How to Switch Careers in Less Than a Year

iStock_000041556726_SmallLet’s say you’ve decided you simply cannot continue down the path your current career is taking you. Whether it’s for personal, financial or emotional reasons, many people have gotten to the same point. The first thing you need to ask yourself is if this is simply a bad day, a bad month, or simply a bad period that will eventually be over. Giving up your career over something that is just a rough patch isn’t necessarily a good idea, so you’ll want to think hard about what is making you feel this way.

Now you’re probably asking yourself what next, how do you switch careers? Simply up and quitting with no backup plan or much financial security isn’t really a viable option, but staying in the career you no longer care about isn’t exactly ideal either. If you have a career you’d rather do in mind, great, but if not you’ll need to some soul searching and figure out what it is you want to do. Another important question to ask yourself is if the problems or issues that drove you from your last career could surface in your potentially new one. Going through all this hard work for a job that brings the same stressors and frustrations that drove you from the last one isn’t a wise choice. You’ll also want to make sure the career you’re wanting to go into has a solid outlook in terms of industry growth and job stability. It might also pay to do more research on which industries have the most job satisfaction, lowest turnover rate and happiest employees. Just because an industry is booming and looks like a wonderland on the outside doesn’t mean it isn’t fraught with stress and unhappiness on the inside.

Switching careers is an increasingly common occurrence these days. People are constantly on a search for the “right” job, whatever that may be, and are willing to take risks to get it. However, just because one person you know was able to do it successfully doesn’t mean it’s going to be an easy road for you.

Your first priority after deciding to take that leap is to get the right education and training for your dream job. This process can take a few weeks, months, and, in some cases, a few years. It’s a big investment of your time and money, so making sure you get the right training that not only provides the textbook education, but also hands-on training, is imperative. You’re already at a disadvantage by being “late to the game” so to speak, so employers will want to see you’ve got hands on knowledge in your industry. For example, if you’re looking to go into the medicine field, that means schools should have clinics (much like our clinic here at AMC) they allow you to work at, if you’re going to a business school, a solid internship program is vital.

While switching careers may seem like nothing more than a pipe dream now, laying the right ground work, doing plenty of research and getting the right education and training can make it easier than you’ve ever thought. Switching careers is the new norm in the working world, with millions taking the leap every year. Just because you think you’re past the point of no return in your working life doesn’t mean you are. By embracing what you feel is the right path for you and doing some hard work to get it, you can steer your life towards the direction you’ve always dreamed it would go.Career In Massage

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