Why Change Career?

Why change career? Here are some reasons you may have for wanting to change your career. If one or more of these apply to you, then you may be ready to make the decision to change career. If your reason for considering a new career is not on this list of the six most common and best reasons for changing career, think carefully.

A career change requires a lot of thought, work and time, so do it for the right reasons. Why change career if all you need is to recharge your batteries? You may need a holiday, sabbatical, a change of job, or to move to a different location.

1. Your life circumstances have changed so it’s time for a career change.

a) You have children who need more or less of your time than before:

You now have children and want to share more time with them and your spouse than your current career allows.

You have children and you are the primary carer so you need to be at home and want a career that allows you to work from home with the flexibility to work around the hours your children need you.

Your children have started school and you have more time available, so you want to start a new career.

Your children have grown up and left home, and now you no longer have to support them, you want to pursue your life long dream of being a scuba instructor in Hawaii.

b) You have gone through a divorce or break up:

Now that you are single again, you want to move back to your home town/ state/country which you left to satisfy your ex-spouses needs when your relationship was flourishing. Now you can get back to your own family and friends, and find the career that you were meant to do. Your current career was a compromise that you accepted whilst you were married/in the relationship, but now you want to pursue your own dreams.

c) You have lost somebody close to you:

Your spouse has passed away. You may have cared for them through a serious and ultimately terminal illness, giving up your career to be at home. Perhaps your experiences leading up to your tragic loss have taught you important lessons about yourself and your own life calling. Now it is time to rebuild your life, and a new career is in order.

d) You have been, or are likely to be made redundant:

Your career is no longer in demand. You have lost your job, and the prospects of finding work again in the same field are slim. You need to find a different career that will provide you with enjoyment, satisfaction and a stable and reliable income for as long as is possible to forsee. Perhaps you have a redundancy package that will help to see you through the transition. Perhaps you are less fortunate, and need to earn money immediately, whilst you investigate potential alternative career options.

Your current career is in less demand and likely to continue declining. You are working in a career that is being subsumed by changes in technology or society. It is only a matter of time before you are made redundant, and you do not want to wait for that to happen. You have to change career. You have some time to do the research, or you have an idea of what you want to do in your next career.

e) Injury or illness has forced you leave your old career:

You are no longer physically capable of doing what you used to do, and have been forced by circumstances to change career. If you really loved your work, then this can be devastating. However, if you care enough about the career, you should be able to transition “sideways” in the same industry or sector. Alternatively, working part time or job sharing may allow you to contribute in exactly the same way, for fewer hours. You might want to consider mentoring or training newcomers to the career path, sharing your knowledge and experience. An open mind and a positive outlook are important – you have a lot to offer, even if you are not able to perform exactly the same tasks as previously.Alternatively, you may decide that now is the time to change career completely.

2. You want more personal growth in your new career.

Your current career does not offer you the fulfillment you need, and you want to have a career that allows you to learn and grow as a human being. You want to have passion for your work so that you will be imaginative and creative in your career. You want to fully utilize your talents, education, experience and skills to create something meaningful in your new career.

3. Your want less stress in your next career.

You are experiencing high stress in your current career. You are not as young as you once were (who is?!) and you want more calm in your career. Tight artificial deadlines, reactive “fire-fighting” work and a pressure cooker work environment are no longer for you – you are happy to leave that to a younger person. Now it is time to pursue a proactive, planned, steady new career. A career choice that gives you the work-life balance you desire and deserve.

4. You want more excitement and challenge from your new career.

Your career is boring and no longer challenging. It just does not excite you any more, if it ever really did. You have mastered all the skills you need, your experience makes your job easy, and you have no interest in trying to progress further up the career ladder in this particular sector. You are just not interested in further training in this career – you feel it’s not worth the effort. You are looking for an exciting challenging career that will get your adrenalin flowing and your heart pounding again. Something to make you feel young and alive.

5. Your earning power is limited by your current career.

Your current career, interesting and fun though it may be, just does not pay the bills. You need to find something that you can love doing that will provide you with financial security as well as job satisfaction.

6. You see a new career you want to try because you think it will offer you all the above.

Your eyes have been opened to the opportunity of a new career in a field that you had not considered before, or that did not exist before. Perhaps technology, political or social changes, or a move to a different city, state or country has revealed a career choice that you are sure is a better fit for you. If it fits with one or more of the reasons above, then you should consider it.

Consider all the options, but be prepared to take some risk

Nothing is definite in life, except that one day it will end. When that end is near, will you forgive yourself for not taking the risk that might have made you complete? Look into your own heart, make the decision, and then let your head work out the details of how to get there.

If you’d like to read about how I made a successful career change, read How I Changed My Career.