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All Change?
For generations people have spent a lifetime in a job but times are changing. Now many are changing careers and choosing an MBA degree to do it. MBA recruitment specialist and Head of QS TopMBA Careers, Tom Harrison, investigates.
If Bill Gates had got bored with software in his twenties and decided to try his luck as a rock guitarist, would the world be the same today? Would technology have evolved in a significantly different direction? Would ‘Microsoft-Rock’ have been a new genre of music?
And, most importantly, would it have been any good?
Well, Bill stuck to his guns and it’s fair to say things worked out pretty well for him, and most probably for music-lovers too, but many of us do opt to change career direction and for some it’s the best decision we ever made.
When it comes to your career, taking a leap of faith into the unknown can often prove the most rewarding of challenges. True to the nature of modern society, changing your job at some point during your working life has become increasingly popular. If you were to enquire where someone started their career, it is highly likely that they would give an answer which is far removed from their current occupation. In a society where increased opportunities are available and diversifying your occupational field is encouraged, changing your job during your career path is becoming almost inevitable.
Over the last couple of decades a significant shift in attitude can be charted in terms of the number of people who enjoy a “career for life”. Rather than seeing change as a negative force, both employees and employers are acknowledging that having a varied background of experience can prove hugely beneficial.
Typically, an undergraduate student will have chosen their main subject area based on a combination of personal interest and preferred future career path. Many change their minds about the latter even during their studies, but many will still go on to a relevant career path.
For example, upon leaving university an engineering graduate is very likely to head towards a large transport or construction firm. He or she will hopefully receive training and development and go on to develop a certain expertise. Realistically, it is likely to take them at least two to three years to establish if this really is the right career choice for them, especially given their initial inexperience in the workplace in general.
They may love their work and consider it as the only thing they want to do for the remainder of their working lives. However, they will also be exposed to many other career paths through their professional and social networks. They will see how much friends and colleagues enjoy their careers and they will gain a deeper understanding of what provides career satisfaction, opportunity and reward.
New trends will develop and opportunities will possibly present themselves.
It’s no surprise that the ‘job for life’ concept is increasingly rare.
So when you decide to change your career path, how do you go about it? Unless you are lucky enough to be headhunted or to have opportunity knock at your door you need to apply yourself in the same way you would when developing a project plan in your current role.
Making a career change is one of the most commonly cited reasons for deciding to pursue an MBA. It makes a lot of sense – you have developed a specific skill set, a significant amount of experience and a deeper understanding of what kind of work would suit you best. Now you want to build on this in a different direction, but you do not want to start over from entry-level.
An MBA degree offers you new and transferable skills and knowledge, which adds to your marketability to a much broader range of employers. Choose the right course and your ideal employer could be approaching you before you’re even an alum. Don’t rely on it though – you need to prepare yourself:
Careers