The age-old question “what do you want to be when you grow up” used to come up countless times when you were young. You may even have given a different answer each time someone asked it. Now that you are “grown up”, the question rarely, if ever, comes around.

Many people will go through entire careers never achieving what they really want to do before they retire. Have you found yourself in a situation that may turn into that? If you live for your days off and dread the work week rolling around, it may be time to reconsider your career path. Maybe you think that you are too invested in your current career, and it would be impossible to leave and start fresh. The idea of change is scary to many people, especially when a lot of time has been invested into the current career path. This is a normal feeling to have, and it is important that you realise it is never too late to reassess what you want to be “when you grow up.”

Assess your current situation.
Why did you choose your current career and what aspects of it were appealing to you when you chose it? It may be that you once loved this job, but you have experienced changes with the company that are negatively impacting your role. It is possible that the company is not the same company you started working for. Or maybe changes in the industry or technology have fundamentally changed your daily work. Once you have grown significantly within the company and been promoted as well, the job just may not suit you anymore.

When you have acknowledged a need for change, identify what about your career has met your expectations and what has failed to meet your expectations. Determining these aspects will help you make decisions in the future. Assess what values you want to keep from your old job and what skills and abilities you would like to carry over onto your future job. The difficult part is actually deciding what your future job should be.

So how do I know what I want to do?
Many experts suggest first starting with a simple exercise of identifying your interests and favourite activities. This can be anything; don’t limit yourself in this process, be it stamp collecting, walking, cooking, reading or spending time with friends. Next, find out why you like these things. Fundamentally speaking, what behind the activity do you like? Do you like the solitude of stamp collecting, the experimental nature or precision of cooking and providing a meal for others or the interaction with people when spending time with your friends? This will help you discover transferable activities that you enjoy. Make a list of everything you think of.

As an extension of this exercise, you may want to reminisce back to when you were young. What were the occupations you wanted to do when you grew up and what attracted you to them? Did you have any role models that inspired you in your answers to what you wanted to be when you grew up? Who were they and what did they do? At this point it may be valuable to consider talking to people that knew you well when you were young, like relatives or old friends. Getting their input may allow you to see yourself through a different set of eyes.

Also, consider things like what subjects you thoroughly enjoyed or classes you regularly attended entirely for the material. If you can locate old transcripts, look through them and remember each class and how you enjoyed or did not enjoy them. Locate patterns. Think about what section of the newspaper you read first or if there are any television shows that catch your eye. Allow yourself to dream big. What is your dream job? What lifestyles do you envy? If you could do absolutely anything in the world, what would it be? By identifying activities, subjects and other such aspects of life that thrill you, this happiness can spill over into your daily work life, letting you live for the day, not for the weekend.

The most important part of doing these self-assessments is to identify what will make you happiest. It will also be important along the way to figure out what stopped you from chasing your dream career. It may have been money issues, lack of education/training, or even self-doubt and fear. Being aware of what stopped you from achieving your dreams in the first place should prevent this from happening again.

Moving forward
You have now identified a need for change and hopefully what career path you want. Don’t forget to learn from past experiences. Review old jobs that you had. What did you like about them and what did you not like about them? What drew you to them and why did you leave those positions? If you choose to neglect your past, you may be doomed to repeat those things you did not enjoy. Learn from mistakes, and embrace the experiences and values from previous jobs, and carry those values with you if you can.

Learn about the career path you want to pursue. Be aware that liking a subject or topic may be different than enjoying the work activity associated with that subject. For example, a cowboy who cannot tolerate the smell of barns and horses and does not enjoy the lengthy process of caring for horses will likely not be successful. Know what a job entails before committing to it.

An informational interview could be beneficial to you at this point. Generally in an informational interview, you will meet with a professional in the field and use this time solely to gather information about the career. Time permitting, you may want to consider job shadowing this individual to see first-hand what a day on the job would be like. Participating in an informational interview and job shadowing will also help you build a relevant network of people already within the profession and may help you get your foot in the door if you do decide to make the switch in the end.

Before you decide to officially change careers, it is a good idea to do a simple cost/benefit analysis. Weigh what you must put in when changing careers against what you will get out once you have. In changing careers will you need further education, additional training or will you experience an initial cut in pay? If you need to further your education, does this mean taking time off work and spending the extra money on necessary education? Decide if the expense in time and money is worth the long term benefits like improved work/life balance, satisfaction in work, chances for more promotions and overall happiness.

The Bottom Line
Be aware that the timing will never be perfect for a career change; there will always be some aspect that is not optimal. This is why career changes are risky. Always be informed of any decision you make regarding your career. Never jump into a huge career change without first knowing what you are getting yourself into, and avoid burning any bridges in case you need support from old contacts.

In the long term, it is important that you are happy with your work, even if this means short term pain and toil. Life is just too short to hate what you are doing. After all, we spend the bulk of our lives at work. Lastly, as you go through this career change, remember to be grateful for what you do have, and focus on what makes you happy presently.