How To Make the Right Career Choice After 30 And Succeed如何在30岁之后做出正确的职业选择并取得成功

In fact, plenty of people make minor¹ and significant career power moves after adulting for a few years. Some have become disenchanted with their original picks. Others realize their talents are more suitable in some other field. Whatever the reason, all career movers usually feel trepidation². After all, busting³ out of an unfulfilling career choice before midlife seems daunting⁴.

事实上，很多人在成年几年后都会在事业上做出重大而又微小的变动。有些人已经不再对他们原来的选择抱有幻想。其他人则意识到他们的才能更适合其他领域。不管是什么原因，所有跳槽的人通常都会感到不安。毕竟，在中年之前摆脱一个不令人满意的职业选择似乎令人生畏。

Here’s the truth, though—it doesn’t have to cause undue⁵ amounts of stress. Truth be told, you can do a full u-turn professionally with a career choice that works. You just have to take a few steps to up the chances of emotional, intellectual, and fiscal⁶ success.

但事实是，它并不会造成过多的压力。说实话，你可以在职业选择上做一个彻底的180度大转弯。你只需要采取一些措施来提高你在情感上、智力上和财务上成功的机会。

1. Stop Pursuing Your Future Life on Today’s Terms停止以今天的方式追求你未来的生活

You need to figure out why your current life has worked for you so far, why it doesn’t work now, and what price you are willing to pay to change it. For instance, you might be going to a nine-to-five job and making “x” amount of dollars annually⁷. What has the 9 to 5 gotten you so far? (i.e. security?) So, security is one of your current terms. But is that the term you want? Maybe not.

你需要弄清楚为什么目前的生活以前对你有利，为什么现在不行，以及为了改变它你愿意付出什么代价。例如，你可能有一份朝九晚五的工作，每年挣x美元。朝九晚五给你带来了什么?(即安全?)所以，担保是你目前的条件之一。但这是你想要的说法吗?也许不是。

Figure out what your next-gen terms will be. You’ll be in a better position to negotiate them as you look into a new career.

弄清楚你的下一个目标是什么。当你考虑新的职业时，你将处于一个更好的位置来与他们谈判。

2. Audition⁸ a Bunch of Careers

尝试多种职业

Evaluating numerous paths will only help you feel better about your upcoming move. The last thing you want to do is assume that a field will be “the one,” only to find out you were wrong. So, allow yourself to think big, but don’t commit to any specific career choice until you’ve tried on several.

评估众多的道路只会让你对即将到来的行动感觉更好。您最不希望做的事情是假设一个字段将是“唯一”，结果却发现您错了。所以，允许自己胸怀大志，但是在你尝试过几个职业之前，不要承诺某个特定的职业选择。

3. Pinpoint⁹ Your North Star

找到你的北极星

What if you’re having difficulty focusing on your North Star? Picture yourself in three years. Where are you? What does your life look like? Don’t get all muddied in specific jobs. Just be open-minded. Do you want to manage others? Work independently? Be creative? Help people solve big (or small) problems? Your answers will help you define your North Star.

如果你很难把注意力集中在北极星上怎么办?想象一下三年后的自己。你在哪里?你的生活是什么样的?不要在特定的工作中搞混。思维要开放。你想管理别人吗?独立工作吗?有创意吗?帮助人们解决大(或小)问题?你的答案将帮助你确定你的北极星。

4. Keep Your Day Job—for Now

现在继续你的日常工作吧

As you become more excited at the thought of a career change, you might be tempted¹⁰ to quit whatever you’re doing now. Please don’t. You’ll only set yourself up for potential hardship. Here’s why: It can be very challenging to explain to a would-be recruiter why you suddenly left a position. The recruiter may see you as a “flight risk,” and that’s not a good look.

当你对跳槽的想法变得更加兴奋时，你可能会想放弃现在正在做的任何事情。请不要这样做。你只会让自己陷入潜在的困境。原因如下:向未来的招聘官解释你为什么突然离开了一份工作是一件很有挑战性的事情。招聘人员可能会认为你有“潜逃风险”，这可不妙。

Yes, it can be tough to keep going into an office or situation that leaves you disengaged. Nevertheless, you will at least have income flowing into your account. And having enough money today will keep you from fretting¹¹ if you have to take a lower salary temporarily later. After all, sometimes, reaching your North Star will require detours¹² like going back to school or taking lesser¹³ paying positions.

是的，要一直进入一个让你无所事事的办公室或环境是很困难的。尽管如此，你至少会有收入进入你的账户。今天有足够的钱会让你在以后不得不接受较低的薪水时不那么焦虑。毕竟，有时候，达到你的北极星需要走一些弯路，比如回到学校或者找一些薪水较低的工作。

5. Try a Side Hustle¹⁴

试试副业

Many people have discovered that the gig economy isn’t just a way to earn some extra bucks¹⁵ while you’re working full time. It’s a terrific, low-risk method to try out careers.

很多人已经发现，零工经济并不只是一种全职工作挣外快的方式。这是一个极好的、低风险的尝试职业的方法。

Consider this: You would love to work on old cars for a living. But you’re currently an accountant, and your family counts on your income to cover expenses. As a result, you start a little side business working on a few friends’ antique autos from your home garage.

想想看:你肯定喜欢以修理旧车为生。但你现在是一名会计，你的家庭依靠你的收入来支付开支。因此，你开始了一项小小的副业，从你家里的车库里修理几个朋友的古董汽车。

In time, you get quite the reputation as someone who knows how to turn a clunker into a status symbol. With a little help from a decent website, word-of-mouth marketing¹⁶, and thoughtful digital advertising¹⁷, you land lots of clients. If you can reach a tipping point, you can flip¹⁸ your side gig. How? Perhaps you keep working as an accountant during tax season but fix cars the rest of the time.

随着时间的推移，你会因为知道如何把一辆破车变成身份的象征而获得相当的声誉。通过一个像样的网站、口碑营销和周到的数字广告，你可以获得很多客户。如果你能达到一个临界点，你就可以放弃你的兼职工作。如何?也许你会在纳税季节继续做会计，但在其他时间则是修车。

Above all else, your life is a journey ideally dictated¹⁹ by what you need and want. If you’re approaching 30 and feeling disconnected careerwise, contemplate²⁰ a move. You’ll be in good company with all the others who have made the trip before you.

最重要的是，你的生活是一段由你需要和想要的东西理想地支配的旅程。如果你已年近30，却觉得自己的职业生涯与之脱节，那就赶紧跳槽吧。你会和所有在你之前旅行过的人有很好的伙伴关系。