Taking A Salary Cut To Change Careers By Nick Corcodilos

"You have to take a salary cut, but it will pay off in the long run."

Have you ever heard that before? Do you believe it? Taking a salary cut to change careers may seem a very undesirable proposition. It's similar to climbing a tree only to find the branch you're navigating is rotten. You have no real choice but to move down before you can start back up the tree in a better direction.

Career change is inevitable.
As the economy changes ever more quickly, it's unlikely that you will be able to continue in the same career. New businesses comprise new job functions and that means you'll need new skills to tackle new opportunities. It's likely your career will change more than once in the next ten years. There's a price associated with that, and it's worth thinking about how you'll pay it.

We're talking about discontinuous career change. That is, the learning curve you're riding doesn't just get steeper. It comes to an end and you're forced to hop onto a kind of work. The discontinuity won't be evident just in your career. It will also hit your pocketbook as you gear up to learn new skills and to understand new work requirements. Don't let that panic you. Remember that you're not just changing jobs, you're investing in a new career.

Take one step down to move two steps up...