The only way to go through life is by feeling passionate about your life and what the future would bring. Whether you like it or not, your job makes a big part of your life. Over the years, a corporate job can bury any sense of enthusiasm and ambition that once and everyone deserves the opportunity to pursue what they feel passionate about. However, it would be irresponsible to follow your heart without having a well thought-out plan.
- Pros and Cons of Switching Careers
Besides saying goodbye to mundane tasks, switching careers can help you grow as a person and change your life in many ways.
Expanding your horizons
Both entrepreneurship and switching to a different industry mean that you will have to figure things out and expand your knowledge. Just the decision to change your career is a great opportunity to do some soul-searching and find your purpose.
Pursuing your passion
Can you imagine how great it would feel to make use of your strengths and do what you love doing day after day? By loving what we do, we are motivated to deliver superior performance.
Sense of control
Deciding to follow your heart means taking control of your life. Going in this direction helps us build up confidence and be more positive.
On the other hand, switching careers isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s more like a learning curve.
Financial risks
Starting a new business requires investment and it often comes with unstable income. Even if you decide to switch jobs, changing industries could come with a period of unemployment, the need to pay for additional education and once you do get it, you might need to begin at entry-level which means lower salary. Overall, you need to be ready to deal with uncertainty and manage financial stress.
Extra learning
If you are opening your business, you need to learn about all business aspects so you can manage it. If you are changing industries, you might need additional training and time to gain experience in the new area.
The stakes are higher
Whenever emotions are involved, the stakes are higher because you will invest yourself more. It’ll be harder to get outside your head and your relationships and private life can suffer.
2. Tips for a Smooth Transition To a New Job
Finding your groove after changing careers can be challenging and it might take time, but there are a few tricks that can help navigate through it more easily.
Don’t sweat the small stuff
Keep in mind that any new habit takes 2-3 months to be adopted, so consider the first 90 days as a transitional period for finding your footing.
Save money
Saving does not have to be complicated. For example, you can analyze prices of your household expenses by comparing different electric providers, internet providers, insurance providers, etc. You might be surprised how much you can save simply by doing a little research. Having a financial cushion is of great help in periods of transition as it at least prevents adding financial stress to the already stressful equation.
Adopt a positive mindset
Every career change comes with a variety of emotions. While taking this step in your career is exciting, transitioning into this new life will be easier with a positive attitude and that means finding ways to see the good in everything, even delays and rainy days.
Set goals
You need to ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Then, you need to break the elephant into smaller pieces by making three-month, one-year, five-year and ten-year goals. By breaking your vision into attainable smaller goals, you can plan and make a strategy to set you off in the right direction.
The verdictThe logical approach would be to stick with your current job if the cons outweigh the pros. But, this does not have to be the case if you are willing to work through the negative aspects and strategize. That way, you can make the change you want as smoothly as possible. Keep the positives and negatives of career change in mind and follow your heart with ease knowing you have a plan to rely on.
