During the pandemic lockdowns, 34 year-old Courtney Jackson was doing art and craft activities with her young daughter when she suddenly had a lightbulb moment. This was what she loved to do! Teaching. Watching kids learn. Being creative. Within a few months, she’d enrolled in the mid-year intake for Swinburne Online’s Master of Teaching.

Fast-forward a few years – plus three placements and two more kids – and Courtney has kick-started her ‘dream job’ as a primary school art teacher. She’s also launched her own small business, Little Mate Create, running kids art classes from her converted backyard studio.

We sat down with Courtney to get some advice on the slightly terrifying big career change. How exactly do you do it?IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO START AGAIN Growing up in rural Victoria, Courtney moved to Melbourne straight out of university. She worked a bunch of odd jobs – photography, illustration, bakery assistant, retail – but nothing really stuck. It wasn’t until she was nearing 30, having moved back to Barham with a young daughter, that she found her true passion: teaching. ‘I was feeling a little lost,’ she admits. ‘There aren’t many options in our small country town that suited me, and I was stuck at home with a toddler. But looking back now, I was able to get such a big thing done in my life. One kid when I started the course – now there’s three. And I have a degree!’

DO WHAT YOU LOVE Following your passion is something people encourage you to do at 19. Thirty? Not so much. But Courtney says, if you’re going to try a career change, you need to listen to your heart. What actually gets you excited? ‘I’ve always been passionate about art,’ she says, ‘so that was an easy one for me. Sitting down with my daughter, watching her face light up when she learned something new, that was the sign.’ Chasing passion, rather than a pay cheque, helps the study process, too. You’re more motivated to learn and engage with the coursework.GET SOME HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE So you think you’d like to work in a particular field, but you’ve never, you know, actually tried it? Follow Courtney’s lead and get some hands-on experience. ‘It’s very difficult to picture what a new career is going to be like until you get out there and do it,’ she says. ‘With Swinburne Online, I did three teaching placements, and the first one was quite early in the degree. They were the best experiences of my life. I was quickly able to go, “Yep, tick. This is definitely for me”.’

If you don’t want to commit to the study experience just yet, try and find volunteer work in your new field, or reach out to professionals on LinkedIn. Most people are happy to tell you what a job’s really like.

FIND FLEXIBLE STUDY Living in the tiny country town of Barham (population: 1518), Courtney needed a tertiary course that worked round her lifestyle. With its flexible curriculum and remote learning, Swinburne Online fit the bill. ‘The structure of the course really helped,’ Courtney says. ‘I got pregnant twice more during my Masters, so sometimes I was doing three subjects, other times just one. I was able to adapt the course to suit my needs.’

Courtney says she also appreciated Swinburne Online’s commitment to practical learning. ‘You’re not just writing essays!’ she laughs. ‘For a lot of the course, you’re basically teaching full-time. So when I went from my last placement to my current dream role, it felt good. I felt ready.’THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS TOO BUSY Courtney completed her Master of Teaching remotely, from a small town, while looking after three kids under six. She was heavily pregnant for two of her three teaching placements. In other words, even when life gets busy, there’s always room to change direction. ‘With young kids, you can’t just sit down and study for eight hours,’ she says. ‘That’s not how it works. But with Swinburne Online, I could finish work late at night, or smash out some study while the kids were napping. I think being a parent actually makes you really good at switching your focus on and off. Put it this way: I was a much better student at 30 than I was at 21!’

LEAN ON YOUR SUPPORT NETWORKS During her career shift, Courtney had a great support network: her husband, extended family, and even other students at Swinburne Online. ‘You’ve got to have support around you before diving into a career change, 100 per cent,’ she says. ‘Obviously I’m talking up the course, but that doesn’t mean it was easy, and I didn’t do it alone. Thankfully there are a lot of support systems at Swinburne Online, and I was able to join the teaching Facebook group. There’s lots of ways to link up with your classmates and get their advice. Seriously, at this age, it takes a village.’

These useful tips were brought to you in partnership with our pals at Swinburne Online. If you want to study while being supported by a lovely team, check out the range of courses on offer at Swinburne Online including the Master of Teaching course Courtney studied.