Hate your job? Want to use your natural talents? Looking for more meaningful work? Scared that your job is next on the company chopping block?
Those are all good reasons to make a career change, said Darlene Martin, master career counselor and Workforce Investment Act/Veterans Affairs adviser, Career Services at Continuing Education, Kennesaw State University. Martin counsels career-changers in their 30s, 40s and even 50s.
A more fluid workplace (people rarely stay with one employer 40 years anymore) and a wider choice of educational opportunities (online, technical, professional continuing education) make acquiring new skills easier, but the move still takes courage and effort.
Whether you're burnt out or bent on following a passion, Martin advises prospective career-changers to answer three questions: "What do I want? What does it cost? What am I willing to do for it?"
You need to determine why you want to make a change. Is it the occupation or the corporate world that you want to leave behind? Why do you think being a nurse, firefighter or teacher would be a better fit? Don't expect the answers to come quickly, because "a career transition is a process, not an instant decision," Martin said. "As William Bridges explains in 'Transitions: Making the Most of Change,' career-changers are moving from 'old rules and roles' to 'new rules and roles.' Between the two is a place called 'no rules.' Learning to be at ease with that period of uneasiness is part of the process."
Laughing matters
For Scott Miller, the two years before deciding to become an advertising copywriter was a time of misery and depression. Miller had performed stand-up comedy in Knoxville while earning his communications degree at the University of Tennessee. He was a successful comedian there and hit the comedy circuit after graduation, traveling all over the United States and sometimes sharing the stage with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Jeff Foxworthy and Dennis Miller.
"When I started my comedy career, I had given myself 10 years to get where I wanted to be," he said. "But in the mid-'90s comedy clubs were closing. Work wasn't so plentiful, the gigs were less desirable, and the enjoyment was wearing off. I figured I had given it a good shot and decided to get a real job."
Finding that entry-level TV broadcasting jobs didn't pay enough, Miller took a marketing job at a large telecommunications company.
"I enjoyed it, but after six years the job changed and I was sitting at a computer desk every day analyzing products. I'd come home and collapse. Fortunately, I had a supportive wife, who encouraged me to explore another interest: copywriting," he said.
Miller enrolled part time, then full time, at The Creative Circus, a two-year advertising school in Atlanta, to gain the portfolio and credentials to become a copywriter. Last year he became a freelance consultant with Robert Half International's The Creative Group, which pairs Miller with clients and projects that fit his skills and style.
"My work leans to the humorous. Some like it and some don't, but copywriting, like stand-up comedy, is subjective," Miller said.
Miller feels good about using his writing talents again and looks forward to someday seeing a funny TV spot that helps sell a product or service and knowing, "Hey, I did that." His advice to others: "You have to follow your heart and not your wallet. Do what you're happy doing."
That's the first thing that Cynthia Dorsey Edwards, director of career and job-search services at DeKalb Technical College, counsels students to do when considering a career change. "I tell them to think about what they really like to do, rather than what they've done. We have career assessment tools to help them sort out how those likes and dislikes relate to occupations," she said.
Knowing what they're suited for, Dorsey Edwards has them assess their transferable skills (work ethic, management, communications, etc.) and explore the nuts and bolts of making a switch. What is the job like day to day? Does the salary range fit your needs? Are job prospects good or scarce? What preparation is needed for entry-level work? Where can you get training? How will you pay for it?
"Job-changing may involve some sacrifices. You may have to go back to school while working or take a stopgap job to make ends meet," she said. Doing research ahead of time can help you decide whether a change is worth it, she added.
Search for security
Tracy and Cynthia Conner of Columbus both had college degrees and successful management careers in the textile industry, but as mills began shutting down, they knew they needed new skills in order to continue to work and raise their two teenage children.
Cynthia Conner had thought of being a nurse when she was younger and learned that she could get a nursing degree in two years at Columbus Technical College.
In reading about the field and talking to nurses, Tracy Conner discovered a career that offered long-term stability, a variety of job types, opportunities for advancement and the satisfaction of helping people. "That was all very attractive to me," he said.
The Conners knew that it would be a tough two years financially and academically, with lots of studying, little family time and almost no income, but they believed the goal was worth it.
"At the end of the day, we would both be RNs, gainfully employed with better opportunities. Not everyone gets a second chance," Cynthia Conner said.
With advice from the health sciences program director at Columbus Tech, they were able to secure HOPE grants to pay for all their prerequisite courses. The couple graduated in December and landed jobs at separate hospitals by January.
"It took a lot of work to get to where we are, but we're so glad we did it," Tracy Conner said. "Ironically, the last day of school I heard that a plant I had worked for in North Carolina had shut its doors. I'm glad we made the decision to go back to school."
Back to school
"Technical education is a bargain in Georgia, because the cost is low, the schedules are flexible and there are so many different programs. It's the perfect avenue for people who want to start or change careers," said Larry Teems, vice president of student services at DeKalb Technical College.
Technical education turned out to be the key for Elaine Wade, a paralegal with Bovis, Kyle and Burch.
"Who knew that four years after getting my bachelor's degree I would go back to technical college and learn something hands-on that I could use the next day at work? I believe in the value of a technical education," Wade said.
At age 8, Wade starred in a church musical and began aiming for a stage career. Acting and singing jobs were scarce when she graduated with a theater degree from Winthrop University in South Carolina, so she took a series of banking and other jobs, while continuing to audition and perform. Her experience as a part-time legal proofreader in New York City helped her land a job in a law firm when she moved back to Atlanta -- and was the catalyst for her career switch.
"I liked working in the law office but knew I needed more skills, so I enrolled in the paralegal program at DeKalb Tech," Wade said. "I was able to work, go to class and graduate in five quarters, since I already had my bachelor's degree.
"Being a paralegal isn't rote, like people think. Every day is a new problem. Taking a case and pulling it apart, having to learn the law, the critical thinking and the writing is a real brain workout. And I get to use my performance skills with clients. I'm never nervous speaking in front of people."
Wade said that the transition from theater to law was a slow process but that it feels right. "I'm taking voice lessons again and performing locally whenever I can, but this is a career that pays the bills. I like it, and it's a fast-growing field."
Life-altering decision
One reason that career transitions are so difficult is that they can affect your whole life.
"Vocational theorist Donald Super uses the rainbow as an analogy to describe the roles we all play -- worker, spouse, parent, community leader . . ." Martin said. "Each of those roles, like the colors in a rainbow, bleed into each other. That's why you can't do career planning in a vacuum. You have to look at the big picture."
Talking with a career counselor, who can look at the situation objectively and provide useful resources, can be a good first step in making a career change.