You are in your thirties and asking yourself: How to change careers at 30?
Professionally you have come a long way since you began your career. Gone are the days that you are the newbie with a supervisor looking over your shoulder and double checking your work. You now find yourself in a position of responsibility, perhaps with an impressive title and people reporting to you, or managing key accounts and clients. After years of study, training, sleepless nights, successes and failures, you have made it, or are at least on the path to making it.
But suddenly after all the hard work you put in to reach this point, you find that you no longer have the same hunger and passion for your career. Where has the love for the work, the ambition, your dreams, and plans gone? Is this the mythical midlife crisis? Just yesterday you thought that you were on the right path, but now the idea of your job leaves you empty on the inside.
Time has passed, and you might have discovered new talents, new interests, new hobbies, making you understand that you are not the person you wish to be. Everyone remembers that as kids they wanted to be veterinarians, astronauts, or the president. But as we grew up and experienced life, these dreams changed. Despite being an adult in your 30s, you are hopefully still growing, and just as you realized a career in space exploration was not right for you, so too might you realize you at age 36 your current career trajectory is not the right one.
What should you do if you’re pondering a career change in your 30s?
First, answer this question: “is your life about your career or simply living the way you want?” Although you should follow the call of your heart, the cold reasoning of your mind is necessary for such responsible decision-making. If you know for sure that you need and want to start a new career, think about it very carefully. You need to be cautious, but overthinking is a not a good idea.
Suppose you are in a room, and you need to choose a door to move forward and maybe escape. Will thinking show you the right door? Of course not! You will never be able to account for every possible factor and every possible scenario. It is simply pointless to just stand there and think about the right choice. But you can act right there and then and choose a direction. You can return if you think your choice was wrong. The important thing is that you do not stay in one spot endlessly, and take steps towards your goal.
But do you know your desired career?
It is a very important thing to realize. You shouldn’t make hasty decisions, remember, just yesterday you thought everything was all good with your career. It doesn’t mean that you should stop acting altogether. The point is, you need to be flexible enough to realize your needs and capabilities at any point in time to be able to counter the tides you are swimming against.
You need to try new career opportunities and look for ones that suits your needs right here and now. If you are afraid for your financial stability, you should look for ways of doing trial and error without quitting your job. Alternatively, you can switch to a half-time job or look for other similar ways to create some free time for your search.
Be aware that you might not find your dream job on your first try. Try to utilize your passion for shaping your life to your advantage, let it push you forward. Learn about the profession that interests you, try to connect with people working in your dream job through friends, relatives, and networking. You need to gather as much data as possible to make the decision right for you.
While you should never abandon your dreams, be careful of setting unrealistic expectations and career goals. Such dreams are bound to fail, and the disappointment of such a failure might discourage you from making any changes. Be passionate, but cold-minded. There is no need to rush. Motivational quotes are a good thing, but overconfidence can be a serious weakness.
After gathering information, meeting people, conducting research, and studying, you need to act decisively. If you are sure about your decision, start slowly, but take active steps towards your dream job.
A very good way of confidently changing careers is working with people who, like you, are also looking for a new job. You will work together, share ideas, inspire and push each other, and move together towards your dream jobs. It doesn’t matter if their interests are different. Your combined spirit and desire to change is a strong stimulus to your activity.
Don’t think that your temporary uncertainty and desire to change your job is a shameful thing. Our whole life is about adaptation, and you don’t need to be afraid if you feel something is changing in you or around you. Meet the need to change with open arms. Be passionate about the future even if you don’t know how it will turn out to be tomorrow. Don’t let sudden variations put out the fire burning in your heart!
It’s never too late for a career change, especially as a thirty year old working professional. So instead of sitting around and asking yourself “how to change careers at 30,” take action and sign up with Vested.