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If you’ve been working the same job for a long time and promotion or progression still seems out of reach, you’re likely starting to feel dissatisfied with your current situation. You have two choices: keep on putting in the hours, showing up on time, and hope that someday soon you’ll be rewarded, or leave and try your luck elsewhere.
Both of these options have their benefits. On the one hand, you’re comfortable. You know how to do your job. It’s steady and secure. On the other, you can try excelling at another company. But they also come with potential problems. You may waste your best years doing a thankless job, or you might not be able to find anything as lucrative as your current position.
There is another option, though, and that’s to retrain in a new industry. This can also be scary, but it doesn’t need to be, and if you put the work in, it could be the best career decision you’ve made.
Embarking on a new career, even if it means starting from the very bottom, is a fantastic way to feel rejuvenated and develop a love for the working world once again. During your training and in your new position, you’ll face unique challenges, meet new people, and have the chance to prove yourself all over again.
You may also find that many industries are very similar, at least at their core, which allows you to transfer existing skills into your new career. Doing this will make you feel more prepared than you initially believed, and it can give you the confidence boost you need.
There are a lot of people who fall into jobs and careers when they are young, even though they didn’t mean to. Often, this career is not their passion but instead something convenient. It was something that was in the right place at the right time, but before they realized it, they were there for life.
Retraining gives you the chance to chase your dream, especially now that you are more financially comfortable than when you entered the workforce. If you’ve always wanted to teach, then look for teaching courses, if the ocean has always felt like your calling, becoming a maritime accident attorney protecting the rights of dockworkers and fishermen could be the next step for you. The possibilities are endless.
The procedures and processes of many industries change quickly, and often it takes a long time for companies to adapt to these new ways of doing things, which puts the employees at a disadvantage compared to those currently training and entering the business.
However, when retraining in a new industry, you will be able to access all of the up-to-date knowledge and information regarding the how-to of your new career. You won’t need to play catch up by learning new systems, which gives you an advantage over current workers while also saving the company money on additional training programs.
Even if you’re not sure which industry to move to but know that you must get out of your current environment, there is a wide variety of potential careers to explore that could prove beneficial to you. Simply put, you can train to do anything you want as long as you demonstrate dedication and a real passion for learning.
Much like information is readily available for trainees, so too are resources and support. You can engage with other trainees on social media groups, and you can access instruction videos on YouTube and similar platforms to get more information and clarify anything you’re unsure of.
There is also an array of ways you can learn what don’t demand your presence in the classroom every evening. From online courses to remote learning, you can find options that will not put the other aspects of your life on hold. If you’ve got kids, or are living abroad with your partner, there’s always some way for you to retrain that can work best for you.
Starting over can be scary, and there are a lot of reasons not to do it. However, if you miss your chance to do it now while you’re unhappy in your current position, you could miss out on opportunities that can change your life. You’ll never know until you try, and with so many available options, it seems a waste not to reap the benefits both professionally and personally.