Five Ways to Change Your Career

A career change is a common practice nowadays, yet many people still believe that in order to switch careers completely, they will need to go back to university and get a new bachelor’s degree. That is both time-consuming and costly, but there are many other ways to step into a new profession. Take me for instance: I studied finance, and now I run my own business LinguaTrip.com — a platform for learning languages abroad and online. Passion and a desire to learn matter much more than a formal degree. Here are five different ways to change your career.

Online Courses and Webinars

Today, there are millions of online courses available. They cover everything from social media management and photography to dietology and architecture. They can run for a few hours or be spread across weeks or months with homework and reading materials. It is an easy way to study whenever and wherever is convenient for you.

You cannot expect to become an expert in pharmaceuticals or web design in a couple of weeks. However, it can be a good starting point to learn something about your field of interest. You will gain some practical skills and get a starting point for further exploration. To use online courses or webinars as a career change entry point, you should be truly passionate about the field which you are about to study.

When choosing the courses, ensure that you trust the people who deliver them. For instance, I took online courses in Instagram copywriting. A couple of years ago, I was just posting pictures and some emojis or single sentences in the captions. At the same time, I noticed that the bloggers I liked were publishing deep and thought-provoking posts with long and well-written texts in the captions. I wanted to do the same on my page, but I had no time to go and get a bachelor’s in journalism. After some quick research, I discovered that my favorite bloggers offered webinars and online courses. The price was low, no more than $50, and I received all the information necessary to start changing my profile for the better. Now, you can see that my daily posts are read by over 300k followers. All it took for me to learn to be a better Insta-blogger was an online course from another blogger I trust, as well as a lot of passion and a desire to learn and grow.

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Short Courses and Certificate Programs in Schools and Universities

These programs are a great opportunity to study at world-leading universities but with a focus on one subject or topic. For instance, about two years ago I took a 6-week filmmaking course at the NYFA. It was not a fundamental course and didn’t cover everything filmmakers learn in a 4-year bachelor’s program. In this short time, I learned how to work with professional equipment, spent two days filming at Universal Studios, had an introduction to screenwriting, editing classes and so much more. What I learned there made the real difference: my colleagues and subscribers said that they saw the change in the quality of my videos.

The real benefit of these courses, in comparison to online education, is the opportunity to become a part of the community.

You can build a good relationship with potential partners, investors and competitors. For instance, my husband and business partner, Dmitry, attended the classes on market strategy at Stanford. It was a short course of 6 classes and the teacher was a successful businessman who runs two IPOs and has raised over $2 billion from various investors. Dmitry managed to build a personal connection with him and get him interested in our business LinguaTrip.com. We got a great mentor for our business and now meet with him monthly to get his expert advice on various matters. Usually, people pay thousands for these consultations. We were simply proactive and passionate during these short courses.

To enroll in one of these courses, you can travel to the USA or Europe. Universities there offer short professional courses on a wide range of topics from design and marketing to computer science and law.

If you help with entering a university, we’ll give you a hand.

Extension Schools

If you ask a Harvard or Berkeley graduate if they have ever heard of Harvard Extension School or Berkeley Extension School, they will probably look puzzled and surprised. However, these schools have been around for ages, offering working adults and students from non-traditional backgrounds an opportunity to earn a prestigious degree at a lower cost and with a more flexible schedule.

Basically, you can enroll in a few courses, both online and in-person, and attend the lectures and seminars with leading academics from Ivy League universities.

Getting a real master’s degree this way will require taking a particular set of modules, passing them all with satisfactory grades and writing a thesis. The total cost of earning a degree this way will be about 3–4 times lower than a traditional master’s degree from the same institution.

Besides learning in one of the best schools in the world, you can also benefit from learning part-time, mostly in the evenings, up to 20 hours per week. It means that you can work while studying and cover your living costs while working toward your new profession. Similar programs in Canada are known as Work-and-Study or Co-Op programs. Many leading European universities, including Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, offer similar courses under their Continuing Education programs (note, these courses do not lead to an official degree, but provide you with all the essential skills and knowledge needed to try out a new professional field).

Apprenticeship Programs

If you have never earned a degree and are seeking a career change at the entry level, you can look for an apprenticeship. While many people consider these programs to be suitable only for recent graduates, there are a lot of similar programs for adults who want to try a new profession. Some of them will require having a foundation or bachelor’s degree. Others will be suitable for people with high school level education and some work experience. During the apprenticeship, you will be paid minimum wage. However, you will learn from practice and gain real work experience while exploring the new field. The programs for adults usually last from 1 to 5 years, offering full immersion and proper training. When the apprenticeship is over, you will be able to get another similar job easily, as you will have strong experience listed on your CV.

Another Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree

While I started this article, I had the idea that there was no need to get a new bachelor’s degree to change your career, but there are some cases when it is necessary. For instance, if you want to work in the medical field. Any other background would not be sufficient to switch to a role in medicine without a proper university education. The same applies to architecture, engineering and a few other highly specialized professions. However, if you want to try something more generic, like design, marketing, product development or accounting, and you have any other bachelor’s degree, you may learn enough just from a master’s program.

Before enrolling in an expensive and demanding degree program, I would advise you to try an online or short course in the same field. It will help you ensure that this profession is what you really want to do and whether another degree is truly necessary to enter this new profession.

Summary

There are many ways to enter a new profession. Start with online-courses and webinars. If you feel that more in-depth studies are required, look into short courses and certificate programs at universities. Opt for classes at an extension school if you are ready for a serious course but only on a part-time basis. Go to a university for a new master’s or bachelor’s degree if your chosen profession requires a significant level of studies and differs a lot from your previous one. Or try to explore apprenticeship programs to gain the necessary knowledge and skills from work practice. Remember, if you are passionate about your new career and are ready to learn and work hard, any career change is possible and won’t take too much time or money.