Nowadays it’s pretty common and acceptable to change careers than it was in the past when people were expected to graduate college or pick up a trade and then work in that job for the rest of their life until they could retire.
Fortunately today life is somewhat more flexible and this isn’t the case anymore, but even so it doesn’t mean that changing careers is something that’s as simple as just deciding to change and then landing another job immediately.
Whilst there can be many reasons for deciding to change careers, such as economic reasons like the job market is just not improving in your industry and you can’t find work, or you need something that fits more with your family life, or simply that you just don’t enjoy what you do anymore and need a change, there are things you should be prepared for when changing careers.
In this post, we’ve listed some tips on things you can expect when changing careers so that you’ll be better prepared and feel less overwhelmed by the whole process.
You’ll be starting at the bottom:
This is a pretty big one that many people don’t actually expect when they change careers, but it’s definitely something worth mentioning so that you’re not too shocked by it. When you’ve been used to working in one field and have gained experience in it and even worked your way up, it can be quite a shock to the system when you’re suddenly starting at the bottom all over again. Of course, if you approach this with a positive mindset and stay focused on your goals, then you’ll know that it’s going to be fine, but hopefully you won’t be too put off by starting over that you’ll let it stop you.
You may have to retrain:
Depending on your existing qualifications, what you’ve been doing and how closely related it is to your new career choice, then you may find that you’ll actually have to go back to college to gain new qualifications. Of course, it could be something like a short post-grad diploma in digital marketing or it could be a full on degree, but this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to study full time for another 4 years – there are plenty of flexible options for doing this online and working around your current schedule if you need to.
The working world may have changed:
Things move fast and the working world is no different in this respect. You may come to find that when you change careers, the new field your working in is completely different to the one you came from, and this can take a while to get used to. Again, everything is about your mindset and attitude, so as long as you’re approaching it in the right away, then you’ll be fine.
You may have to re-learn things like technology:
Technology is something that moves at a rapid pace, so if you’re coming from an industry that’s using older systems or even no technology, then you may find that you have to re-learn things like technology when switching to a new career.
