Author: Aaron Ogg
If you have spent any Covid pandemic time with the news, you’ve likely noticed the buzz phrase “Great Resignation” discussed by people with varying degrees of job market expertise.
There is no doubt that the Great Resignation – waves of workers leaving their jobs to pursue greener pastures – is a thing. According to Joblist’s 2022 Job Market Trends Report, three out of four full-time employees are planning to resign this year. Additionally, 79% of employed jobseekers believe they can earn more in the current market by switching jobs.
As the so-called “gig economy” strengthens its hold and remote careers increasingly become the norm, it’s easy to be intimidated by the shifting sands.
What if we told you that instead of being swallowed by those sands, you can enjoy a well-earned seaside mojito on them after directing a successful tour for world travelers who share your passion?
In our opinion, it beats a sneaking a glass of wine at lunch in your home office before your next Teams or Zoom meeting. The air is different, to say the least.
If your dream is to explore exotic destinations and be an expert in your unique travel niche, we can help with that. Since 1976, ITMI has been helping people realize their dreams by becoming Certified Tour Directors and Guides. For the past decade, we have expanded our reach into the global tour and travel industry through customized online training.
That’s the short of it. Of course, we could bore you with statistics such as the number of students we have graduated (over 10,000 and counting) and their job placement rate (92%) with the world’s top travel companies, but that’s not what this is about. This is about us determining whether we’re a good fit for each other.
We will say that many of our alumni who have become our lifelong bright spots and top performers have started right where you are now. Let’s consider this the beginning of our journey together. We hope it is a long one.
If you don’t mind, we’d like to start by making a couple of assumptions. If you are reading this, you’ve already considered making a career change. And if you’ve made it this far, then you’re thinking this “get paid to travel” idea has legs. Let’s go one further, and this may be a bit touchy … you’re feeling burned out. Un- or underappreciated. Unfulfilled. Overleveraged. Out of shape. Out of touch. Lost.
A new path begins with these kinds of recognitions and reflections. “How did I get here and how do I get out?” That would be the human instinct kicking in. Our goal is to change the question slightly. We prefer: How did I get here and where do I want to be? If your answer is along the lines of, “I want to be everywhere and do everything that is important and exciting to me,” then this is a worthwhile conversation.
We’ve created these “Where Am I in Life?” descriptions based on feedback from our alumni, new students, industry partners and our own trend observations. It’s not a one-size-fits-all. What we described earlier most closely aligns with the characteristics of Burnt Out Worker (the red one with the frowny emoji; we <3 emojis), but some of the other descriptions may resonate as much or even more with you as well.
Happy digging. Once you’ve had a chance to learn more about us and weigh your interest, we would love to hear from you. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, send us an email to travel@itmisf.com.
