Kate Cummings

Age at time of shift

35

Gender

Female

Education level

Graduate

Universities attended

Cambridge; Roehampton (post-grad)

Shifted from

Advertising Agency Business Director

Location

?

Salary

£50,000-£75,000

Years in old career

2.5

Shifted to

Psychotherapist

Location

?

Salary

£0-£20,000

Years in new career

NA

Year of shift

unknown

What was your role in your old job?

Running client business in an ad agency. 

What is/are your new role(s)?

Training to be a psychotherapist. 

Why did you change?

Lack of emotional and intellectual fulfillment and interest in previous job. 

Are you happy with the change?

Yes, definitely. 

What do you miss and what don't you miss?

I don't really miss anything about the old job and particularly not the stress and dissatisfaction at feeling I wasn't doing anything worthwhile or making a difference. 

How did you go about making the change?

Began to investigate what being a psychotherapist meant to decide if I really wanted to do it, persuaded the agency to make me redundant and then applied to various schools and universities to train in psychotherapy. Also then found a part-time job so I could continue to earn money as I trained. 

What was the most difficult thing about changing?

The fear of the unknown and possible failure and letting go of the familiar. 

What help did you get?

Emotional support from my family and partner, information about being a psychotherapist from a therapist, redundancy money from the advertising agency. 

What have you learnt in the process?

That it is important to trust your instinct and follow your sense of what you want to do even if it does seem frightening and that the hardest step is taking the decision to make the change. Things tend to fall into place once you've set the process in motion but when standing at the start of the process, all you tend to see are the potential problems and pitfalls. There is also very rarely a perfect time to make a change; you just have to find a time that is 'good enough'. 

What do you wish you'd done differently?

Nothing. 

What would you advise others to do in the same situation?

Do your homework, work out if the change is something you are really passionate about or whether it's simply that you feel mildly bored or dissatisfied with your current situation and, if you are passionate about it, follow your instinct. You do need to be realistic and to make financial provision but most things are possible if you want them enough and you've been reasonably sensible in your planning.