The Top 4 Questions to Consider Before You Quit Your Job and Change Careers to Animal Care

But if you ask yourself this question and are certain you want to change what you do, not just where you do it, then you may well be ready for a complete career change. Consider whether you are sick and tired of filing reports or stocking shelves or just lacking job satisfaction. And ask yourself, how would you feel if you never did your current type of work again? Then consider whether it is worth the major lifestyle and activity changes to completely switch careers.  

2. What Do You Want to Do Instead? Are You Passionate About the Change?

The next question to ask yourself is whether you have a direction. It is easy to simply dream about leaving your current job but without a new direction to take your career, you may find yourself starting all over again and ending up in an entry-level job with no further job satisfaction. The key is to do something you are passionate about. 

Is there a career that your passion is leading you toward? This is often the case when people are drawn to animal care positions, after building a career in another field. You may have witnessed the care that is given to stray and neglected animals by trained animal care workers who rescue and provide for them. Perhaps you always wanted to be a veterinary nurse but your career took you in other directions in your early adulthood.

Making a career change can be challenging but if you are passionate about the choice, then your commitment won’t waver when it comes time to buckle down and build your skills from the ground up for a new kind of work. You will need to be ready to study hard and truly invest your time and energy into education in order to learn to be an animal care professional. But when you have the passion that so often drives “animal people”, you will be able to do whatever it takes to make that career change happen.  

3. What are the Opportunities for Jobs in Your Ideal Career?

Next, it would be a good idea to do a little investigation to find out what kind of career market you are diving into. In order to be successful in your new career, you need to know that there are jobs available and the steps it will take to become employable in those positions.

For animal care, this means that you will need to study hard to earn a new qualification and ensure that there are animal care jobs available in your area. Look into both part-time and full-time positions that you might find and the kind of workplaces where your new passion-driven career choices will take you.

We also recommend embarking on a career with strong job prospects, with the potential to progress towards longer-term opportunities. To assist, you can use tools such as the Australian occupation matrix. This website allows you to view the employment rates for professionals such as veterinary nurses (see under the Agriculture, Animal, and Horticulture section category). Currently, veterinary nursing enjoys a low unemployment rate — meaning that vet nurses are very likely to find a position — and the demand for vet nursing positions continues to grow at 9.3% annually.  

4. Does Your New Career Meet Your Salary Expectations?

Finally, don’t forget to compare the amount of money you will potentially make in your new career versus what you are making now. Many people stay in their current careers because they can’t afford to make a big change until they build up some household savings. If you are moving down from a high-paying role, you need to know if this change in your career will also result in household downsizing.

Find out how the salaries of your new career roles are likely to look and how that compares to your current salary. It is okay to take a step down if you are passionate about the work you plan to do. Or, if you are currently in a low-paying job with little upward mobility, you might find yourself in a much better position as a trained animal care provider. The most important thing is to be prepared for how your finances may change with your career change.