Not exactly. Be realistic. Radical career changes are made every day. Doctors and attorneys are becoming carpenters and innkeepers, while computer programmers and social workers are becoming stockbrokers. I even met a nun who became-are you ready?-an FBI agent.
But if a vocation requires strenuous physical effort, such as that demanded of astronauts, you may have to forget about it. Sorry. That doesn't mean the curtain comes down on your life. That's just plain old reality reminding us we're human and can't do all the things we were capable of doing when we were younger.
I'm a classic example. Every so often I enjoy some incredible Walter Mitty fantasies about being a world-class biker and racing in the famed Tour de France. I envision crossing the finish line with both hands stretched out above my head, acknowledging the cheering crowds while Aaron Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man blares from stadium-size speakers.
Don't laugh. I'm a damned good biker, particularly if you tack on the inevitable qualifier-"for my age." If superstar racer Greg Le Monde quit in the middle of the 1994 Tour de France at the age of 33-which is considered old for a bike racer-what do you think my chances are at 50? The answer is, dismal. Even if I actually completed the grueling Tour de France, by the time I crossed the finish line, spectators would have forgotten about the race. There'd be no one to applaud me but my family and my parrot.
You get the point. Yes, anything is possible in this best of all worlds-if you meet the criteria. If it s doable, by all means "Just Do It," as the famous Nike ad says. If you don't, you'll beat yourself up for not trying.
DO YOU MEAN CAREER CHANGING OR SALVAGING?
These days, job changing has practically been elevated to a sport. Career changing is something else. It has always gotten a lot of press. Richard Bolles and other career writers make it seem so easy. Just ask yourself a bunch of questions to discover what turns you on-or find a career counselor who'll give you a battery of expensive tests-and you re on your way to a career change. Wrong! There is much more to it. Career changing is difficult and complicated. But it's possible if you're ready to commit yourself to the task.
First, let's clear up some confusion and get the terminology right. Career changing is often confused with a certain kind of job switching that I call career salvaging. More and more disgruntled job changers are invigorating their careers by switching industries. Bored or disenchanted with one industry, they try their hand at another. Examples: Computer programmer moves from aeronautics to film industry. Middle manager laid off in the frenetic software industry shifts to middle management in the aerospace industry.
Granted, these are big changes that involve learning about a new industry. Yet all they require is using identical job skills in a new industry setting.
A career change, on the other hand, is a radical departure in the way you earn your living. Examples: Journalist becomes lawyer or programmer. Lawyer becomes cook. Car thief becomes check forger.
In any career change, you're moving to a field which requires new skills. Hopefully, you have the aptitude and personality for your new career. Nevertheless, it means starting over in an entry-level position. You're going back to school and learning a field from the ground up. You're starting at the beginning of the alphabet. No matter how you romanticize it, that ain't easy.
This brings us to the reality of career-changing statistics.
Putting the hype about career changing aside, I'd take the statistics with a grain of salt. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 10 percent of the work force changes careers every year. James Challenger, president of the Chicago outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, says it's half that amount. I'll take a conservative stance at somewhere between the two.
Remember, a thriving niche industry has started helping people change careers. Blame it for some of the inflated statistics. When all is said and done, career changing is possible if you know what you're doing. One thing is certain; each year more 50-year-olds are contemplating a career change. Whether they actually go through with it is another matter.
THINK TWICE ABOUT HIRING A CAREER COUNSELING FIRM
Most career changers go about the process by themselves. They stumble and fall, but eventually wind up crossing the finishing line on their own. A small minority opt for help. Plenty of companies out there would love to help you change careers-for a fee, of course. Two cautionary words: Be careful. Check your local paper and you'll see ads for a variety of career services. The people who run these firms call themselves anything from career counselors, career managers, transition experts, career guidance professionals, and career guidance executives to recruitment advisers, recruitment consultants, and professional career consultants.
Your mission is separating the wheat from the chaff. A reliable career counselor helps identify skills and aptitudes and develops job-hunting techniques. You're paying for professional assistance, nothing more. Career counselors can't get you jobs. However, many less-than-scrupulous career counseling outfits lead clients to believe they can get them jobs. Not only are these outfits incapable of finding jobs, but clients are hardly sent out on interviews. Better business bureaus and state attorney general's offices have received thousands of complaints about fraudulent counseling firms. In some cases, they've uncovered high-pressure sales tactics, ridiculously priced aptitude-testing and letter-writing services, and implied promises of employment that were never met.
The problem is, career counseling firms are virtually unregulated. That's why picking a legitimate counseling firm requires thought and effort. To make the best decision, consider the following tips.
- Make a list of 5 to 10 career professionals who might be able to help you: Initially, call the career professionals to find out about their services and whether they provide a free consultation. If they charge for a consultation or are overly insistent upon seeing you before volunteering any information over the phone, thank them for their time and cross them off your list. A professional outfit should be more than happy to provide as much information as possible over the phone. And the majority of reputable career counselors will give you a free consultation. If the vibes are good, schedule an appointment.
- Ask what they charge: Fees range from a very modest $50 way up into the thousands. Don't make the mistake of equating expensive with quality. You can pay over $3000 for a comprehensive work shop and individual coaching that can last 2 months and have your life rejuvenated in the process. Or you can find yourself in the same place you started, only $3000 poorer. The question is: What exactly do you get for your money?
- Beware of guarantees: If the counselor makes exaggerated guarantees, promising instant results, head for the door. You're dealing with a huckster.
- Check out the program: In your face-to-face meeting, ask the career counselor to spell out exactly what the program is all about. Find out whether it meets your needs. Check out the counselor's background and ask yourself: "Can this person actually help me? Does the program make sense or am I being conned with flowery hype?"
- Beware of high-pressure tactics: If the person tries to give you the rush act or is intent on having you sign on the dotted line before leaving, grab your attaché case and leave. Many less-than-reputable career counselors are expert at creating a sense of urgency, subtly intimidating you into signing up for their crash course.
Once you've visited a number of career counselors, sort out your information, replay conversations, and then go with your instincts. They won't deceive you.
