🧭 Changing career: checklist

A career change is a bet, so treat it like one: test the direction cheaply before betting a salary on it, and know the number for at least the first year.

17 items

1. The actual reason for wanting out named honestlyA bad manager, a bad industry and a bad role want completely different fixes. Confusing them wastes a move.
2. Money worked out for at least the first year at a lower rungA career change is often a pay cut before it's a pay rise. Know the number, not just the feeling.
3. Savings checked against months of reduced or no incomeThree to six months is the common cushion people wish they'd saved before starting, not during.
4. People already doing the new thing, actually spoken toA job description tells you what's advertised. Somebody doing the work tells you what it's actually like on a Tuesday.
5. The gap between where you are and where you want to be, named specifically
6. A skill that's genuinely missing
7. A qualification that's genuinely required, versus one that just looks good
8. A small, real test of the new direction before quitting anythingA course, a side project, a volunteer role — evidence you'd actually want it, gathered before betting a salary on it.
9. Transferable experience translated into the new field's languageThe work is often more relevant than it looks; the words describing it usually need to change completely.
10. A CV and story rebuilt around the new direction, not the old oneThe old CV answers a question nobody in the new field is asking.
11. Retraining options checked for time and actual costCourse fees are rarely the whole cost — add the months of reduced income while you're doing it.
12. Whether the new field needs a licence, accreditation or checkSome fields have a hard entry requirement — check it before, not after, choosing a direction.
13. A realistic entry point accepted, not the senior version of the new jobStarting lower in a field you want beats staying senior in one you don't, and the story only works if you actually accept the lower rung.
14. Your network told what you're actually looking forVague interest gets vague help. A specific ask — this role, this industry — is one people can actually act on.
15. References who can speak to the new direction, not just the old oneA reference who only knows your old field can't vouch for the thing you're now trying to prove.
16. Notice period and the practical exit from the current job plannedLeaving well matters more in a move like this — the old industry and the new one may cross paths later than expected.
17. A trial period or probation expectation set honestly with yourselfThe first months in a genuinely new field are supposed to feel behind. Budget for that feeling rather than being derailed by it.