Want a career change but don’t know where to start? What’s really holding you back

Have you ever thought, “I can’t keep doing this”, but had absolutely no idea what you’d do instead?

Maybe you’re exhausted by your job, your work is affecting your wellbeing, or you’ve simply reached the point where you want something different.

But changing career can feel like a huge risk, particularly when money’s already tight.

You might be wondering whether you can afford to retrain, if you could manage with a pay cut, or where do you even start?

New research from Careershifters suggests the biggest thing holding career changers back may not actually be money.

It’s knowing what comes next.

“I just know it’s not this”

Careershifters surveyed 11,567 active UK career changers for its State of Career Change report 2026.

The findings paint a picture of people who often know they need something to change, but can struggle to work out exactly what that change should be.

In fact:

• 49% say their biggest obstacle is figuring out what else they could do
• nearly 60% want to move into a completely different industry
• yet 36% don't know which industry or role they want to move into
• 74% have been thinking about changing career for at least a year
• and 26% have been considering it for three years or more.

To find out more about the obstacles holding people back and how to overcome them, we spoke to Natasha Stanley, head coach at Careershifters.

“Most people that come to us don't know what it is that they want to do next. They just know it's not this,” she said.

That feeling might sound familiar.

You don't necessarily need a five-year career plan. You might simply know that the job you're doing now isn't working for you anymore.

And that's a perfectly valid place to start.

It may not be about money

Money matters and if you're already struggling to make ends meet or dealing with debts, the idea of changing career can feel particularly daunting.

And the Careershifters’ research does show that finances are a barrier for some people:

12% say financial constraints are their top obstacle to changing career.

But money isn't the main reason people want to leave.

The three biggest motivations are:

• 43% – an unsupportive or unhealthy work environment
• 41% – poor work-life balance or wellbeing
• 40% – feeling that their work doesn't align with their values or sense of purpose
• 30% – pay is important

In other words, you don't have to be chasing a bigger salary to want something different.

You might want to feel respected, spend more time with your family, or do work that doesn't leave you completely drained.

Or you might simply want to feel that what you spend so much of your life doing actually matters to you.

As Natasha explains:

“For a lot of people, they have been working in a career for 5, 10, 15, 20 upwards years and they just reach a point where they think, it's time for something new. It's time for me to experience something different. I want a fresh challenge.”

When work starts affecting the rest of your life

The research also shows just how closely work and our wider wellbeing can be connected.

• 73% of career changers say their work negatively affects their overall life satisfaction.
• And among those people, 91% say their work negatively affects their mental health.
• Only 3% say they always feel fulfilled at work, while 48% say they never or rarely feel fulfilled.

That doesn't mean changing career is automatically the answer. And if money is tight, you may not be in a position to make a dramatic change overnight.

But it does suggest that how you feel about your work is worth taking seriously.

So, what's actually stopping you?

According to Natasha, the barriers she sees aren't simply about money or fear.

She describes them as:

“There's fears, there's assumptions, and there's lack of knowledge.”

And assumptions can be powerful. You might assume you have to go back to college,  that you'll have to start at the bottom, or that your experience isn't transferable.

Or you might assume that doing something you enjoy necessarily means earning less.

Natasha says:

“The idea that in order to do something fulfilling, I'm going to have to take a pay cut is one of those big assumptions.”

That doesn't mean a career change won't affect your income. Sometimes it will.

And if you have rent, bills, children to support or debts to repay, it's completely reasonable to take that seriously.

But there may be more options between “stay exactly where I am” and “quit tomorrow and start again” than you realise.

You don't have to make one giant leap

This is perhaps the most useful lesson from Careershifters' research and Natasha's experience.

You don't necessarily need to figure everything out before you take your first step.

Instead, you can experiment.

Could you:

• Talk to someone who already does a job you're curious about.
• Volunteer for a few hours.
• Try a small project.
• Take a free course or attend a careers event.
• Use your existing skills in a different setting.
• Explore whether your current employer offers different roles.
• Reduce your hours, if that's financially possible, while you explore something else.
• Set aside even a couple of hours a week to investigate your options.

As Natasha puts it:

“It's not something that can happen inside your head. It happens through action.”

The point isn't to gamble with your income. It's to get information.

Because you can spend months worrying about whether you'd like a particular career, or you can speak to someone who actually does it and start finding out.

Emma's career change started with a wrong turn

If you're worried about getting it wrong, Emma Hamlett's story is a reminder that a career change doesn't have to follow a perfect plan.

Emma had spent around 15 years working in museums. She then moved into a social enterprise, thinking it would be the right next step.

But it wasn't.

She quickly realised the job wasn't right for her and found herself unsure about what to do next.

The answer turned out to be something she had loved since childhood: running a bookshop.

But opening a shop is expensive. Rather than immediately taking the biggest possible financial leap, Emma tested the idea.

She ran a mobile book business from a van, attended markets, carried out research and built up a customer base before eventually moving into a physical shop.

Her story isn't a promise that every career change will work out this way. And self-employment isn't financially right for everyone.

But it does demonstrate an important principle: you can test an idea before committing everything to it.

Emma also discovered that many of the skills she'd built in museums, including budgeting, strategy, planning, recruitment and presenting spaces, were useful in her new career.

You may have more transferable skills than you think.

But what if you really can't afford to take a pay cut? If you're already living on a tight budget, “just follow your passion” isn't particularly helpful advice.

You may need to prioritise keeping your income stable while you explore what's next.

Natasha suggests looking beyond the job title itself and asking what it is about your dream career that appeals to you:

“Let's look at what it is that makes that career, your dream one in inverted commas, and look at what other careers share those characteristics that do actually meet your financial needs or your level of lifestyle that you want to be able to maintain.”

Maybe you don't actually need that particular job.

Maybe what you really want is:

• more creativity
• more contact with people
• more independence
• the chance to help others
• more predictable hours
• less stress
• more flexibility
• a stronger sense of purpose

Once you know what you're looking for, you can start searching for different ways of getting it.

And importantly, you can consider the financial side alongside everything else, rather than treating money as something you only think about after you've made the change.

You don't have to do it alone

One of the most notable findings from the research is that 47% of would-be career changers have had no support at all. Among those who have sought help, friends and family are the most common source of support.

But friends and family don't always understand what you're trying to do.

They may be worried about you, tell you to stick with the secure job, or may not understand why you'd want to leave something you've spent years building.

Natasha recommends creating a wider support network:

“Changing career on your own is possible, but it's so much easier when you've got some people to help you through the process.”

That could mean talking to someone already working in an area you're interested in, finding a mentor, joining a community or simply having someone who will check in with you and keep you moving.

You don't need to know the answer yet

Perhaps the most reassuring thing about all of this is that not knowing what you want to do next is normal.

The Careershifters’ research suggests that it's actually the biggest obstacle for almost half of people considering a career change.

So, if you're sitting there thinking, “I know I need something different, but I haven't got a clue what”, you're not failing.

You're at the beginning.

And you don't need to hand in your notice, sign up for an expensive course or make a life-changing decision today.

Start smaller, ask question, have a conversation, and try something. Find out what you're good at. Look at what you already know. Work out what matters to you.

And, importantly, keep one eye on your finances while you explore.

As Natasha says:

“So any time and space you can buy yourself to take action, to be out in the world, encountering new things, talking to people, That's what's eventually going to get you the clarity you're looking for.”

Your next career doesn't have to appear fully formed overnight.

You just need to find your next step.