Career Change - A Guide to Success

Are you ready for a career change? Perhaps you are bored in your current field and need a more stimulating and challenging work environment. Maybe you feel you have run out of room for advancement in your current role and need something with more growth and/or income potential. Whatever your reasons, a career change is a big move, and you will need to invest some time in planning and preparation to make it a successful one. To aid in that process, we’ve put together a step by step guide to career change.

1. Identify why you need a change

Wouldn’t it be disappointing to make the career change leap and find yourself just as unhappy afterwards as you are now? Avoiding that is why identifying the exact factors that have motivated you to seek other career options is important. Putting some thought into the causes of your current dissatisfaction can help ensure you won’t make the mistake of choosing a new career that is rife with the same issues.

2. Decide where you would rather be

If you already have a direction in mind, now is the time to put in some research to make sure it is right for you. Speak to people in the industry and join industry-related associations, networking groups and forums to get behind-the-scene details. If possible, test-drive your new career via an internship or volunteer position. The more you know before you dive in, the better the chances of being satisfied with your new career.

If you haven’t discovered your passion yet, now is the time to make a list of career choices that interest you, then research each to find the right fit. Keep in mind that choosing a field that allows you to leverage the knowledge, experience and contacts you already have – albeit in new and different ways – can make career change a smoother process.

For example, if you are currently in sales or advertising, choosing to become a digital marketer would allow you to leverage your current skills and business contacts. Moving to something entirely unrelated, such as accounting or law enforcement, would mean starting from scratch. Of course, it’s perfectly fine to go with a totally new-to-you field, so long as you realize that it will probably mean a longer road to career change.

3. Figure out what you need to get there – and a plan to get it done

Are there skills that you are lacking, or perhaps credentials you’ll need to obtain? If so, that will probably mean going back to school – at least for a few classes. For many, the prospect of returning to the classroom is sticking point that can derail career change plans. However, these days, furthering your education doesn’t necessarily have to be done in the classroom – you can choose a more flexible, online learning environment for an ever-widening range of educational pursuits.

For instance, if, as per the previous example, you decide to pursue a digital marketing career, you’ll find solid online courses available that offer the education you need. These range fromentry-level digital marketing diploma courses to help you get started, to more advanced associate and bachelor degree programs that can give you the skills and knowledge you need to climb the career ladder. These are offered at Bryant and Stratton College and other respected institutions, which means your credentials will be indistinguishable from those of someone who passed the same course in a traditional classroom setting.

There you have it — a roadmap to career change. All that’s left is to put your plan into action. If you would like to know more about degrees at Bryant & Stratton College including Digital Marketing, contact Admissions at 1.888.273.2758 or fill out the form on the site.