Thinking of a Career Change? Here's How to Get Started
"The only way to do great work," Apple founder Steve Jobs once said, "is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking."
Not everyone is able to make a career change — it may be too much of a risk. However, others will be thinking about taking a jump into the unknown to find a career they really love.
So how can you prepare yourself for a career change?
Jennifer Herrity from jobs website Indeed says you should first be sure that a change is right for you.
She suggests keeping a journal of your daily job satisfaction. When you look at this, it should help you see if you're just having a bad day or week, or if you really need to make a change.
Then, online course provider Coursera says, if you do decide to change careers, you should make a plan — what do you really want to do?
Do your research: talk to professionals in the area you want to move to, and see if there are job openings — or, if you want to start your own business, consider the competition.
Then you should look at the transferable skills you have, Coursera says. You may not have all the qualifications or attributes needed for your new career, but you've probably gained valuable experience in your working life and developed skills in things like problem solving, adaptability and teamwork.
However, you could also take an online course in the evenings or on weekends.
Some jobs might let you begin reducing your hours as you start to explore a new industry, either by starting out working freelance or even doing some work on a voluntary basis. You could call this "testing the water" — trying out your new career to see what it's like.
If you get to this point and everything feels good, there's only one thing left: make the leap!
