Ever had an awful day at work that left you drained and confused? Ever thought maybe this job isn't for me anymore? The chances are that you have. But many people are put off from changing their careers as they think it will be too difficult. Read on to find out why this isn't necessarily the case.
Identity
It's a sad fact of today's society that we often based our identity around what we do. It's the first thing people ask when you meet them! But the truth of the matter is that we are not our jobs. We have rich and rewarding lives outside of work and much of the thing that are most important to us happen outside of the employment field.
So why do we place so much emphasis on what we do? Well, it's easy to identify someone, their interests, their social standing and education through their role. Some of us even wear uniforms like these from Prudential Overall Supply so it's impossible not to know what we do straight away when we are at work!
This can make trying to change our jobs difficult for us and others because it’s hard for them to remove the person from they do. The best way is to ensure that you are not putting all your eggs in one basket. Make sure that whether you love or hate your current job, you have friends and activities that build your self-esteem outside of your work role. Then if you do decide to change you will be in a much better position.
Wages
One of the most challenging aspects of a career change is that you will often have to take an initial pay cut. Unless you are doing something similar, it's unlikely you will enter a new profession at the same level that you had previously attained. This can really put people off as they have bills to honor. We also get used to having a certain amount of spending money a month. If you are concerned about a wage cut, you need to assess it against the satisfaction you will gain from doing the new roll in the long term. It might be a case of short term pain for long term gain.
Re-training
One of the things that stop people dead in their tracks with a career move is the thought of going back to school to retrain. It can be hard if you have invested a lot of time and money into your education to admit that you made a mistake, and you now want to go in another direction.
Others can feel like they are too old to learn something new and that their family responsibilities mean that they could not devote the time to study. Remember though that there are much more flexible study options available now. Many institutions run part time distance or online courses, which you can do in the comfort of your own home when the kids are tucked up sleep in bed.
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