I was thrilled to be featured in this article on CNN last week, Trading a six-figure salary to become a teacher. Jon Fitch’s story is inspirational, but as we all know, it’s not applicable to everyone. Not everyone can afford to make a dramatic career change like he did, but that doesn’t have to stop you from finding your dream job.
Two important points to keep in mind:
1) Remember doing what he did and having enough savings to live off of is only one of MANY ways to realize your dream career. Read further in the article and you’ll see that I made my dream a reality by having a bridge job – a job that paid my bills while I was working towards becoming a career coach.
2) Jon’s career change is dramatic. He’s taking a much lower paying job, in a different industry, in a time when the economy is tough. What I find, fortunately, is that most career changes don’t have to be this dramatic. What happens to us is we become so frustrated by our current jobs, and sometimes we are so unhappy, that it feels like we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. This is not the case. With my clients, 7 times out of 10, they don’t make a change into a career that is completely different from their current career.
I was talking to a group coaching client, Jenny, about it this week. She desperately wants to make a change, but it’s primarily because of her boss and the culture of her company, not because of her industry. Jenny’s right career fit we’re thinking, is actually something she’s done in the past, and similar to what she’s doing now but in a much smaller organization. It’s a slight course correction, not a dramatic change.
Your transition may seem bigger than it actually is, just because you’re so frustrated. Take a step back, a deep breath, and re-assess how dramatic your change really needs to be to make you happy!
Hallie Crawford
Atlanta Career Coach
P.S. For more career help, be sure to contact us for a complimentary consultation to see what products or services are right for you!
