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American Morning

Dream Jobs

Aired December 17, 2003 - 07:53   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Continuing now our week-long series, "Dream Jobs". Stockbroker Ron Wendt was almost at the breaking point -- burnout, unhappy, little time for his family. But then he took stock of his life and traded up for a better way of living as a teacher.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RON WENDT, STOCKBROKER TURNED TEACHER: And remember here, positive and negative do matter.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): With chalk in hand, high school teacher Ron Wendt gets down to business.

WENDT: So, for example, if I raise prices 5 percent...

I'm doing what I love, and it's a very niche market. You know, I'm teaching a very specific field of economics to select students that really want to learn. So, I think I'm in the best of worlds.

O'BRIEN: It wasn't always that way. For nearly a decade, Ron worked as a stockbroker, a stressful, consuming job that became even less appealing after he and his wife, Andrea (ph), became parents.

WENDT: Our family at that time was looking to try to have a more stable, balanced, you know, life between family and career.

O'BRIEN: As a broker, Ron loved to teach people about the market. So, turning to a career in education was a logical move.

WENDT: Good luck, guys.

It seemed like a natural progression to talk about and to do something I already enjoyed. And then when I found out I could teach economics in the classroom that was even better, because, you know, that was my background.

O'BRIEN: While his wife kept her day job to pay the bills, Ron took care of their young children and went to school at night.

WENDT: The hero here is not so much me changing careers, but it was also my wife. You know, she had to have the commitment to stay in her career versus being a stay-at-home mom, you know, which allowed me to go back to school to get my teaching certification.

It wouldn't be that inferior.

O'BRIEN: Although Ron admits he sometimes misses his old broker's paycheck, he says he wouldn't change a thing.

WENDT: That was a choice that I had to make and our family made together, thinking about the benefits that I have, having more time to spend with my family, the success that I've had as a teacher, you know, it pales in comparison as far as what I gave up. So, you know, I'm very happy that I made this move.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Stephen Viscusi is an author and the host of the nationally-syndicated radio show called "On the Job," and he joins us again today to tell us what it takes for people like Ron Wendt to make a successful segue.

Nice to see you.

STEPHEN VISCUSI, HOST OF "ON THE JOB" RADIO SHOW: Nice to see you again, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. So many people, I think, have that issue -- great job, pays a ton of money, and they hate it because their life is not good.

Also today, people don't realize that the money just isn't what it used to be. It's not back in the '90s. He's probably making more money today as a stockbroker than he would -- I mean as a teacher than if he was a stockbroker today.

I think one of the most important things that Ron said, though, is that he had the support of his wife. You really need the support of a spouse or a partner when making a career change like this.

O'BRIEN: A lot of people turn to teaching jobs. I mean, certainly leaving more stressful jobs for teaching jobs, and teaching is -- hey, my mom was a teacher. That can be a stressful job in and of itself. But it seems to have a bigger emotional upside than some jobs.

VISCUSI: I think because we all remember our best teachers, our favorite teachers, the ones that were the biggest inspiration to us. We look back at them, and we think about them. And in some way we want to give back in a way like our teachers gave to us.

O'BRIEN: When you're advising people on what to do, though, at some point you've got to say, you're a stockbroker making this much money. A teacher is going to make significantly less. I mean, there is math to do here.

VISCUSI: Yes.

O'BRIEN: And whether or not people can afford to take this leap.

VISCUSI: The math is important, but really the bottom line is being fulfilled is just as important, because I really do believe that when people are happy, the money eventually comes. It's like I often tell people to take money out of the equation... O'BRIEN: Really?

VISCUSI: ... when they ultimately want to make that career decision, because ultimately the money comes in another way or another reward. It really does.

O'BRIEN: It seems, too, that he kept the core of what he liked. I mean, what he hated about the stockbroker job, you know, would be the long hours and time away from the family. But he actually liked everything else about being a stockbroker.

VISCUSI: He loved the education part of it. He loved teaching other brokers what to do. So, you take things in your job that you like now and then see if you can exchange them for another career that might be more rewarding and in some cases, like Ron's case, less stressful for him.

O'BRIEN: And certainly if the upside is spending time with your family, then, you know, it can't be bad.

VISCUSI: And you can't put a price on that. You really can't.

O'BRIEN: All right, Stephen Viscusi, thank you very much. As always, nice to have you weighing in on all our topics.

VISCUSI: Thanks, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: We're going to continue to check in with you throughout the week. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired December 17, 2003 - 07:53   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Continuing now our week-long series, "Dream Jobs". Stockbroker Ron Wendt was almost at the breaking point -- burnout, unhappy, little time for his family. But then he took stock of his life and traded up for a better way of living as a teacher.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RON WENDT, STOCKBROKER TURNED TEACHER: And remember here, positive and negative do matter.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): With chalk in hand, high school teacher Ron Wendt gets down to business.

WENDT: So, for example, if I raise prices 5 percent...

I'm doing what I love, and it's a very niche market. You know, I'm teaching a very specific field of economics to select students that really want to learn. So, I think I'm in the best of worlds.

O'BRIEN: It wasn't always that way. For nearly a decade, Ron worked as a stockbroker, a stressful, consuming job that became even less appealing after he and his wife, Andrea (ph), became parents.

WENDT: Our family at that time was looking to try to have a more stable, balanced, you know, life between family and career.

O'BRIEN: As a broker, Ron loved to teach people about the market. So, turning to a career in education was a logical move.

WENDT: Good luck, guys.

It seemed like a natural progression to talk about and to do something I already enjoyed. And then when I found out I could teach economics in the classroom that was even better, because, you know, that was my background.

O'BRIEN: While his wife kept her day job to pay the bills, Ron took care of their young children and went to school at night.

WENDT: The hero here is not so much me changing careers, but it was also my wife. You know, she had to have the commitment to stay in her career versus being a stay-at-home mom, you know, which allowed me to go back to school to get my teaching certification.

It wouldn't be that inferior.

O'BRIEN: Although Ron admits he sometimes misses his old broker's paycheck, he says he wouldn't change a thing.

WENDT: That was a choice that I had to make and our family made together, thinking about the benefits that I have, having more time to spend with my family, the success that I've had as a teacher, you know, it pales in comparison as far as what I gave up. So, you know, I'm very happy that I made this move.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Stephen Viscusi is an author and the host of the nationally-syndicated radio show called "On the Job," and he joins us again today to tell us what it takes for people like Ron Wendt to make a successful segue.

Nice to see you.

STEPHEN VISCUSI, HOST OF "ON THE JOB" RADIO SHOW: Nice to see you again, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. So many people, I think, have that issue -- great job, pays a ton of money, and they hate it because their life is not good.

Also today, people don't realize that the money just isn't what it used to be. It's not back in the '90s. He's probably making more money today as a stockbroker than he would -- I mean as a teacher than if he was a stockbroker today.

I think one of the most important things that Ron said, though, is that he had the support of his wife. You really need the support of a spouse or a partner when making a career change like this.

O'BRIEN: A lot of people turn to teaching jobs. I mean, certainly leaving more stressful jobs for teaching jobs, and teaching is -- hey, my mom was a teacher. That can be a stressful job in and of itself. But it seems to have a bigger emotional upside than some jobs.

VISCUSI: I think because we all remember our best teachers, our favorite teachers, the ones that were the biggest inspiration to us. We look back at them, and we think about them. And in some way we want to give back in a way like our teachers gave to us.

O'BRIEN: When you're advising people on what to do, though, at some point you've got to say, you're a stockbroker making this much money. A teacher is going to make significantly less. I mean, there is math to do here.

VISCUSI: Yes.

O'BRIEN: And whether or not people can afford to take this leap.

VISCUSI: The math is important, but really the bottom line is being fulfilled is just as important, because I really do believe that when people are happy, the money eventually comes. It's like I often tell people to take money out of the equation... O'BRIEN: Really?

VISCUSI: ... when they ultimately want to make that career decision, because ultimately the money comes in another way or another reward. It really does.

O'BRIEN: It seems, too, that he kept the core of what he liked. I mean, what he hated about the stockbroker job, you know, would be the long hours and time away from the family. But he actually liked everything else about being a stockbroker.

VISCUSI: He loved the education part of it. He loved teaching other brokers what to do. So, you take things in your job that you like now and then see if you can exchange them for another career that might be more rewarding and in some cases, like Ron's case, less stressful for him.

O'BRIEN: And certainly if the upside is spending time with your family, then, you know, it can't be bad.

VISCUSI: And you can't put a price on that. You really can't.

O'BRIEN: All right, Stephen Viscusi, thank you very much. As always, nice to have you weighing in on all our topics.

VISCUSI: Thanks, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: We're going to continue to check in with you throughout the week. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.