Ep. 92 - Behavior Sciences Coordinator II -The Medical University of South Carolina - Heather Ritson

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2013 Van Buren graduate Heather Ritson, a Behavior Services Coordinator II at The Medical University of South Carolina. In this episode, Heather shares how a typical day looks for her, how the path to her career started with a social work degree, how she cancelled plans to earn a master’s degree in social work and an MBA and is glad she did, the importance of learning from mentors, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career as a social worker or are still exploring your options, I hope that what Heather shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:10 - A typical day as a Behavior Services Coordinator at The Medical University of South Carolina2:53 - The Institute of Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences is the umbrella program for where Heather works.3:49 - The Medical University of South Carolina has multiple campuses, but Heather works in Charleston, SC.5:05 - When she was a VB student, Heather knew she wanted to work with and help people in her career based on her high school experiences.6:24 - Heather attended college with a social work major.6:45 - Business development became part of her career journey between her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.8:13 - Heather almost earned her master’s degree in social work at the University of Michigan and an MBA, but she had a change of heart in both instances.11:10 - A photography business has turned into a hobby for Heather.12:14 - The experiences as a photographer have helped her in her current career even though she no longer focuses on photography.13:26 - Skills are transferable.14:15 - Talk to mentors in fields that interest you to identify potential paths to and in a career.16:20 - The social work degree is what really gave Heather the flexibility to end up where she is in her career.18:02 - People who are observant and empathetic could do well in the social work field.19:52 - When earning a social work degree, make sure it is an accredited program.20:43 - Employers don’t care where a person earned a degree. They just care that a degree was earned.21:59 - Life and careers are not a race.22:37 - Get experiences to help figure out a career path.Questions?Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).Connect with Heather on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/heather-ritson) or by e-mail ([email protected]).