Changing Jobs

Work takes up a lot of your time.  If you hate it, that is around eight hours of your day, five days a week.  That is a lot of happiness.  Why don’t you change it?  Maybe the money is good, or perhaps you don’t have any other skills.  Possibly you even see yourself as too old.  Are any of these valid reasons for being miserable in your work?  No! 

Here are some hints to get you started in your new, happier life.

What do you like and dislike about your current job?  It might not be the job itself, you dislike, but rather the working environment or your colleagues.  You need to figure this out first, before you go any further.

What do you really want to do?  Write down five lists:

things you love to do

your best talents (don’t be shy!)

the jobs you would love to do

things other people say you are good at

courses you would enjoy or consider studying at college or university

Now find a common theme amongst these lists.  Whether it is writing, driving, childcare you have now decided what you want to do.

www.bc.edu/offices/careers/meta-elements

Build a bridge to a new career.  If you can invest time or money into learning a new career, while remaining at your current one.  You could try evening classes or home study courses.

Make sure you are willing to learn.  It is a myth that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.  It has been shown that the more we learn, the healthier our brains will be.

Believe you can do it.  A lot of people get into a rut about their jobs and believe they can’t change.  You can!

Once you have done all of your research and learned your new skills the only thing left to do is go for it!