After graduating from college, I worked full-time for the courts. I capitalized on my criminal justice degree by working for the courts where I spent my days transporting prisoners, seeking felony warrants, and enforcing custody and child support orders.
When presented with the opportunity to move across the country, I decided it was a good time to switch careers completely. So, I turned in my badge and got a laptop instead. I started studying the craft of writing and now, more than eight years later, I have a core set of clients whom I regularly supply content and I’m incredibly glad I made the move.
My career change has been especially beneficial during the pandemic. Many government offices are either operating on reduced hours or closed completely. If I was still working in that type of environment, I’d undoubtedly be like millions of other Americans and facing limited income with the question of when I could return to work.
Fortunately, my current business operates entirely online, so I’m able to continue to provide services at a time when the rest of the country is at least partially shut down. A majority of my clients are online as well, enabling us to remain productive as we work to complete our projects.
Though I feel incredibly blessed for creating a company that has continued to grow and flourish amid the coronavirus pandemic, I’m happy to discover that I’m not the only one who is fairing pretty well thanks, in part, to making a major career change a little later in life.
From Protecting Homes to Protecting Health
Steve Levine spent 20 years in the home alarm business. He’d built a successful company by offering his clients systems to protect their residences and their families, but he also wanted more. “I had run into a dead-end career wise,” says Levine. “I was comfortable, but I felt there was something missing.”
Levine believed in the value of green living so, at the age of 48, he made a major career pivot and started AtmosAir Solutions. Located in Fairfield, Connecticut, AtmosAir is a small 22-employee company that provides bi-polar ionization (BPI) indoor air quality purification products for businesses, hotels, cruise ships, sports facilities, hospitals, and medical offices. These devices help eliminate mold, dust, and odors while also controlling bacteria and the spread of airborne viruses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shares that COVID-19 is primarily spread via respiratory droplets released into the air when an infected person talks, sneezes, or coughs. Levine shares that Microchem Laboratory conducted testing on AtmosAir BPI devices and confirmed that they are 99.92% effective in neutralizing the coronavirus within 30 minutes.
This has resulted in AtmosAir being sought after by other major companies intent on protecting their customers and staff. This includes Wells Fargo, Hyatt and Sheraton Hotels, Los Angeles International airport, and Virgin Voyages. Even major sports teams such as the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and Dallas Cowboys are installing bi-polar system in their training facilities. The company’s sales have increased five-fold and it is expected to bypass last year’s revenue by 600-700%.
“It’s been very difficult but very rewarding,” says Levine. “You truly learn how to be an entrepreneur when you start up a business and do a career makeover at midlife. But the company is now doing well, and I feel very satisfied. Every day is a challenge, but I could never go back. It’s been too much fun and so satisfying.”
Sometimes a career change can lead to unexpected rewards. Even during a pandemic.
