Changing field in the middle of a career
The bridge matters more than the destination, and most people build it backwards.
Career changes fail when the candidate presents as a beginner in the new field rather than as an experienced person crossing into it.
Find the overlap and lead with it
There is almost always a bridge role: a job in the new field where your old field is an asset rather than an irrelevance. An accountant moving into software should aim at fintech. A procurement manager moving into technology should aim at supply chain systems, not general engineering.
The bridge role is easier to get and it is a shorter walk to where you actually want to be.
Do not hide the old career
Fifteen years of anything is evidence that you can hold a job, learn a domain and work with people. Reframe it in the vocabulary of the new field instead of apologising for it or burying it below a bootcamp.
Close one gap properly, not five partially
The temptation is to collect certificates across the whole new field. It is more convincing to have one deep, demonstrable capability with something built, than five shallow ones with certificates.
Expect a step back, and time box it
Most changes cost a level or some salary for a year or two. Decide in advance how much you will accept and for how long, so the decision is made once rather than every time an offer arrives.
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