Yahoo’s HotJobs wing recently posted a timely article about career transition, titled 5 Career Changes You Can Actually Make. While the article had some good information about some of the most in-demand fields, the piece went advertorial with its shameless plugs about online education, a tell-tale sign of a lot of the career-specific articles that generally appear on Yahoo.
Disregard the salesy tone of excerpts of the article for a moment, as well as the rather inflated salary figures. The professions listed in the heart of this piece are truly in demand. If you look in any classified ads, online or print, you will see countless ads for all levels of nursing jobs. Same for accounting. Even in tough economic times, demand for number-crunchers is high.
But before you start clicking on the links of the HotJobs article, consider some of these factors:
1. Are you truly interested in these careers? Remember that just because a particular career field pays considerably more than you’re getting now, is it something that truly interests you?
2. How much school will you need? As a transitioner, you probably know that more education may be likely. However, are you prepared for how much additional education you will need? And also, what type of education, be it online or otherwise, do you prefer?
3. How much more will you really make? Check with your respective state’s labor market information to get realistic salary details about these fields. For example, in the state of Ohio, their LMI breaks down job categories by region.
In the end, good research on your end will make for a smooth career transition.