That sums up my general thoughts about today. It’s a nice sunny morning, and I’m in a good mood. I’ve been debating about whether or not I should talk about some changes that may or may not be happening in my life. On the one hand, nothing is for sure, and so why get people excited about something that might not happen (including myself)? And since this blog isn’t totally anonymous I sometimes worry about what I write…that it will get back to someone I don’t want it to (see my rant a couple weeks ago about payday). But on the other hand, I don’t like censoring myself on here, and I am so excited even about the possibilities that I don’t know what else to talk about right now. So here we go.

I have applied for a couple jobs completely out of my current industry. I know that most people are always keeping their eyes open for opportunities, and smart people are always open to changes. But I have always been a loyal employee wherever I’ve worked. And it feels weird looking for a new job when my current employer doesn’t know that I’m considering leaving if I get the right offer. It’s not at all that I don’t like my boss, or the people in my office. My previous rant notwithstanding, I have really enjoyed working there. But there is no room for me to move up in the organization unless I want to go into sales. And while I don’t mind soft sales or promoting something I believe in, I don’t want to go into insurance sales. (Note: I am not saying that I do not believe in insurance. Everyone should carry insurance. Everyone should carry enough insurance. Not doing so can ruin your life. Seriously. Don’t do it.)

While thinking about that, I’ve been thinking about whether I even want to stay in the industry permanently. Living in Duluth, my options are extremely limited…it’s not like we have insurance companies headquartered here that I could go work for and do something entirely different than what I do now. My options are pretty limited.

So, I had made the decision that I wanted to move on to the next challenge. And I thought of what I would really like to do. And here I have a confession to make. I LOVE HR blogs. I read about 5 or 6 of them regularly, including a few that are well-respected people within the HR industry. I find Human Resources totally fascinating, and I think it is an area in which I would do well. And since HR is much easier to break into than the only other job I could think of that I would really love (teaching college courses), I have decided to pursue that route. And don’t worry, I’m very aware that working in HR isn’t just like reading an HR blog. I know that it will have its own challenges. I want to do it anyway.

And so here I am. Obviously I’m just at the beginning stages of my search, and I’ve only applied for 2 jobs so far, but the thought that I’m ready to move forward when the right opportunity presents itself makes me really happy.

If you pray, say a prayer…my current job was my first “real” job, and so this makes me very nervous.