Thoughts like I cant do this kind of work anymore! Or am I supposed to sit and do this silly task all my life? can be alarming. They could mean you need a career shift! They might be indicating that either you are no longer capable of giving your best to the career you have chosen or that you are simply saturated with the same work everyday!
The important thing is to realize that this is not a job shift. You are not getting the urge to change your employer. Instead, what your need is to change your entire stream of work. This is serious business and requires a good deal of time, money (yes, money is right) and energy (physical and mental)! Especially when you are a woman and you suddenly decide to devote so much of your energy resources on a career shift, natural family instincts may resist it. But not making a career change at the right time and in the right way may really put you in a fix later in life!
To begin with, decide if you really need the change
Before you begin thinking about making a career change you have to decide whether you actually need one. You may just need to find a new job, not an easy task either, but certainly easier than an entire career makeover. Ask yourself if the problem is a work related tension at your office or the work itself.
Assess yourself
If you decide a career change is in order, you will need to evaluate your values, skills, personality and interests using self assessment tools, often called career tests. Self assessment tools are used to generate a list of occupations that are deemed appropriate based on your answers to a series of questions. A career counselor can really help you with this. Many free career tests are available on the Web too. Whatever way you choose, this would give you a clear picture of the second major decision you will make in the career-changing process: Which career way to take ahead?
Make a list of occupations to explore
This assessment test will actually give you a list of occupations that you might be inclined towards. Of course you are not inclined towards all or even most or them. You now need to eliminate the options you are not interested in. Also, circle occupations that appear on multiple lists. Circle occupations you may have considered previously and that you find appealing. Write these occupations down on a separate list. These are the options that you would like you explore and seriously consider.
Research the occupations on your list
For each occupation on your list, you will want to look at the job description, educational and other requirements, job outlook, advancement opportunities, and earnings.
Continue narrowing down your list
Pare down your list of possible occupations based on what you learned from your research. For example, you may not be willing to put the time and energy into preparing for an occupation for which an advanced degree is required, or you may consider the earnings for a particular occupation inadequate.
Conduct informational interviews
At this point you should only have a few occupations left on your list. You now need to gather more in-depth information. Your best source is people already in these occupations. So, conduct informational interviews with them.
Decide on one
By now you should have decided on one occupation you want to pursue. Its time to put a plan in place so you can eventually find a job in that field.
Train for your new career
Changing your career may mean you have to undergo some training, or develop some skills and get some further or new qualifications. That could take the form of earning a degree, doing an internship or taking courses to learn some new skills.
Say goodbye to your current career
Now, you are finally ready to quit your current career. If you are employed, you will have to quit your job and deal with some issues related to that. But now you are all set and ready for the new work life this should not bother you much!
