Ready for a Change?
When you think about work, how do you feel? Are you happy with what you’re doing for a living? Or, are you seriously considering a career change, yet there is something holding you back? But you don’t know what, or why?
You’re not alone. According to a recent report from online employment platform FlexJobs cited on CNBC.com, “More than four in 10 people—or 43%—are trying to change their career fields.”
“Many people know they want to leave their current job, but haven’t fully defined the role they want or how their existing skills translate to a new field,” Keith Spencer, career expert at FlexJobs, says in the article. “Without that understanding, it’s easy to lose confidence and motivation.”
To begin your career change journey, executive coach Megan Hellerer, who is also cited in the piece, encourages people to do a “curiosity campaign.”
Pepe Valiente—one of our instructors, and global product and innovation leader who appeared in our April 2026 podcast—agrees that creating a checklist is an important first step and one that needs to consider your personal data.
He advises: “At the end of every day, write three things, three things that you like. From today, I like this, this and this. This happened, this happened. I like it. I want more of this. I felt special. I felt valued. Three things that you valued the most. And then do the opposite—three things that happen that day that you didn't enjoy.
“And at the end of 15 days, one month, you will have data.”
Navigating a career transition requires a blend of tactical positioning, strategic networking and practical planning. You need to honestly evaluate your options and showcase your strengths for a successful transition.
Ask yourself:
- Am I considering a career pivot or role transition?
- Have I identified my transferable skills?
- Did I do a financial and time reality check?
- Have I done any informational interviews?
- Do I need additional education?
- Have I built up my network?
And the last one: Am I ready to invest in my goal?
Career Pivot or Role Transition?
A career pivot is a fundamental change that requires adapting to new daily tasks, a different industry or an entirely new role.
Take student Keith Yu, who had built a successful career in drug discovery as a research scientist. Even as his scientific career progressed, Keith found himself increasingly drawn to a different challenge: automation. That curiosity led him to our software development certificate, where he gained the programming and technical skills needed to begin pivoting toward a future in automation engineering and high-throughput systems development.
On the other hand, a role transition is a lateral or vertical move to a different role or company, but largely utilizing the same core skill set and industry.
Aldo Hernandez-Molina who, after years working in financial services in a customer service capacity at a bank, was ready for a role with more upward mobility.
“I met a friend who told me his story about going back to school to pursue accounting as a second career,” he says. “It inspired me and pushed me to pursue courses in the field. I had no growth during my time at the bank, so that’s when I decided to start the Certificate Program in Accounting.”
Both graduates knew the strengths they had in order to work toward their goal. This is not always the case.
Andrea Liebross—podcast guest, career coach and founder of Andrea Liebross Coaching—notes that you are in charge of your own destiny but that the past doesn’t have to reflect the future. “If you think about pivot versus plan journey, a lot of times the past tells us what we don't like. But it doesn't tell us what we do want or like.”
Okay, You Know What You Want, How Do You Get There?
At this stage, assess what skills you need to learn and how to obtain them.
If you need to reskill, earning a certificate can be the bridge between where you are now and the work you want to do and is relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of a master’s or professional degree. And some employers will fund your training.
Run a Transferable Skills Audit
In most cases, you won’t need to start from scratch. Many hard and soft skills cross industry lines, including those in project management, communication and data analysis.
For certificate graduate Michael Demson, his career transition made a full circle, eventually returning to his roots in the construction industry from other ventures.
“The turning point came when I realized that many of the skills I had developed in technology—project management, finance, operations, analytics and problem-solving—could be applied to creating physical places that would exist for generations,” he says.
Hiring managers might recommend the 70/30 Rule: Aim to target a new career path where you already possess at least 70 percent of the required skills through your past experience. The remaining 30 percent is learned through upskilling or on-the-job training.
Pepe’s advice: “The concept of the lifelong learner, the idea is to keep learning. Technology changes every other day. Processes change every day. So when you keep yourself up to date, that is a very good asset.”
And don’t forget your life experiences that build high-demand soft skills! Managing a household or volunteering can demonstrate conflict resolution, budget management, resource allocation and adaptive decision-making.
What Is Your Reality (Finances and Time)?
Have you considered what your day-to-day will look like as you undergo a career change? This time can sometimes mean taking a temporary pay cut, doing an unpaid internship or taking time off to go back to school.
Daniel Zhao of Glassdoor advises thinking realistically about if the career goal—or even the alternative—is sustainable.
“Maybe you're considering roles that do pay less that you wouldn't have considered earlier,” Daniel notes. “For example, a manager who wants to be a manager but can't find that job. So instead, they apply to senior individual contributor–level roles where they're going to have to take a pay cut, but it's because the role is different and the responsibilities are different, rather than just the salary being different.”
Map out if-then scenarios, budgets and time limits:
- If there aren’t clear signs of progress in a reasonable timeframe, what then?
- Can you go back to your old career if the new one doesn’t work out, or moonlight in your new career before taking the plunge?
- Will your budget accommodate a temporary income reduction while you gain career traction?
Figuring out the answers to these questions can help you weather any inevitable surprises and setbacks as you pilot your career change.
Test-Drive the New Career
Coaching consultant Andrea reiterates the importance of understanding the reality of the new role you are looking for.
“When we are talking about our future or making decisions as how to move forward,” she says, “big thinking is really a tool that you can have in your toolbox. And I use an acronym TRUST to describe what big thinking is all about.”
T: Thought Options
R: Real Problems
U: Embracing the Unknown
S: Secure Support
T: Taking Massive Action
Daniel adds, “There are certifications or programs that you can do because those demonstrate that you've committed to a program or a course of study and have actually completed it. You can also look at doing projects on the side. If you're applying to a coding job and you have a GitHub that has some impressive side projects, those are absolutely something you can point to. Similarly, a designer would have a portfolio.”
Never rely solely on a job description to understand a career.
For interior design certificate graduate Virginie Garnier, her learning extended beyond the classroom and into a six-month internship, where she worked on several projects at the same time, from small residential spaces to a big resort.
Volunteering is also a great way to gain experience in the field that you aspire to join. It shows your motivation, a quality that employers prize. As a volunteer, you are demonstrating that you are an involved person who is potentially a good team player.
Achieving the Goal While Working Full Time
While working full time as a credit risk analyst, Pegah Azmoodeh began exploring interior design through our individual courses. She wasn’t ready to take the leap without preparation. Instead, Pegah approached her career change strategically, testing the waters while maintaining financial stability.
“I wanted a program that allowed me to work while building professional design skills,” Pegah says. “The UC Berkeley Extension certificate stood out immediately.” While taking classes, she worked part time, completed freelance interior design projects, interned at Ware Malcomb and later did contract interior design work at EP Atelier. Today, she works at Populous in the Los Angeles area, focusing on sports venue design.
Rework Your Résumé, CV or Portfolio
Creating and editing a résumé that stands out is still critical. If you’re short on time, we’ve got “Top 10 Résumé Tips to Get You Noticed.”
A sharp portfolio can also help you visually pull together your accomplishments so you have something to point to in an interview: Show, don’t just tell! Oh, and please make sure you check your grammar!
LinkedIn is a fairly familiar platform to most professionals; it's an opportunity to build your digital brand and expand your network. Use LinkedIn to your advantage and virtually grow your network, and boost your chances of getting the job you are seeking.
- Slack
Slacking your way to a new position certainly sounds suspect. But numerous Slack communities are springing up, and in them are job-listing channels and opportunities to find out what people in your ideal jobs are saying and doing in the day-to-day. Most of the growth is in the tech industry, but Slack can be a resource for all job-hunters by providing networking opportunities in communities of interest.
- Network.
Networking is simply too vital to be overlooked. Here are some tips on how to frame your networking approach and get the most out of these interactions.
Now you are ready to invest in yourself and your new career goals.
