Even though you are satisfied with your career, career change happens at one point in life. There are several reasons for it – relocation, opportunities, personal reasons, educational advancements, and family responsibility.
Sometimes people change their careers because they are not satisfied with their earnings. They find there is no growth in their career. Well, whatever the reason you are switching your career, it is not that easy.
You have already years of experience under the belt of working in the same field, and now you all of a sudden have decided to switch your career. Despite having gained that much experience, you can have difficulty switching your career.
This is because your experience will not be considered relevant. Further, it can put a burden on your finances. You have stepped down from your job and have to apply for jobs in your chosen new field. Until you find a job for yourself, you will have to struggle financially.
This is because your income stream has halted, and your expenses are due to burning a big hole in your pocket.
Tips to make your career change financially successful
This journey may be exciting as well as stressful. However, you can reduce your financial stress by taking the following steps:
- Ensure that you have had an enough emergency fund
Before you plan for a career change, you should ensure that you have set aside emergency funds. This is because these funds will help you tide over until you land a new job. The size of your emergency cushion depends on your regular monthly bills.
Note that these emergency funds are not just meant to aim at funding your unforeseen expenses but also your regular expenses like utility bills, rent, food, travel, and the like. This is because it is not possible to stick to your current job in most of cases. For instance, you will have to step down if you have to relocate.
Whether you get a job in the same field or you change your career stream, it takes time to get new employment, and until then, you will have to meet all of your expenses with emergency funds.
As you know that the size of these funds depends on your needs, you should try to make it at least £1,000. Experts suggest that you have emergency funds six-month worth of living costs. So, if it takes a bit longer to land a job, you can manage to meet all of your expenses on time.
Planning for spending is a must
If you are planning to make a major career change, you should start planning for your finances. Even though you have built an emergency cushion to meet all of your regular expenses, you should make a financial plan.
This is essential to decide how much money you should spend on each expense. You must have a couple of debts to pay off, for instance, emergency loans for the unemployed, rent, food, travel, and other bills. You should get a bank statement to see how much money you have been spending every month.
This can help you manage your finances in a better and more controlled way. You may not be able to spend money the same way as you were before. This is because you never know how long it can take to get your new job.
Make sure that you have made a plan that helps you manage your money more efficiently. If you cut back on your discretionary expenses, it will be a good decision. Try to find out the ways to save money on things you buy, including essential ones.
Ask for a higher remuneration
People are often caught up in unfavorable circumstances that they agree to work for lower remunerations. Still, sometimes it happens because you are very relenting when it comes to telling your expectations.
Even though you have changed your career stream, you do not need to fight shy of expressing your expectations. You will be able to get the desired pay if you ask for slightly above and beyond your expectations.
If you are relocating and you have found that the living cost is certainly high, you should take it under advisement. You will be able to get the desired salary only when you set higher expectations.
Stay away from financial stress
Even though you have managed to build an emergency cushion six-month worth of living expenses, you may have to struggle with your finances. It can be quite hard to get by, and this is when you start taking financial stress. Money is going out, and you have not landed a new job.
This is stressful, but if you beat yourself up, it is not going to help you. Things often become complicated, but you can tackle them easily with your patience.
Take a deep breath, hold it for a minute and then exhale. This will help you control your frustration, anxiety, stress, and anger. If things are becoming complicated, you should find out a solution instead of taking it on.
The final word
When you are changing your career due to any reason, it can be quite complicated to manage your finances. A rule of thumb says that you should have an emergency cushion so you can meet your daily expenses, plan your spending, and stay away from financial stress.