So you’ve discovered what you want to be but lack the qualifications and skills to find work in your ideal career area. Perhaps you’re looking for a complete career change or a different role within your current field of work.
The lack of qualifications, skills or experience are just obstacles on the way to achieving your career goals. Napoleon Bonaparte’s words ‘Victory belongs to the most persevering’ could not be more relevant here. Just keep in mind nothing is insurmountable, you just need to plan your route to victory.
Step 1
Whether you’re new to the job market, eyeing a promotion or considering a career change the lack of the necessary skills or qualifications can be enough to put most people off pursuing their goals. To tackle this you need to address each obstacle as a challenge designed to be overcome.
Start by making a simple list of the obstacles that first come to your mind. Then put the list aside and come back to it over the coming days and weeks so you can review and add to the list and then plan your way forward.
As an example take John. John is looking for a career change. He wants to be an educational psychologist but he didn’t go to university and currently works as a youth worker. In this example John has limited formal qualifications from high school obtaining only mediocre grades and was trained on the job for his current position. John is married with 2 children and lives in a fairly rural area with limited opportunities for his ideal career.
There is an online access course that would give John the entry qualification for a university course in psychology. He could then specialise in Educational Psychology. There are 5 universities John likes the sound of because they have a very successful record of their graduates moving in to professional roles.
Napoleon Bonaparte’s words ‘Victory belongs to the most persevering’ could not be more relevant here. Just keep in mind nothing is insurmountable, you just need to plan your route to victory.
John’s initial list of obstacles
- Time
- Balancing time for his paid work, family and study.
- Cost of Qualifications
- Money for the access course and degree if he is also to contribute to the household as well.
- His children’s school
- They may need to move if he wants to attend one of the 5 universities he’s interested in. That would mean interrupting his children’s education.
Step 2
John would add to his list over time as he thinks everything through. He would need to discuss his plan with others, particularly family.
It’s really important to be honest with yourself as you build your list of obstacles. It might, for instance, include individual or family opposition to the idea. This might be rooted in a fear of change or the insecurity of risk. The ”what if it all goes wrong” mind set.
John’s list of obstacles after a few weeks
- Time
- Balancing time for paid work, family and study.
- Cost of Qualifications
- Money for the access course and degree if also contributing to the household expenses.
- Academic capability
- Fear of not being capable of studying or obtaining a degree level qualification.
- His children’s school
- John’s children may need to move if he wants to attend one of the 5 universities he’s interested in and that would mean interrupting their education.
- He and his wife would need to find a suitable school for the children and new place to live.
- Providing financially for his family
- His wife would need to find alternative work if they moved and if she were to become the main earner any new job would need to pay at least as well.
- Fear of not finding work in his chosen field and letting his family down.
By taking time to consider the obstacles you may come up with more detailed thoughts on possibly overlooked but significant obstacles. Remember this is your list and your opportunity to plan for the challenges ahead.
Stage 3
Assuming John’s wife supports his career change, this is an example of what Johns plan might look like. This is only an example and your plan may be a lot less or a lot more complicated.
John’s plan
| Obstacle | Steps | Outcome |
| Money for the access course and degree if also contributing to the household expenses. | -Look for grants and sponsorship opportunities. -Ask current employer if sponsorship might be possible. -Set a savings goal and work overtime or another job to achieve it. -Consider taking the degree part time and keeping a part time job to help with finances. | |
| Once the access course begins balancing time for paid work, family and study. | -Continue in the current job if possible, if not explore possibility of part time or alternative employment locally to fit in with new schedule. -Commit to study predominantly in the evening after the children have gone to bed or predominantly at the weekend. -Allocate specific time and days for family only. | |
| Fear of not being capable of studying or obtaining a degree level qualification. | -Contact the Access course providers about your concerns. They will be used to potential students experiencing self-doubt. -Speak to family and friends. Many people carry bad memories of learning from when they were younger and friends and family may be able to reassure you. | |
| John’s children may need to move if he wants to attend one of the 5 universities he’s interested in and that would mean interrupting his children’s education. | -Consider studying for an online degree such as an Open University degree course in the UK which would avoid John needing to move at all. -If the online degree option is not suitable bear in mind the Access course is online, so this decision might not need to be made immediately. If you do need to move consider the ages of the children and when would be least disruptive to their education. You could plan for this. -Consider if any of the universities are within commuting distance or if temporary accommodation near the university could be obtained for during the week. That way the rest of the family could avoid moving until a later date. | |
| John and his wife would need to find a suitable school for the children and new place to live. | -This could be avoided, in the short term, if a university is within commuting distance or accommodation for John can be found near the university. -If the whole family need to move research schools and accommodation within the catchment areas. Try to start this research as soon as possible and time the move to be least disruptive to the children’s education. | |
| His wife would need to find alternative work if they moved and if she were to become the main earner any new job would need to pay at least as well. | -If John’s wife had to move with John and she currently has a job she could find out if a transfer to wherever John needs to move is an option. -Research in to job opportunities should begin as soon as possible with time to work on a CV/Resume. -Recruitment agencies and online job advertising platforms should be considered. | |
| Fear of not finding work in his chosen field and letting his family down. | -Contact employers to discuss prospects following graduation. -Discuss with the university of choice the percentage of graduates who do not find work in their chosen field and why. |
When it comes to your plan it may change as you consider each of the obstacles in turn. Over time some obstacles will disappear while new ones will present themselves. Nothing worth having is easy. Whether you’re pursuing a career change, promotion or anything else, if you view the obstacles as challenges you will find a way to succeed.