Answers
From my experience (45 years) in business, changing employers every 5 to 7 years is a good idea if you are not on a fast track at your current employer. Oftentimes when you're in a company for 5 or so years you can get pidgeonholed at a particualr level of performance expectation. When opportunities present themselves, you may not even be considered. By changing employers, you start fresh.
Your question is about changing career fields. Making career assessments every 5 years is a good thing to do, even if you decide to stay in your current career trajectory. One book I have recommended over the years is "The Inventurers" by Janet Hagberg. As in any assessment, you should evaluate your current career opportunities against other options.
You ask about success rates and I only can suggest that career success is going to be proportionate with your ability to maintain and nurture a network of professionals in your industry. Fortunately, people today have many tools to do that over the internet. Learn how to use them to your mutual advantage.
I've heard it said that the average person changes careers 5 times in their lifetime. I don't have any hard data on success rates and it's hard to give you advice as to whether it's a good or bad idea, but change is never a bad thing and is rarely an easy thing. I would say the best advice is to make sure whatever change you're making, your motives are right. Money isn't everything and make sure the career change you're making will make you happy.
Be smart about your career change...if you're changing companies, do your research on the new company, position for which you're applying, and the industry to which you're entering. Talk to other people in that field, whether it be personal connections or online communities. Use your resources of friends and family to find other people in that industry or even working for that company.
I've been with the same company for almost 9 years, but I've made a positive job change every 18 months to 2 years. My current position I've been in for 3 years and is the longest I've stayed in 1 position, but I've been gradually given more responsibility as well.
Good luck!
If you are looking to change careers now is a good time. I recently saw a new program for veterans in the Maryland area. You might want to check it out.
They are holding a career training and placement course from March to May 2014. For more details you can visit the NS2 Serves website.
Rashid H
Happy to Help!
I made a drastic career change after about five years, and for me, it worked out great. A couple of key things that made it work - I was willing to go back to entry level and start over from the ground up, and I was willing to go back to school. It was hard to take a pay cut and go from being higher up on the food chain to the bottom, but that's how you learn a new skill. And my degree wasn't in the right area. After two years I realized I wouldn't advance like I wanted to without going back for a masters. But after that it took off. Being older, having more life experience and more business experience, being more mature, etc. contributed to faster advancement in the second career. Five years into it, I have no regrets.
Good luck!
This all depends upon the type of person you are. If you are not afraid of change and like challenges on the job, and wish to continue to grow as a professional, then changing careers/jobs after 8 years is a great idea. I stayed for 8 years on a job that I liked but knew eventually I wasn't going to be promoted, nor was I going to learn anything new. I decided to seek outside guidance and looked at other career fields where I could leverage my talent, skills, experience and education.
I had very good success but this of course is subjective based upon the person's own ideas of what is good vs bad. What was good about leaving one field and entering another was that it gave me much needed and welcome exposure to a new industry. I gained new networking contacts and I also gained a stronger sense of self-worth. I brought a unique perspective to my new field that others really could appreciate because they were open to me, which is why I was hired, and I was able to provide guidance, insights and ideas that they just never approached before my arrival. I feel that going into a new field also showed that I could be a catalyst for change, which many companies are in search of so often. They want to hire people that are not only experienced and professional, but can either embrace or help execute much needed change in an environment.
So yes, it is a good idea to move forward into another career once you've saturated your experiences in the old field, or have a desire for new challenges and changes. Nothing can guarantee that you will be a success but you will never know until you try it.
The bad side of moving into a new career, the learning curves can be steep and daunting as well as disappointing. But in your mind, you have to stay strong and learn from your difficulties, your mistakes, or just plain misjudging a situation. Even if it is a bad idea once you are in your new field, take what you can and plan to move on accordingly but keeping your professionalism as well as dignity in tact. Everyone can learn from both bad and positive situations anywhere and at any time.
Good luck.
No problem! I kind of changed careers from military to civilian but in a similar role. You have a long working life left in front of you. You can have another career of 20 yr +! You need to have skills in the new area though and these can be obtained in schools or volunteer work in some cases. by the way, I have retired from 4 companies so far.
John - I can't comment on "success rates", but can say that I changed my career field twice since leaving the military and it was a great transition for me. Sometimes we don't know whether we are going to like a particular field until we've had the opportunity to experience it for a few years. From my experience, I've found that it is important to enjoy what you are doing and I have been fortunate to work for a company that has supported my desire to change fields. Just like in the military, most companies in the civilian world want employees to consistently challenge themselves & look for growth opportunities. Sometimes those opportunities can be found within the original career field, but sometimes we have to look at other career fields in order to really push ourselves.
I have changed careers several times in my almost 40 years of employment....but they all had one key element in common (Writing). Build your skills in a specific area and they will translate to other industries. I started by writing and directing commercials. Then I studied Real Estate Law and drafted documents. I moved into Real Estate lending and wrote policy and procedure documents for real estate lenders and then moved to banks. I created procedure and technical documentation for banks and also developed some training along the way. My current position is Policy and Procedure Specialist for the IT Division of a Utility Company. All of my jobs had that one central thread...writing. If you can find the thread that will allow you to expand into new industries while keeping true to your key strengths, you will be happy. Consulting jobs allow you to experience different sizes and types of businesses so that when you do decide to take a permanent job you know exactly what you are getting.
Short and simple I can say that I have changed jobs numerous times and am currently at a much higher position than I started. Potential employers are willing to give you a higher position and more pay for the experience you have gain at another employer because it's less training they have to invest.
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