Maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who found the perfect job, right out of college or high school. Or, perhaps you just “fell” into a career you were good at. Either way, it’s never too late to change your career.
Why Move On?
Your time at your first job was no doubt great. You were earning more money than you knew what to do with. And, your colleagues quickly became family. You even found yourself jumping out of bed to get to work every morning. Then, things started to change. The workload got heavier and the pay rises became smaller. Now, you snooze the alarm six times before you drag yourself to the bathroom each morning. You find yourself taking a “sickie” once a week. And weekends have become the big goal for the week, while Monday mornings make you queasy. When life gets like this, it is definitely time to re-evaluate.
New Beginnings
Despite the naysayers, you’re never too old to learn. One of the main causes for employee dissatisfaction is they feel they’ve learnt the trade and exhausted all learning opportunities. There is nothing new to discover or be taught. However, when you begin a new profession, everything becomes exciting and new again. Starting a career in something entirely new and unexplored is exciting, and gives you the opportunity to dive in completely.
Success Stories
Plenty of highly successful people have made major career changes many years into their lives. Julia Child worked in advertising, media, and secret intelligence before writing her first cookbook at 50. Top designer Vera Wang was a figure skater and journalist before entering the fashion industry at age 40. Jeff Bezos had a lucrative career in computer science on Wall Street, before launching Amazon at 31. And before becoming the brains behind Buzzfeed and The Huffington Post in his 30s, Jonah Peretti was a middle-school teacher.
Education and Training
Depending on your new career choice, you’ll most likely need to undertake some education and training beforehand. You can’t just wake up and say, “I’ve always wanted to be an engineer” and start applying for engineering jobs. Especially if you’ve been working as a marketer for the past 20 years. It doesn’t work that way; you’ll need more education and training. The good news is, there are a few pathways to take. You can quit work and dedicate yourself to study; keep working and go to night school; or undertake long distance study.
Questions about whether you’re on the “right” career path can be intimidating. Nevertheless, if you’re unhappy in your current situation, you don’t have to stay there. You can find a job you love and once again wake up each morning excited to start your day. Give yourself a second chance to live your dream job, give it your all and don’t look back. The good news is, we are here to help you on that journey, feel free to drop us a line.
