How to Make a Career Change at 30

Changing careers at 30 may seem daunting, but it can also be an exciting opportunity for professional growth and personal fulfillment. When you’re 30, you likely have a better idea of what you want out of life. You’ve learned more about yourself and explored different career options, and you may have realized that the path you chose as a high school or college student no longer serves you. 

Instead of sticking to a decision you made years ago, now is the time to pursue a new career that aligns more closely with who you are today.

If you’re wondering if it’s too late to make a change, it’s absolutely not. Assuming you’ve been in your career for eight years, you’re less than one-fifth of the way through your professional life. If you invest in yourself now, you could reap the career benefits for another 30 or 40 years.

Career changes (even minor ones) may be coming for all of us, whether we want them or not. Technologies like artificial intelligence and automation are expected to disrupt many jobs, requiring workers to update half of their skills every five years, according to a 2023 report by the World Economic Forum. As career transitions become more frequent, it’s important to approach them proactively by being curious, adapting to change and embracing a growth mindset.

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How to Make a Career Change at 30

1. Think About What You Want

Before you embark on this next chapter, you need to understand what you are looking for in a career. If you’ve always been curious about a specific industry, this is your chance to go for it. If you’re not sure what you want to do, think about which careers appeal to your interests and are aligned with your personality, values and lifestyle.

Here’s a few questions to get the ball rolling:

• What do you like and dislike about your current role?
• Which tasks do you excel at in your current role?
• Would you be willing to work long hours for a high salary, or do you crave a more manageable work-life balance? 
• Would you rather wear multiple hats at a small startup or focus on a more specific discipline in a large organization?

2. Assess Your Skills

As a 30-year-old, you’ve probably established a solid foundation of skills that are transferable to many careers. Even if you’re switching to a completely unrelated field, you likely have skills like problem solving or attention to detail that can make the transition easier.

Start out by writing down the skills you perceive to be your strengths. These can include “hard” job-related skills like sales or project management, as well as soft skills like communication or adaptability. 

You may also want to talk to friends, family members, a career coach or a therapist who can offer additional insight into your strengths and personality traits. Getting some outside perspectives can be helpful in developing your self-awareness.

3. Explore Career Options

Once you have done some self-reflection, start brainstorming and researching careers that align with your interests, strengths, personality and values. For example, if you’re interested in helping people, you should consider industries like healthcare or social work. If creativity is your top motivator, you may be drawn to graphic design or marketing. 

If you like certain aspects of your job, look for adjacent occupations that align with those skills or tasks. It’s common for journalists to pivot to public relations, for example, but if you prefer digging through documents over cold-calling sources, a career as a research analyst might be a better fit. Careers that align with your strengths and interests will be more gratifying, and they may not require any additional education or work experience.

If you’re still struggling to narrow things down, you’re not alone. There are dozens of online assessments that can help you identify a career that aligns with your interests, personality and strengths. These tests probably won’t identify your dream job, but they can provide you with helpful data points that will steer you in the right direction.

4. Research Your Target Career

Once you have a target career (or two) in mind, research what the day-to-day work entails, what the growth trajectory looks like and any other information that might help you decide if this is the right career for you.

You can find this information in blogs, YouTube videos, podcasts and online communities like Reddit. Informational interviews are another valuable source of information. People who are working in your desired field can tell you what they like and dislike about their job, the different types of work you can do in that field and how you can get started.

5. Take Classes

Now it’s time to look into what skills and coursework are required to get started in your new career. 

If your career change requires additional schooling, you’ll need to do a cost-benefit analysis to determine if the financial investment will pay off once you graduate from the program. Going to law school or getting an MBA might sound promising, but you need to be clear-eyed about what you plan to do with your degree and the earning potential for those jobs.

There are plenty of affordable ways to upskill without attending a university. Online learning platforms like Udemy or Coursera offer reasonably priced classes and certifications in a wide range of disciplines, from artificial intelligence to recruiting. 

Bootcamps are another popular option for people interested in tech careers like machine learning, game development, software engineering and user experience design. If you’re intimidated by the price tag, you could start with a free bootcamp to see if you like it. 

6. Gain Experience

Before you take out a student loan, you can test the waters of your new career through job shadowing programs, internships and related work experience. If you’re interested in becoming a lawyer, for example, you could try to get a job as a paralegal while studying for the LSAT exam. 

Freelance gigs and volunteer opportunities can also give you on-the-job experience after you’ve completed your coursework. Landing your first job in a new field is challenging, but these types of experiences show employers that you can apply what you’ve learned to the real world.

7. Revise Your Resume

Recruiters and hiring managers might be confused why an applicant with years of experience in one field is applying to a job in another. If you’re changing careers, you need to quickly and clearly explain why you’re applying for the role.

A cover letter is a great opportunity to explain why you are changing careers and showcase how your past experiences make you a good fit for this (seemingly unrelated) role. This is the time to lean into your transferable skills. Provide specific examples that demonstrate your ability to collaborate effectively on a team, solve problems and accomplish projects on time and within budget.

In case the recruiter doesn’t see your cover letter, add a two-sentence personal statement at the top of your resume to articulate why you’re changing careers and the value you bring to the role. In the work experience section, reframe your previous jobs to explain how those skills and accomplishments are transferrable to your target career.

8. Make Connections in Your New Field

Networking is important for people at every stage of their career, but it’s especially important if you’re changing careers. You have an exciting story to tell about your nontraditional journey, but people might not take the time to listen unless they get to know you personally.

Start building connections wherever possible, like local professional associations or college alumni events. Ask your friends, coworkers and family members if they know anyone in your desired field that would be willing to meet you for an informational interview. These conversations might not end in a job offer, but the person might offer valuable advice or know someone who’s hiring.

Bear in mind that you are new to this career, so you may have to start in a part-time or entry-level position to get a foothold in your new industry. If you work hard and lean on your transferable skills, you could quickly climb the ranks of your new career. Years later, you will look back and be glad that you decided to make a career change when you were 30.

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