09 Aug 2017

New career? Yes, you can!

You’ve shown skill, resilience, and put in years of hard work to build the career you always dreamed of. But, why dream of only one career?

The days of a job-for-life are long gone. Revolutionary office practices, remote jobs, and markets packed with competing companies mean hopping from one position to another and adapting to new environments is a skill every professional must have in their toolbox. However, carving a career out in a specialised field is still something a lot of us strive for. Have you ever wondered what it might be like to flip the script completely?

Today, the opportunities for multiple careers during a lifetime are more plentiful than ever, and here we’re going to take a snapshot of the scenarios that might influence a change in career, how to retrain, and why you need never fear setting your sights on a completely new challenge.

When is a good time to change career?

It’s likely you’ve felt like quitting at times, only to find a week later you love your career more than ever. The choice between ‘soldiering on’ and starting all over again is a difficult one to make. However, there are a few concrete characteristics we recommend having in place, and if these are not met, maybe moving on to a new career could save you years of painful dissatisfaction.

Consider these drivers for change:

Health issues

If your general health becomes an issue in your performance at work, making that career change could benefit you more than just putting a smile back on your face.

Role and function

Like a frog in cold water that hasn’t perceived the rising temperature, you no longer feel your role or function in your company is where you wanted to end up. Time to change?

Salary and stress

Has it come to the point where you’ve attained the salary you’ve always wanted, but never realized it came with 25-hour working days and a boss who never leaves you alone?

Early misjudgment

It’s often the case that employees give the benefit of the doubt to a new job scenario, blaming adversity on a steep learning curve. Suddenly, years go by and nothing has changed.

Under-appreciation

You’ve worked hard and smart, you have the experience, and your performance is exemplary, but, nobody in your organisation recognizes it. This surely cannot continue?

If these examples are all too familiar, it might seriously be time to think about how to switch into building a career that better satisfies the nuances and tenets of your life. No matter your age, your income level, or your qualifications, taking the next step is something you can do, provided you have a plan.

So, how is it done?

Job agencies

You may already have enough experience to simply let a recruitment agent find you a totally new role. It’s always worth registering with a few recruitment agencies and let them do the work of finding you a selection of jobs to choose from, while you focus on your day-to-day duties and making sure your career transition does not disrupt your life.

Evening classes

Evening classes have been the classic staple of career professionals who want to bolster their CVs, move up the career ladder, or gain skills to be able to move laterally in their careers. However, taking an evening class requires a fair amount of investment, time, travel expenses, and you must attend when the timetable demands.

Online education

In our opinion, far and away the best option for new career training comes in the form of online education. From undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, to executive courses and professional qualifications, online training gives you the freedom to tailor your career path, study when you can, and gain qualifications, skills, and the confidence to enter a new phase in your life, when and how you want to.

If you are on the cusp of making an all-important career change, we're here to help. We have a huge selection of reputable courses provided by great educational institutions, all delivered online. From MBAs to LLB Qualifying Law Degrees, to ACCA professional accountancy qualifications, not to mention fashion, media and tourism degrees, and a host of specialized certificate and diploma qualifications, we believe you will find the first step to your new career with us. We’d love to hear from you.

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