Three Questions to Ask Yourself Before Changing Career

Three Questions to Ask Yourself Before Changing Career

By Careers Desk

Friday, June 29, 2018.

When you work full time, that’s forty or more hours of your week that you spend in the workplace. By anyone’s standard, it’s a significant amount, and when you’re unhappy at work there’s no doubt that this will cause unhappiness in the rest of your life. We need to work to earn money, pay bills and maintain the lifestyle we want- but we don’t have to do it at a job we despise. Whether you’re overworked, under challenged, in a dead end career or you’ve grown and changed and no longer ‘fit’ the career you’re in- it’s time to make a change. Here are some questions you should ask yourself before taking the leap.

Why do you want to change career?

Changing career is a huge move, it will literally change your life. It’s not something to take lightly, and so it can help to have your reasons firmly secure in your mind as to exactly why you’re doing it. Do you want to better yourself, and change to a career where you can work your way up to achieve greatness? Is it more job satisfaction you’re after, perhaps you want to spend your working day making a genuine difference to other’s lives. Maybe you’re just bored and in a rut and want to do something new. Whatever your reasons are, be sure of why you’re doing this and how it could change your life for the better. This prevents getting cold feet or questioning if you’re making the right choice later on.

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How can you put yourself in the best position possible?

Once you know you definitely want to make the change and what you want to do, the next step is to work out how you will go about it. If you don’t want to start at the bottom (on very low wages) and spend years working your way up then there are things you can do. Getting educated is always a smart move, in some cases you will need certain qualifications to be able to apply at all, in other cases qualifications will help you stand out from your competition or start higher up on the career ladder. You could look at online digital marketing courses if you wanted to go into a business type career, or health and social work if you wanted to work in this kind of field. Whatever it is, there will be a course you could do at a local college, university or do online in your spare time. Another thing you could do is volunteer in the field you want to work in, or pay for some training. This shows employers you’re serious about your career, and can give you some much needed skills and experience.

Can You Afford to Change Career?

When you go from a career you’ve worked in for years to something new, chances are you’ll be starting in a lower paid position- even if you get some education or experience behind you first. If you need to take time off to study full time first, this is also something to consider when it comes to your finances. Work out if you can afford the pay drop while you work your way back up.