Career-changer finds prospects to be even better than expected in the field of training and development
Kerri Leo is a student and graduate assistant for Roosevelt’s Training and Development Program.
Being a “career-change” student in the Training and Development program, I’m often asked, “So, what kind of job do you want when you graduate?” After managing the job board for the TRDV blog for a few months, I’ve discovered the possibilities are endless. Training and Development is truly a hot field right now, and opportunities abound in various industries. I’ve had the opportunity to connect with a few recent graduates of the program to gain insight into where the program can lead me.
Mallory Gott-Ortiz is a 2010 graduate of the TRDV program, having earned her master’s degree in Human Performance Improvement. She is now the Director of Education Development at Association Forum. In addition to developing educational programming and evaluating training needs for the organization’s 3500 members, she also speaks at various events around Chicago.
Jessi Underhill is a 2014 graduate of the TRDV program, having earned her master’s degree in Training and Development. After teaching high school social studies for eight years, Underhill decided to leave the field, but she still wanted to be able to use her skills. She entered Roosevelt’s TRDV program in January 2012 and is now the Training and Implementation Manager for Medtelligent. She develops training materials, provides on-site training for clients and manages client relationships. She and Kim Heintz will be presenting a webinar on Preparing for a Career in E-Learning on Nov. 12.
Kim Heintz is an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Program in Training and Development at Roosevelt, as well as being a graduate of the program. She received her Masters of Arts in Training and Development from Roosevelt with graduate certificates in e-learning and instructional design. She also is a DDI certified trainer and holds ASTD certificates in Designing Synchronous Learning and Project Management for Trainers. She currently works full time as a Senior Technical Writer and Instructional Designer for Follett School Solutions.
The employment opportunities for graduates of Roosevelt’s Training and Development program go far beyond what I imagined when I enrolled. I’m excited to see where my degree will take me and look forward to being counted among these distinguished graduates. If you’re looking for another opportunity to network and advance your career, be sure to join us on Nov. 4 for a CCASTD Professional Development Network event, Growing Your Brand with Twitter Chats – Flipping Training with Technology PDN at the Gage Building to learn what other opportunities await you as a graduate of the TRDV program.
RU Training @ Roosevelt University in Chicago 
Wow, I know this is a couple of years late. But, it is still on time for me. When I started working on earning a degree and learned that I could earn one from RU, I was thrilled. However, when I thought about the type of degree I would get, I wasn’t sure how I would use it outside of RU. Now that I have the bachelors and working on my Masters in TRDV and reading this article, I am confident that I will be able to secure employment once the courses are complete.
Marci
Thanks for this great article. As I approach my graduation I have been thinking about making a move to another type of role. It is inspiring to see those that made a complete career transition have been successful in their new ventures. It makes me feel like a new role is something I can certainly achieve and succeed at. Thanks so much for sharing!
This is very encouraging news for us as we enter the field of Training & Development. I’m enrolled in T&D program and received an instructional design credential and will graduate next week with a MATD degree. I’m excited to get started the field and confident that the knowledge gained while in T&D program is relevant to what employers need to meet their learning strategies. Also, for most companies an efficient training and development process is overdue.
Learning that there are multiple successful opportunities waiting for Training & Development graduates from Roosevelt University is very encouraging. To see that there are in fact multiple avenues to apply the material learned during the program, means my future is secure. Plus it will also mean that I will have a higher probability of interacting with other Roosevelt graduates in the near future and make the chances of networking with similarly trained colleagues possible.
I recently had a career change from business leadership to learning and development. After starting a M.Ed program (at which time I’m completing) I moved into a new role as an instructional designer, deciding that andragogy was my passion, thus a career switch. A co-worker (graduate of Roosevelt) suggested Roosevelt’s MATD program. Now I am in my third class and loving it. Glad to hear the success of former students.
This is very nice to hear! I am currently pursuing my Masters in HR but I also have a course Training&Development. Before the course started, I was thinking that this course and the training and development profession itself is not very popular field to work in. However, I have to admit that I was wrong because this is an interesting course and based on the research there is a plenty of opportunities for this profession. In the country I am coming from this field is still very new and undeveloped but I would like to learn about it more here while I am studying in the US.
This is such an encouraging article! I’ve been in the customer service and IT fields all my life and now pursuing my Masters in T&D and worried about getting a job in the field. I find many companies want to hire someone with extensive experience as in T&D and won’t bother to consider you if you only have normal work experience and only the education in that field. Hoping to get out of the IT world and make a difference in peoples’ lives!