Checklist for changing professions: how to make a career plan and not burn out on the way to your goal

1. Assess the market situation and your experience

Choosing not only what you like, but also what is in demand is a smart strategy. You can spend more than one year fulfilling your dream, but in the end you will face high competition and low salaries. In addition, the idea of ​​​​the tasks of specialists does not always coincide with reality. For example, it may seem that the work of an interior designer is all about aesthetics. In fact, along with beautiful mood boards, customers are waiting for full-fledged engineering plans with electrical and plumbing wiring. If this becomes clear during the course, the risk of being disappointed and dropping out is great. A thoughtful market analysis increases the chances of finding a specialty that will please you with both the salary and the list of responsibilities.

Explore professional communities on social networks and job aggregators, such as HeadHunter, SuperJob and Rabota.ru. This will help you understand the income levels of different professionals and compare your skills with those required for the positions you like. If they at least partially coincide, then requalification will be easier.

Look for events where they can talk about the professions that attract you. These could be online training courses or open days at educational institutions. Talk to people who are already working in a specialty that interests you. Feel free to write and ask questions about what their typical work day looks like and what their responsibilities include.

2. Calculate in advance how much money and time will be needed for retraining

It will take several months to become a manicurist, and about a year to become a front-end developer. Moreover, in the second case, you will have to devote 15–20 hours a week to study. It is difficult to say exactly the waiting period for an offer. But general statistics say that for 10 responses to vacancies have to only one interview. Therefore, you should budget up to three months to find a job in a competitive field, during which you can spend several hours a day responding and updating your resume.

For a comfortable transition from one profession to another, a cash cushion will also not hurt. Anxiety about finances increases stress, which, in turn, leads to loss of productivity. Savings will allow you to concentrate on your studies and not worry about spending on courses or career counseling. If you don't have the opportunity to save money, your financial habits will most likely have to be radically reconsidered, and long trips or complex projects like renovations will have to be postponed.

3. Set a clear goal

Before you take action, formulate where you want to go. There are many different goal setting techniques. For example, you can use the SMART method. It is used by project managers, and if you approach retraining as a full-fledged project, then the technique can work. SMART means that a goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, meaningful and time-bound. That is, simply deciding that you want to change your profession is not enough. Specific parameters are needed. For example, “I will complete the SMM courses and start looking for my first job before July 2024.”

The path to your goal may seem too complicated and scary, so it’s worth breaking it down into small segments. For example, the BSQ method requires you to take three steps:

• Think big - formulate a specific goal.
• Act gradually - identify subtasks that will allow you to achieve what you want.
• Move quickly - set deadlines for each of them.

Let's say your goal is to retrain and find a new job. A roadmap might look like this: “choose a course - by the end of the week”, “complete training - six months”, “prepare a portfolio - a month”. Try not to get ahead of yourself or think about the next steps until you have completed the previous ones.

4. Look for ways to stay motivated

There are risks along the way to any long-term goal. feel fatigue and uncertainty, decide that you are moving in the wrong direction. To maintain motivation, pay attention to small achievements. Let’s say, once a week, write down what you did to be closer to your goal - read a chapter from a textbook, listened to a lecture.

Look for new interests and connect them with your studies. For example, if you want to become a graphic designer, give yourself a challenge. Every day, go into the store and highlight at least one product with a cool font or colors. This will help you not to lose inspiration and train your observation skills.

It is also important to maintain a balance of work and rest. Research showthat fatigue causes people to put in less effort, even if there is a reward waiting for them. It's tempting to stay up all night to complete a class project, but you're unlikely to feel excited about new challenges the next day.

5. Don't be shy to ask for support

Find like-minded people who are changing majors just like you. In difficult situations, they can suggest how to solve a problem, share educational materials, or simply offer encouragement. To join the community, go to meetups, communicate on professional forums or in chat rooms. If you study offline, spend time with your classmates outside of class. For example, invite them to a cafe to celebrate the successful completion of the first modules or organize a tabletop evening.

It is also important to enlist the support of loved ones. Discuss financial matters with them in advance. This will allow you to avoid resentment and omissions in situations where someone wanted to go to sea, but had to spend money on textbooks. It is also worth agreeing on the distribution of responsibilities around the house. It will be great if your partner temporarily takes over some part of your routine.