Your Best Work: How Vocational Rehabilitation Can Help You Discover It!

What are Vocational Rehabilitation Services?

by Marisa Higgins, MSEd, CRC, NCC, MHC-LP

Some of the most important choices we make have to do with work, from when we are asked as a child what we want to be when we grow up, to deciding what to do after high school, to getting our first part-time job, and eventually deciding to pursue a career (or two). These are decisions that will frequently come up in all life phases, and making the “right” choice may leave us feeling overwhelmed, scared, even paralyzed to move forward.

But these common problems do not have to lead to a perfect solution, and this is why people get stuck in taking that next step. People want a job that they are “passionate” about or “love” what they do – truth is, there is more to working in a job than that. We have to think about our circumstances at the time and what needs to be made priorities to improve our situations. And, we may also discover what kinds of work is going to give us satisfaction (hint: we don’t always get paid for it, but I’ll come back to that later).

Should I Get A Job Or Should I Have A Career?: Short Term Vs Long Term Goals

The answer is yes and yes. Now more than ever, more focus is being placed on career exploration in school, starting in the elementary grades. Students invite a family member to their class to speak about their job, career and college events expose students to life after high school. The conversation should start with teachers and guidance counselors, but also at home. Students may take a quiz that asks a lot about what they like and don’t like to do. The results show them potential job matches. But it’s not always as easy as saying, “I want to do [insert any career] one day.”. Short-term job goals are very different from long-term ones. More emphasis needs to be placed on that. The reality is we don’t springboard from deciding on a job to getting the much-desired, well-paid role we may covet. Goals are made up of steps to take, and as each step is completed, the closer one gets to obtaining that goal. ​

Why Knowing The Job Market Is Important

You are probably aware that the current job landscape is rapidly changing: AI and E-commerce is a part of every sector and they are eliminating entry-level jobs in tech, retail, healthcare and even transportation. We are seeing this have a negative impact on high school and college students trying to find that first job. And it is affecting college or vocational training graduates obtaining that entry-level role that will launch their careers. This is even more difficult for individuals with disabilities. Dissolving roles that involve specific tasks to complete and combining them with other tasks may leave workers with disabilities at a disadvantage. Additionally, as technology continues to change and move quicker, a more rapid work pace will  be expected of human workers to keep up. This also impacts many different types of workers – How will they learn their job properly? Where is the time to let them develop their skills efficiently? Who can they turn to for help?

Vocational Rehabilitation: More Than Just Career Counseling

Vocational Rehabilitation has been a valuable, necessary, and at times underutilized specialty that can help workers of all kinds find and keep employment that will bring them satisfaction and purpose. Vocational rehabilitation counselors often wear many hats and those not familiar with the field may mistake them for social workers or case managers. While those hats may be part of our collection, we also wear the following: mental health counseling, career exploration and post-secondary education counseling, job coaching, disability rights and workplace accommodations expertise, and what I like to call Compass Cheerleader!
Not many know it, but Rehabilitation Counselors are all around you: working for state and federal agencies; in schools, colleges, and vocational training programs; in non-profit community orgs, insurance companies, law firms, hospitals, and in private practice. We work with everyone: individuals with varying disabilities, people who have acquired injuries, students with neurodivergence, those who have trouble keeping a job or with significant employment gaps, youth and adults who have justice-involved histories, as well as employers and community leaders. We provide counseling, education, mentorship, and advocacy for our populations, and consider all facets of a person’s story, including perhaps why a particular job or career may not be a good fit for someone.
Talking about working at a job is not enough – we need to identify our skills and abilities, and get to know ourselves – our strengths, our limitations, not only related to working but in our everyday lives - these affect where, when, why, and how we work. Everyone may benefit from assessment tools specific to identifying work skills, but also interests, personality, and what drives us the most to get things done. Job satisfaction does not always lie just in a person’s love or passion for something. Successful outcomes derive from having the skills, motivation, and engagement to discover the best kind of work for us.

Goals Are Not Straight Lines, But Curvy Detours

My vocational journey has not been a linear one. It began with wanting to be a nurse, until I found out you have to work with deceased animals to gain necessary skills in classes. Then I was sure I wanted to be a teacher, so I could be like the teachers in high school who had positive impacts on me. My second-guessing began in practicum when I found myself checking the clock every five minutes when I should have been present with my group of students. I knew for sure teaching was not my path when I finally got in a classroom and had to write engaging lesson plans and apply them effectively while also trying to keep my students’ attention and behavior in control. This was junior year of college – what was I going to do? It was too late to change my major, but I knew this one was wrong for me. 
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I knew I still wanted to help people and always liked to know why people ticked the way they do. After working for a few years and considering my options, I returned to college to major in psychology. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my degree, but instinctually knew this was the right path. Earning my Bachelor’s degree led me to work opportunities in educational development, college settings, and community agencies, to finally discovering vocational rehabilitation. It fulfilled the helping aspect I wanted in my work, gave me the privilege to counsel and support individuals with an array of experiences, and helped me find answers to questions I’d been grappling with for so long:

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• What should I do with my life? 
  
• What type of work would I be really good at? 
  
• How are my strengths and skills going to contribute to my happiness? ​
  

I continue to figure it out with my clients, providing a safe space to guide them on their vocational journey. They are asking the same questions. I share with them that it may not always be easy, but it is always worth it.

You Don't Have To Get Paid To Do Your Best Work

Don’t get me wrong: my goal as a vocational rehabilitation counselor is for my clients to find competitive, integrated employment. This means they are receiving a fair wage, options for benefits, and working alongside others with similar skills and experience. But as I expand my scope of practice to fulfill requirements for New York State mental health counseling licensure, I see how it is all connected: Work gives us meaning, a purpose, it creates community, it becomes part of our identity. I mentioned this earlier: Work does not have to be limited to making an income – it can incorporate our hidden talents, developing tangible goals for ourselves, reaching out to others for help or collaboration, creating something or building up an idea out of love or recognizing a problem that needs to be solved. While we all strive to be independent and self-sufficient (a very important factor of paid work), we may find job satisfaction in its setting, our coworkers, its incentives, or something that sounds as simple (but life-saving to some) as having a routine and a schedule. 

I believe everyone has the right to have the opportunity to find a job they like or a career they want. I also believe that finding work in other parts of our lives provides us with the ability to be our best selves. 

Someone I know lives by this 3-pronged mantra:
​Work at a job you like, so it can provide the means to do what you want to do, so you can enjoy your life to the fullest.

Whether it be a job to launch you to the next level in your path, that “dream” position where you feel you have finally made it, or shifts to pay the bills but gives you time to be with what gives you the most joy, vocational rehabilitation may help you.

About the Author

Marisa Higgins, MSEd, CRC, NCC, MHC-LP is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and clinician working towards her mental health counseling licensure at Healing & Growth Counseling. She has worked as a vocational evaluator, job coach, and in academic advising. Marisa believes that mental health and meaningful work go hand in hand, and is devoted to helping her clients realize their vocational potential. 
Marisa understands that life doesn’t always go according to plan, and she strives to meet her clients where they are—offering guidance and encouragement through whatever challenges arise. Marisa has worked with people of all ages to help them clarify their personal, educational, and professional journeys. As someone who returned to school while balancing work and motherhood, she knows what it means to juggle life and all its challenges, and is committed to walking alongside her clients, step by step.

Want to learn more about Marisa and the services she provides? Check out Marisa's bio here.

Want to learn more about Vocational and Career Counseling? Check out the Career service page here.

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