Last July, CHEPP shared Duet graduate Josie Douyon’s college completion story. This month, in honor of Duet marking 10 years of providing degree pathways, we are talking with Josie and her career advisor, Angele Maraj, to share how the right kind of support and guidance made her overall success and economic mobility possible.
Career advising is a part of learner-centered design – delivering education around each learner’s lived experience, meeting diverse needs to support persistence and, ultimately, helping each learner achieve economic safety. As college graduates increasingly experience underemployment after graduation, focused career advising can help learners find the first job of their career trajectory.
For Josie, Duet’s career advising model helped her pivot from barely making ends meet despite working 80 hours a week, to working 40 hours a week as a salaried employee with benefits at a technology firm.
Josie:
When I enrolled at Duet, I was working more than 80 hours a week in hospitality and caregiving roles and had limited benefits. At the time, I was focused on earning a paycheck to provide for my son and didn’t know what my career options were. My career counselor, Angele, helped me find a career path I was interested in and identify skills that I could transfer from my job in hospitality.
Working with a career counselor helped me break a cycle in my family of working more than 80 hours a week in low-paying positions. As I sought out a better career path, my mom was on my mind a lot. She had the same job making $40,000 a year for her whole working life, never asked for a raise, and didn’t save for retirement – all while raising four children. I was struggling to find the time and energy to be the actively engaged parent that I aspired to be. Even though my income and benefits looked sufficient on paper, I didn’t have time to do basic things like grocery shopping and paying the bills on time – spending more money on unhealthy meals and late fees while failing to find a work-life balance. It was clear to me that I needed to take action to set a better path for myself and my son.
Angele:
As director of career services at Duet, I believe that it is impossible for learners to access higher education’s promise of economic mobility unless colleges provide robust career services. The structure of Duet-SNHU’s degree programs facilitates a more personalized career advising model than what is traditionally offered in higher education. We meet students where they are on their career path, rather than requiring them to seek out services that are not tailored to their individual skills and career goals. Duet’s career support is done through executive level coaching, informed support, and career assessment. Working as partners, career coaches help students figure out what their next steps should be and provide support through job applications, interviews, and the job placement process.
When Josie’s academic advisor, Cesar, learned how many hours she was working at two jobs, he knew she would benefit from career support and connected her with me. Josie already had a salaried job in hospitality when she enrolled at Duet and, on its own, her salary appeared to be above the benchmark for many of our students. However, her salary did not tell Josie’s whole story, and we worked together to help her transition into a career that gave her the quality of life that she and her son wanted and needed.
When we started working together, it was important to figure out what changes Josie needed from her current job situation. The first issue was that although Josie was hired to work 40 hours a week, she did not feel empowered as a salaried employee to say no when her employer asked her to work additional hours. This often meant significant overtime, including overnight hours. Her work schedule was a major source of stress. Finding a salaried role with predictable hours was a primary goal for her. Next, we outlined what Josie needed to be in a healthier and sustainable work environment and identified the best career pathway going forward. Josie’s interest in technology was also a key consideration in identifying target positions in her job search.
Once we had a goal, we set out together on Josie’s job search. We looked at job descriptions and identified customer success management as a position that could match with her sales and human resources experience developed through her hotel position. We reviewed job postings and applications together before Josie applied for a role. When she got an interview, I helped Josie prepare. When she received an offer, I helped her navigate negotiations related to benefits, including paid time off and health insurance. I am so pleased she found a position and employer that was a good fit and has already given her career growth opportunities.
Josie:
When I was growing up, a lot of people started working when they were 14. By the time they finished high school, leaving their job to go to college and losing an income they and their families depended on was not an option. This system perpetuates a generational cycle, where people feel stuck in jobs that don’t meet their needs. Through my degree program, I was able to identify and translate skills into the profession I was interested in. With Angele’s support, before I even graduated, I accepted a position as a quality engineer in the technology industry. In my role, I help customers find solutions to their problems with our company’s product. I use all the skills I learned in the Duet program and have been promoted three times in the last year, since I accepted the position. Most importantly, my son and I have so much more time together, and I am able to be the parent that I wanted to be.
Everyone should have access to a career counselor and coaching support. I hope that more colleges create programs that work for students like me and provide the support like I received from Angele and the entire Duet team.