The Road Less Taken: Mark Heinrichs on Forging a New Career
by Henry Randolph |
Changing careers can be challenging, to say the least. But with his Justice Center degrees as a starting point, Mark Heinrichs is laying the foundation for his dream job in the legal field鈥攁nd his effort is paying off.
Have you ever contemplated a career change? It鈥檚 a big move for anybody鈥攑articularly if you鈥檙e more than a few years into your current career. It can be risky, intimidating and hard to even know where to start.
But Mark Heinrichs was up for the test. Heinrichs worked for decades in building maintenance before he realized it just wasn鈥檛 fulfilling anymore. 鈥淚 wanted to be challenged intellectually,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 was ready to take on a significant challenge, with the goal of it becoming a career.鈥�
Heinrichs knew the transition wouldn鈥檛 be easy. He asked himself questions that are probably familiar to anyone mulling a move like this: 鈥淗ow do you do it when you鈥檙e older and you don鈥檛 have any relevant work experience? How do you even apply for jobs?鈥�
His answer to himself: Just take it step by step. Heinrichs started researching, planning and building a path forward鈥攁nd that path started at UAA. He knew he wanted to enter the legal field, which had always interested him. So he enrolled in the Justice Center鈥檚 B.A. in Legal Studies and A.A.S. in Paralegal Studies programs.
Heinrichs is on track to finish both degrees in spring of 2020鈥攁nd together, he says they give him the intellectual growth he鈥檇 been looking for. 鈥淲hat drew me to these programs was realizing that everything we do as members of society is governed by a legal system. 鈥淚 knew that if I understood how that system works, I鈥檇 better understand how our society functions.鈥�
But his degrees are about more than just philosophical exploration. Heinrichs saw how the practical skills he was learning began to open career prospects. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e learned legal writing and legal research, you鈥檝e read a bunch of cases. You鈥檝e got a solid background in a broad set of skills,鈥� he says. 鈥淣ot everybody in the legal studies program goes to law school. People become paralegals, or clerks, or any number of other things.鈥�
It was the 鈥渙ther things鈥� category that Heinrichs pursued. His internship led him to the Federal Public Defender for the District of 熊猫在线视频, where he was mentored by a criminal defense investigator鈥攕omeone who conducts investigative research on behalf of attorneys who handle indigent federal criminal defense cases. It was the perfect fit. 鈥淭his kind of position suits someone with a broad background,鈥� he explains. 鈥淵ou need practical life experience in order to be good at it, and I have a lifetime鈥檚 worth of experience.鈥�
Piece by piece, Heinrichs was laying the groundwork for a successful career change: intellectual engagement, a practical skill set and first-hand experience. Heinrichs continued volunteering at the public defender鈥檚 office after his internship ended, and that helped him land contract-based paralegal and investigative work on public defense cases. Now he鈥檚 expanding his professional network, building his reputation and working on even more cases鈥攅nough that it鈥檚 now sustainable as full-time employment. He鈥檚 become what he always had his sights on: a legal professional.
Heinrichs says the key was to keep focusing on that ultimate goal, no matter what. 鈥淯nderstanding what I was trying to do made all the difference,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e put tons of time into it because I recognized that鈥檚 how I had to do this. But I鈥檝e always known that if I set my mind to something I can accomplish it.鈥�
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