Have you considered studying for a professional qualification or a Masters degree to change your career?
Changing Career
There are a few ways to change career, and depending on the industry some will be more successful than others. Some people will fall into new careers but if you are wanting to be more proactive about it one way that can be fruitful is by studying. Either a relevant professional qualification or Masters degree in your desired career area. This is what I did to move from the Broadcast industry to the more technical side of the Finance industry.
Studying:
By committing to studying you are showing employers you’re serious about your new area and thus seem like a less risky hire.
You become more knowledgable albeit generally only in the theory! This again makes it easier for the employer as they may have to train you less.
This can be achieved either with a Masters degree (full time / part time) or professional qualification.
Options for study:
Masters Degree
Some people go straight from undergrad into a Masters degree. Others, like myself, return to university later in life after having had a career already.
Benefits:
Full time Masters degrees can be amazing. A year to focus and smash through a tonne of work.
You can use a Masters to decide what you really want to do and be aware of the investment you are making in myself. Versus an undergrad you might have chosen purely for interest.
By doing the Masters in something practical that’s relevant to the job you want it increases your chance of that change of career
University’s offer career advice, mentors, CV help etc that can help you get a role once you graduate
You develop a network with other Masters students which can help you going forward in your career and for getting a role.
It is possible to do a part time Masters alongside work enabling you to go more at your own pace and still earn an income
Negatives:
The downside is they can be pricey, especially the London universities. They are obviously well rated, but at £30,000+ for a years course is out of reach of many. Looking to other cities can yield great results, at a much more affordable price.
No guarantee of a job afterwards. The uni career service can help with this though, as can your new network
Its a year out. You need to pay for the course and your living expenses.
Professional Qualifications
Benefits:
These are more likely to be paid for by an employer, plus you are working while doing them so still earning a salary.
If you are paying yourself for some or all of the qualification it can be cheaper than a Masters degree.
Studying alongside working means you can keep your current job and earn a living.
Negatives:
These are usually intended to be studied alongside work. This can mean you giving up part of your social life, evenings and weekends to study. This can get particularly intense the month or two before any exam. They require a huge commitment
No guarantee of a job, be sure it is the right qualification for what you want to go into.
I have done this myself. When moving from the broadcast industry, to the finance world. I did a Masters in Finance, and studied towards a professional qualification. I passed Level 1 of the CFA qualification. This enabled me to be considered for finance roles, and with my previous career use my transferable soft skills. I found if you were straight out of university it is easier to move into an area not related to your degree, and one in which you don’t have experience. If its been a while though, having the extra qualification can make all the difference. My work then paid for me to complete the rest of the CFA qualification to become a Charterholder. This would have been hard without the support of my work.
Funding:
If you are looking at doing extra learning/studying check with your employer first for their tuition sponsorship policies and see if they will fund all or part of your study. This is more common for professional qualifications but is also possible with full and part time Masters. They will typically have claw back provisions. These are where if for example you leave the company within 12 months you have to pay the exam fee/tuition costs back. One strategy is to go to your employer with a few proposals – one extremely expensive option they will unlikely to go for, and the more reasonable one you actually want! Ensure to get everything in writing. Another strategy is to do part of a qualification, then apply for job in the new career area, and get the employer to fund the remainder of the qualification and membership fees once qualified.
If doing a Masters look at possible Uni scholarships you can apply for, Student Loans post-grad schemes and any fee reductions due to circumstances.
Alternatives to formal study:
Moving internally:
Moving within a company but to a new area is likely to be more successful than convincing a new employer to hire you in a new area. Your current employer is already confident in your abilities and it will be easier to persuade them. Generally larger firms are better for this.
Internship:
It is possible to do an unpaid internship or shadow someone, but a lot of people don’t have the right connections or savings to support this
Learning on the job:
Some industry’s allow you to learn as you go in a new role and have structured training as part of the contract.
Online Learning
There is a wealth of online learning available out there that is free or low cost. Linkedinlearning, khan academy, udemy, coursera etc. You can take courses in areas you want to move into, but as this is less formal, may be less appealing when looking to change career.