It takes courage to go after a more satisfying career

By Andrea Kay

Despite rosier news from a recent Associated Press poll that found a majority of Americans fairly happy with work, I have a different picture.

Based on the regular barrage of e-mails and letters I receive from nurses, information-technology professionals, lawyers, hairdressers and executives across the United States, people are saying, "Get me out of here!"

Lawyers bitterly complain the profession is not what it was when they entered it. Many professionals — especially those who have worked 20 years or more — crave more personal satisfaction.

Gary, a 51-year old manager who wrote me to say, "I want to feel like I make a difference," is typical.

Then there are people like Chris, a professional in information technology, or IT, who wrote, "I'm worried I can't get into a different career without any experience."

The most vocal and downtrodden professionals I hear from lately are teachers. They are fed up with large, unmanageable classrooms where they feel like baby-sitters who lack respect and autonomy. Peggy wrote me to say she is "unhappy teaching kids" but "paralyzed with fear at becoming an old woman with no income if I quit and do what I want."

Then there is Mary, who doesn't want another teaching job and doesn't have enough years to retire, but "is worried about how hard it will be for a 50-year-old teacher to find another job."

If you are dissatisfied in your career, like these folks, you have legitimate reasons for wanting change. But whether you are a teacher, lawyer or nurse, if you want a change, the problem isn't the difficulty. The problem — as Mary, Peggy and Chris illustrate — is in your own head.

The last sentence of most of the e-mails and letters says something like this: "I want to make a career change. How do I begin?"

Here's the answer: Have a strong desire for what you want, which is a more rewarding, satisfying career. Make that desire stronger than what you're afraid of. That's it. And it's a lot.

You don't have to know exactly what your next career will be called when you begin to explore a change. But you do have to know that in your heart you want a change badly enough to quiet your fears and go forward.

No one can predict how hard it will be. You may have to go back to school to qualify for your next career, and while you're at it, make less money than you're used to. You may get rejected 50 times before someone says, "Yes, we'll hire you." But I can promise that it will be impossible to find something better if you don't first want it badly and believe you can have it.

No one can guarantee how successful you will be. But I can guarantee that you will never be victorious in finding more satisfaction if you don't have the courage to act despite your fear.

Actor Christopher Reeve, who became paralyzed in 1995 and died recently, once said, "I get pretty impatient with people who are able-bodied but are paralyzed for other reasons."

Heed his words and get impatient with yourself for this reason: You want more out of your life and have the ability to go after it.

Career consultant Andrea Kay is the author of "Greener Pastures: How To Find a Job In Another Place." Send questions to her at No. 133, 2692 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH 45208.