Pivoting from Construction to Public Health: Jason’s Success Story
How do you pivot from construction to the public sector? Meet Jason: a hardworking construction worker who completed a major career pivot with SkillUp to work for the State of California. By matching skills to jobs that aligned with his purpose of “assisting the greater good”, he found the perfect fit working in a government job.
Ready for a Career Change
Jason Grow worked in the construction industry for years but was ready to pivot into a new job, seeking a role much different from his labor-intensive background. With years of experience and no college degree, he wasn’t sure what career options would value his background and existing skill set. Pivoting careers can be daunting at any stage of life. Many job seekers expect quick results, but the reality for a successful career transition often includes long-range planning and strategic job search perseverance.
However, he did know his preferences: helping others and avoiding being ‘chained to a desk’. Jason, like many, fell for the myths about state jobs; “I often hear it’s hard to get into the state service, and my misconception was that government jobs were only for people who went to college”. Using SkillUp’s career exploration and purpose-based coaching tools, Jason was able to find a new career path that fulfilled his preferences without needing a college degree. Connecting his hands-on background was just the blueprint he needed to build a career with the state, and it wouldn’t be all desk work, as he thought. “I’ve found the reality has been much different. Even though I don't have academic credentials, my work experience and skills have taken me pretty far.“
Why Government Work?
Looking for a stable role, with benefits and advancing opportunities that don’t require a four-year college degree? Think public sector and government jobs. Unlike roles in the private sector, government jobs tend to be more stable regardless of the state of the economy. With roles available at all levels of government (city, county, state, and federal), there are jobs in various industries like IT and tech support, operations and maintenance, human resources, and more. Many of these roles are looking for applicants with key “soft-skills” like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities- skills likely obtained from previous jobs or life experiences. For many, the benefits alone are a huge draw. Imagine being able to climb the ladder while receiving health insurance, retirement savings plans, PTO, and sick leave, all while helping your community with essential services or maintaining public safety. For a long time, degree walls have blocked highly skilled people from securing good, stable jobs in the public sector. Today, that looks very different, as more of the workforce is recognizing the value of skills-based hiring rather than limiting jobs to those with college degrees.
Transferring Skills into New Opportunities
Applying his experience in the trades, Jason identified his transferable skills and applied them to an entirely new field. In construction, Jason thrived as a builder, someone to organize and bring order to chaotic situations- a similar responsibility to the role of an analyst. From vaccinations, novel diseases, climate change, and natural disasters, public health departments need analysts to set up and improve systems. It isn’t an easy task; inefficient systems and chaotic infrastructure can disrupt the work of doctors, epidemiologists, and scientists.
Jason realized his construction background made him a "builder" with highly valuable transferable skills. Translating his skilled trades experience was key to pivoting into a new field. For example, his experience “Managing Construction Projects” was a skill he could translate into “Systems Project Management,” noting the base themes of project management were critical as a Data Analyst. And skills like “Troubleshooting with Material Delays“ were key examples of “Problem Solving” for his resume. Instead of seeing his lack of a degree as a barrier, he used his unique perspective to land a public sector job as an analyst with the California Department of Public Health. He now builds systems that support medical professionals in his community.
“I don't have to be a doctor, but I can certainly help that doctor be the best doctor they can be. My North Star is making sure the epidemiologists, scientists, and doctors have the systems in place to let them work at their highest level.“
Finding Your New Career Path
Exploring paths in public sector roles is made easy with the SkillUp platform. Top occupations saved by users indicate a strong interest in roles like Police Officer, Construction Inspector, Water Operations / Water Treatment Plant Operator, Firefighter / Fire Engineers, and Human Resources, showcasing the variety of opportunities that exist in the public sector. Since launching the Public Sector jobs filter, we’ve seen significant growth in jobs available and currently see between 600-800 government and state jobs listed nationwide that don’t require a degree.
Today, Jason has been in public service for over four years, proving that practical skills and on-the-job training can take you incredibly far. His advice on pivoting into a new public sector job? Patience is key.
“I think people are looking for instant results, but this is a long game. Sometimes success is going to be measured in months or years. All failure is a learning opportunity.”
Ready for your next career move? Visit SkillUp’s catalog of in-demand careers, application guide, and public sector opportunities. We specialize in helping you find jobs that don’t require a degree and providing career resources suitable for all backgrounds.
