Under: Career/By: Will Veic

The key to transferring skills to a new career is to change a career but not your industry. Here is why and how…

For example, I managed to change career from software engineer to a premium writer in a very short time period.

How?

By not changing the industry I was in.

And this is the key whenever you decide to change your career. Because if you decide to change your entire industry, you will lose everything:

  • Specialized knowledge
  • Connections
  • Insider info
  • Everything

So my suggestion is not to do that.

Alternative Approach

Instead, you can keep all your wealth of knowledge that you acquired over 5, 10, maybe even 20 years, and make your transition as smooth as possible.

Sometimes, with all the industry insights you have, you might even start a business. Because you already know what works and what doesn’t, what problems people have in that industry, and what solution they would gladly pay for.

But if you think starting a business is extreme, here are some practical steps you can take to find a career alternative:

  • Try to remember every person you ever encountered in your previous line of work
  • What were their jobs
  • Make a list of everything – from receptionist to CEO

Then try to sort all these occupations based on what sounds best for you and try to apply for them. You are definitely more qualified to do them than a random 20-year-old with no industry experience whatsoever.

And if you want a real example, read a story on how I changed my career.