Keep Calm & Change Careers

America has a long-standing culture of employment. We all grew up watching the venerable factory worker or mail carrier rack up four decades at the same job. Most people the age of our parents did likewise: they graduated from high school, hired on, and punched a clock until the gold watch came.

But it’s just not like that anymore for most workers. It is far more common for employees to leap from one career to another, and there are several reasons why.

Reading The Writing On The Wall

Sometimes you just know, don’t you? You can tell that your employer is on the rocks and that you need to set about a new career plan before it’s too late.

This can be in-house or industry-wide. About 25 years ago, frozen yogurt leapt onto the American food scene. A number of chains sprang up, packed with customers and reaping huge profits. Then the bubble burst–or at least shrank–and a number of the companies disappeared.

While you can still find FroYo today, it’s not as ubiquitous as it once was. And there were many people in that food fad who lost jobs and investments. The experience proved not only a lesson in investment strategies but also in understanding an industry’s long-term prospects.

Whether it’s your little ship or the entire armada that’s taking on water, you need to inflate your own life raft. RN to BSN programs in PA and other states maintain a steady stream of workers who are trying to hedge against upheaval in their employment.

The letters on their wall narrate the uncertain financial future of health care firms in the Affordable Care Act era, and these workers are making sure they improve their qualifications for a potentially combative job market.

Catching The Next Fast Train

You don’t necessarily have to be in a dying industry to be on the lookout for a healthier one. There are many job environments where you can be reliably employed for many years, but you won’t have opportunities for advancement, will have wages that barely keep par with inflation, and won’t do anything innovative and exciting.

When you start to see that developing in your job–or conversely, see it not developing in another job–you might be wise to seek out a better opportunity. To revisit the RN profession, think about how you may be adrift in the doldrums of a workaday job in a very bland physician’s office. Then a conversation with an old classmate or former co-worker reveals the amazing things being done nearby in a cancer treatment facility. Your current job may exist for as long as you need it to, but to build a benefit that extends beyond a paycheck and a 401(k), you may be best served to educate yourself for a move to a more upbeat situation.

Don’t Forget The Fit

Speaking of a routine job with repetition, that might be just the place for you. For others, it could be miserable. This is where it’s important to understand yourself and what moves you.

You may prefer to be part of a smaller staff with a sedate environment, or your taste may drive you toward a frenetic, life-and-death situation with hovering deadlines and urgent action. There are people meant to be in both environments; do you know which one is right for you?

If you just don’t feel like your workplace is doing it for you, this could be your issue. Once again, additional education can be the key to getting you into the right situation and making a lifelong improvement.

Is it time for you to change careers?