Changing Careers In London: Is It Possible?
Discover steps for changing careers in London, including freelancing on the side, finding startups, embracing entrepreneurship, identifying in-demand sectors, and taking a leap of faith to pursue your dream career. Don't let early career decisions hold you back; explore new opportunities today.
Changing careers in London is a bold move that many contemplate in their professional journey. Whether driven by passion, the pursuit of a better work-life balance, or the need for a new challenge in the bustling metropolis, embarking on a career change can be both exhilarating and daunting.
In this article, we'll explore the various aspects of changing careers in London, from assessing your motivations to taking actionable steps towards a fulfilling and successful transition.
For better or worse, most of us make major career decisions early on in life, choosing an educational path that we hope will lead to the job of our dreams.
Unfortunately, it rarely works out that way for people in London. Londoners begin by imagining the careers that they want in school or college, but soon find out that the reality of the work is different from what they thought. The hours are long; the pay is low, and the job is stressful.
The problem with choosing a career at a young age is that you have no way of knowing what it will be like in practice. A young person might dream of becoming a doctor because they want to help people get better, but they have no fundamental understanding of the stress that the job involves or the toll that it can take on their health.
The good news is that if you do want to change your London career, then there are steps that you can take to get it.
Hire Yourself Out On The Side
One of the main reasons people stick with careers that they loathe in London is because they're afraid of not being able to support themselves or their families if they switch roles. Even if the work is stressful and harmful, the money is good, and so it can seem like a significant financial risk to leave it all behind and start in an entirely new sector.
Many people, though, have found that they can get their foot in the door of a new industry without immediately having to leave their old work by hiring themselves out on the side. Nowadays, companies want to outsource many tasks to third-parties, such as marketing, writing, accounting, and IT.
Often, you can independently sell your services to companies on flexible hours or work from home gigs. A company, for instance, might want you to revamp their website and say that you've got a week to get the job done. You do your usual work during the day and then work on your web development business in the evenings and at the weekends.
Find A Startup in London
Changing careers in London can be a challenge if you try to get work at established employers. Often HR departments in these companies have specific requirements that you need to meet if you are to make it onto their shortlist of candidates.
Startups, however, are often more relaxed about who they take on. If you can demonstrate that you have the skills that they need, then it usually doesn't matter whether you have either qualifications or experience: they're much more likely to try you out.
You Could Try The Entrepreneurial Route
Becoming an entrepreneur in London is scary: so many people seem to be doing it, but few have genuine success. With that said, most entrepreneurs fail because they don't have a good understanding of what the market wants.
If you've been stuck in a career for a long time and want to change to something more dynamic, then there's a good chance that you already have an idea in your head about your target market and the products that they want.
You may be in a unique position to help customers overcome "pain points" and can use that knowledge to launch a business.
Search For What's In Demand
One of the striking things about the modern economy is the fact that there are so many jobs available in specific sectors. Firms are desperate, for instance, for people with cybersecurity and "big data" expertise.
There just aren't enough people in the world right now to fill these roles, meaning that the level of skill you need and the competition is lower.
Take a look at what's in demand in London right now and which vacancies are going unfilled, and then ask yourself whether you're willing and able to do the training.
If you are, then you could do night courses alongside your regular work until such point as you're qualified and skilled. Once you've got the qualifications that you need, you can then start applying for permanent positions in your career of choice.
Take A Leap Of Faith
Finally, many people who want a career change in London take a leap of faith. They pick something that they've always thought about doing and then go for it, driven by pure passion.
If you've always wanted to try doing something new, then there's no time like the present. Life's too short to dally. Get started changing careers now and search our London Jobs Board.