If you’re currently stuck in a job that doesn’t fit your lifestyle and interests but don’t have the money to get a degree in another field, changing careers may seem like an impossible goal. There’s nothing worse than staying in a job you hate, and the good news is that you don’t have to. According to CNN Money, the average person will change jobs four times before the age of 32, and while some of these job changes are in the same career field a vast number of them are between different ones. As we grow and mature, we begin to learn what we really want out of our work life and what kind of job fits our chosen lifestyle. While many people don’t need a complete career change, simply a job with a better employer, if you’re not just burnt out from your workplace but your career there are ways to change careers without going broke in the process. Here are some tips for changing careers without going broke.
Consider What You Want to Do
If you’re reading this article, you already know that your current job isn’t for you. But not everyone is clear on what they want to do for their career, so the next step is to work to discover what you actually want to do with your life and career. This can take the form of researching different careers that sound interesting to you, taking cheap or free classes in areas that have always interested you, or talking with other people online to find out what their careers and lifestyles look like. Dabbling in different areas through research and hobbies is a great way to discover your passions without committing too much time and effort, because once you commit to changing to a career the sunk cost will make it much more difficult to backtrack if you find out it isn’t for you.
Build Your Expertise
If you want to change careers without going back to college, you’re going to have to be proactive in building your expertise on your own time. This will take some time, energy, and ingenuity, but the great news is that there are more resources out there than ever that can help you build expertise in new areas. Volunteering with organizations related to your potential field, taking cheap or free online courses related to the subject matter, starting a blog to share your newfound expertise, and talking with others online are great ways to build both your expertise and beef up your resume. There are even some fields where you can get professional certification through online courses, with coding and personal training courses being easily accessible online.
Use Your Existing Network and Career to Your Advantage
When you choose to change careers, you may think that you’ll be starting from scratch, but this is certainly not the case. Even if you’re choosing a new career in a completely different field, there are a number of ways you can use your existing experience and contact list to your advantage. When going over your new resume, highlight skills that you’ve gained through your current career that will be applicable to your new one. There are several skills that are highly desirable across professions, such as leading small teams, written communication, and the ability to give an engaging presentation. Highlighting these skills in your new resume will show how your experience will be advantageous even if it isn’t necessarily in the same field. The same goes for your current network within your field – find those people who can vouch for you as a seasoned professional with character, work ethic, and smarts that will be applicable in your new career as well as your previous one. Highlighting the ways in which coming from a previous career will help you in your new workplace will help give you a leg up over younger, less experienced candidates.
