Recipe for a Career Switch

Making a career switch is not for the faint of heart. Here’s my recipe for baking the jump. Customise it as needed to suit your own journey.

Prep Time: 10+ years

Cook Time: 1 year

Servings: 1

Difficulty: Not too easy

Ingredients:

• 1 curious mind

• 6 years of studying law

• Moments of excitement (can substitute with inspiration)

• Pinch of anxiety

• Introspection or reflection

• Supportive friends

• Scholarships, bursaries, and loans

• Cold feet

• Nervousness

• A sprinkle of courage

Method:

1. Preheat your life with a curious mind. Watch the guys in the high school computer lab play Halo and wonder if you’d fit in, even though video games aren’t your thing.
2. Mix in 6 years of law studies with the belief that there’s no turning back from a decision made at 19. If you’ve financed your studies through scholarships, you feel the expectation to become a renowned lawyer – perhaps even “Queen’s Counsel”.
3. Sprinkle in moments of excitement, like taking a course in ‘Law, Money, and Technology’ and launching a tech blog during lockdown.
4. Pour in anxiety as you deliberate whether you see yourself practising law in 15 years. Add a dash of reflection on your initial interest in computer science.
5. Gently mix in the support of a friend who shares an opportunity to pursue a data science career in the UK. Blend with encouragement from family and friends, kneading it into a dough of possibility.
6. Allow the dough to rise as you prepare a baking sheet of ideas, assessing your immediate responsibilities vs long-term goals.
7. Grease the tin with scholarships and bursaries. If this isn’t enough, borrow a couple of thousand from your supportive boss. Lightly dust with a touch of cold feet cornmeal.
8. Shape the dough into a loaf of nervousness and uncertainty about success.
9. Score the dough with a sharp knife of courage, reminding yourself: “If not now, then when?”
10. Bake for a year, doing a conversion course in Applied AI and Data Science. Remove from the oven when you’ve secured a job in a nurturing environment that welcomes the diverse flavours you bring.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

	% Daily Value*
Adaptability	100%
Courage	100%
Determination	100%
Peace of mind	99%
Regret	0%

*Percent Daily Values are based on embracing change, which may vary from person to person. Finding the courage to make this leap is the hardest step. Even if it takes a decade, go for it – otherwise, you’ll always wonder, “What if?”

But why not?