After 24 years of successful practice, the last 15 happily self-employed in the design of home renovations, Milwaukee architect Calli Spheeris now has a pressing redesign project of her own: career change at age 56.
The economic downturn has hit Calli Spheeris' profession hard. Homeowners are thinking twice about renovations. Architecture firms are shedding staff at unprecedented levels. Even with her many long-term relationships with contractors in the area, and having won several awards in the field - most recently Milwaukee Homes' Gold Award for Best Kitchen in 2008, Best Remodel in 2006, and one for a design called "Ranch Redux" from M Magazine in Oct 2005 - there was simply not enough consulting work for a consistent income.
When economic setbacks keep coming and uncertainty is the only sure thing, a person has choices: contract in fear or use the adversity to build psychological muscle; focus on the injustices behind this financial mess or find the strength to barrel through it. Calli chose to move toward work that combines her passions for learning, art, creative challenge, and children. Even better, she chose what the U.S. Dept. of Labor Statistics reports is one of the most recession-proof professions, a career in education.
"My husband and I were watching the movie Dan in Real Life," Calli recalls. "I don't remember much about the movie because I kept thinking about something one character said: 'love is not a feeling, it is an ability.' "A working mother of 2 teenage sons and 24-year old stepson, she had wanted to make a change for over 10 years,"so this economic crisis has turned into a great opportunity for me. I still work on architectural projects, but now I have the time to substitute teach, update my very old teaching certification, read up on the education field, check out the schools, and decide which grade levels I am best suited to teach. Eventually, I would like a full time teaching position."
Conventional thinking turns many people to the notion that doing work we love is a luxury, that being practical and profitable often means sacrificing purpose. And as the economy tightens, and the media fans the flames of fearful thinking, we can easily lose hope that our work life can be consistent with our inner life. But as Calli's real life example demonstrates, now might be the best time to take what we love and turn it into action, an attitude that can completely change the flavor and the meaning of this crisis.
