An unexpected career switch

Wendy had never considered a career in disability before moving to Australia.

In her home country of Vietnam, she’d gained two degrees, one in accounting and the other in engineering, before working in marketing.

But when she arrived in Australia as an international student to study marketing a classmate shared her experience working in the disability sector.

“I was curious about what this field was about and what you do,” Wendy said.

“It was a new thing for me.”

Wendy started a course in aged care support and did a work placement which encouraged her to try support work.

“I was working in a facility for aged care and they were so lovely and nice,” she said.

Wendy moved to disability support in 2015 and instantly felt like she was in the right place.

Coincidentally, she also found herself working with the nephew of one of the women from the aged care facility with whom she had formed a special bond.

“When you do what you like, it makes you happy every day,” she said.

“To me, it’s never about the job, it’s about who you work with and what for,”

Wendy found she was able to forge an unexpected career path in the disability sector. She became a key worker in 2022 and an assistant coordinator with InLife in 2023.

“I was enjoying working with my client but I had been doing the same thing for five years. I needed to take the next step and do a bit more, which is why I applied for this job (as an assistant coordinator),” she said.

“There’s so many things to learn and I always try to do something new.”

Wendy said her advice for people starting out in disability, and something she focuses on at InLife, is to ensure the client and support worker are a good match.

“Because I believe when you really love working with a client you can contribute more to the client - you’ll be really productive and love what you’re doing much more,” she said.