4 Steps to change your career after your 30s if you are afraid of losing what you’ve gained

Changing our career when we already transited a long way is challenging.

At the beginning of our career, we can easily change the direction because we haven’t yet invested that much time in it. So, we are not risking any assets. However, after achieving a senior level and a high salary, we fear losing everything we fought so hard to get. But the truth is that the decision will become harder and harder as time goes by, so it’s better to deal with it as soon as you realize that you want a change.

In order to minimize the risk and make your transition smoother, these are the 4 steps that I followed myself and recommend anyone to try.

Step 1 - Create your financial safety net

The first thing you must consider before making any move is saving money for the transition period.

Considering that you will explore a new world, it’s highly probable that your professional value will be lower until you acquire a specific level of knowledge. Your savings will help you to maintain your quality of life and invest in tools, training, ads, etc., required for your new career.

But there is another critical role that your economies have:

You will face many frustrations, drawbacks, and doubts right after you begin your trip. If you don’t have enough funds, you will be tempted to make wrong decisions or even return to your old position where money awaits you. That safety net is your way to keep your mind clear, think correctly, and play the long-term game.

If your bank account is not big enough, hold your enthusiasm while creating that fund for a few months. During that period, you can dedicate some time to the next step.

Step 2 - Get familiar with the new career

At this point, you should become an observer (or something more) of the industry you want to jump in.

This is when you start incorporating some knowledge and understanding about the area by reading, training, or even doing. Some options involve enrolling in trainings, following the topic on social media, reading about it, and beginning with some side projects in your free time. The objective is not to become an expert but to collect some experience and get a general idea.

The benefits of this observer position are:

• You can recognize earlier and avoid the shiny object syndrome
• You idealize your future, gathering strength and creating momentum to keep going
• Some basic knowledge will make the transition easier by reducing the overwhelmingness.

Step 3 - Assess your professional value

One of the most common reasons (and biggest myths) that hold us back from changing our careers after achieving a senior position is that we don’t want to begin from scratch again.

That belief is completely false because our experience is multidimensional and composes over time. It doesn’t matter how far your current and desired jobs are apart, but most of the learnings you developed over time are still valuable for your new position. Some examples are your ability to organize, coordinate, communicate, and collaborate. Comparing your current and desired jobs will give you a list of common skills that you have and make you more valuable for your new role.

Starting in a new position with the feeling that you have already walked half the way will release pressure and make you more comfortable.

I confirmed this to be true twice: moving from senior developer to PMO, and then to data warehouse consultant. I already knew what a project was about; I had learned leadership skills and was technically and functionally strong. It only took some months to reach the same level as my more experienced colleagues in those positions.

Step 4 - Make the move

Once you have your emergency fund in place, you start to get connected with your new career, and you are aware of your reusable skills, you can apply for your new role.

There are 2 ways to make this step:

• Lateral movement in the same company
• Seeking a job in a different company

Although it’s not perfect, prefer to move inside your company whenever possible. It has plenty of benefits:

• You keep your salary.
• You know the people and they know you, which means you have already built a (hopefully good) reputation.
• Keeping part of the environment the same will diminish the stress associated with the change.

The big downside of staying at the same company is that your former team will still contact you to support them, either because of your know-how or because they need extra hands.

In the case that the new role is not available in your current company, you should apply for that role in a different company, sacrificing part of your salary and entering a whole new environment. However, by doing so, your experience will be highly immersive, and you will learn the new position faster, with new people and different problems.

In any case, remember that you were once also new in your current position; look back and see how much you have achieved. You can do it again in your new role.