Are you considering a change of career? A lot of people want to change careers for a lot of different reasons. Maybe your goals and values have evolved. You’ve reached a different stage in your life, and your current job no longer suits you. Maybe now you have different interests, and you’d like a job that allows you to pursue them. Or maybe you just want to make more money or have more free time. 

We spend a big chunk of our lives at work, on the way to work or thinking about work, so it’s natural that your level of satisfaction with your job has a significant influence on your level of satisfaction with your life in general. 

If you are bored or unhappy with how you spend most of your time, this can have a big impact on your physical and mental health. You may feel exhausted, annoyed, restless, depressed, or unable to enjoy your time off because you’re faced with the prospect of another workweek ahead. 

Stress can build up when you have to focus for a long time on tasks that you find boring, repetitive, or not particularly enjoyable. You’re also less likely to put in the effort and passion required to advance in your job and career if you feel like you’re stuck in a rut and completely demotivated. Aside from making you feel happier and more fulfilled, working in a field you love increases your chances of success.

Take the time to examine your current circumstances, explore career alternatives, decide what needs to change, and choose a path that will be more enjoyable for you.

Why Do People Change Careers?

Like we mentioned in the introduction, people change careers for a variety of reasons. One survey from Joblist found that the number one reason was better pay, with 47% of respondents. Stress is also a big motivator to look for better opportunities, with 39% of respondents saying that their current job is too stressful. Better work-life balance was noted by 37% as a close third. Lastly, 25% of respondents stated that they’re simply looking for a new challenge and 23% are no longer passionate about their field.  

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics claims that there is no consensus on how frequently the average individual switches careers. However, it is by no means a rare occurrence.

According to the same Joblist survey we cited above, most people are happier after changing careers, and they also tend to increase their income in the process.

Evaluate Your Current Job Satisfaction

You can start this transition with a journal to track your everyday thoughts and feelings regarding your current job and look for patterns. What do you enjoy and dislike about your current job? Are you unhappy with the work you do, the company culture, or the individuals you work with?

Of course, if your life feels like you’re trudging back and forth to the same office day after day, an office that you’re finding increasingly unbearable, where you have to deal with a boss that has not only passed you up for promotion twice already, but that also doesn’t seem to care about your health and sanity, it’s probably time to make a change. You don’t need a ton of diary entries to figure that out.

Even if you don’t change careers, you could at least change companies. And since we mentioned health and sanity, you might even be able to sue and get compensation. You can learn more about this by visiting How-To-Sue.co.uk.

Consider Alternative Careers

The next step is to look back at your past jobs, projects, and volunteer work to see what kind of activities you prefer and excel at. Examine your current career to see if it matches your values and skills. If not, you need to start considering other options. 

You can find ideas for better-suited careers by doing your own researches and discussing alternatives with family, friends, and people in your professional network. You can also meet with a career counselor. 

Ultimately, you’re the one that knows yourself best. Getting advice from friends and family can be useful, but their ideas should be treated as suggestions that can serve as inspiration. What makes you happy is unique to you, so you’re the one that’s best equipped to make the right choice. 

Let’s say you’re currently working as a lawyer. If you tell a friend that you’d like to switch careers, they might respond by telling you that you could try pursuing a career as a legal journalist. It makes sense. However, your skillset is likely to be quite diverse. 

Maybe you’ve become a great public speaker as a result of your oral argumentation skills or a diligent researcher as a result of the preparation you did when studying case law. Marketing yourself to potential clients may have also taught you selling skills. Others won’t take the time or effort to think so broadly about what you could do. 

Check Out Job Options

At this point, you can do a preliminary comparative analysis of different fields in order to pinpoint a few areas for further investigation. This sounds more complicated than it is. All you have to do is google the jobs that interest you the most. Have a look at top jobs in Canada and other opportunities. Learn everything you can about them and reach out to people you know who already work in those sectors to hear what they have to say. Your college alumni professional network and LinkedIn are excellent sources of contacts.

Then you can try to shadow professionals in the jobs you’re most interested in. You can find people who are willing to let you shadow them through your college career office and LinkedIn. If you can’t find opportunities for in-person shadowing, know that there are also videos online that take you through a day in the life of various professionals. 

The final stage is to try it out. You could look for freelance work or volunteer opportunities that will let you gain first-hand experience in the sector you want to switch to. 

Sometimes it’s also possible through your current company. Let’s say you work in accounting, but you’d like to work in marketing. You could suggest a collaboration between departments or offer to consult on some projects. If you take the initiative, you’ll find that this is a lot easier to do than you’d think, especially if your employer is dealing with tight budget constraints.