How This Marine Vet Future-Proofed His Career Without Spending A Dime

Forbes

3 days ago

Developing a growth mindset will protect you in career emergencies
Many of us wait until we're threatened with a layoff or we're worried about the likelihood of AI taking over our jobs, before we start thinking about future-proofing our careers and building financial resilience.
But not Craig Burnley, a Marine Corps veteran from Atlanta, Georgia. He didn't wait for an emergency to strike his secure job before deciding to be strategic about his career; instead, he was proactive and made two smart moves that took him from his 9-to-5 hybrid job as communications engineer, to a fully-remote position as a structured cabling designer (the latter pays an average of up to $70,000 a year in the U.S.).
Burnley started as a Marine Corps veteran and worked in consulting engineering as a telecommunications design professional. 'I was a full-time employee, working long hours, and had peaked in my role,' he says.
But Burnley wasn't content with where he was in his career. He desired more. Coming from a non-traditional educational background, the cabling designer says he would always seek to expand his skill set, and consistently prioritized lifelong learning. Because he had built this habit, 'it seemed logical to me to upskill or reskill when the opportunity presented itself,' Burnley says.
To begin with, he started a side hustle and began driving for Lyft outside of his regular work hours. "I started driving for Lyft because I wanted to have control over my schedule and more from my 'off-time' outside of my 9-5," Burnley reflects.
More than half of Americans currently have a side hustle. The rise of the gig economy in the United States can be attributed in part to the growth of technology, high consumer demand, and more professionals becoming disillusioned with the 'stability' of the traditional job model.
If you're worried about how secure your job and finances are, it's your smartest move to begin a side hustle now, even if you're not directly threatened with loss yet. Even if it's something as small as offering your services on TaskRabbit, launching an Etsy store, or providing consulting services online, it's better to have a backup plan and multiple streams of income that you can fall on, than to not have anything outside of your primary job at all.
Beyond picking up extra income and meeting new people in his spare time, Burnley didn't realize he was in for a surprise that would take him from his hybrid role to a fully remote job with higher earning potential: 'I received a message in the Lyft app about enrolling in the Merit America program to expand my knowledge, gain new skill sets, and grow into a new career,' he says.
So, naturally, he jumped on the opportunity.
Detailing his experience with the workforce development nonprofit program, Burnley relates:
'For many working Americans, the barriers to transitioning into a tech-related job are too high. For example, they may lack the required skill sets and connections, college is too expensive, and bootcamps and online programs don't always provide the flexibility or support required to kickstart a new career while working a day job.' Burnley knows this from experience. After all, he studied at Penn State but recalls that he 'didn't do too well' and had to end up pursuing his bachelor's degree later in life.
While on the program, he was paired with a coach for extra support, and had a team of coaches dubbed 'job success specialists' to help him find and land a role according to his new skills and interests. 'I selected the data analytics program which allowed me to obtain the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate," he shares.
But Burnley didn't stop there. He joined their alumni program, where he's currently working towards completion of the Google Advanced Data Analytics Professional Certificate.
Ultimately, what leads to career success is not sheer luck, or even needing to invest hundreds or thousands of dollars. It's having a strong hunger and passion for continuous learning, a growth mindset, and an attitude of resourcefulness, that enabled Burnley to move from a job where he was just barely content, to his current role where he has a strong career outlook, six-figure earning potential, and a fully remote position.
One might assume that the Marine Corps veteran from Georgia would have stopped driving for Lyft, now that he's achieved his goals and is progressing his tech career. But he has no intentions of quitting his side hustle any time soon.
Always have more than one income stream; never depend on your job alone
'I still drive for Lyft because I enjoy driving and for the human contact,' says Burnley. "I like helping and meeting people from all walks of life, and I get to make money while doing it."