Essay Sample on Change of Career from a Basketball Coach to Commercial Insurance

Introduction

Changing careers is challenging, especially if it is caused by inevitable circumstances leading to little time to acclimatize. I have had such an experience earlier this year, whereby I had to change from being a high school basketball coach to engage in commercial insurance in Houston, Texas. The two job descriptions and roles are from different industries; hence, I faced various setbacks. Before joining the insurance industry in January 2020, I did not have prior experience in the commercial insurance industry. However, I engaged in some training sessions that would assist in my startup as an insurance representative. Basketball training relied more on physical energy while the insurance job emphasized on mental and emotional energy. However, I am a fast learner and learnt the required roles and responsibilities in my career in the commercial insurance industry.

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After COVID 19 – Challenges and Potential Solutions

After working in the commercial insurance industry for about two months, there were increased cases of COVID 19, leading to specific measures to contain the spread of the disease. The pandemic affected many careers leading to the adoption of ‘working from home’ strategies in various industries. As a result, I started working remotely as from 15th March. During this period, I have worked from home amid different challenges. For instance, there is the issue of dealing with distractions from family members and visiting friends. I live with my wife and son, who may cause distractions either knowingly or unknowing while working at home.

Additionally, we may get visitors during my work hours that are not aware I am working from home, leading to distractions. To overcome this issue, I have to have a direct discussion with my family and friends to notify them of my situation where I will have to be working from home until things normalize. This move will ensure that everybody is aware of ‘work from home’ situation. Placing signs such as ‘do not disturb’ at the door while working will put people at bay.

Secondly, I have faced a challenge in effectively managing time and my home projects. Now that I am available at home, some projects come up before working on the allocated duty leading to ineffective management of time. For example, I could start home chores that would lead to delays in office work. However, using time management apps on my phone will assist me in handling my time effectively. I will also push some of the responsibilities to the weekend as I had before joining the insurance sector.

Before COVID 19 - Challenges

Before I started working from home, I used to travel a lot from New York to Houston. Since my wife and son lived in New York, I had to visit them every Friday before getting back to Houston on Monday morning. Waking up at 5 AM and going straight to work contributed to fatigue before starting the day’s allocated chores. The three and a half-hour drive to Houston led to the lack of morale after arriving at my workplace. I used to arrive while tired and did not have any time to freshen up before working; hence, fatigue and low output at the workplace. The travel also caused a setback in time management. For example, in case I woke up at 6 AM, it meant that I had to drive above the speed limits or arrive late at work. As a result, time management and overcoming fatigue on Monday mornings were the main challenges I faced before I started working from home.