Well-Paid Jobs for Career Changers
Do you notice that you can't continue in your current job and are looking for alternatives? Then you've come to the right place. If you don't want to start again from "zero," focusing on opportunities for a career change might be the right support for you.
As a career changer, you bring valuable skills from various areas that are equally in demand elsewhere. You don't have to "work your way up," but instead work—after a likely intensive initial training phase—at eye level with colleagues. Deciding on a career change is often not easy and is associated with many considerations and some sleepless nights. Here you will find some starting points that can support you in your decision-making.
What exactly is a career change (lateral entry)?
A career changer is someone who enters a new industry or job at a level commensurate with their previous experience. This means they may not have direct experience in the new industry but possess transferable skills and knowledge that can be applied to the new position. Career changers are often sought after by employers because they bring a fresh perspective and diverse skills. Where is a career change possible without much effort?
The easiest jobs for a career change
As a Career Changer in Consulting
Do you enjoy teaching adults and have one or more core passions? Consultants are needed in many areas, both as experts and trainers (e.g., for the correct application of software as IT consultants, as energy consultants, or contacts for sustainability), and as mentors in a coaching role. HR consulting is also an area where a career change is possible. Here, certain HR activities are outsourced to external HR consulting agencies.
Consulting expertise is required here but can often be acquired through short continuing education courses. A crucial prerequisite is bringing empathy as a character strength, as well as a genuine interest in people's well-being. This activity is particularly rewarding for you if you want to support people—or entire organizations—in their development. The salary is usually very attractive, depending on the industry.
As a Career Changer in Marketing
Are you creative and enjoy expressing yourself well visually and/or linguistically? A career change in the communication sector is often possible without major hurdles if you can present yourself convincingly and show examples of your work. Depending on the area of responsibility, your tasks may include developing marketing strategies, managing campaigns, collecting and analyzing relevant data, and/or creating creative content (creative visuals for digital or print, videos, podcasts, etc.). As a Social Media Manager, you are responsible for managing one or more social media channels, which includes developing effective strategies, creative content creation, and interacting with communities/followers. Marketing managers, social media managers, and members of communication teams are needed in a variety of industries where a strong online presence is required. It is therefore worthwhile to get an idea of which industry you would like to work in and what is particularly important to you regarding the values of the company or organization you work for. You can also earn well here, so don't hesitate to set your salary standard high.
As a Career Changer in Project Management
Do you like to have an overview, enjoy organizing, and ensure that projects are implemented? Then your skills as a project manager will be welcome in many places and industries. Specific training is usually not required for this; experience counts. The salary can also be very attractive depending on the industry and experience. However, this role often involves the willingness to work under pressure. Depending on how you are wired, awareness of a health-oriented decision is important here. Just because you could do a job doesn't necessarily mean you want to do it. When you think of your dream job, does organizing projects belong to it?
Career Change into Sales
Can you excite people about products or services that you yourself believe in? Then a career in sales could be the next suitable step for you. Strong communication skills are just as sought after here as the skills to build trusting relationships and the joy of achieving sales targets. This is often associated with an attractive salary. Do you have high ethical standards and therefore can't imagine this? Perhaps you should research whether there are industries or organizations you would feel good about promoting.
Career Change into Real Estate
Do you love living spaces and enjoy communicating with people? Then a job as a real estate agent could be a suitable career change for you. You support clients in their search for suitable (rental) apartments or houses. As a rule, no specific training is required, or courses can usually be completed in a relatively short time. It is important that you have knowledge of the real estate market. If you are not yet familiar with this, this knowledge can be acquired through online or offline course offerings. Real estate agents can also expect an attractive salary depending on their experience.
As a Career Changer in Customer Service
Do you like talking to people, especially on the phone? Do you like to act solution-oriented and want to help people solve specific challenges in dealing with tools or services? Then the area of customer service could be a good option for you. No special previous experience is necessary for customer service. Thus, it is the ideal entry into a professional world that enables good upward and lateral mobility (e.g., into sales). Jobs in customer service are often not as well paid compared to the other jobs mentioned here, although this also depends on the industry and the specific company.
Further possible jobs for a career change
Career Change in Human Resources
Do you enjoy working with people and equally enjoy dealing with bureaucracy and labor law? Then a job in the HR sector might be just the thing for you. In this role, you usually manage social benefits, are responsible for recruiting, and for the internal further training of employees. Depending on the company size, parts of this may be outsourced (e.g., to external recruiting agencies or academies), or there may be dedicated teams within an organization so that only one of the topic areas falls under your responsibility. This profession exists across all industries, so you can think about who you would like to work for. If you have little experience in the individual areas, it may be worthwhile to invest in short continuing education courses.
As a Career Changer in a School
Do you want to teach young people and inspire them about certain topics? Do you enjoy working with young people? There is a shortage of teachers in some areas in Germany and Austria. Teachers are sought and hired as career changers in many schools. The requirements for this vary depending on the country and federal state.
More information on a career change into becoming teacher in Germany.
More information on a career change into becoming teacher in Austria.
Where can I find a job as a career changer?
Depending on where you search, some job search platforms allow you to enter "career change" or "lateral entry" as a search term.
Search for Germany
Search for Austria
Search for Switzerland
How do I make the right decision?
Maybe you haven't found anything suitable here yet—or perhaps several alternatives are possible for you. But how can you now make the right decision? After all, changing direction involves energy and time. I feel you. You receive support in a waldzeit Coaching session precisely during this phase of life. > More information can be found here.
Age doesn't matter here—it's not too late. > Career Reorientation - When is it too late?
Support services from waldzeit Coaching are all available online—and alongside your work—regardless of location.
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