By: Lelia King, Executive Director of Build Carolina, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building talent initiatives to support innovative companies across the Carolinas (their first initiative, Carolina Code School, just launched)

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Career change doesn’t have to be as scary - or take as much time - as you think.

A few weeks ago, I had coffee with a woman who has a decade of work experience with a popular international retail brand. A mutual friend connected us because she was interested in making a career change, and she wanted to know more about working in marketing and communications in Greenville.

As she shared her story and I shared mine, I wondered how long she had been thinking about this career move. A few months? Years? I couldn’t help but remember the dozens of similar conversations I’ve had over the last few years with people who wanted to make similar moves.

Most of the people who were in my cohort in graduate school back in 2013 were looking for a change. They paid for an entire degree and worked for thousands of hours (over 3+ years in some cases) to get there.
In a previous position with Goodwill, I talked with people every day who, despite facing tough challenges, chose to take advantage of educational opportunities and set goals for themselves. For many, graduating from a job training class meant they received the first certificate they had ever earned in their lives.
As part of my job with a code school, I talked with many graduates who, looking back on their choice to leave jobs behind and invest in themselves, said to me time and time again – “I wish I hadn’t waited so long.”

We wait too long because we’re afraid of failure. I can't tell you how many people I've met in the Upstate who have told me they wish they could do something else - whether it's to make more money, to have more freedom, to have more security - but they feel like they don't have the option.

If no one else has said it to you yet, let me be the first. You DO have options. You are NOT stuck. You CAN take charge of your career.

If that wasn’t true, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now. As executive director of Build Carolina, I also lead Carolina Code School, a nonprofit that offers courses for people with little to no experience and prepares them with the skills they need to become software developers in 12 weeks. It’s an intense program that requires a willingness to change.

Want to work as a programmer by the fall? You can. Want to start a business this year? You can do that, too. You just have to get started.

Here are just a few ideas for how to take the first step:

watch free online tutorials (check out LinkedIn Learning)
read articles about the industry you’re interested in
attend Meetups, events or conferences
take a class (Greenville Tech career exploration classes are a great place to start)
get certified (want to be a teacher? Greenville County Schools has some cool options here)
reach out to someone in the industry to ask for advice
educate yourself about available financial resources (check out Community Works)
email an author/CEO/entrepreneur you admire
join a Facebook group and connect with others in a similar position
volunteer for a nonprofit to get relevant experience

My coffee date is taking action to overcome her fear – she’s reaching out and talking to people who are in the industry in which she wants to work. She’s going through some online tutorials and asking tons of questions.

Don’t wait until something happens to take action. Make a plan and go for it.

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