1. Education

You’ve been taking night or online classes for years, earning credits here and there towards your degree, and now you’ve finally finished. So why waste all of that hard work by staying in your hated, menial job? Now that you have your degree, start looking for something new, something in the field you’ve studied, and mastered.

2. Lay-off

If you’ve been laid off, you’re probably sitting at home, collecting unemployment, waiting by the phone to be called back to work. Well, sweetie, this might be the perfect time to make a career change! Consider what you really want to be doing, and the fact that you may never be called back… and go for it!

3. Your Calling is Calling!

If you’ve always dreamed of working with the elderly, or wanted to teach English to Korean immigrants, or help children learn to read, or sell exotic birds, or bake wedding cakes, why on earth are you an accountant? You only live once, so why waste another minute working in a job that’s nothing like your dream?

4. Midlife Crisis

Uh-oh. You’re forty. Now what? You can either (a) dye your hair an unbelievable, unflattering shade of red (b) sell your minivan and buy an impractical convertible (c) have a fling with the pool boy or (d) finally get that job you’ve always wanted. Honey, you’re not getting any younger, and the pool boy is way too young and silly for you.

5. Children

The single biggest motivator for me to change my career path was the birth of my youngest daughter. I simply could not bear the idea of putting her in day care, so I had to find something else to do, and it just so happened to be what I really, really wanted to do. Children can be a marvelous motivation, or at least a handy excuse, to change careers.

6. Dread

Do you loathe your job? Then why go? Think about it. You spend more time there than you do anywhere else, so shouldn’t you at least LIKE what you’re doing? If you don’t, then it’s time to consider, seriously, a career change.

7. Growth

Maybe being a bartender was great when you were 21, but now you’ve grown beyond that, and you really, really want to be doing something more meaningful than mixing fruitinis or pulling pints of Guinness. If you’ve outgrown your career, it’s probably time for a new one, something you find more rewarding… or at least something that doesn’t require shameless flirting for tips from drunken frat boys.

While I’m sure there are dozens more great reasons for changing careers, those are the ones I’ve personally experienced, and they’re all quite good motivators. If you’ve ever changed careers, is there any other advice you can share? Please share!

Top Photo Credit: govcedric