"Is This What I Went to School For?"

If you devoted two or more years to higher education and earned at least one degree in the process, you probably embarked on your academic journey with the assumption that it would lead to a career in a specific field. But what if after all of your education, training and accomplishments, you found your heart leading you toward an altogether different career path? A path where perhaps the odds for achieving success were greater than the original course that you had so carefully mapped out for yourself?

Few people would probably question a career change that leads to instant fame and fortune. But how often does this actually occur? When the average person makes a career change, they are often taking a leap of faith with no guarantees for a successful outcome. They may even find themselves taking a significant pay cut and becoming "extinct" in a field where they once thrived.

Despite the potential risks, career changes - even after years of education - are not necessarily a bad thing, particularly if they have the potential to bring greater fulfillment and peace of mind and are discussed in depth with the people who could potentially be affected by them (such as a spouse). It's better to be happy pursuing a new profession than to grow complacent or bitter doing something that is not intrinsically rewarding. The key is to make a purposeful career change rather than a series of frequent, sporadic ones.

During the early stages of a career change, mixed feelings may develop. A deviation from one's education and training can be an emotionally painful process filled with feelings of self-doubt, instability and even failure. This is especially the case if a person does not have support from loved ones to follow their dreams, or if they are deeply affected by criticism from people in their field or those who are close to them. At the same time, the passion that often leads people in a different direction can lead to a renewed sense of hope and refuel one's energy to move forward.

While it is true that the cost of higher education can be measured in dollars and cents, the real value of one's education is much more qualitative in nature. A person who makes the most of their formal education will likely exit from their college or university a much greater asset to any career than they were when they entered. They will have expanded their knowledge base, acquired a new set of skills (often transferable to different areas) and become more aware of the world they live in. And although these things can sometimes be achieved without a degree, a college education provides one of the best avenues to bring them all together and help a person grow.

In summary, a career change following an extensive education can be a positive phase in a person's evolution and should not automatically be characterized as indecisiveness or failure. When we learn to view life itself as an education, we become free of self-imposed limitations and give ourselves room to carve out new and sometimes necessary paths for our own development.