Getting an Instructional Design Position Reading

    In the chapter Getting an Instructional Design Position: Lessons from a Personal History, I found some lessons that I found interesting and that I have done in small amounts but need to focus on more. One of the lessons that the author talked about was to become more active in professional organizations. I have been involved in some organizations but not to the extent that he talks about. I have done my fair share of volunteering, but there is instances where it has only been a couple of times and then I don't do it anymore. I think this is something that I need to do more often to get more experiences and to help in future careers. There are things that I volunteer to do for my work, when they come about, but there are things that I can be doing in my community and in surrounding communities to help the schools, which in turn might help me to get a job in a public school one day!
    Another lesson that I saw in this chapter that connected with me was about revising a job that doesn't fit or apply for jobs that interested me, even if you don't have the exact qualifications. This does apply for me because when I first got my job I was a preschool home base teacher, which meant I had to go to children's homes and work with the parents and young children ages 2-3. I got my degree in elementary education, with an early childhood minor, so it did apply to my job, but it wasn't something I was qualified for. Getting the job was a great start and foot in the door to where I am now, a preschool center based teacher for preschoolers, ages 3-5. I would like to have a teaching job in the elementary school, so what I need to do is to apply, apply, apply, to get myself out there and to participate in things so that I can get that job I desire!
    This chapter gave some really good tips, that you know about but often forget to do. I like the part also about how he says you will not get the first job or second cause a lot of people, me included, get discouraged if they do not recieve the jobs they applied for. This is a good chapter for people to read, because it puts things in perspective.