Changing Careers: Research Before You Dismiss
Yesterday I read a story about boomers who are retiring early to fulfill longtime ambitions, and I realized that I know quite a few people who are making changes to fulfill ambitions without retiring early first.
Many people I talk to who are thinking about making a significant career change feel alone in this. It seems to them that everyone else is happy enough toiling away at their current job, or have dismissed ideas of change because, "I can't afford it" or "I'm too old" or "What would I do, anyway?"
If you notice that you keep imagining yourself doing something else, you owe it to yourself to look at that carefully and give it due regard.
This doesn't mean you have to follow every whim. But if you pay attention to the truth in your gut and have the courage to research the possibilities, it could be one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself.
Why does it take courage to research? Because for a lot of folks, there are large psychological barriers to making a career change. We want to stay in our comfort zone (remember homeostasis from science class?) We are used to a certain income per month. Certain people count on us to continue to be what we are. Facing risk is just plain scary.
When we quickly dismiss our ideas, we get to stay in our comfort zone. When we research, we may find a way to move forward, and we can feel pretty ambivalent about that.
But when you take your ideas seriously and take the time to research the possibilities - talking to people in the field, talking to companies and organizations and researching professional associations, salaries and job openings online - you can experience some relief from the persistent nagging in your gut that you've been ignoring. (Note: "Research" does not mean merely taking one person's opinion as the Gospel Truth).
Through research, you might discover a way to pursue what you want to do "on the side". You might decide that going back to school for a Master's degree is feasible after all. You might resolve once and for all that acting professionally was a pipe dream, and then be ready to put all your energy into something that is going to work for your life.
Doing the research isn't sexy, but it can lead to all kinds of options.
When I talk to a new client who is tentative about sharing her desire to go from, say real estate agent to kindergarten teacher, I've noticed she likes to hear about what changes other people are making. So here's a partial list of the recent changes that people I know professionally and personally have made:
- From mechanical engineeer to attorney to manager at a start-up specialty beverage company
- From college athletic coach to self-employed personal trainer
- From journalist to law school student
- From full-time instructional designer to contract instructional designer
- From laid off administrative employee to self employed retailer
- From technical writer to TV production
- From hi-tech manager to at-home parent
- From corporate training manager to self-employed consultant and professional speaker
- From working for corporations to working in two-person partnerships in law, management consultancy and architecture
- From full-time high school teacher to part-time curriculum designer
- From biotech marketing to self-employed chef-for-hire
- From community college dean to e-learning consultant and retiree
What's your gut nagging you about? What questions need to be answered so that you can do more of what you want to do?
What are you waiting for?
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