How Your Financial Advisor Can Help You Navigate A Career Change
Are you thinking about changing careers? If so, you’re not alone. One study shows that baby boomers averaged a job change 11.7 times in their life up to age 54. Since changing jobs is so common, it will most likely happen to you at some point - if it hasn’t already.
One element of navigating a career change you may have yet to consider is involving your financial advisor. We’ll explore why this can be so helpful and suggest steps to help get you on the path to a successful career change.
Evaluate Your Current Position
First, look at what’s happening in your current job. Ask yourself if you feel fulfilled. If you answered no to that question- ask yourself what’s missing. For some, it might be dissatisfaction with pay; for others, the office environment.
Next, also look at the lifestyle your job offers you- do you have a flexible schedule that allows you to get done what you need outside of work? What about your vacation and PTO, or the equity compensation and other benefits your company offers? These can seem like small things, but they can impact your life over time.
Then, thinking more future-focused, evaluate your current career when it comes to your needs and goals as well. You’ll want to be clear and concise about your career goals.
Following that, determine if your current position will help you meet those. You may stand to gain more by pursuing another opportunity to help you achieve your goals sooner or in an even greater capacity. This is a great reason to switch careers.
Lastly, before you put the cart ahead of the horse, you’ll also want to ask yourself what you could lose by leaving your current position. Do you have vested equity, a pension, or other benefits? How would staying at that job possibly improve your life?
If you’re still unsure where you stand after answering some of our questions, consider your emotions, identify your primary concerns, and voice those concerns with your current employer. If they aren't willing to change, or things don't change after a discussion, that could help give you the clarity you need.
You've decided you want a new position. What's on your "must-have" list?
If and when you’ve decided to change careers, you’ll next want to establish what you would need to have in your new career to make the switch worth it.
For example, what professional development opportunities are offered (remember your goals) or the pay? You may even have a percentage in mind of the pay increase's significance to consider the career change.
There are other aspects to your job that you’ll also want to consider. Do you want more responsibility? What is the workplace culture like? This one is huge. Work-life balance is also essential and increasingly easier to find in the modern job world. If this is important to you, don’t skip over it!
Lastly, explore career options you may not have considered before, such as becoming your boss or doing freelance work.
Many opportunities exist, so don’t box yourself in based on experience. You may be pleasantly surprised by life's paths when you open up to new ideas.
Your advisor can help with the details
While a career change is a personal choice, as we mentioned earlier, working with a financial advisor will greatly help navigate this change. Advisors know how to help you answer tough questions that may come up, such as:
- Can you afford to change careers?
- If you're starting a business, can you afford to have an unsteady income for some time?
- How will this impact your taxes?
- Does your financial plan need to change?
- How does this change affect your investment portfolio, retirement savings, etc?
As you can see, these are no small questions! A financial advisor is a great person to have on your side to run the numbers on any change you’d be making.
They will help calculate and project your finances into the future as best they can, which will help you to get a sense of what you will be looking at down the road.
Having that knowledge about where you stand, and professional advice regarding where you’re going is crucial to making a final decision about a career change.
Making the Jump
Making a career change is a huge step that should be thoughtfully considered. If you’ve evaluated where you’re currently at and feel it isn’t helping you to achieve your personal and financial goals, it may be time to take action!
As you move forward, involve your financial advisor in this process. We know what this transition looks like, and our advisors are happy to navigate you through it. Contact us today to make the jump and get started on this exciting change!