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Clay Parsons spent 25 years as an architect. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in landscape architecture and planning from prestigious universities. He directed the design of Sadat City, an ultra-modern new metropolis for 1 million people in Egypt’s ancient desert. He designed a park built over a freeway in downtown Seattle, Washington - the first major air rights park in the United States. He operated his own planning and urban design consulting firm, Parsons Associates, and served clients throughout the US and around the world, and he taught his craft to graduate students at the University of California at Berkeley. He also worked as a consultant to NASA, helping to plan research and development facilities in support of America’s space program. Then more than 10 years ago, after concluding that something was missing from his life, he decided to change his career. Today, through his consulting firm, Alternative FUTURES, Career Development Consulting Services, Parsons offers career counseling and coaching to individuals from all walks of life, including mid-career professionals like himself. Many are seeking help in changing their careers, some are looking for more meaningful work, and some are trying to solve chronic work problems or take advantage of new opportunities. Many are accomplished executives; a few are famous. His clients realize the value of objective professional counsel and come to Parsons for help and support in making and carrying out important career and life decisions. Parsons became fascinated by the concept of applying his interest in people and organizations, and his creative talent to help people recognize their own strengths and values and understand how the two can work together to produce a truly rewarding career. Upon investigating the professional field of career development, Parsons was struck by the tremendous need and the small number of professional practitioners, specifically people with graduate-level training and substantial business experience. He was also impressed by the many different roles played by career counselors and the importance of their contributions to personal and organizational development. He enrolled in courses and earned his Master of Arts Degree in Career Development with an emphasis in Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, Calif. Parsons spent six years as a counselor and consultant with 40Plus, a national non-profit support organization for unemployed executives and professionals. He created the “CRI”, Career Related Issues Assessment Instrument, a personal vocational testing tool that he sells to other counselors. He also regularly continues on an academic track, both learning and teaching, and speaking publicly at conferences, professional groups and companies that also seek his help in coaching executives and other employees. In 2002, Parsons took his career online, creating www.AlternativeFUTURES.com.
He has written three popular e-books that are available on the site,
as well as at national book outlets such as Borders Books, Powell’s
Bookstore and Amazon.com. They include “Finding Your Work, A Survival
Guide for Tough Times;” “Making it Work, The Road from Crisis
to Success;” and “Career Bites, Quick Tips to Turn Around
Your Career.” 2007 - Present 1995 - 2007 1981 - 1989 1977 - 1980 1975 - 1977 1970 - 1973 1968 - 1970 Professional
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