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Thinking About A Career Change?

Career change is not something you do lightly. I thought about it for years. I spent 20 years working for the same company. Last year my company offered its employees a generous severance package if they accepted a voluntary termination offer. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to pursue my dream of changing careers. The severance pay would be a great safety net for me to tackle my long awaited career change.

My job search lasted seven months. You would think that seven months out of work would be a bad thing, but it really wasn’t. In some ways it was essential. It gave me time to get my mind and my house in order. Home improvement projects are very therapeutic. It wasn’t all work and no play. I had a lot of fun too. Caught a glimpse into retired life and I can tell you – I think you are really going to like it. I would have to say, besides childhood and courting my wife that this was the most fun I have ever had.

However, job searching wasn’t fun. Like anything else, the more you do it, the better you get at it. After several phone interviews and a couple face to face interviews, I was offered a job, a good one, and I accepted it. I started working January 8 th. It pays less than what I was making before, but it’s in the field I wanted, and the commute is better than what I had before. It can be done. The road may not rise and fall and twist and turn where you expect it to, but when all is said and done, you could be better off. I think I am. There are a few things to consider, four worth warning you about.

First warning: expect a high level of stress. Remember what it was like when you were going from junior high school to high school? Multiply that by 40! I went from knowing my job inside and out, to knowing nothing. I went from the comfort of knowing everyone to knowing no one. I went from being mostly in control of my day, to being completely out of control of my day. And my days spilled into my nights. I was plagued by nightmares of inadequacy, and helplessness. I’ve been through boot camp, this was worse. But whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. Two months later, I am finally starting to regain my ease.

Second warning: you will find yourself making a lot of comparisons. It’s a classic rookie mistake. But keep in mind, the reason you left your former place of employment was for change. You sought out change, don’t knock it now that you have it. Embrace the good you find in your new job and endure the bad, and maybe later when you are settled in, when you understand why things are the way they are, you can make some improvements.

Third warning: the faces may be different, also the names and voices, but people are people wherever you go. I contend that one person in ten is bad and one person in ten is good, and the other eight vacillate between the two extremes. Seek out the good; avoid the bad, that’s all you can do.

The fourth and final warning: beware of regret, buyer’s remorse, or whatever you want to call it. You want something, and when you get it, you worry about what it cost you. You wonder if you made a good bargain. I think that is a natural and unavoidable response. Only time will tell if you made the right choice or not. That’s all I’m going to say about that, because I am still coping.

Have I learned anything from this career change? Yes. Change is good. Would I do it all over again? Absolutely! I was dying on the vine and now I am immersed in growing pains. I made the right choice for me and my family. I needed to find out for myself rather than wondering and taking someone else’s word for it that things are the same wherever you go.

If you are considering a career change, take it from someone who knows, you will regret the things you don’t do, more than the things you did do. Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

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