Contrary to popular belief – regret is a good thing. Just like pain, it informs us when something is going wrong and lets us know we should do something about it.
Then the obvious question becomes – should you change your career?
If you’re in your 60s…
If you’re 64 years old and you’re going to retire next year, then the obvious answer is no.
You might feel like you wasted your entire life doing the wrong thing, but at least you’re fortunate enough to find your passion now. Because many people never find their passion.
You have the opportunity to enjoy your passion for the next 20 years.
If you’re in your mid-30s…
You may have already spent the last 15 years in your current career, and it would be a terrible waste if you throw all that away.
But look at it this way…
Let’s say you’re (around) 35. It would not be unusual for you to live until 85.
That’s 50 more years.
Literally – half a century.
Just because you made a mistake that cost you 15 years – do you want to make another that will cost you 50 more?
The most tricky thing about a career change
When you change your career in the usual way, that probably means you lose most of your earning power.
However…
You don’t have to do it the usual way.
The trick to keep most of your earnings is to switch your career but not your industry.
Because every industry you’re working in has a (very) wide range of careers. And whatever career you start, you’re not going from scratch. You already have a great advantage by knowing your industry inside out.
And it doesn’t matter if your new career looks vastly different. As long as you stick to your industry, you can quickly progress in your new career and reach your previous earning potential.
And I know this because I went through a similar process.
I managed to change career from software engineer to never touching code again.
Read my story if you want to learn more…
Senior Software Developer with experience in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and search engine algorithms.