Ready for a Career Change? Verify with these Tips!

Feeling trapped in a job you despise? You may question how you ended up here, but rest assured, you’re not alone. And crucially, you’re not cemented in your current situation, no matter how much it seems so. If boredom engulfs you, if the dread of workdays looms large, if your only joy comes from days off, or if your work saps your inspiration and kindles resentment, then a career change might be in order.

One crucial insight to hold onto is that it’s never too late to chase your dream job. Many individuals find themselves in careers due to happenstance or have pursued a predetermined path since school. However, as we mature, our perspectives shift. Suddenly, we find ourselves on the precipice of middle age, yet our dream career still remains a distant wish.

Opting to alter your career path at a more mature age means that you can leverage diverse life experiences. Unlike your younger self at 18, you now have a more precise vision of your wants, aspirations, and where you envision yourself a decade from now.

Why Do You Want to Change Careers?

This is a critical question to ponder: Are you dissatisfied with your current job? Is a higher income your goal, or do you believe a career switch will enhance your happiness?

Be candid with yourself about your expectations from a new career and the reasons behind your current job dissatisfaction. Many experience career discontentment. However, if your job induces sadness, anger, or stress, it may be time to reevaluate your situation. Ask yourself: if you switch careers, what’s the likelihood of experiencing similar feelings?

Looking for a better home/work-life balance is something you can achieve when it comes to changing careers, depending on what it is you change to. Following a dream, whether it is a lifelong desire or a new passion is a strong catalyst for helping you to take the first step and make that all-important change.

What Do You Want To Do?

If you have a clear idea of the career you want to pursue – excellent! This clarity provides a goal to strive for, and nothing stands in your way of making that change or laying the groundwork for a fresh career transition. 

Should you decide to venture into a new career necessitating training, you may have to join a course specific to that sector. For instance, if the construction industry attracts you, ABC Heart of America can aid in finding an apprenticeship program, allowing you to master the trade and acquire the necessary qualifications for your new career.

Even if you are unsure about what you want to do but are certain about needing a change, it’s completely feasible. The key is discovering something that truly interests you.

• What are your hobbies?
• What qualifications do you currently have? 
• What do you consider a dream job, and how can you turn this into a career?
• What type of education or training would you be able to commit to?
• How much would you be happy to earn, or do you want to aim to earn when fully trained?
• What work experience do you have, and would you consider anything you have done to make your career suitable for the long term?

Brainstorm ideas with family and friends and see what they have worked as for inspiration.

Volunteer

Can you volunteer in your newly chosen career or any other career? This is an excellent way of getting a feel for the type of work involved and what would be expected of you if you take on a career in this sector. Get to know the ropes and gain first-hand experience before you commit. And if it’s not for you, then you haven’t lost anything. In fact, you will have gained more knowledge about what you don’t want to do to help you find your ultimate career!

Are you Stopping yourself From Having Career Satisfaction?

Basically, how much do you want it? No matter how much you want to change careers, if you aren’t willing to put the effort in, dreams of a new job and potentially a new life will forever be just that: dreams!

Changing your life on a whim can be massively detrimental to your long-term career goals and happiness. You have to be ready mentally to make the change and for it to be effective. 

It may be that you start in the same sector but in a different role to get a feel for your new career before committing. You could take up classes, in person, or online that would be beneficial to your chosen career path, but whatever you do, you actually need to do it. Because if your whole heart isn’t in it, you may as well stay where you are and keep plodding along doing what you are currently doing.

So ask yourself, before you make any changes, how much do you really want it? Then, ask again a few weeks later. If you still want it just as bad, make a plan for turning this desire into a reality. Then keep pushing. Even if you take small steps, and take longer to get there, you need to make it happen. Life doesn’t always hand us what we want on a platter for us to help ourselves. Sometimes you need to pick up the dish and serve yourself. Get working, keep pushing, and one day, you will find yourself living your dream in that new career.

What Color Is Your Parachute? Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success

More than a job-hunting book, Richard N. Bolles’s timeless wisdom and famed self-assessment exercise clarifies seven key dimensions, so you can uncover your greatest passions, most valued traits, and transferable skills to design a life that enables you to flourish.

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