Ways to change careers
The pivotal role of education in the access to knowledge and skills has been a fact in the pursuit of a career. This is a requirement that bequeaths defined career skills and prepares a person for future endeavors.
Choosing a career path instills a sense of clarity and drives objectivity, it also fosters connectivity with purpose. Though there is a salary and wages earned from working the ideal intent is satisfaction and fulfillment. The sense of purpose and satisfaction can be hampered when the wrong career path is chosen and a continuous stay on this path can derail goals and performance.
Transiting from one career to another brings a lot of change and since these changes are encountered in a new environment, learning to adapt to the changes equips people with a better experience. Sometimes, these transitions demand a new set of skills and experience. So, what if you require tutoring for the acquisition of these skills? If this is the case, then what are the ways to change a career without going back to school? Can a career transition be made without acquiring a new educational degree?
According to a survey conducted by the University of Phoenix, many workers want a career switch in their thirties, and this is also supported by a statistical analysis that shows that an average person changes jobs 10 to 15 times throughout their career. If this career change occurs more frequently as disclosed by these surveys, then there must be a reason for such life-changing decisions.
To have an understanding of the ways to change careers without going back to school, let us consider the reasons for career transitions.
The reasons for career transition
Lack of enthusiasm
Recurring morning blues plays a tune of progressive decline in enthusiasm when a worker begins to lose interest in a job. The drive to attain goals and make productive achievements starts to wane in a most obvious way. The lack of enthusiasm and sheer passion for a job is among the reasons for a career change.
Low productivity and performance
A worker with less enthusiasm for a job is likely to have low productivity and performance. The motivation to accomplish tasks and reach goals declines with every input at the job. Following a career path is way beyond showing up at work and sitting behind a desk every day, it is a tour around a path of purpose, a sojourn of destiny brewed with a sense of fulfillment.
Treading the wrong career path can produce a detachment from work outcomes besides low productivity and performance.
Exhaustion at work
No recruiter or employer wants to have a staff who shows up to work looking uneasy and irritated as this can have an impact on their service delivery. For someone on the wrong career path, the tendency to experience exhaustion at work stems from a lack of enthusiasm and passion.
Most of these workers are imbued with a feeling of apathy and despair, a strain from the pressure exerted on them at work. Afterward, this is accompanied by ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishments, a process that might result in redundancy.
All these reasons prompt many people to change careers and opt for a better route. So, are there ways to change careers without going back to school? Can the change in a career path be done without acquiring another degree? These are the highlights of the next section of this article.
6 ways to change careers without going back to school
Identification of personal skills gap
On many job boards and recruitment portals, the job description for every vacancy is displayed in detail. The tasks to be undertaken by the intending employee are clearly stated on these portals to ensure there is a cohesive link between the employer’s expected skills and the applicant’s skills. To have a smooth change of career, an identification of the personal skills gap is fuel for driving a smooth career transition.
An awareness of the gaps helps an applicant understand the expectations of the employer and take the steps required to meet the employer’s job descriptions.
Volunteering
Volunteering is an act of kindness that comes from offering services without payment or reward. For a person who wants to change careers without going back to school, an insight into this new career field will provide leverage and in-depth knowledge of the expected roles.
Offering volunteering services in these organizations or companies helps to close the skill gaps and promote the acquisition of adaptable experience for the anticipated job. An applicant can check the websites of the recruiting organization for any volunteering opportunities and sign up for the opening. Volunteering services provide first-hand experience for the volunteer and a grasp of the operational ethics of the firm they intend to work for.
Leverage on your transferable skills
If you have transferable skills that made you stand out in your previous job, it is pertinent that you leverage those skills when changing your career. Since most of these organizations require specific skills and experience, an applicant can adapt these skills for better integration into the new career.
Highlight the transferable skills in your resume and emphasize their effect in the dispense of your intending career. Every employer wants to be assured of workers’ collaboration towards the achievement of goals and objectives.
Utilize online resources
Resourcefulness is a function of research and dedication and for a career pursuit, it is necessary to employ methods that will promote the chances of being employed.
For a person who wants to change careers, adequate knowledge borne out of research will come in handy. There are several research options such as online sources, eBooks, podcasts, and prints, all of which can be accessed to enhance skills or cultivate the skills that engender efficiency and productivity.
Take courses
There are specific courses for these careers and taking a course or two will improve the skills required for the new job or career pursuit. There are several platforms such as edx, coursera and a host of others that are equipped with tutorial materials for each course. The ways to change a career without going back to school does not rule out the acquisition of knowledge, other sources can be employed to access the knowledge required for a career transition.
Internship opportunities
Internship is a short period of work experience that an organization offers to individuals. This process introduces the intern to the company’s mode of operation and unlocks career potentials that can make the intern a prospective candidate when there is a job opening within the firm.
So, an individual seeking for ways to change careers without going back to school can take advantage of internship opportunities with the firm of interest and learn the basics. Sometimes, several interns have managed to become an employee in the organization where they were interned.
