I successfully changed careers: Here are 10 things I didn’t expect

Five years ago, my mornings felt very different. I’d wake up, drive to work, and spend eight hours doing a job I didn’t enjoy.

Today, that’s not the case. I've successfully navigated my way through a career change, transitioning from a career in financial aid at universities to a full-time job as a writer.

I don’t have a degree in writing, nor did I go back to school to get more writing experience. Instead, I mostly attribute this transition to my “side hustles” and outside projects.

If anyone were to follow a similar path, I’d warn them that it isn’t easy, and they should expect frustrations. But, I’d also say the reward is worth the effort. While no two experiences are uniform, these are 10 pieces of advice I’ve learned from my transition.

I got to cover a cherry blossom festival, and it was actually part of my job.

It’s a whole lot of work

This may seem obvious, but I can’t understate it enough. Transitioning into a new career field is no small undertaking, and it requires a lot of commitment.

For me, I spent over five years progressively immersing myself in content writing and strategy. It started with blogging, then branched into self-publishing articles, getting free certificates, and freelance writing. But, I needed to do this to build an entry-level…