When most people are in the thinking stages of whether to change jobs or careers, they make two common mistakes. They first call or e-mail someone they know or have been referred to and ask, "What would it take for me to be a writer?" or "What's it like to be a physician's assistant?"

Then they only talk to one or two people, and based on that, make up their mind that this career is perfect or the stupidest idea they ever had. As a result, they end up either going after a career they hate or never digging deeply enough to know whether it could have been a match made in heaven.

If you're in that "just curious" stage of making a change, here's what you need to know and do instead.

In general, people are eager to help you. But they don't like surprises — a call or e-mail out of the blue asking them to tell you everything you need to know about your next possible career endeavor. They're busy and there's too much ground to cover. You frustrate people when you approach them with such a broad request. They probably want to help, but there's not enough time in the day to give you a complete education.

Don't expect people to be your personal encyclopedia. Before you ask someone for their insight into a new field, brush up on the subject through books and other published materials so you can have a more intelligent, focused and fruitful conversation later.

Read trade publications and do general searches online. Check out the Dictionary of Occupational Titles or "The Big Book of Jobs" that give details about a particular type of work, working conditions, qualifications, advancement, earnings, employment outlook and related occupations.

After you've done your homework, develop a list of specific questions and tell your source that you've been researching the field and would like to get their take on what it's like.

Ask questions you can't find answers to in a book. If you discovered something that made you think twice about whether you wanted to pursue this field, clear up your doubt. Ask what they like and dislike about the field, what a typical day is like, whether they could see someone like you fitting in, and what obstacles you might run into.

Talk to many people — not just one or two. One of my clients who was thinking about the industrial design field, was told by one person that she'd have to get another degree to work at an industrial design company. Two other people told her, no, she didn't need another degree for the role she was looking at. If she had listened to the first person only, she would have given up on her new career direction since she didn't want to pursue a new degree.

Talk to people who can be objective. If you meet with someone at a school who wants you to enroll in their program, they will share the upside of the profession. You need to hear the whole picture not to be sold.

Weigh what others tell you, taking into account that they're sharing their perspective. Someone may claim sales representatives don't get respect or that you can't make a living as a writer, but that doesn't make it a cold hard fact. Ask them why they say this. Don't accept opinions as fact. Ask others if they agree with what someone else said, and then come up with your own conclusions.

Don't know anyone in a field you're interested in? Use chat rooms, news groups or message boards through Google or Yahoo. Set up an alert with these search engines that will sift data then send you information related to your subject.

If you're bent on discovering a better career, be bound and determined to do the upfront work. If you take short cuts you end up shortchanging yourself and the possibility of a long, happy career.

Reach Andrea Kay at andrea@andreakay.com.