A new career path can offer people looking for a change in their lives a chance to find new fulfillment, more money, and even a new lifestyle. People consider two main types of career change: switching to a completely different career or starting a business and becoming your own boss.
Don’t confuse enthusiasm for change with readiness to make a transition. Choosing a new career path or business venture requires insight into what’s driving your desire for change and a strong match between your skills, financial resources, and ultimate goals.
Why You May Be Ready for a Professional Change
People consider switching careers for many different reasons. For some, the reason to switch careers is that their job offers no room for advancement. Others switch careers because they become interested in a completely different subject or field. Others switch careers because of burnout, the need for more money, or for other personal reasons.
The key reasons people change their current work roles are to find more interesting work, seek greater career advancement, and move to a healthier work environment. While a career change can help you pursue these goals, business ownership lets you build your own organization, develop and control the strategy, be the boss, and create your own work and lifestyle.
What a Career Change Involves
Switching careers can mean moving to a completely different industry or to jobs with a similar foundation. For example, someone with experience as an account manager could transition into marketing or a business development representative role, using their knowledge of communicating with customers. He or she can still use the skills he or she has already developed.
A career change typically means transitioning to a new industry, department, or profession. You can make good use of the skills you have already acquired. Often, a career change is part of a structured reintegration into the employment market, and you are offered a fixed salary and company benefits like health care, a company car, and holiday. Sometimes, you may need additional training, and you may have to accept less seniority at first. Of course, you also have to get used to new terminology, tasks, role, and culture.
What Business Ownership Involves
Business ownership gives you the independence to choose how you do your work and can give you the opportunity to increase your income and to create more freedom for yourself. As a business owner, you can run your business however you see fit. You can create a work schedule that meets your needs; you can choose the type of work that you want to do and the clients that you want to work with.
Of course, you also have the independence of a business owner and the responsibility that comes with it. As a business owner, you have to find financing options, attract new customers, manage employees, and deal with a range of official and regulatory requirements. On top of that, sales can decline, or unexpected expenses can arise. So this career path is often best for those who like taking on new responsibilities in changing situations.
Building the Skills Needed for Either Path
The skills needed to make a career change and own a business include learning the skills of the new career and the skills needed to manage a business, such as leadership, financial, operational, and strategic skills. Although you can learn many core skills through education, strong communication and sound decision-making will help in any new endeavor.
Education can help professionals address knowledge gaps before making a transition. Depending on their goals, they may pursue certificates, workshops, undergraduate coursework, or graduate education. Professionals who want to strengthen their understanding of core business functions may consider GCU’s online MBA programs, which can allow them to continue meeting work and personal responsibilities while studying. Business education can support someone preparing for a management role as well as someone planning to oversee a company.
Traditional academic studies represent just one pathway to developing necessary competencies. Professional certificates and co-op assignments integrated into degree offerings provide valuable opportunities for practical engagement. For dynamic fields like digital marketing, software development, and project management, applied experience is critical. To supplement formal learning, individuals can connect with mentors, participate in professional organizations, such as exploring the industry networks suggested by Boston University, or assemble a project portfolio through pro bono work for regional enterprises and personal connections.
Comparing Financial Stability and Risk
When it comes to financial stability in your transition, it is important to consider that many new careers pay regular money at regular times to help cover the costs of your transition to your new career (training, etc.). Also, it is typical for your new company to provide benefits such as health coverage and retirement contributions, saving you the expense of paying for these important benefits yourself.
For a new business, it can take many months or even years for it to start generating a decent income. In addition to salary, owners must also consider taxes, business insurance, special equipment, marketing, and many other ongoing expenses. A good owner will develop a business budget and also create a realistic personal budget while the business gains momentum. He should also keep a savings account for unexpected expenses that may come up while he is still in the red.
Evaluating Independence and Responsibility
In contrast, when you are part of an established organization, you are typically given clear roles and responsibilities and a line of reporting. Organizations have many shared systems in place for employees. In many cases, employees have little control over the organization’s key decisions but are not responsible for the organization’s success.
Having control over priorities is important to many; however, this means that business owners are accountable for: 1) meeting customer needs, 2) financial commitments (e.g., paying for insurance, taxes, etc.), 3) compliance with local, state, and federal regulations, and 4) possibly the livelihoods of others who work for the business. Is this responsibility something you would like to take on?
Considering Lifestyle and Long-Term Goals
In terms of your work and personal life, a career change can help to improve your work-life balance in many cases. A career change can give you more flexible working hours and the possibility of working remotely. On the other hand, a career change requires intense work for a period of time as you are trying to establish yourself in your new field and gain relevant experience and skills.
The usual assumption is that being your own boss offers more flexibility. While this is true, the time and effort required to make a new business work will quickly negate the extra time you have available. You will be very busy in the early years building the systems to support your vision and trying to get enough customers to pay you for your efforts.
Testing Your Options Before Committing
You don’t have to commit fully to test whether a new career path is right for you. Informational interviews, job shadowing, courses, professional networks, and short-term projects can give you a good sense of what a particular career is like day to day. For example, you could take a course or do volunteer work in your desired field to get a feel for whether you would like it day to day.
To find out whether your business idea could work, test your concept by conducting market research, taking on freelance work or even completing a short pilot. Initially investing minimal amounts of money can be very telling for a potential business owner, by exposing any practical difficulties the owner may encounter, whilst also helping to disprove any misconceptions the owner may have regarding customer demand and how to price their work, as well as the amount of work that will be required to service said customers.
Making the Decision That Fits You
A career change may be a better fit for someone seeking new challenges while maintaining job stability. Business ownership, however, is perfect for the independent type willing to endure some degree of uncertainty and handle multiple facets of an organization.
Neither choice is inherently more positive or exciting than the other. What matters most is your ability to assess your strengths, financial situation, work style, and goals for success, and choose the path that best supports your professional and personal growth.