From Computer Programmer to Nonprofit Communications Manager
Potomac, Maryland
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Tired of computer programming, Susan Burket took writing classes, and today handles communications for a local nonprofit hospice.
"Let me know what I can do." We’ve all said it; we’ve all meant it. And we can forgive ourselves for not doing anything further because no one called to "let us know" what to do next. Despite our best intentions, despite our true sympathy for a person or a group going through a difficult time, we often do nothing.
At age 50, as the demands on my time as a mother lessened, I began to more actively seek out what it was that I personally could do. Feeling sadness about the horrors of 9/11, reading news articles about poverty, witnessing friends struggle with cancer - all these things combined into a personal need to do something.
I felt strongly that I needed to work to help ease some of the pains of the world (or perhaps just the ones in my local community). I had to "give back."
My long career (and self identification) as a computer programmer was not the first thing I looked at changing. Instead I increased my commitment to volunteer work, doing several professional pro bono projects. It wasn’t enough. Despite my lucrative salary and supportive bosses, I found myself unhappy during the day, watching the clock. I just wasn’t interested in designing another database, in writing another computer program. Technical challenges that used to intrigue me seemed meaningless.
A self-created, year-long internship with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter affirmed my growing suspicion that I needed to be in a different work environment. With trepidation, I took writing classes and found that even a former math major could be taught to write a more coherent sentence.
Informational interviews with several passionate community leaders finalized my decision to make a career shift into the nonprofit world. Today I work for a local nonprofit hospice, doing communications. My responsibilities include newsletters, annual reports, advertising and maintaining the website.
Many people ask how I could give up a long technical career to work longer hours for less pay. In contrast, my coworkers at hospice ask what took me so long to join them. I feel very fortunate to have found a way to use my talents in an organization of amazing, caring people, who look pain in the eye and don’t flinch.
Going forward, I hope to never again ask "What can I do?" and wait for an answer: I plan to actively seek out ways to make some positive difference in the community.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed doing communications work for a nonprofit and hope to continue this for the rest of my career. I hope to gain further education and experience to help me learn better ways to inform people in need of the services available, and to share with other people all the ways that they can help. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with committed people striving to make a difference.