Photo credited to Art by Vector Toons and licensed under Creative Commons

After the invention of so many tools to produce goods and services, and the system to make production smoother, people made careers. By the way, what are careers? It’s a culmination of your work experience, education, and training. It could be your job where you started flipping burgers until you became the head chef. It could be your first job doing data encoding until you become a multi-skilled programmer.

Jobs versus Careers

Jobs and careers are two different things. A job means any type of work done for a short time. For your first two years, you started as a driver and after two years, you resigned and began a job as a computer technician. On the other hand, careers refer to the same job you held from the start as a novice until you get promoted to a managerial position or resigned and held the same job at another company. Career refers to a work where you started or grew to use the same skills while trying to hone them with experience. Careers are long term while jobs are short term.

Reasons why I shouldn’t be afraid to change careers

•  Changing a career opens the door to more opportunities 

One of the factors of success is taking a calculated risk. Taking risks is getting out of the comfort zone where you are stuck in the same position for five years without being promoted or getting a pay raise. You could be doing the same job - washing plates or cleaning the kitchen for 3 years. While you do your work you may begin feeling the resentment of not getting a pay raise or promotion and then your aversion to your present job will cause a toll on your performance. If you are on the same boat with others who are sure that their organizations are not providing better career opportunities, you have to look for new jobs. New careers can lead to better working conditions, company and career path.

•  Change for job security

Sometimes because of the slowing economy, some companies with slow sales and productivity may or might end bankrupt. If you are one of the employees of those companies, you should start planning to make some emergency measures in case your employer’s business closes. Watch out for future threats such as jobs that may disappear because of automation or robots. 

According to Forbes and other internet sources, these jobs may disappear in the near future or next decade because of automation or the use of robots.

• Cashiers
• Electronic assemblers
• Fishermen
• Sewing machine operators
• Switchboard operators
• Telemarketers

If you do one of those jobs above, you may start bulletproofing your career by training for jobs that are:

• Creative jobs - Jobs that require creativity and higher skills such as Writing, Database Administration, programming and arts.

• Relationship-based - Jobs such as a social worker, lawyers, teachers, healthcare social workers, a lawyer.

While the above-threatened jobs mentioned from those sources may sound far-fetched, it can be close to reality as technology is getting smarter. Changing a career is a safe detour against falling into the unemployment or underemployed trap.

•  Diversify your skills

Like the weather, the economy can be unpredictable. You may never know what comes next to the most-in-demand job, and what are the jobs to be hit next. Diversifying your skills can help you get ready for lay-offs and career changes. Studying one or two more skills doesn’t mean jack of all trades and master of none but a jack of all trades and master of some. You can be a writer and at the same time skilled in programming or graphic design. 

•  Follow what you love

There’s nothing more energy zapping than doing a job that offers no career growth. Such a job can send your motivation into plummet, lower your productivity, raise your stress levels and affect your health. Following what you love and motivates you can be rewarding as it suits your passion. 

•  You might be ready

Being ready means you have enough cash to cover your unemployment period and the necessary training and skills to land in a new career, although it’s best to quit your present job until you find a new one. For example, if you want to shift from welding to information technology to Engineering, you should have enough cash to cover your bills and the right experience and skills to land even in junior positions. You can hone your skills while you are still employed by doing part-time studies or studying during day offs.
 

•  You are now ready and got compelling reasons to switch careers

Now, it’s beyond a reasonable doubt that - you’ll get the next job, you got some savings to survive during the job-search period and you got these reasons to switch careers:

• You’re stressed
• You’re always burned out
• You have always think about resigning
• Your current job doesn’t interest you anymore

Two career paths for two people

 If not planned correctly, you could end up stuck in the same old job and pay scale. For example, below are the career paths for two people who took the same education.

Don'ts of changing careers

1. Basing your career change decisions to pad your wallet - Doing so can lead to job dissatisfaction.

2. Quitting but not ready - It’s a hassle if you don’t have not enough savings to cover your bills while job hunting or an incoming new job.

3. Rushing your decision too quickly - Without analyzing what makes you unhappy in a job can lead to hurried decisions that you’ll regret later. You might be unhappy with your boss, a bad week, a bad day or your colleagues - but are those really your reasons to quit your job?

4. Not researching your job market - Applying for jobs after jobs without researching is like firing with a shotgun or throwing darts blindfolded. Stay current with job trends on your skills and industry. 

5. Not tapping your network - Networks are people that could be your friends, classmates, work colleagues, relatives, customers and even your fiance. Not contacting your network can decrease your chances of landing a new job. Actively informing those who can potentially help can help you ease your job search and minimize rejections.

The Bottom line

You shouldn’t be afraid to change careers because it’s a way to seek a better opportunity. Changes are constant and it will happen. Changing careers is a way to survive in an ever-changing job market. Make sure to be ready by planning, researching, tapping your networks and avoiding career change mistakes. 

Reference:
1 - https://www.forbes.com/pictures/lmj45ighg/top-20-disappearing-jobs/