The 4 Common Role Types You're Considering In Your Career Change

And how to navigate them.

So you're desperate to get out of the career that's been making you unhappy for years.

You want to try something else.

Something that will make you feel different.

Something which, ideally, won't land you in a pit of misalignment burnout after 6 months.

But what else would you do?

Having coached dozens of people through this process, here are the 4 core types of career moves I see emerge time and time again.

Role Type #1 - The 'pipe dream'

Ah, the elusive pipe dream. You're a banker, a teacher, a Sales Manager. But what you want is to be an Astronaut.

Is it technically possible? Sure.

It might take about 10 years, but it's possible.

You'll need to go back to school to get a related degree (NASA specify that qualifying degrees are Engineering, Biological Science, Physical Science, Computer Science, or Mathematics) plus several years of flight training.

But it feels absurd.

Why?

Because it's just too big of a leap. It's too out-of-reach, too difficult, too out-of-this world, if you will (#sorrynotsorry).

You consider it a pipe dream.

And for many, maybe it is. But that doesn't mean to skip over it.

TIP FOR PIPE DREAMS: Get curious about what it is about the role which is so appealing. For an Astronaut, maybe it's adventure. Well, there are many ways of incorporating adventure into a career. How do you imagine being an Astronaut will make you feel? Why are those things important to you? Reflect on the ingredients you're seeking, and consider how you might find those through more accessible career paths, vs whether it truly is Astronaut ONLY for you.

Role Type #2 - The paradise role

You're chained to your desk every day. The office is grey and drab. The thought of going in on Monday makes your heart sink down into your socks.

You just want to pack it all in, and go run a beach bar in Cancun.

This has similarities to the pipe-dream role, but with an emphasis on it providing an escape-hatch.

"One man's fantasy is another man's job" – Richard Avedon

You dream about being outside all day. Soaking in the sun. Chatting to locals and tourists, perhaps offering some advice about local sites.

It sounds like paradise, right?

Maybe it is, or maybe you're leaping to an assumption. Here's how you can start to uncover whether this role has any legs:

TIP FOR PARADISE ROLES: Find out what they are really like. Next time you're on holiday, have a chat to the person who's serving drinks at the hotel bar, beach shack, running lessons at the surf school etc. Ask them, what is their day to day life like? Your goal is to bust assumptions. Perhaps it looks fab because you're thinking of it during high summer. What do they do in winter, when everything shuts down? How do they cope with drunk, abusive customers? Do they get broken into and robbed? What's the hardest thing about it? Is it really the dream?

If you're still keen, perhaps you might consider a part-time, weekend-only 'curiosity job' which would give you some entry level exposure to what it's actually like making drinks all shift.

As with pipe-dream roles, there will be elements underpinning this that you're seeking. It might be a sense of freedom, socialising, or simply working outside. You can achieve those things through many different avenues.

And hey, it might be exactly what's it's cracked up to be. You don't know, but don't paint a picture of nirvana without finding out the reality.

Role Type #3 - The same-but-different

A nurse who wants to be a midwife.
A full-time employee who wants to go freelance.
An events manager who wants to become a wedding planner.

It's the adjacent role.

The similar, but different enough to give you the novelty.

It feels safer, less uncomfortable, less likely to go wrong, and with lower bars to entry.

I've seen many people switch happily into things that aren't too different from their previous roles. It's the same-same-but-different philosophy.

The essential factor here, is this: Will the new role give you what has clearly been missing so far?

TIP FOR SAME-BUT-DIFFERENT ROLES: Do the reflective work to analyse what you feel this role will give you, which your current career has not. Is it different in the way you need it to be, or are you being overly cautious? Perhaps you're letting imposter syndrome hold you back from a larger shift. Perhaps you're treating this as a bridge role whilst you plan a wider pivot (which is a great idea, by the way). Get clear on the motivations for this move.

Role Type #4 - The curiosity-scratch

You've had an itch to scratch about this for years.

When you were younger, you kind of always assumed you'd fall into interior design.

After all, you loved decorating your room as a kid, making collages out of different fabrics and patterns, and had somewhat of an opinion about the way your parents decorated the living room.

It didn't happen though.

Life got in the way.

And you've always wondered about it.

TIP FOR THE CURIOSITY-SCRATCH ROLES: Lean into this with experimentation. Hold some informational interviews with people doing these roles now. Explore opportunities for some shadowing, or volunteering, and see what you find out. Perhaps your own home is a haven of great design waiting to be put together into a portfolio. What does an internship track look like? Lean into this process of discovery and exploration.

I'm sure you've noticed the theme here

Don't leap to any assumptions about different roles. They all hold these deeply-carved-out places in your mind. There's a narrative, and a story that comes with each of them, about how possible, how foolish, how safe, how risky, they would be. Find out the truth with conversations, experiments and research.

If you want someone to help you figure out what you're looking for, check out my 1:1 Career Clarity Success Programme!

Always on your side,