Under: Career/By: Will Veic

I can best explain this through a real-life example of how I managed to change career from software developer to something completely different.

But if you want a super-short version – the key is in changing your career and NOT your industry.

This tends to be a common mistake people make. Because it is safe to assume a lot of people dislike their career, but very few dislike their industry.

Why Not Change Industries?

Gaining insider industry knowledge is a long and difficult process. And throwing all this away would be a major mistake because then you would be literally starting from scratch.

And you don’t want that.

Instead, you should aim to use everything you know about the industry to kick-start your new career. And since every industry has a wide range of professions inside, you should have plenty of choices.

For example, every industry has:

  • Accountants
  • Programmers
  • Salespeople
  • Managers
  • Etc.

And knowing how the entire industry works gives you an edge in whatever career you choose to do.

The most important benefits of keeping your industry are:

  • Your initial salary in the new career will be much higher (compared to starting in a new industry)
  • And your progress will be much faster because you already know how everything works

So you don’t have to learn your new career and new industry – you’re already 50% done. And you can outperform people who are brand new with much less effort.

This gives you an edge if you’re 40 years old, for example, over 20-year-olds.

And if you want to learn how I managed to successfully change my career, read the linked article.