The prospect of a career shift is exciting, but transitioning can be a process — sometimes, one that takes longer than expected. Experts say it's important to evaluate your skills and interests before making the leap.
"Like any important decision in life, you want to take a step back and make sure that you're doing your due diligence on basically who you are," said Laura Hambley, founder of Canada Career Counselling.
She said the first step is diving into the past and taking stock of your likes, dislikes, skills, talent, education, values and beliefs.
"If you could do it again, what would you have done differently?" she said.
Hambley said there are two important steps to considering a career switch — first, researching your new desired career path online and then talking to people who are in the field.
Online research will broadly answer questions about opportunities, career paths and the labour market in that sector. Meanwhile, talking to individuals will lay out a clearer vision of what a day in the life looks like for someone in that career.
She suggested asking questions such as: "What do you like about your work? What do you dislike? What would you recommend for someone starting out? What are some things that surprised you once you got into your work?"
Hambley said it's important to look at the labour market to get an idea of what kind of skills you might need to develop further.
She warned against blindly going down career paths that might be trendy but do not necessarily match your interests, such as AI-related jobs or data analysis.
"Going into it just because it's in demand is a bad idea because you're not going to be fulfilled, you're not going to be happy," she said.
"It's more important to do what you like and gives you purpose and gives you meaning and fits you as a human being."
Career pivots can cost time and money, depending on what you're switching into, said Megan Gallagher, senior consultant at recruitment firm Robert Walters.
Career shifts can be as big as changing from a PhD in mathematics to law, or they can be on a smaller scale, such as pivoting within the same industry to a different arm of the profession, such as going from HR generalist to payroll specialist.
If the job switch is within the same realm of your existing career, look for reimbursement opportunities when applying for upskilling programs, Gallagher said.
If it's going to be expensive, she said the cost can be broken down into monthly payments and you can determine how fast or slow you want to get there.
Once you're ready to seek the next job, Gallagher said it's all about putting yourself out there. But she warned the opportunities won't come up overnight.
Hambley said people choose to go for contract and part-time jobs, which may or may not be relevant to their new career, to stay afloat.
She gave an example of a woman who was pursuing a financial degree while cooking meals for others to make extra cash and pay her bills.
"You just figure out ways of, 'How am I going to pay my bills, knowing that re-education will pay off," Hambley said.
While the slowing economy could make it tougher to get a job in your new chosen field, it could give people more time to prepare and upgrade their skillsets for a potential new job, Gallagher said.
Regardless, it's unlikely that you would land your dream job right away.
"Naturally, you're going to be up against talent in the market that has already been doing that role for years," she said.
Gallagher said it's about easing into a new role and keeping an open mind to career opportunities — even when that means starting smaller and climbing the ladder gradually.
"It's quite exciting to want to make a career change, and sometimes, it can happen pretty quickly, but most of the time, it's going to take some time," she said.
"(It's about) managing your expectations and setting realistic time frames that work for you — finances, qualifications and getting yourself out there into the market."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2025.
Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press
