8 Tips to Help You Make a Career Change at Any Age

Starting fresh in a new industry is a challenge for many people for a variety of reasons — including, of course, the fact that switching careers often involves at least a temporary reduction in income. After all, you don’t have as much experience in your new field as you did in your previous one, so you can’t expect to command the same salary.

Before making any kind of career change, it’s a good idea to do some financial planning. Start by creating an emergency fund containing roughly 3-6 months’ worth of living expenses. Your emergency fund may need to contain an even larger sum if you anticipate a significant income reduction during your transition. Revisit your budget and identify areas where you can cut expenses to save extra money.

That said, financial adjustments are not the only challenge you’ll face as you navigate a new profession. You also need to convince prospective employers that you’ll thrive in the field even though your experience is limited. Toward that end, thoroughly research your target field. Not only will doing so help you identify any new skills or education you’ll need, but it will also help you acquaint yourself with the terminology of the industry. You’ll need to be able to speak the language to sell yourself to recruiters.

You may also consider starting a side hustle before you make the leap into a new career. A side hustle can be a good way to build up that emergency fund. If your hustle is related to your target field, it can also be a great way to gain experience you can leverage in your job hunt.

Those are all good place to start, but as we all know, career changes are complicated situations. For more advice on preparing for this major shift, check out this infographic from Credit.com :