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If you’ve been working for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve had the thought “How did I wind up in this job?”. Not all of us wind up where we had planned at the beginning of our careers. And, if you are reading this article, then you are probably contemplating your next move or hoping to land a job if you are out of work.
It is never too late to re-think
It is never too late to re-think your career, but if you are going to take the plunge and completely change what you are doing, you really need to be prepared.
Tweet ThisMake a Plan
The first thing you will want to do if you are making a career change is to make a plan. There are steps that you should consider before you make that change. From “Evaluate your current job satisfaction” to “Consider alternative roles”. See CareerAlley – Planning for Your Job Search
Financial Considerations
Now I don’t want to say that you are just in it for the money, but we all have to eat and why not eat well? While money shouldn’t drive your choice of career, it is certainly a consideration for most of us. Take a look at sites like Glassdoor’s salary calculator.
- Salary Calculator – One of many salary calculators (way to many to list here), this one is offered by homefair.com. Type in your title put in your zip code and you are all set to go. Fairly generic, but should give you a rough indication.
- PayScale Salary Calculator – This one is from, you guessed it – PayScale.com. Same deal here – job title, city and state and off you go.
Should You Invest In You?
One of the most common reasons that people resist a career change is because they don’t want to “go backwards” by this, we mean they don’t want to go back to the beginning and relearn everything that they need to learn. Changing careers isn’t always a cheap thing to do, whether you’ve decided to become a doctor and go to medical school, or you head for massage therapy school to learn the healing art of touch. Sometimes, an investment in yourself is something you have to consider and it doesn’t really mean that you’re going backwards. In order to do something new, you have to learn and you have to challenge yourself, and that’s nothing backwards at all! In fact, you’re going forwards by furthering your learning and knowledge, and you’re showing off just how valuable you can be with it, too. Your investment in yourself will push you onto a path you may not have considered before, and it’s something you should start making plans for if you want to change
Best and Worst Careers
Your quest for a new career is not complete if you don’t take a look at the worst jobs as well. Now everything is relative (as Paul Simon would say “One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor”), so while you may have a different view, you should still take a look at careers you should avoid.
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50 Best Jobs in America – I’m sure you knew where this was headed and I couldn’t simply list the worst without listing the best as well. As luck would have it, Glassdoor.com has a list of the best jobs. An interesting list, as as you would expect, Tech is at the top of the list as well as Health Care and Accountants. In addition to brief overviews, the article also provides the median salary and job openings.
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Ways to Fast-Track Your Career – You have heard it numerous times – planning is crucial for everything, and it should be included in terms of
your career . Having a great career action plan is the right move to jumpstartyour career or make the necessary changes to achieve your long-term goals. Take a look at 3 Career Action Plans to Fast Track Your Career
