Why It’s Never Too Late for a Career Change

Whether you have been working in your career for the last couple of decades or are just a few years in, it is never too late to change careers. By being in a career for any period of time, you have already built up a lot of professional capital which you can leverage to facilitate a change in career. Through your professional work, you will have met a lot of people who you can use to launch your next career move.

A career change is nothing short of a bold move; moving onto pastures new into a completely new industry takes a lot of courage, but it is workable, and you can make something of it if you really want to. A career change can be a refreshing new start and a way to further enhance skills and learn new ones too. It also attracts a lot of negative attention from close friends and family who view it as reckless and silly.

Ridicule, however, is nothing to be scared of. If you really want to start a new career, just go for it – you will only regret it later down the line if you do not. It does not matter if your new career is entirely different to your old one, you can make it work if you have the skills.

So, whether you will be undertaking a college course to prepare yourself for a career in journalism or are looking at some sales training in Chicago, we recommend you keep reading on to find out why it really is never too late for a career change.

If you are looking at entering a professional industry which requires some specialist knowledge or simply want to brush up on other professional skills, you can find courses on findcourses.com which relate to almost any industry or profession.

#1: You’re Never Too Old for Something New

Many people hold off on changing careers because they feel that they are too old, but the truth is that your career does not have a sell-by date and you are never too old to do something new.

You can only ever be limited by what you choose to do, or not to do; what exactly are you too old for? You can never know the true outcome of a situation or decision until you actually go for it and you need to apply for a job to know whether or not you are good enough. In the professional world, each individual brings their own perspective and fresh outlook, and yours could be the one an employer is looking for. In this situation, age is nothing but a number on your employment record.

#2: You Shouldn’t Dread Work

Possibly the biggest sign that it is time to throw in the towel and try something new is if you find yourself waking up each morning dreading the day ahead, or going to bed at night wishing that you didn’t have to go to your job the next day… believe me, I’ve been there.

If you do not like working a boring, thankless job each day, hate the industry or simply don’t like being tied to an office, leave. Just go. Life is far too short for you to spend each day hating what you do for 40 or more hours per week. By pursuing what you really enjoy and are passionate about, you will enjoy life a lot more and won’t be facing the possibility of spending your dying days regretting not having done things differently.

#3: Your Skills Are Transferrable

When considering a career change, lots of people opt to not go for it out of fear that their skills and qualities are not transferable, or because they do not possess the necessary skills for the industry or field they are interested in.

You will have already built up considerable skills from your current and/or previous careers, some of which will be transferable to your dream career (i.e. communication skills). If there are other skills which you don’t possess, then learn them! There is nothing stopping you from picking up new skills – how did you get the ones you currently have? Through hard work and dedication. The same applies here and you should not be marking yourself down as not suitable for a job on account of not possessing all of the requisite skills.

Taking the time to develop these skills yourself says a lot about your character and will show any recruitment managers that you are dedicated and serious about your career change.

#4: Forget About Time

It is likely that your current employer will drop you very quickly when you tell them you are leaving - is that the sign of an employer which values you? Unless you are a senior-level employee, your company probably will not be too fussed that you are leaving – especially if it is a big corporation – so why should you feel obligated to stay, just because you have been there for a while?

Although being in a career for the long-term is great and looks fantastic on your resumé, the buck stops there. If you want to change your career, don’t let the amount of time you have spent in one job be a factor which holds you back and stops you from going for it. You don’t owe anybody a lifetime’s worth of service, but you do owe it to yourself to chase your passions and work doing what you enjoy.

#5: It’s the New Normal

The contemporary attitude towards work – being in one job for your entire life – has long-since expired and is no longer what is normal. Today, career changes are very common and there are always people making big jumps between industry.

We have seen scientists becoming lawyers, teachers joining the police and pretty much any other massive change you can think of. If you have told anybody about your desire for a career change, chances are your younger friends or family members would have been all for it, whereas your older friends and family members would have been more reserved and against it. This represents the attitudes of two very different times and proves this point exactly.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with switching your life up and exploring a new pathway, regardless of where you are in life.

A career change is something which more and more people around the world are pursuing each year. With a desire to experience more, people are choosing to spend their lives pursuing different career paths and industries.

The modern attitude towards career change represents a massive shift from the contemporary attitude towards working, where you would spend your life with one employer or within one industry until the day you retire. This is no longer the case.

Unfortunately, many people are hesitant when it comes to career changing, even though they know it is exactly what they want to do. Life is too short to spend time ‘umming and aahing’ about the possibility of a career change – if it is what you want to do, then go for it, there are lots of online courses and resources you can use to brush up on any skills you may need.