The truth is that a high percentage of people are unhappy in their career choices, but only a very small fraction of those who are unhappy in their chosen careers decide to make a change and move into a new role actively. Why is this? It’s simple really: the process of making a career change is often seen as being an overly stressful and hard one, especially as it can mean taking a huge pay cut after spending years on getting to where you are now.
Making the change will be worth the hard work
The fact is that making a career change tends to mean investing a lot of your time and effort into making a success out of a new career path. For example, say you wanted to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, then depending on what skills and training you already had in place, you may need to undertake some training. If you have a medical background, then the amount of training you would need to do would probably be less, compared to someone with no medical experience.
It won’t necessarily be easy, but if you are dedicated to your new career path and are willing to work hard to get to where you want to be, then it’s a risk that it’s worth taking. The imperative thing when it comes to making a career change is to ensure that you are informed before deciding to change career paths because it’s a big decision to make.
When it comes to making a career change, it’s important to take the time to determine if it’s the right path for you to take. It’s also important for you to gain an understanding of what it will take for you to see success from making a career change. Bearing those things in mind, below is a guide to what it takes to make a success out of a career change – have a read, take note, and decide whether making a career change is the right decision for your future.
Think about what careers you would like to explore
You might already know what route you want to go down when it comes to your career change, or you may have no idea of the route that you would like to take. You may find that using online self-assessment tools and career testing websites might be a useful step to take, to help you to determine what career could be a good fit for you. These kinds of tools tend to generate a list of career ideas which can be useful for helping you to decide which route you would like to go down.
Assess your situation
If you think that making a career change could be a step that would make you happy, then it’s important to take the time to assess your situation carefully. You will need to sit down and think about the position you are currently in and what values, skills, and personality traits you have to help you succeed. What you need to consider here is what route you would need to take to move into a certain career.
Do plenty of research
Before you make any firm decisions about your future, it is important to take the time to conduct plenty of research into the area that you hope to move into. It is not just about undertaking the training; it’s also about finding out what options the career you’re interested in has available. For instance, what is the career progression trajectory like? Is the pay good enough to support your career change? The more research that you can do into the career path that you’re interested in, the better.
Gain some experience
When it comes to getting a better understanding of what any given industry is like, and the roles within it, the key is to see the industry in action. That’s why it might be a good idea to consider undertaking some work experience within your chosen sector. That way, you will gain a strong insight into what it’s like to work within that industry, in the role that you are aiming to move into.
Making a career change is always a huge step; however, if making a career change will improve your happiness and career contentment, then it’s a step that it’s worth looking into. It won’t always be a simple process, but if changing careers could make you happy, then it’s something that it’s important to consider.
