The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation is preparing a large-scale reform, which will regulate the creation on the basis of technical schools and schools of special training centers, where not only yesterday’s schoolchildren, but also adults can learn the professions in demand in a short time. More and more experienced professionals suddenly decide to try themselves in a completely new field and this is not always due to a lack of jobs, a reduction, inappropriate working conditions and wages.
But how to change the profession of age? It is important to fully consider this decision, decide on a further career plan and start working in a new position without fear. It is possible that this is the most correct decision in life, which will lead to success, professional recognition and high income.
Reasons to radically change a profession
It is very difficult to change something when there is continuous work in the specialty, career growth in the profession and family, but each may have reasonable reasons to radically change jobs.
Very many students enter the institute immediately after school under direct or indirect pressure from their parents and other relatives, and if they don’t like the profession, it will sooner or later manifest in all its glory. Others may work diligently, but receive neither pleasure nor results. It is also a good reason to look at another type of activity, where it will turn out to realize your talents. And over time, people change. Therefore, the chosen life path may be disagreeable.
Recently relevant is the reason why yesterday's doctors become welders of metal structures, and abridged law enforcement officers become programmers or agronomists. Some specialties are simply not needed over time.
Some statistical facts
It seems that not everyone is ready to change their profession at the age of 45. However, the Research Center for the recruitment portal Superjob.ru calculated: almost 40% of working-age Russians are ready to change the field of activity, and even more than 25% are ready to undergo training in a related specialty.
At the same time, employees with a high level of income show such a desire more often than employees who receive medium or low salaries. Many Russians want to gain new knowledge, realize themselves in another field, make useful contacts, broaden their horizons and make their life less monotonous.
Someone advises not to tempt fate and pull your burden, trying to think less. Others only support the desire to change the profession at 35, 45 or 50 years and they themselves have similar experience. This is a personal choice for everyone, but you need to think carefully about your decision and plan everything.
Difficulties in professional reorientation
Change profession in 50 years? Maybe risky, but if it's worth it? Of course, not everyone can become an opera singer after 20 years of experience as an accountant. Care and thoughtfulness will be required. This is too drastic a step, but it’s definitely worth looking for yourself in an adjacent profession, if you want new sensations. The matter is not so risky, and most likely, the level of wages will continue, and you will not have to drastically retrain.
It is not easy for people of mature age to find a job in a profession in which there is no experience, they will have to make a lot of efforts to convince a human resources officer of high motivation, and learn a lot, possibly from much younger colleagues. First, you should evaluate your adaptability and stress resistance. Will it be possible to feed a family, accustomed to live on the salary of a successful sales manager with the money that a novice designer receives? Will a “young” specialist be able to consciously suppress their professional self-esteem?
Finding yourself in a related profession
The thirst for change can be realized with the least loss for status and income level. Many consultants and experts agree that it is better to look for work in a related field. In this case, skills acquired over the years and established contacts in the professional sphere will be very useful. But life will change, new horizons will open and horizons will expand.
Many successful journalists find themselves in the field of advertising, where active, competent, creative and communicative people are needed. A foreign language teacher can start teaching on Skype or become a translator, and an experienced accountant may well become a tax consultant. This is a fairly young profession, which is still lacking in popularization, because many out of habit, they turn to general lawyers for qualified tax assistance.
Cardinal job change
Not everyone will decide to radically change their profession at the age of 50 in Russia. This is a big risk, but history knows quite a few examples. For example, who would know about the doctors Anton Chekhov and Mikhail Bulgakov today if they had not pushed their initial profession to the background. There is a risk of not taking place in a new business. Maybe while the new work seems to be the ultimate dream, the idea of the desired position is too idealistic. It is advisable to first consult with a psychologist and career counselor, family and friends.
Education for a new business
How to change a profession? Start with education. For the employer, this will be a confirmation of the seriousness of the intentions of the applicant. Especially in many professions, you can start working during your studies. They will not be able to fully perform work duties, but it is quite possible to carry out some basic things and at the same time gain experience.
What skills are not enough to start? It’s easier to change a profession at the age of 30 while undergoing training. Some professions are taught free of charge on the basis of Employment Centers (they are also employed later), there are still special courses or seminars. It would be nice to start preparing for the upcoming career change while still remaining at the old job. So at least you can understand your attitude to the specialty and quickly remove the pink glasses.
Previous professional experience
Changing a profession at the age of 40 is difficult if, in general, you do not take into account your previous experience and break through from scratch. For example, the chief foreman with a talent for writing texts will find himself in specialized publications on repair and construction. His professional knowledge will be his advantage over other candidates. Therefore, it’s enough for engineers to simply retrain as technical translators or writers, for artists to be leading weddings. If there is nothing suitable in professional experience, then it is worth recalling hobbies and additional classes.
Where to start looking for a new job
How to change a profession? After thinking over the previous paragraphs, you can proceed to compiling a resume. You need to be smart, because for a specialist in the human resources department, an applicant for the position of advertising manager with a resume that describes only the experience of working as a historian at school will immediately become an inappropriate candidate. Maybe this same historian organized events that attracted the attention of the press and the education department, tried himself as a volunteer for a free promotion, or graduated from a PR specialist course. It is worth focusing precisely on these points.
Still need to prepare to answer the interview for “slippery” questions about the reasons for leaving the previous profession. Do not be afraid to look like a failure, because the candidate invited for an interview is regarded as a potential employee. But the decision to change a profession already characterizes the applicant as an active person with high motivation.
The financial side of the issue
You will have to lower your salary expectations. A change of profession in the middle of your life is a luxury that not everyone can afford. Arguments need to be prepared. It is necessary to mention that this decision was preceded by preparation and there is a financial reserve, that the “young” employee is supported by a wife who is ready to take on responsibilities for the basic provision of the family and the like.
Friendly and family ties
How to change a profession at 35? Family and friendships will greatly help. Perhaps some of your friends work in the industry of interest. In a situation with a job change in adulthood, finding a job through friends and relatives is the best option.
Professional reorientation options
How to change a profession in adulthood? Where to go with your knowledge and experience if there is no dream job, and related specialties are not attracted? You can try your hand at sales, start teaching, become an entrepreneur or monetize a hobby.
In sales, the result is important, not experience and education, but it is also a sphere with a wide choice. You can work from home or in the office, sell wholesale or retail, in Russia or abroad. Professional builders can sell appropriate materials or advertise the services of a company, a team, and a cosmetologist can become a seller of luxury cosmetics. Life experience and adulthood will be only benefits.
Another classic way of development is to "switch to coaching." You can educate people in any field. You can choose an audience: to teach children, youth or adults. Now it’s fashionable to study, so there is always the option of becoming a teacher at your own university and a coach - on the Internet.
Entrepreneurship is a bonanza for those who want something new in life. Both a student and a pensioner can open an IP, and the ability to manage and come up with profitable business ideas does not depend on age. But entrepreneurial activity requires a lot of strength and energy. You’ll also need start-up capital, although some multi-million dollar companies started with a few hundred dollars in their pocket.
You can turn a hobby into a profession. A passionate person becomes an expert in his field, he is constantly learning something new and can compete with experienced professionals. You can post articles or reviews, post workshops, take pictures, sell clothes or accessories made by yourself, and so on.
Cast aside fears as far as possible
If the decision to change the profession at 50, 40 or 35 conscious and serious, then everything will work out. Psychologists have proved that after several years, while staying in the same position, the employee does not receive qualifications, but loses it. People who get tired of the usual range of work responsibilities, begins to perform them automatically, without return and interest.
Any professional needs to change from time to time, if not the place of work, then its content. Ronald Reagan, for example, was fired from the Warner Brothers film studio. It is unlikely that an acting career would have awaited him if he had continued to work there, but most certainly the world would not have recognized the fortieth president of the United States.
Decide on a radical change in activity, that is, change the profession at 40, can only people with a certain character. According to the stress psychometer of the American psychiatrist Thomas, a forced change of work causes approximately the same level of stress as a divorce - about 73% (for comparison: the death of one of the spouses is estimated at 100%).