Changing careers in your 30s?

At 30+, the thought of changing careers might feel impossible. But if it’s true job satisfaction you’re looking for, surely it’s worth taking the plunge?

More than likely, you will be working for the next 30 or so years of your life. If you’ve still got plenty of time left at work, you may be questioning whether your current role is the one for you – or if there’s something else out there.

You might have picked the career you’re in now purely out of interest – that interest may well have faded over the years, and now you need something to reignite the fire you used to have for work. If you are having doubts, maybe it’s time for a career change?

Not sure where to begin? Here are some tips on how to get your career transition journey started:

Find out the ‘why’s’

Disliking your career doesn’t mean you hate everything about it – there may well be parts of the role that you enjoy. Research other roles that you could transfer these skills to. When you start looking at the ‘why’s’, you might find that it’s not the role itself that’s causing negative feelings. It could be the salary, the location where you work, or the people you’re working with. It might even be that you have a different motivation for work today, than you used to. Identify the exact parts of the job you dislike, so that you can make an informed decision as to whether it’s simply time to move to another company, or in to a different career altogether.

Seek advice

As mentioned in our previous point, write a list of all of the skills you could easily transfer to another career. By the time you are 30, you will have gained a lot more experience, and life experience, than you would of in your 20’s. These skills could easily be adapted to another job, and could make your career change faster too if you can demonstrate them to a potential employer. List your strongest skills and assess them to see if they will be beneficial for your next career move.

Making a literal move

Moving to a different company rather than changing roles altogether could be a viable solution to your problem. Many people easily mistake issues with the company as having an issue with the role too. If you’re not happy with your current job, you may not have to look to a different industry altogether, but maybe moving to a different company would be more beneficial.

If you feel like you gleamed everything you can from your role, and are looking for a new challenge, look at your current company and see if there is another department you could work in. You may also benefit from seeing a career advisor if you are really stuck on how you want to change your career path – you’re never too old to ask for help.

Get educated

If you’re thinking of changing your career altogether, but you don’t feel that you have the right skillset or knowledge, would going back to school be an option? We know, it’s a scary decision to make when you have adapted to a steady income each month, and potentially a family too – but you can gain a lot from going back to school. For example, if you’re lacking in social skills, or if you need to broaden your background knowledge of a particular area. More education can help you to better prepare for your chosen career path, and equally looks very impressive on a CV/ Ultimately, you have to decide if this is the right decision for you, and how much it would disrupt your life.

Be picky

We all know that feeling of being a role that’s run its course, and the pressure we put on ourselves to get away from it can cause use to make quick decisions. Don’t settle for the first job you are offered – you could end up straight back where you started. Research the role and the company to identify whether this job will tick the boxes that aren’t being ticked off in your current role. You have to be 100% sure that this is the best step for you.

Success doesn’t happen overnight

Remember that a career move can be tough for a number of reasons – one of them being that you might feel you are starting from the bottom all over again. Don’t be discouraged if you feel like you’re not overperforming in your new role – if you’re enjoying it, make time to improve on your skills to achieve better results. Stay positive, and with a lot of hard work and determination, you could be looking back in 5 years time reminiscing about the greatest career move you ever made.