299: How to Successfully Transition from Higher Education to Corporate Jobs with Carla Santamaria

299: How to Successfully Transition from Higher Education to Corporate Jobs with Carla Santamaria

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Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Welcome

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: to the award winning Grad School Femtoring Podcast, the place for first gen BIPOCs to listen in on inclusive grad school stories and learn about personal development and productivity tips. This is Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu, a certified coach, consultant, and author, and I will be serving as your femtor, providing you with insider knowledge to help you reach your personal and professional goals.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Welcome back everyone to another episode of the Grad School Femtoring Podcast. This is your host, Dr. Yvette. Today we're going to cover the topic of transitioning from higher education to corporate jobs. [00:01:00] Yes, that's a very popular topic here on this show. And unfortunately, it happens to still be a taboo topic for many of my listeners.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I'm excited today to feature my guest, Carla Santamaria. She is a formerly undocumented Honduran immigrant who more than doubled her salary in 10 months by job hopping from higher ed to healthcare and to tech. In addition to her full-time tech job, Carla is a career coach on a mission to help first gen women of color increase their salaries by 30 K in six months or less.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Yes. Carla is also the host of the First Gen Coach Podcast, where first generation professionals learn to advance the career, unlearn limiting beliefs, and build wealth. And also, fun fact, Carla has had my co author and I on her show just a few months back. So I'm happy to have Carla on the show. Welcome to the [00:02:00] podcast.

Carla Santamaria: Thank you so much. I am so happy to be here.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Yay, yay, I'm so glad we could make this happen. And yeah, I'm excited to talk about this topic. And actually, before we start, one thing that I'm trying to remember from here on out is to provide a quick visual description for the folks listening to the audio only. I'm wearing a lilac sweater with a silver headband and lilac and black beaded earrings.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: My hair is down a little bit wavy. It's dark brown. I'm also sitting on a chair with a purple throw blanket on it. And I've got my mic to my bottom left. And yeah, I I'm happy to have you if you want to share just a brief whatever you want to share about your visual description, what you're wearing, how you look.

Carla Santamaria: Sure thing. So, I am wearing a black shirt. I'm just like, okay, black shirt. Uh, I have long dark hair and it is down. I am wearing my favorite [00:03:00] earrings, which are gold hoops that say, Bruja, uh, in honor of trying to connect more with my ancestors and the main ancestral healing practice of brujería and curanderismo. And so that's, uh, that's what that's for. So, and I am Latina, tan. Uh, yeah, I also have my mic. It is Towards the bottom middle of my screen and I'm sitting in a pink office chair.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Yes, I'm so glad I asked because I couldn't tell from here what your earrings say, and now I love them that much more because they say bruja, and I also come from a lineage of, you know, my mom will not call herself a bruja, but she pretty much is a bruja because she has a botanica, and there's a lot of space.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: We're just sharing a little bit about ourselves and our spirituality going on just in terms of my, my home and my family. So in any case, really, really cool. Really good to have you for the folks that are new to you and your work. Can you tell us a little bit more about who you are, what you do and essentially [00:04:00] how you got to where you are today.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I, I know there's a lot to this. So whatever you're comfortable sharing. in a brief segment of who you are.

Carla Santamaria: Yeah, sure thing. Uh, so I guess I'll start, I'll start from the beginning. No, I'm just kidding. I actually, fun fact, before I start talking about this, I just hit a few, maybe a couple of months back, my hundredth podcast episode and then ended up having to split it. Thank you. I ended up having to split it into two because it was like my career and and that was very loquacious.

Carla Santamaria: I was like, wow, this is. This is now two episodes, so, you know, I'm gonna try to keep it brief. But, so I was born in Honduras, as you said. Actually, let me start. My name is Carla Santamaria. Folks call me Carla, but it's really important for me to make sure that I introduce myself pronouncing my name the way that my parents gave it to me.

Carla Santamaria: So that's Carla Santamaria. My pronouns are she, her, hers, and ella. I am based out of South Florida. I grew up here. I like to [00:05:00] make a joke that I grew up in one suburb of Miami and now I live in a different suburb of Miami. So that's how far my, you know, adult moving has taken me. Uh, so yeah, I grew up in South Florida.

Carla Santamaria: As you said in my, in my intro, I was undocumented and being undocumented just shaped a lot of the experiences that I thought were available to me and because I was undocumented and low income and first gen, uh, I was raised with several beliefs. For example, education is the key to a better life, you know, and you have to give back to your community and things of that nature.

Carla Santamaria: So I ended up, so, you know, mentioned I'm from Miami, so I got my associate's degree from. Miami Dade College, my bachelor's degree from Florida International University, and my master's degree from the University of Miami. I did a lot of work in undergrad and college access, and I [00:06:00] thought that my career was going to be in the non profit sector. And eventually I remember, uh, I was, you know, and I worked in college access non profit with kids who just, who looked like me, who had similar backgrounds as me. I was like barely 10 or 12 years older than I was like, this kid is me like this, you know? And, and then I realized just. One day I had this vision of all these kids coming to this program and I put a band aid on them and then I send them back to these environments that are just not conductive to their success. And that is how I kind of discovered root cause analysis and community and social change. And that's when I ended up, you know, how I chose my master's degree. So my master's was in community psychology and a community and social change master's program. So I was in higher education. I thought that I was going to be in higher ed forever. Like I thought that I Wanted to be the president of Harvard. And it's so silly saying that out loud. I mean, it's not, it's not silly because [00:07:00] I did think that I did think, I remember one time somebody gave me terrible career advice, which is like, Carla, just figure out where you want to be in 30 years and work backwards from there.

Carla Santamaria: It was paralyzing since I was not born in the United States. I knew I couldn't be president, but I was like, Oh, I'll be secretary of state. No, I did not want to do that. Anyway, eventually I found myself also disillusioned by higher education. I was working at the community college where I got my associate's degree, and I was so bright eyed and bushy tailed because it opened so many doors for me as an undergrad student and as somebody that, you know, had grown up undocumented, and I got so many scholarships, and it was just such a wonderful experience as a student that when I returned as an employee, it was Heartbreaking, like just utterly heartbreaking.

Carla Santamaria: I found myself overworked, underpaid, underappreciated. And then I decided I need to, I need to leave, you know, and I know we'll get into it in, in just, you know, just a minute, but there was a lot of factors that led to [00:08:00] that decision. Uh, but because I had been doing equity based work, basically my entire career, I decided that I wanted to pursue diversity, equity, and inclusion, and I transitioned from fi higher education into a healthcare job that was not the right fit, to put it lightly and so I was there less than a year, and then I transitioned into the, uh, DEI role in tech. And along those lines, I opened up my coaching business. And again, we'll talk about, I know we'll talk about that a little bit later on, but when I left. Actually, when I, when I left my graduate degree and I got my first job postgraduate degree, I was like, Oh my God, help. There was just no help. And I realized that I needed to be the one to provide the help that I wish that I had.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Right, I feel like a lot of our listeners can, can resonate with what you've shared thus far about being first gen, about how [00:09:00] Being a child of immigrants or being an immigrant themselves and having that pressure of wanting to help and wanting to use education as an, as a pathway and outlet for success.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And also even some folks who listen to the podcast, they're still in higher ed and they're still thinking they're going to be in higher ed for the rest of their lives. And I've been there. I've been there and experienced that feeling of being on the other end of things, becoming a staff member, and realizing that feeling of disillusionment of, of having actual data to prove that you are being underpaid and that you are being undervalued.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And then needing to do something about it. And so in your case, it was to leave in pursue healthcare. And then eventually that landed you into the tech space. But I know that a lot of folks are not able to make that transition. There's so many folks I know who for years have been thinking of leaving higher ed and [00:10:00] they, I don't know what the distinction is between, folks like that who stay and folks like us who leave.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And so I'm curious in your case, if you can share a little bit more about that process of thinking about leaving higher ed, and then eventually you made the leap. Not just from higher ed to tech, but you, you went higher ed to healthcare to tech. So you've made multiple pivots and you're also a coach, so you've got a business as well.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: So multiple pivots, multiple different things that you've done. Can you tell us a little bit more about your journey and perhaps the motivation or the impetus, like the thing that sparked for you taking that action to actually leaving?

Carla Santamaria: Sure thing. So, There, when I, when I usually tell this story, I think about me wanting to buy a house and me trying to, you know, so I wanted to buy a house, my partner and I wanted to buy a house. We made the decision together [00:11:00] in September of 2020, you know, so everything is still shut down and you know, and I, my student loans were paused and I remember trying, just doing some mental math of okay, well, this is how much I have in my budget for the mortgage, once my student loans resume, and then this is how much I have in my budget for student loans, and then, you know, because the House South Easy Market was doing wild things and I live in South Florida, I I did just the math wasn't mathing.

Carla Santamaria: And so I remember thinking, well, if I reduce my student loan payments, so if I sign up for an income based, like income driven repayment plan, then I can take those 200 and add them to my mortgage. And that's how I can afford my mortgage. And then it was like, wait, what? No, I just need to make more money. So that was my, that initially was the moment that I thought I just need to make more money. [00:12:00] And I, you know, and eventually I did consider entrepreneurship. It's so interesting. I was so passionate and so convinced that I was going to be in higher education for the rest of my life, that I didn't even like, even at this moment where I saw that my salary wasn't taking me anywhere. I didn't even consider leaving higher education. I think that the, you know, the moment that I left was when I found out that I was underpaid. And I ended up talking to like my employee, like employee relations representative. And this person was so unkind. She actually said to me, well, if you didn't like the offer, you didn't have to accept it.

Carla Santamaria: Feel free to quit. It's like a whole other thing. And. I remember, I remember almost like rage crying and, you know, and again, trying to buy a house and my partner was like, please don't quit. Please don't quit. You know? And so I knew that I was leaving that institution and that I needed to increase my salary. Now, now how did I know that I [00:13:00] had like more options, right? I, I also want to give credit a little bit to my partner because, so, you know, as I mentioned that, you know, like I, I have my master's degree and I'm the only one in my family with a master's degree. And I wasn't making any money

Carla Santamaria: and I just was so confused. And at the time I was making around 51, 000 a year, living in Miami, spending 150 a month just on tolls to drive down I 95 to get to my college campus. And it was so disheartening. And I remember my partner, who worked in Interestingly enough, healthcare he was hiring someone and he was telling me about you know, it's behavioral health.

Carla Santamaria: So there's, I don't have an awful lot of understanding into the backend of that, but he was hiring someone for a role that was considered entry level. And that Didn't really have they doesn't have no requirement [00:14:00] for educational requirement and the starting salary was 65k a year And I was like what? 65k with no college degree and I'm over here with 51, 000 and a master's degree and a truckload of student loans I think there's something more out there.

Carla Santamaria: So I

Carla Santamaria: think just having that information was the impetus or, you know, I guess having that information made me realize there's more out there than higher education. And then just being so mistreated by the whole debacle with unequal pay leaving. And so I think it was a lot of things going on at once that just really pushed me out. I know I've talked to a lot of folks who have left higher ed and we talk about the pull factors and the push factors.

Carla Santamaria: For me, it was all push, like everything like pushed me out of higher ed and it just, it wasn't for me.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Wow. [00:15:00] Wow. I, I like that you mentioned that at the end, the push and pull, uh, because I hadn't considered it from that perspective of what are the things that are pushing you out and what are the things that are drawing you into another, another field. So for you, you said it was all being pushed out, realizing you were being underpaid and then pushing you out.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Making that having that awareness that there were other jobs available out there that were like, as you said, entry level required no additional advanced degree. And you're probably thinking, wait, I can do that. If I can do that, then what else can I do? So you eventually. made the leap and managed to land a job where you, where your skills are valued for more than, more than what they were being valued for in higher ed.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I'm curious about this process of increasing your salary and even doubling your salary. Like you did [00:16:00] that in a relatively short period of time. A lot of us can't say that. I know I can't say that. And I'm, I'm curious if you could share a little bit more about. Strategies that came up for you. A lot of it I know has to do with mindset of even expanding your horizon of possibilities because I've had clients I've worked with that they're just shocked when I tell them what they can, that what they can pursue and the types of salaries that they can negotiate with their advanced degrees.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Even something, saying, telling them you can easily make six figures is this big A moment for them where their mind is blown. Like I hadn't considered that I could make that much because they haven't seen that in higher ed. So that's like one, it's like the mindset, but then the other part of it as the negotiation process of it, of actually doing the work of.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Crafting the emails or saying what you need to say or bringing up the [00:17:00] data. That's those two things combined. I'm sure perhaps other things, if you can, if there's other things that you want to share, but I'm curious about the strategies that came up for you that made it possible for you to double their salary that maybe can help someone else increase their salary.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I'm not telling folks, you're definitely going to double your salary like I love it, but Hey, if it can get you a little boost or a little bump, let's take it.

Carla Santamaria: Yes, absolutely. And honestly, I think if you're working in higher education, you can double your salary. Like you can double your salary. Let's just put it out there. Yeah. I mean, unfortunately, one of the reasons I was able to double my salary is that I was so underpaid. So, yeah. So I want to. Quickly talk about mindset because you mentioned like all they know is higher ed. That's all I knew. All I knew was higher education and nonprofit. Like even my friend group, they're all either [00:18:00] K through 12 or higher education. And I, and of course that was what I thought was available to me. So really, You know, there's a saying that says your salary is the average of the salary of the five people closest to you. And when I look at my core friend group of five, I'm like, yeah, that tracks. And you know, again, it's why I gave credit to, you know, this conversation that I had with my partner. So shout out to online dating that introduces us to new people, but it really is. Just like understanding that there's so much out there.

Carla Santamaria: And I'm sure that there are so many of your listeners who are also first gen and whose experience are people in nonprofit and people in government jobs and people in higher education. And those tend to be low. And we just think that we simply don't know anybody in the private sector and it's what is available?

Carla Santamaria: And so, yes, I say it again, like if you're in higher education and you're listening, even if you're in the nonprofit sector and you're listening, you can easily Easily double your salary. [00:19:00] And it's about believing of what is available to you and understanding what is available to you. Now talking about strategies, I was able to leverage my skills and experience into a role in, in healthcare. So I want to say that like my last role in higher ed, I was like the. Campus director for our civic education and non profit, non partisan voter education office. So I was at director level. And so then I transitioned and somebody, I started talking to a whole bunch of people because I needed to understand what was available.

Carla Santamaria: Like I started We're doing just cold outreach. People had met at networking events and I was like, Hey Fulanita, I see that you're in DEI. I'm trying to pursue a career in DEI. Do you have 20 minutes to talk? And it was, you know, we were still quarantined. Most people had 20 minutes to hop on a zoom or on a phone call. And I started just like [00:20:00] hearing so much and, you know, I got lots of different pieces of advice, but the most valuable piece of advice I got is that sometimes you have to make a lateral move before you can make a vertical move. And so that kind of opened my eyes because since I had been in higher ed as a director level, and for me, that was like a big ego thing.

Carla Santamaria: I'm telling you higher ed pays an ego boost, not in money. You know, I was applying to director level roles and I wasn't getting any callbacks because I just didn't have it just, it wasn't equivalent. So I actually transitioned from director to coordinator. Talk about Swallowing a big piece of humble pie, but I went from making 51k to 65k. So it was something like 30 percent increase, even though it was a huge step back in title. And so I was able to really articulate because I had been performing such high level, you know, like this company, [00:21:00] They got a deal hiring me. It's wow, look at this brilliant woman with a master's degree. She's only asking for 65k, you know? And so that, you know, and I, during my job interview, I do remember saying, and this is one of the things that I wanted to address in terms of strategy. I remember being explicit in how I connected the thoughts for the interviewer. Because I did not have experience in healthcare, but I didn't start every sentence with, I have no experience in healthcare, I framed my experience as I've been doing equity based work for 10 years, first in education equity, and then in closing the civic empowerment gap, which isn't, you know, like civic equity. And in my job interview, I remember saying, well, when I worked in, you know, in the college that I worked, I was able to reach the students by working directly with faculty and staff. And in this role, I hope to, you know, better affect patient outcomes by working with directly with the clinical and non clinical staff. So that is definitely one strategy of, you know, connecting the dots and seeing what skills you have. What is the [00:22:00] underlying Theme and, you know, list out everything that you've done in your career. If you're working higher education, like I actually got a message today in my inbox, like, how do I transition from student services to the corporate sector?

Carla Santamaria: And I was thinking, man, you would make a killing in event planning, like strategic events, because so many, so much of student life is just events, event planning, event coordinating. And again, I will say that sometimes you might have to take a step back in title, but at least for me, if that represented a huge increase in salary, then 100 percent it's worth it. And I've had to ask my clients what's more important to you, having this title of executive director or having, you know, like a job where you're making 150K and then Oh yeah, I'll take the 150K, you know, like it's, you know, but again, It's you, first of all, you have to believe that it's available to you.

Carla Santamaria: And, you know, you have to kind of make that trade off [00:23:00] because I will say you, you might have to make a lateral move leaving from higher education, because as I mentioned before, higher ed tends to inflate a lot of roles. Like I was applying for director level roles and VP level roles. And now I just, Think of myself like, oh, sweet baby angel.

Carla Santamaria: Like you had no idea what you were doing, you know. And I know in the career trajectory where I am, I'm a DEI program manager. My next title would be senior manager. My next title would be director, then senior director, then vice president. So that's like at least seven or eight years down the line versus in higher ed, you graduate from grad school and you're an assistant associate director, you know, and it's just not equivalent. But again, you have to make You have to be willing to make that lateral move. And that's what I did in order to, you know, like transition into DEI. And you also have to be very, very, very, very clear. Make the lateral move and be very clear on what it is that you want for your next job. For my next job, I knew I [00:24:00] wanted DEI in my job title.

Carla Santamaria: I knew I wanted it to be close to my house because I was not about to drive on I 95 anymore. And, oh, I knew I needed to make more money. And so I, those three things were what I manifested, were like what I got. I set out to, to reach it, you know, and I can, I'm going to pause there because I can then talk about how I went from that healthcare job to tech.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Yeah, so we, I mean, I heard a couple of things. I heard you say that Firstly, you have to believe that it's possible because you're not gonna get started if you don't believe it. Second thing is that you do have to swallow your pride or your ego and in many cases you will have to make a lateral move or maybe even accept a title that isn't as, I don't know, doesn't feed the ego as much as your former title.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: So there's that, the lateral move. piece is really, really helpful. And then also, what was the last [00:25:00] thing that you said right now about trying to remember, I was going to say something else related to your transition. Make, believe that it's possible. Make the lateral move. You know what?

Carla Santamaria: sorry,

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: It's okay. It's my brain fog. That's, that's okay. Well, well, the other thing too, you were talking, talking to people. So you had a clear idea of, or a clearer idea of the language to use being very, very mindful of how you frame your experience to land the job. Oh, yeah. And that reminds me of what I was going to say, which is knowing your non negotiables, which for you was, I need to get paid more or a set salary.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I need to find a job in this location. And what was the third thing you said that it

Carla Santamaria: have DEI on my job title.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: DEI in your title. That's super duper important and helpful because that helps to narrow down your search. Which brings me to the next question about finding jobs. [00:26:00] That job search is a big hurdle for so many people.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: A lot of folks don't know what jobs to apply for. They don't know what roles they're eligible or qualified for. A lot of folks like get so overwhelmed, they don't even know how to get started. And I would love to hear from you about that. Pivot again from healthcare to tech because that did involve you searching for more jobs.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I'm assuming talking to more people, but I'm curious beyond talking to people, how else you went through this process of finding jobs to apply for.

Carla Santamaria: Sure thing, so The key here was talking to people. I will say that 100 percent talking to people. I had 35 coffee chats in 90 days on top of my full time job. And I think at that point I had already started my coaching business. So 35 coffee chats in 90 days was a lot. Do you know how many messages I had to send in order to get 35 coffee chats? And so that was [00:27:00] absolutely like the most important thing. It is 100%. Like I tell people you're better off talking to 20 people than applying to 200 jobs. So 100 percent that is again, a non negotiable if you're trying to, to get a new job and like trying to figure out what you're good at, you know, find out, just talk to people, tell them a little bit about your career, tell them about what you've done, what excites you. Because this serves many purposes. One of them is, first of all, this is how you let people know that you're open to work. And your next job is most likely going to come from somebody that, you know, or somebody saying Oh, actually, I think I think I know someone that needs someone to do this, you know, and that's how that's how, that's what networking is. You know, I really I don't love the term. I really think it's more about relationship building, but there's this stat that like 86 percent of job offers are given through networking. And I used to think this was like this very negative country club, you know, elitist thing. [00:28:00] And while in some cases it can be, a lot of cases it's like, Oh, you know what?

Carla Santamaria: My prima works for XYZ company. Do you want me to connect you with her? You know, and that's, that's what it looks like. So 100 percent talk to more people because, again, this is how other people know you. This is how they know that you're open to work. Second, because you start finding the patterns, what is it about your career that gets you most excited? The thing that you love to talk about. And as these patterns emerge, the people that you talk to can tell you things that you've never even heard of. Oh, that sounds like you have the skills for a customer success job. At one point I remember it was super disillusioned with diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Carla Santamaria: I was thinking about customer success and the entire thing is client relationship management. I was like, are you kidding me? All I do is manage fragile egos. I can 100 percent do that. So yeah, so 100% Talking to more people serves many purposes, you know, again, it's, it lets people know you're open to [00:29:00] work. It helps you get clear on your experience and it actually opens you up to jobs you've never even heard of. So that's the first thing. Now the second thing in order to like actually apply, what jobs can I even apply for? Ask the people that you're talking to. Let's start there. And then the other thing, this is a kind of. I don't want to call it. I mean, whatever. You can just ask ChatGPT. I'm a big fan of Googling. Like I legit Googled like jobs for transitioning teachers or jobs for when you leave higher education. And now you can just upload your resume into ChatGPT and say, Hey, what are the core skills for someone with this resume? What skills, you know, what jobs can I use with these skills? And so that is one place to start, and I actually think it's a really great place to start. It's identifying what skills you have, either by Googling or by asking ChatGBT, or honestly by talking to your [00:30:00] mentors and your friends and your colleagues. And then once you see those skills, figure out, figure out which jobs pay you the most for them. Amazing.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: funny that you mentioned that, because I recently was working with a client, and most of my clients right now are either undergrads or grad students. So this is a grad student client. And as this person is wrapping up their grad program, we did that same exercise of okay, let's put this key information from your resume, put it on on ChatGPT and see what it pops out.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And that was, The impetus for this person to then reach out to folks in similar industries And that landed coffee chats and then eventually it got to like recently getting invited to apply for a job at google And I mean, it's still a work in progress. There's you know, we're still not done But that momentum of just from opening up your opportunities Just [00:31:00] knowing what is out there, knowing what you can apply for, knowing who you can tap into on LinkedIn or from your net greater network and And next thing you know, you might get an invitation, you might get a referral.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: This is how it happens. So I'm glad that you mentioned that because that's such a great thing. I'm a big fan of using AI strategically, ethically, of course, and strategically too. And this is one of the ways. So thanks for mentioning that. Now, I want to shift gears to talking about The transition and the adjustment process because that's another thing that comes up, especially with folks who are really hung up on an academic or scholarly identity.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: It can be a big grieving process to leave higher ed and sometimes it means it impacts your relationships. It means losing friendships. That's happened to me before. And there's this adjustment period of time. [00:32:00] New space, new culture, new language, new people. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? Or maybe even share some words of advice on how to manage that?

Carla Santamaria: Yes. So I actually have a podcast episode called grieving the career you thought you'd thought you'd have. And I, I remember it was because I recorded it actually, maybe January, 2024. And I was again at a transition point in my career and I was going in the direction that was different than what I thought it would be.

Carla Santamaria: And even though it was very exciting. It meant the end of something else and it was so sad, you know, like it just, it was very sad. And I remember when I left my higher education job, actually about six months before I left, when I decided to leave my higher education job, I was, I was working from home, but I was driving to campus because the office was moving [00:33:00] buildings and I remember just sobbing.

Carla Santamaria: Sobbing hysterically and I call my sister and I'm like, I don't know why I'm crying. I don't know why I'm so sad I can't wait to leave this job. Why am I just like sobbing hysterically and And I realized I was grieving that job because you know as I said in the beginning I love that institution as a student and I loved higher education as a concept and as an identity And so for me to have made the decision to leave, like I knew I was packing up that office, not just to move it to the new office, but because I wasn't going back and it was devastating. And so the first thing that I would say for that transition is that it's okay to grieve, to, it's okay to grieve. It's okay to grieve the career you thought you would have. It's okay to grieve The idea that you had about higher education as being able to provide the life that you wanted to create for yourself. So it's okay to process those [00:34:00] emotions and grieve. And once you're ready, like when you're into that transition, when you're into that new job, oh my gosh, listen to my entire podcast because it is rough. I'm sorry. I don't mean to scare anyone, but it is. It is rough is all I can say. I remember when I got my first corporate job, it was, you know, in the healthcare because as much as, you know, as much as it's not great that healthcare is corporate, healthcare is corporate. And it was a very, and I worked in the corporate HR office. It was a very corporate environment. And I was so stressed out. Like I was just like, Do I, I was trying to open, understand my benefits package and I'm like, do I need legal insurance? You know, which retirement plan do I sign up for? What is a 401A and what is a 403B? Like just sweating and, and it was different. You know what? I actually, You just reminded me of something I haven't thought about in such a long time. [00:35:00] It was so quiet. I remember I was like, wow, it's so quiet because I worked in higher education college access my entire career. And if it's not the band or the news or the students or people barging into the offices, there was just, there's so much sounds of campus that are beautiful in that, that campus life. And I remember thinking it is so quiet. And so even something as. As just like the sounds, it was such a big transition. And I mean, it was nice to not have to plan my entire life around the academic year. I was like, wait, I can take a vacation in August. Is that allowed? So, so there were definitely some parts that are nice. But again, like in terms of that transition, just like with any major life change, or even in this case, just, Identity change. It's okay to grieve the, the, career that you thought you would have. And then as you go into corporate sector, just know that it depends on the, it depends on the company. [00:36:00] I ended up in a very, very corporate y stuffy place. You know, politics exist in every sector, you know, but also really wonderful people exist in every workplace, even in a workplace that's toxic. Like you can find your allies, find your community. That is definitely number one key. I mean, it's the advice we give to students, right? Find your community, join student clubs, same thing.

Carla Santamaria: When you are in the corporate world, if you can join an employee resource group or a community group or an affinity group, maybe they have a running club I don't know why I said running because, well, I know I said running, but it's like the weirdest thing. I never thought I would say that as a hobby. Or a movie watching club. There we go. Or, you know, just a similar interest. Just find your community and rely on, rely on them. You know, and like also think what can you give back? And just know that it'll be different, you know, because it's, It's, it's just totally different. Higher education [00:37:00] is such a unique place that wherever you go outside of higher education, it is it's going to be a transition, but just know that it's okay for there to be an adjustment period. And after that adjustment period, you get to decide, Hey, I actually really like this sector or, Hmm, I think I'm ready to job hop again, which is what I did.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Yeah, I want to, I want to get to that too, to your job hopping the second time around. And you just said something that reminds me of that's actually how I've been coping with the loss of leaving higher ed is tapping into new networks and building relationships with new people and folks in other industries.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I recently I facilitated a structured networking event for women of color professionals, and it was folks from, 99 people from across all kinds of industries. So yes, healthcare and tech and entrepreneurship, and it was incredible to meet so many people and to see that one, so many of us are like in dire need of [00:38:00] community still.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And two, there's actually a lot of parallels in terms of the struggles and also in terms of the ambition of wanting to move up in their career, wanting to support their families and their communities. So I'm glad that you mentioned that. Cause I want to. Remind audience members that even with the grieving process, there's still things to look forward to and there you can build community no matter what industry or what field you move on to.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: So that kind of leads me into getting back to that pivot, the second pivot. What came up for you that made you decide? I know clearly Healthcare wasn't ideal, but what came up for you that helped you to then make that leap again into tech?

Carla Santamaria: It's where the money was. Okay, so to be quite honest yeah, so I went from making 65K in healthcare to making six figures in, in, tech. [00:39:00] But I, so here's the thing. I, I didn't know you were quote unquote allowed to quit before a year. Like I thought that I have to be at that job for a year. And even though it was very stuffy and I used to make a joke that I was allergic to that building because I, I, I actually was. I'm just like, this carpet is so old. It's full of mold. It's full of dust. Like I would walk in there and start sneezing. I'm like, I think I'm allergic to work. So again, it was just very stuffy, both physically and figuratively. Uh, but, I, I had about six months in, I started having sort of a clash with my direct manager, and I found myself once again complaining about my manager. And I had done that in higher education, and I was like, I am not this person. I am not someone who is going to sit here and complain about my manager. That's just not who I'm [00:40:00] going to be. And I decided to change, you know, like what I at the six months check in, I remember telling my manager, Hey, you know, so it was not my intention to, it was not my intention to accept the first offer because I accepted the first offer.

Carla Santamaria: Remember I was running away from my previous job. And you know, I've done some research and I really think that I should be making closer to this amount. And she literally laughed at me and said, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. That's not going to happen. And I was like, all right, it's okay. Six months. Uh, I was, that was my six months check in. I'll stay here another six months and I'll leave. But I, about two months after that, she actually shut me out of a project. And I remember like talking to my therapist about this and talking to like my friends about this and saying What is happening here? Is this all in my head? And my, my therapist was like, it sounds like she's jealous of you.

Carla Santamaria: And I remember a coworker told me that, and I. So I just had, it was having like interpersonal relationships with my [00:41:00] manager. And it wasn't even that she laughed at me and disrespected me at the six month mark. It was when I was there for eight months and she shut me out of a project. I have since learned that shutting employees out of a project is actually like an act of retaliation. That is, you know, which anyway so again, that was another push factor, but I was very clear this time around. I was like, I am not Doing this again. I am not taking the same approach. I am not going to run away to another job where I can just repeat this cycle of being unhappy. Like it is absolutely not what we're doing here.

Carla Santamaria: You know, like I was just like, no. So I once again started talking to people and I started going to DEI meetups and some, a lot of them were virtual. Like I remember going to this weekly meetup on Fridays and everybody would exchange LinkedIn's and I would be in my computer in the office that was. You know, triggering my allergies. And I was on my phone, writing down people's names and people's names and [00:42:00] information. And, you know, I'm, you know, for visual purposes, I'm like grabbing my phone and pantomiming, you know, grabbing people's names. And then after work, I would connect with them and, you know, set up a time with them. Like during this time, I took job interviews from my car, uh, you know, like it was, I, again, I was having, you know, interpersonal relationships, but I knew that I was going to approach my job search differently.

Carla Santamaria: I wasn't going to apply to everything and anything that I did the first time around. I mean, when I tell you that applied to all sorts of random things, I applied to be like, The Florida field director for the ACLU, like the American Civic Liberties Union, the person who got that had been like attorney general of Florida, you know, I was like woefully underqualified. I applied to all sorts of random jobs. And in this one, I was like, no. So I, I knew that I wanted DEI and I knew that the next level after coordinator was manager. And so I remember talking to people and just like sending so many messages, [00:43:00] Hey, I'm looking for a DEI role, uh, for a DEI program manager role in tech. Please let me know if you have any openings. And I talked to so many people. I talked to people who worked at Snapchat. I talked to people who worked at Verizon. I talked to even though I didn't know. Who I knew or who I would meet. I actually, through these, you know, coffee chats, I ended up getting invited on a podcast.

Carla Santamaria: I got to speak in engagements, like a beautiful things came out. I met someone who became like a really wonderful friend, like beautiful things came out. But what I always, the similarity was I am looking for a DEI program manager role in tech. And I landed in that, as I said, because I knew that's where the money was.

Carla Santamaria: And I was already in DEI, so my job had served its purpose. It had given me DEI on my resume, which is what I wanted. And, you know, just really, really staying focused on that is how I was able to how I was able to Just expand my [00:44:00] network of other DEI managers, which then, you know, led the LinkedIn algorithm to send me that. And how I actually landed my first role in tech was, well, I landed it because I was the most qualified person to interview. You know, so I want to make that very clear. And I

Carla Santamaria: want to say that to all my clients too. You didn't get the job because you knew someone, you got the job because you were the most qualified person. You know, because you knew someone, that means someone looked at your resume. So anyway, for me, I was on LinkedIn and I had worked on really expanding my LinkedIn network. So it could be a LinkedIn, my LinkedIn reach could be bigger. And I saw somebody had shared a post and somebody had reshared it and somebody had liked it.

Carla Santamaria: And the person that liked it was somebody that was mutually connected with. So I saw this person, this job posting from a stranger. And I slid into her DMs and I was like, Hey, I saw that you were posting this. You know, like I'm interested in this role. Would you be open to chat about it? And she was like, [00:45:00] no, but I can fly your resume to my manager, you know? So I guess, you know, which I kind of appreciate for a DEI role that there was equity in the hiring process. Uh, so again, just once again, being very focused.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Yeah. Wow. So, so much that you shared there about that transition from, it sounds like there were a lot of push factors again, but this time you were committed and determined there's gotta be some pull here. Like I, I have to not just apply anywhere and everywhere, but be more intentional about where I'm applying and the roles that I'm interested in.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And again, tapping into that network is so important. I know we sound like broken records, and we, I say it all the time, I'm sure you say it all the time, and yet folks still don't do it. And so I hope that this is the, the motivation or the impetus for folks to go out and start to talk with folks.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Coffee chats, [00:46:00] informational interviews, reach out to strangers. I still dread reaching out to strangers, but I do it time and time and time again, because I know it's good for me. And also you never know. You said that one of the persons or one of the people that you reached out to became a close friend.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And that's, I've noticed that I'm like, I'm meeting some really cool people just from connecting with folks. So yeah, you know, yeah. Shout out to the network and the community because they're the ones that have our back and they're the ones that are helping us out. As we get close to wrapping up, I want to ask you if there was any other question that you were hoping that I would ask you during our time together.

Carla Santamaria: Oh man,

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And if there isn't, that's okay. I'll just ask for words of advice to close up the show.

Carla Santamaria: yes. So I just, I guess I want to reiterate. So first I want to say thank you again, you know, thank you again for, you know, for inviting me into your show and for, you know, having this [00:47:00] conversation that is kind of a taboo topic. I, I guess the, the last words that I want to leave is a little bit of affirmations, you know, like you're not a sellout for. Leaving higher education. That was one of the things I really had to unlearn. Like this idea of being a corporate sellout. Like you're not a bad person for seeking financial independence. You're not a bad person for seeking to earn just a little bit more so you can take a vacation. Like you're not a bad person for wanting more money and you're not a bad person for leaving higher ed. All of this is okay. It is okay to want more for your life, and it's okay if this chapter of your life is coming to a close so that you can start a new chapter. You know, and I, and you know, in terms of what you can do, one of the things that really held me back for a long time is thinking that my master's degree was so hyper specialized and that the only thing that I could do was work at my local office of civic engagement and community education. And that was so [00:48:00] limiting. And that's not the case. And even if you have your master's degree in higher education administration, just focus on the skills. Remember this, the jobs that exist in the public sector and in higher ed have an equivalent in the private sector. And I guess if you are looking for a place to get started, think about everyone you currently interact with, you know, who are the vendors that provide for you?

Carla Santamaria: Music and catering and software. You know, when you log into work and you log into work day, I bet you work day is hiring, you know, you know, where you go into work and you reach out to the company down the line for t shirts for your event. I bet you, they know someone who's hiring, you know, how you're, you know, like partnering with, you know, somebody from an airline, like they're all hiring and they have. A counterpart or a liaison with higher education. So I would say start there. Maybe that's the really the last thing. It's like it's okay to want more. And then a great starting [00:49:00] point would be who are what companies are you already interacting with and liaise from there, you know, because while you're Every fortune 500 company has a campus recruiter. It's Oh, maybe talk to them. You know, like every fortune 500 company or every SAS, you know, like software as a service has a higher education division. There's so many jobs that require higher education knowledge that they want, they want to recruit you. They want you to bring that knowledge and they want your expertise.

Carla Santamaria: And it is so valuable. And you can get paid significantly more. And all of that is okay. You just have to believe that it's available to you.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: So great. Such great advice. Okay. I want to also, uh, you know, aside from asking you about where folks can connect with you, I'd love for you to just say a little bit more about your services or anything you want to say. Spotlight right now and then we'll we'll transition to you sharing how [00:50:00] folks can can reach out or connect with you

Carla Santamaria: Sure thing. So I work with my clients one on one inside of, you know, six month private one on one coaching. So we meet weekly to start out and then bi weekly and, you know, usually I add some extra calls and this is one on one coaching. So we really work on the client specific. Career goals, you know, and so one of my favorite things, I love how you mentioned earlier that you had done an exercise with your client and put their skills into chat GBT. And so one of my favorite things that I do with my, with my clients, it's called, it's called really boring. All right. It's called discover your strengths. Like I'm not good at naming things. That's not one of my strengths, but my strengths is helping my clients see their power. And so, You know, I, I, I talked to them and it's and I asked them a lot of questions, you know, it's where all this, all of this like grounded theory, you know, and data analysis comes through like all of these skills that I learned in my master's program. And [00:51:00] so, anyway, so just based on that and based on the power of reflection, so I, I helped them understand what their skills are, but more than that, it's. It's in addition to just like traditional career coaching. It really is about increasing your confidence about owning your expertise, about seeing yourself as someone that can accomplish anything. And so I've had clients who have, you know, I recently, a client told me, Oh, and I was thinking about her. This didn't happen recently, but I was talking to her recently. She. said in the beginning that she was so nervous about job interviewing because she felt she had to be fake. And then three months into coaching, she had a job interview and she's Carla, honestly, it went so great. I was myself. I felt like I could take it or leave it. And I was like, Oh my God, do you remember what you told me day one? And I see this. Over and over and over again. It's just like my clients are really able to own how great they are. And [00:52:00] honestly, this is why I started career coaching because I would see all my, all my best friends.

Carla Santamaria: Remember that I told you that my core group of friends all work in K through 12 and higher ed, and they're so brilliant. And they're, they're putting up with such nonsense at their jobs. And I know that a lot of first gen professionals are doing the same. And could be doing and want so much for themselves.

Carla Santamaria: So inside of career coaching, it is also mindset coaching. You know, I, I help you give tools to like, that apply beyond your career, you know, how to deal with your manager, learn how to network. When I tell people like, reach out to someone, they're like, Oh my God, what? You know, I've had clients tell me like, Carla, I'm so glad you make me go to all those networking events because now I'm at this job interview and it's amazing, you know?

Carla Santamaria: And so all of that, the transformation that happens inside of the Side of coaching just goes so much more beyond getting that next job. And so I love career coaching for that. So thank you so much for letting me talk a little bit about it.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: [00:53:00] Yes, of course. No. Yeah, let's let's you know do a spotlight on your services and all the brilliant work that you do because We all like we I never know who is listening and we all resonate with different people So i'm like if there's someone in the audience who resonates a lot with what you're doing And who would gain a lot from your skills?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Your strengths Your, you know, whatever that umph thing is, you can call it your, what do some people call it? Like your area of genius or whatever, but whoever can resonate with your work and can benefit from what you do best, let's tap them into this, into what you do. And yeah, so, okay. Don't leave us without telling us how to find you.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: How can folks reach you and connect with you if they want to hear more from you?

Carla Santamaria: Sure thing. Thank you so much. So the first place where you can find me is on Instagram and my handle is. At Carla, the first gen coach that is Carla with a z. [00:54:00] And the first gen coach. So Carla, the first gen coach altogether. You can listen to me on the First Gen Coach podcast. You can find me on LinkedIn at Carla Santa Maria.

Carla Santamaria: You can also join my email list. And actually, uh, if you go to my welcome link, which is just the first gen coach.com/welcome, you can find my resume template and guide, which I love. I actually made that one day after being so frustrated. Helping like 10 different people in a row with the same thing in their resume.

Carla Santamaria: I'm like, I'm not doing this anymore. I'm going to make a guide for everyone so they can all find it. And it's something that I share for free. I also have a free training. So I recently hosted a webinar called Get Job Offers Faster. So, you know, help folks get job offers faster so you can get the training at my welcome link as well.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Great. Well, make sure to include those links in the show notes. Once again, thank you so much, Carla, for being here today, for sharing all your words of wisdom, all your advice, your experiences. This was, it [00:55:00] just felt like, almost like we were just like, I don't know how to say it. I'm not, I don't want to say broken records, but like we were both very in sync in terms of how we view supporting others in pursuing the careers and lives that they deserve.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Cause at the end of the day, we all deserve to be able to not just pay the bills, but like even dream beyond that. So I love what you do. I'm so glad you came today. I appreciate you for sharing all, all your words of wisdom. Muchisimas gracias, Carla.

Carla Santamaria: Gracias, likewise. Thank you so much for having me. All right. Thanks for listening.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Thanks so much for listening. If you liked what you heard, here are three ways you can support the show. The first is to make sure you're subscribed and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. The second way is to get your copy of my free resource kit [00:56:00] linked in my show notes. This kit includes tools, worksheets, and podcast playlists on all things grad school, productivity, and personal development.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: The third way to support my show is to follow me on social media. You can find me on Instagram with the handle at gradschoolfemtoring and on LinkedIn by searching my name. Thanks again for listening. And until next time.