Por Pamela Aguirre Leonetti
Maybe you have asked yourself these questions sometime: What if I make a career change? What if I quit that job that I strove so much for? What if I give up my course of studies even if I have three subjects left to get my degree? If you did, we have good news: you’re not alone!
Making a career change, as making any other change, generates fears, doubts and anxieties, but if you know that swerving is what you need to reach your dreams, you have to do so.
Though, of course, before embarking on the change, it might be necessary to assess some things. First of all, you should know that changing implies facing some hurdles. You must be prepared for that and you must focus on the results you want to achieve so as to carry on no matter the trouble. This is why the support of a psychologist or of your family and friends is very important.
It may also be useful to ask yourself: What do I want? What do I identify myself with? Who I want to be in the future? Projecting into the future and trying to see yourself doing another activity might be helpful to know if the change you are thinking of is the correct one. Besides, no matter the dreams and your enthusiasm, it is important to be realistic and evaluate which is the best moment to change your way. Sometimes, waiting is better than rushing. An option that some specialists recommend is to change gradually: start doing your new activity little by little while still performing your former tasks. In that way you will be able to strike a balance and the transition will be less abrupt.
As you see, starting over again is not easy. But it is not impossible either. And there are many examples of women and men that have decided to left it all and turn over a new leaf.
Johnny Depp is a great example of someone who left aside what he was doing to focus on another activity and succeed. When he was young, Depp was a musician. He led a rock band called The Kidz that was kind of successful. However, when Johnny realized that rock wasn’t what he liked the most, he decided to leave it behind and put the focus on acting and, without any doubt, he hit the nail on the head!
Arnold Schwarzenegger is another important person that decided to start again. Before being a famous Hollywood actor, he was a successful bodybuilder. But then he decided to follow his dream, he gave up his former profession, and he succeeded as an actor with unforgettable films such as Terminator.
Harrison Ford is another example of a super successful career change. Before becoming the star we all know, Ford worked during fifteen years as a carpenter. It was not till George Lucas offered him a role in the film American Graffiti that Ford started his career as an actor, and years later he became famous when he had the leading role in the original trilogy of Star Wars.
In Argentina, the life of the writer Claudia Piñero also demonstrates that making a career change is possible. Nowadays Piñero, who reached fame with the novel La viuda de los jueves, is an important figure in Latin-American literature. But before being a famous novelist, she graduated as an accountant and she worked during many years in accountant’s offices and multinational companies. It was not till 1991 that she dared to send a novel to a contest and from that moment on she decided to change her career and devote to writing, which had always been her passion.
Florencia Bonelli is another example of a successful career change. Nowadays she is a renowned writer, but before publishing her first novel and long before her novels became best sellers in the country, she worked many years as an accountant.
That’s why we tell you: if you doubt about your career, your course of studies or your job, maybe the time has come to change and do what you love. Nobody said it was easy, but it will pay off in the end.