When it comes to switching - whether jobs or across careers - many people are afraid of going all in due to the fear of ‘taking a step back’

This is a valid concern, and it was a thought I had at 23 when I decided to pivot from asset management to strategy consulting. I was earning good money, but I knew something was missing in terms of enjoying my work, and I had an itch I wanted to scratch by moving into strategy consulting. I kept holding myself back, though, as I realized I would have to start from scratch, putting me ‘two years’ behind my peers.

But then my mentor at the time told me something which helped shape my thinking.

‘Your working life will likely last 30+ years, would you rather work the next 30 doing something you don’t enjoy or take the ‘hit’ to find something you will enjoy for the next 30 years?’

This made me start to look at my career as a 30+ year span rather than focusing heavily on the short term. 2 years out of 30 is honestly so small, so what am I actually scared about?

So what did I do? I took a 25% pay cut to start a strategy consulting graduate scheme which turned out to be one of the best choices I've made. Working at a boutique consulting I learnt so much about strategy in my 18 months there, which led me to be headhunted by Accenture for a senior consultant-level position, doubling my salary.

After a year at Accenture working with international insurers and asset managers I went to do strategy internally at an Insurance firm which then doubled my Accenture salary, meaning in just under 3 years I had quadrupled my salary after taking that initial 25% pay cut. But most importantly, I found a career I enjoyed and felt intellectually challenged by

Now I’m not here to brag - the initial 3 months after switching into strategy consulting was one of the hardest months I had. I had to be a beginner again and learn about a new industry from scratch. Many times, I had second thoughts thinking that I had made a mistake in making the career switch, but looking back now, it’s been one of the best things I’ve done.

So what is the key takeaway? If you really want to make that career switch - do it! Don’t focus on the potential pain short-term of ‘taking a step back’ but focus on the long-term benefits of increased career satisfaction and earning potential.

I may do another post in the future about how I actually planned my career switch. If you’re interested in reading about it - drop a reply to this email!