5 steps to change your career direction

I was 32 with a child less than a year old when it hit me: I need to make a change. I shouldn’t say it just hit me. It had been creeping up on me for a while. But finally I was willing to admit to myself that something had to be done. I’m sure there are millions out there that feel the same way. But what do you do? How do you go about altering the direction of your career when so many stepping stones have been laid?

1. Take it seriously and get moving. I know this sounds stupid, but once you’ve decided to make a change, haste makes waste. It took me 15 months to work through the whole process. Lay out all of the things that you’ll need to do in order to prepare yourself for such a change. Discuss the decision with family and friends. This helps make it real. Discuss it with colleagues if possible. They have the most intimate knowledge of exactly what you’re going through because they work in the same field with the same people. They know how you operate at work, what you’re strengths and weaknesses are and will be great sounding boards for whatever ideas you have.
2. Brainstorm a few ideas and get yourself out there. You need to have some idea of other industries they may want to be in. Meetups are great for this — gaining exposure to new fields and new people in a low risk kind of way.
3. Network, network, network. Oh yeah, did I say, NETWORK? You never know who you may run into that could be able to introduce you to your future new cubicle mate. Only 15–20% of jobs are ever publicly advertised.
4. Don’t abandon your domain expertise completely, if at all possible. It is extremely valuable. See if you can use that knowledge in some way, whatever path you choose.
5. Leverage your skill set and aptitude. You have learned a lot over your years in the workforce. You need to showcase your skill set to potential employers. Landing a job takes storytelling. For example, make it explicit how your background in computer programming actually makes you a great fit for marketing. In today’s world, digital marketing is huge and programming is a valuable asset. Connect the dots for them.

Personally, I got my doctorate in neuroscience and had been on an academic track when I decided I wanted something different. I spent 15 months talking to family, friends and colleagues about my likes and dislikes, my dreams and aspirations, and my realistic options. I explored roles as a data scientist in the school system and as a data journalist at NPR. In the end, I landed at a startup named pymetrics that I love dearly, in a role that is quite different from what I actually do on a day-to-day basis now. Which just goes to show you, go out there and find a place to plant yourself and you will blossom into your new career.