.  I have made many accomplishments but again, the sky is not my limit.  I am eyeing visiting Egypt where the world began and where ever else Biblical facts of interest will carry me.