Dr. Michelle Mudge-Riley has always refused to settle. In medical school, she realized patient care wasn’t for her…which was a difficult realization for someone on the road to becoming a doctor. Deciding NOT to settle for a job with patient care led her down a path through more schooling, then through a leapfrog job, and eventually on to what she does now - helping mid-career professionals make career transitions using the techniques she’d picked up along her journey.

She points out that it’s a great time to not know what you want to do, as you no longer need another degree to do something different. She encourages thinking about ways to educate yourself outside of the debt-ridden educational system, and also points out that it has never been easier to go get experience in careers of your choice.

And lastly, she helps professionals wrestle with the loss of identity often experienced when leaving a high-profile professional career - which often includes pointing out both that they can always go back, but also, reminding them to look at what they’re running toward…which is generally a happier, healthier work life.

Check out the Physicians Helping Physicians conference in Austin this April!