It makes sense that you want to do the same work you have been doing in the past. You went into that kind of work because it appealed to you. A potential problem is that people continue to lose their jobs in your line of work; you may be a perfect example.To stay in your field and have some degree of security, you need to be able to answer some questions:

• According to the job boards, online listings, and employment agencies, how much demand is there for the work I do?
• As a result of seasonality, are there lots of other people looking for my type of work?
• Is there reason to believe that the demand for my type of skills will pick up soon?
• Would I be willing to relocate if it meant finding work in my current field?
• Would I be willing to take a cut in salary and/or benefits if it meant I could work in my current field?
• Would updating my skills or education mean I could work in my field? Am I willing (and able) to get that training?

You need reassuring answers to each of these questions; otherwise, you will spend months or longer looking for a job that no longer exists, or you could actually find such a job and then lose it again a short time laterBut what if you want to do something else? Maybe you want to make a career change because your previous career just isn’t offering opportunity or security any more. You may also have personal reasons for switching careers, such as your desire to work different hours to better accommodate the needs of your lifestyle. And you may have other professional reasons for changing, such as a desire to work more with people and less with tech – or vice versa!

Perhaps the most important reason for switching careers is this: “I’ve always thought I’d like to do this kind of work.”

You should think about how much you enjoy using your skills with data, people or things. These are worker preferences. Worker preferences describe those things you most enjoy doing at work. Of course, no job is exclusively working with data, people, or things, but some jobs have more of one than another does. It is also important to remember that each work site may have a different job description for the same job title. For example, one insurance clerk spends the majority of their day processing information and data, while another insurance clerk speaks with customers, answering questions about payments or claims that have been filed — same job title, different description.