Career change: why money worries hold us back (and what you can do about it)

When it comes to changing careers, one obstacle towers above all others – money.

No matter how much you crave a better work-life balance, a role that challenges and fulfils you, or simply a fresh start, those pesky monthly bills have a way of keeping us stuck.

And honestly, it’s hard to argue with that. When you’ve got debts to pay, a home to keep warm and kids to feed, why would you risk starting over in a new career?

But what if it didn’t have to be that way?

To get a better understanding of how money shapes our biggest life choices, we caught up with Richard Alderson, founder of Careershifters. Frustrated by his own job and the challenges he faced when trying to make a change, Richard launched the organisation in 2006. Since then, he and his team have been helping people from all walks of life move into work that feels more meaningful and fulfilling.

“Money comes up very often in conversations with career changers,” says Richard.

“When someone’s considering changing their career,” he explains, “they’re also by default having to consider the financial impact of that. Many of our clients have responsibilities, a mortgage to pay or families to look after, and many are the primary breadwinner. So that financial aspect is an absolutely key component of the whole process of even deciding to make a move, let alone doing it.”

Misplaced fears

Money worries are, according to Richard, both practical and emotional.

“Practically, we’ve all got to make sure we still maintain enough income to pay our outgoings,” he says. “But emotionally, the money aspects of a career change come with a lot of fear. It may mean a period without income. It may mean instability. It may mean a salary cut. All of those things create fear, and fear is a very powerful obstacle.”

Careershifters' own research shows that 73% of people worry about the financial impact of changing careers and only 8% feel confident enough to take the leap. “That fear,” Richard says, “stops people even exploring what might be possible for them.”

And yet, he insists, those fears are often misplaced.

“So many people assume they’d need a year’s worth of savings or that they couldn’t possibly earn enough doing something new, and those assumptions just aren’t always true once you start gathering real-world information.”

From HR manager to freelance writer

Nina Jervis-Green knows exactly how paralysing those fears can feel. After fifteen years in HR, she realised she’d been “bouncing around different companies thinking a new job would make me happy, not realising that HR was the problem”.

“I’d always wanted to be a writer,” she says, “but I just dismissed it because I thought to make money from writing you had to be someone like J.K. Rowling. I just couldn’t see how I could possibly make money from writing, and that was what Careershifters helped me with.”

She signed up for an eight-week course, then called the pioneer programme, and threw herself in “with both feet”.

But even with support, the financial fear was real.

“It was a bit of a knife-edge,” Nina admits. “I had some savings, but not much, about two months’ worth of salary. I told myself, if I can’t make this work by a certain time, I’ll have to get another job. I was lucky that it fell into place, but I was relentless during those early days.”

Although she wasn’t contractually obliged to, Nina gave her employer three months’ notice, time to drum up her first freelance clients.

Instead of relying on social media to find work, Nina went old-school: “I printed leaflets and posted them through letterboxes in posh areas. I thought, these people have the money, and that’s exactly how I got my first client.”

That first job turned into word-of-mouth referrals, and before long, she no longer needed to advertise.

Dealing with fluctuating income

Like many freelancers, Nina’s income still fluctuates. “I may not go on holiday every year,” she says, “but I can keep the bills paid. I’m doing something I love, and that’s worth a lot.”

She’s also frank about what helped her succeed: “I had to be comfortable earning less at first. You’ve got to raise your rates gradually, and you can’t let yourself feel resentful.”

Would she have made the leap if she’d had a family to support?

“Honestly, no, I don’t think I would have gambled my savings if I had kids,” she admits. “It’s not for the faint-hearted. But I told myself there was always something else I could do, I could always go back to HR. The stronger driver was thinking ‘I don’t want to have to go back’.”

Nina advises anyone making the switch to “practise behind the scenes as much as possible, so that when you start charging clients, you can do so with confidence that you’re capable of delivering what they need.”

Get informed. Get connected. Get into action.

According to Richard Alderson, the way out of the fear of switching careers is action. “People often get stuck in their own head,” he says. “They tell themselves, ‘it’s never going to be possible for me’, based on beliefs or assumptions that may not be true.”

To move forward with a new career, Richard recommends a three-step framework:

• Get informed - gather real-world data about what’s possible, find out what others are earning in the industry you’re considering, and how they financed their change.
• Get connected - surround yourself with others going through similar transitions, as confidence grows through shared experience.
• Get into action - test, experiment and build proof that you can make it work.

Fears don’t match the reality

From renting out a spare room for extra income to compressing working hours to free up time to starting a side hustle alongside their job, Richard has seen countless creative solutions to assist people financially when taking the plunge into a new career.

One vet he worked with went from being a full-time employee to contracting part-time, and ended up earning more while launching her own business on the side.

And while the fear of losing stability never completely disappears, most career changers discover it wasn’t as catastrophic as they imagined.

“Almost always,” says Richard, “the fears don’t match the reality.”

So, what can you do right now?

If you’re feeling stuck because of money fears, Richard suggests starting with one small step.

“Don’t let assumptions stop you from finding out what the reality is. Learn how others made it work financially. Check out the Career Change toolkit, which draws on real-life experiences from thousands of career changers and experts, and is designed to help you feel more confident and better equipped about the money aspect of your career change.”

Above all, remember that your financial story is unique, and emotional as much as practical.

“Everyone has different connections to money, which can be formed through upbringing, other life experiences, parents, and more,” he says. “Understanding both sides, the practical and the emotional, is key to planning a successful career change.”

Or, as Nina puts it: “You can’t practise on your clients. Do your groundwork, be brave, and when you send that first quote, make sure it feels fair. If it does, you’re already on your way.”