Switching over from your successful career to one that no one expected you’d pursue? Here’s how to do it

Text: Denise Ngo
Photos: Getty Images

So you’ve done the unthinkable and have abandoned your promising career as an accountant for something that your parents consider “crazy,” but that you would describe as “unconventional.” You’ve decided to open your own curry puff stall in the hawker centre across the street from where you grew up. Or maybe, you’re an established journalist who’s decided to leave the national paper for a small startup with only three employees. Or, conversely, you’re a successful designer who suddenly feels inspired to become a surgeon. How do you go about making the switch? Finding a job can feel daunting enough, let alone finding one that’s in a totally different industry than yours, for which you have no training.

Here are some steps to take when making an unexpected transition into a new, perhaps unexpected, career: