A career change may be massively rewarding for many reasons. Over the long term, it may significantly increase your earning power. In the short term, however, it may cause major financial upheaval. With that in mind, here are five tips on how to manage your finances during a career change.
Start by looking for a new job
Before you commit to a significant career change, look at your options for changing direction within your current sector. This could be enough to give you the fresh start you crave without the need for (and cost of) major retraining.
As a rule of thumb, the more training your current job requires, the more carefully you should think before you change careers. For example, if you’ve spent years developing a career as a lawyer then switching to a new firm, or becoming a partner, may be all you need to feel fulfilled again. At the very least, have a chat with a specialist agency like Wegman Partners lawsuit.
Get a clear picture of where you are now
If you decide you want to go ahead with a career change, then you’ll need a plan to make it happen. That starts with getting a clear picture of where you are now. This will set a framework for what’s possible and what’s practical. It will therefore guide your future decisions including ones with long-term financial implications.
Decide on your end goal
You need to have a clear end goal in mind so you are always charting a path towards it. You may have several paths to choose from and you may change paths on the way. You should, however, always be moving towards the end goal using the most practical route at the time.
Identify the obstacles to your progress
In the real world, most of the obstacles to your progress are going to relate to money. For example, you may need to find money to pay for new qualifications. You may need childcare for study as well as work. You may need to reduce the number of hours you spend at work.
Having a clear overview of these will enable you to work out a budget and a timeline to achieve your goals. This may involve making short-term sacrifices. Be very careful, however, about sacrificing too much over the long term. Drastic budgets may work in theory but living with them can be a struggle. Even if you’re on board with it, other people may not be so happy.
See what assets you can leverage
Your starting point here is often to think about what you own. Then see if there’s any way you can monetize it. This means a lot more than just selling your unwanted stuff (although that’s often a good place to start). It can mean using your belongings to generate an income. The obvious candidates here are cars and houses but you may have other options.
After this, you’ll need to think a bit “outside the box”. In particular, think about your skills and your professional network. Is there any way you could leverage either or both of them to help you move forward more quickly? Generally, the more quickly and smoothly you can make your career change, the less financially draining it will be.
Photos by RODNAE Productions and Dziana Hasanbekava
