17 Apr 2023
When you’re stuck in a job you don’t like, it’s easy to dream about a career change, but planning to make that change and putting it into action can be difficult, especially if you don’t actually know where to start, or which path will get you there the easiest and the fastest.
On the surface, your current job could seem ideal, but if it leaves you deeply unfulfilled, you won’t ever fully enjoy it. It is said that if you have a job that you enjoy, you never truly work a day in your life.
This sounds like the dream for many people but it is the logistics of how to get there that leave many people stumped and therefore stuck in jobs that they feel like they are slowly being drained of life by. Making the commitment that this is the year that you are going to achieve genuine change in your life coul be one of the best things that you ever do.
So how do you change careers?
The thing about taking a different direction in life is we’re often left a little clueless. We become our own obstacle as we sometimes fear the unknown rather than face it head on. If you’re looking for a career change, here are some key questions to help you choose the right career path for you.
1. What do I like to learn about?
Once you’ve figured out what captures and holds your interest, your job may feel less of a burden. If you enjoy reading, it could be that working in publishing may be for you. If you enjoy helping others, it may be that nursing is a good career path. Try hard to identify your passion and how you could learn enough to work in that field in order to make a living.
2. How can I achieve it?
Financially speaking, it can be difficult to jump into a different career if your current job pays well. In addition, you may have bills to pay which can make it almost impossible to take the leap.
Your new career may also require you to gain new qualifications, so an action plan will be needed in order to know how long it will take to achieve it and what hurdles you may face.
Sometimes it is a case of learning the skills that you need in order to succeed in your new career while you are also holding down the job that you aren’t enjoying. If you can study online in the evenings, this can allow you to gain certifications and qualifications in your new career area, while also paying your bills in the meantime.
3. Could it begin as a hobby?
If you found many obstacles when answering question two, the next thing to think about is, 'can it start as a hobby and develop into a career?' You may be able to learn what you need to learn in your spare time.
Your hobby could end up being a niche in the market, but you would need to understand your potential audience in order to apply your skills and turn it into a money-making venture
Many people have a side-hustle as well as their day job and it is quite common for them to be able to develop this into something that can earn them as much, if not more money, than their day job.
This is something that many people try to do. They keep the safety net of the day job for the first while and use their spare time on building their passion project to the point that it eclipses the day job in terms of income.
Freelancing in a different career can be a good way to dip your toes in the water and also gain some valuable experience. There are many freelance marketplace websites where you can look for some short-term work in various different niches and these can help you to begin to get established in your new career.
If you start to network with the people you work with and add them to your LinkedIn, you can build an industry-specific network fairly quickly and benefit from repeat customers.
4. What benefits do you wish to gain from your new job?
If you find yourself saying more time or flexibility in answer to this question, it may mean that freelancing or remote working jobs would be more suited to you than a big corporate office. That way you can be your own boss and choose when, where and how you work.
This can be an excellent solution for people who feel like they want to exit corporate life and opt for a quieter environment to work from. A better work and life balance can definitely seem to be very appealing, though at the start of a freelance career, this is unlikely to be the case. Expect to work some of the longest hours of your life in order to get established, though once things settle down a little, you should find it more sedate.
Freelancing can be a challenging path as you will need to generate your own clients and build a reputation from scratch but it is entirely possible to achieve if you have the enthusiasm to pour into it and are prepared to match that with a lot of hard work.
Once you’ve answered these questions, it may be a lot easier to understand how to turn 'achieving your dream career’ into a realistic action plan. Getting there may not be easy and it’s highly unlikely you will achieve it overnight, therefore creating strategies and plans will help.
Alternatively, if you have an idea about your next career that isn’t overly complicated or unique to you, it might be possible for you to train on the job by starting as a trainee or an apprentice. Search jobs with Our Bob and see if your dream career is already waiting for you.
You could also head on over to Jooble to see what they have to offer!
