It’s surprisingly common for people to feel like they’ve picked a career that isn’t true to their passions. If you’re like most people in the world, you probably picked a job that gave you the most financial security. People typically accept placeholder jobs for the sake of building an income and ensuring they can pay the bills. But before they know it, they might have worked in that position for several years and made no real progress in their career.
If you feel like you’re about to encounter one of these situations, then it’s worth thinking about a career change. But how exactly do you facilitate a career change later in life? It’s expensive to go back to study and you need to continue working in order to pay the bills or even your mortgage. So how can you grow a new career in the background?
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Consider taking local courses to build a foundation
Start off by building a foundation on which you can improve your skills. This is great for people who aren’t sure how to get started on a new career path. For instance, you could consider taking a bakery course to help you learn the basics of starting up your own store. You could take a course in computing to get a better understanding of computer hardware and software. There are loads of options for courses and they’re usually very affordable and take place outside of regular work hours.
Consider online learning opportunities
There are also a plethora of online courses that you can take in your own time. These courses typically give you a general direction of what to study and will provide you with all of the materials you need to learn new skills. This is usually combined with some kind of test or examination and you’ll even get a certification at the end of it which may be helpful in getting a new job. This can be a fantastic option for people who are busy throughout the week but have specific times where they can focus on studying and learning new skills.
Consider starting your own at-home business as a side hustle
The next option is to consider starting up an at-home business as a side hustle. This is a great option if you’re already fairly skilled at something but need a little push to help you get started with a business. If your knowledge or skills can be marketed already (such as freelancing or selling products) then we suggest kickstarting a small business with any savings you have and gradually building up your brand and experience. Once you see some success, you can choose when to commit to your side hustle and transform it into a fully-fledged business.
Instead of thinking of jobs as placeholders, consider everything an experience to help you build a successful career. You can learn many unique skills regardless of where you work, and there’s a good chance that you’ll discover more opportunities to explore your passions by networking and progressing your career no matter your current job.
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