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Asked by 235cars24 on 10 Jul 2017.
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Andy Woods answered on 10 Jul 2017:
Yes and we will have to. I expect that in my career I will do jobs which haven’t been invented yet! I suppose when you say career these days it is the broad idea of what you would like to do rather than a specific job. I don’t think people can expect to start a job leaving education and expect to be doing the same thing when they retire 50 or more years later.
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Nicola Asker answered on 10 Jul 2017:
I agree with Andy. More than ever, people are changing their careers multiple time. Sometimes this means changing your specific role gradually over time depending on the opportunities that become available. For other people, they radically change career to something completely different because they fancy a change. And age isn’t really a factor, though the older you are the more transferable skills you’ll probably have which makes it easier.
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Devon Smith answered on 10 Jul 2017:
I agree with both Andy and Nicola too. I don’t believe a career means the same thing as it did maybe for your or my parents. I would say this is especially true in Science also, as many scientists I know move between different jobs, as that is what the industry requires. But this can be quite an exciting thing as you’ll never get bored! 🙂
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Graham Wiggins answered on 10 Jul 2017:
Hi,
Of course you can change career, at any time.
Work and life is just like rolling along a road, sooner or later, you’ll have a choice to make…turn left, go straight on, or turn right.
Sometimes the choices are made for you, if your employer closes. Other times, you find you enjoy something ( like outreach ) and decide that’s what you want to do.
Being an Engineer or Scientist allows me to have lots of choice in where I work. Think about where you live, ( or want to Live ) and see what’s needed in that area, and keep an eye on the Global trends… ( like electric cars / solar panels etc )
Use ( no, Really use ) your social media account to advertise yourself, and think about your hobby…could that be a back up plan ? if your main job stopped…could your hobby be easilly converted into self-employment ? -
Ollie Brown answered on 11 Jul 2017:
Definitely! Lucky for me you can, too. I’m actually sort of changing career right now, as when I finish my PhD I’ll be moving in to software engineering.
As the others have said, it’s something that happens all the time, and not something you should worry about 🙂
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Stacey Marple answered on 19 Jul 2017:
Yeah sure, why not!! I started out as an Aerospace engineer in the Royal Air Force but now I’m a project development manager working on everything from robots, coatings to project management. You should do a job you enjoy and if it is not the right choice, change it. It’s okay to change your mind and do something else.
Comments
Ian commented on :
Yes, It might take a bit of work but the hardest bit is just convincing someone to give you a chance. I went from X-ray crystallography to laser microscopy – both are used to look at very small things but they’re totally different. I know someone who started as a biochemist and ended up working on the big collider stuff at the LHC – that’s quite a change!
Anthony commented on :
Sure! After school, I went to art college to study animation. But it turned out that there weren’t too many jobs in hand-drawn animation any more and I ended up working in IT for my council. After 3 years there, I decided to do what I’d always wanted to do since I was little and I wen back to University to study zoology. It’s never to late to do something different.
Jonathan commented on :
Great advice above. I’d just add that the system help you the first time round (school, University entrance, University) but for future changes you’re much more on your own. That sometimes means studying on your own time after work and often means taking risks. But there are always individuals who will help. So find your mentors, whether they are official or unofficial, and stay in touch with as many people as possible. “Your peers are are your allies.”