AMA on alternate career paths: Went from 4.2LPA to 25LPA in 2.5 years

[clothedinsalvation]

@kimmyrose So back then, my dad was still earning in his last 2 years before retirement, so the timing was perfect for me to take my paycut and jump directly where I wanted to go.

If things came crashing, i had a safety net for a few months at last.

If you’re the sole breadwinner, the only realistic way you can do this is through adjacent / lateral shifts.

Whatever two unrelated roles you take, there’s usually a path that maps them.*

Marine engineering and corporate comms at a b2c company.

Marine engineer > technical communication specialist at a marine B2B company > marketing manager at same company > Marketing manager at the B2B group of a traditional B2C company > Corp Comms at B2C company.

If you can’t afford to take a paycut, list down your transferable skills and jot a path to your final destination. Instead of wanting to directly get there, that would be unrealistic.

 

[kimmyrose]

@clothedinsalvation Makes sense. Thank you

 

[resjudicata]

@clothedinsalvation I'm currently working as a QA and want to switch to product side?

Could share some insights on how to proceed from here?

I've 1.5 year experience, it's my first job.

 

[clothedinsalvation]

@resjudicata Think where are the best product minds hanging out. Probably somewhere like Product Hunt.

Can you reach out to the top products of last month there and offer to find bugs for them in exchange of some product related mentoring?

Use your existing skills as leverage. QA to product is not as drastic a jump as it seems. You are already mapping the gap between what your product delivers and what your customer expects.

You will continue to do that in the product role too, although through different means.

 

[resjudicata]

@clothedinsalvation Hey, that's a good way to start actually. I can try and reach out. In my current company also, i interact and suggest many ideas for feature deliveries. Thanks a lot for the guidance !

 

[kcpaint2]

@clothedinsalvation From IT to any field is still doable but suggest something for Commerce Graduate

 

[clothedinsalvation]

@kcpaint2 I do agree IT is a better starting point. But in the sense that if my other dreams didn’t work out my back up option would pay off more.

Where do you want to go from commerce?

Quoting from another comment:

You can do this through adjacent / lateral shifts.

Whatever two unrelated roles you take, there’s usually a path that maps them.*

Marine engineering and corporate comms at a b2c company for example.

Marine engineer > technical communication specialist at a marine B2B company > marketing manager at same company > Marketing manager at the B2B group of a traditional B2C company > Corp Comms at B2C company.

Or BCom > Accountant > Content Writer at Fintech > some other role in fintech > mapping finally to where you want to go.

 

[bla1958]

@clothedinsalvation

have a shit load of personal debt (inherited from parents) so I don’t have much by way of savings.

Mega relate. Love my parents and definitely want them to feel supported so it's not a problem but it obviously is added weight that makes me feel i can never stop for a moment.

I've been working Customer service for 5yrs, even with being really good at my job, for some reason i could never grow.

Because I work in a seemingly recession proof company, it feels ridiculously hard to leave the job, but also I can't sustain myself at the job I'm at now.

I need to pivot out of this field altogether as I've given it too much time. I have surely learnt a lot, but I'm ready to do more and earn more.

Do you have any tips on transitioning out of this field? I find my confidence built on untested skills, I know I have them but I've just barely ever gotten a chance to actually employ and rest them.

I feel hesitant because i never know where else to pivot. I'm open to upskilling as well.

I come from generations of businessmen and nobody has any helpful advice relevant in today's job market and wfh limits my ability to get mentors. Any advice is appreciated

Btw thanks for this! I appreciate people who just try to help others.

 

[clothedinsalvation]

@bla1958 Thanks for sharing, glad you resonate!

You should list down a bunch of “transferable skills” from your current role.

From my understanding, it is putting yourself in your customers’ shoes and solving their problems.

Unfortunately its an area that’s seen as housekeeping although your work is crucial to retaining all the revenue your company is making rn.

How can you take those transferable skills and make visible impact?

Look into “customer success” as a function. It’s like support but rather than reacting to queries / issues, you proactively work to ensure that no issues come up in the first place. So your existing customers start paying you more. If you have some selling skills, an account manager role will also add to your earning capacity. Now, a good 30-50% of your earnings will be performance-based commissions in such roles so that’s one thing to keep in mind.

My take is even the job i hated doing is not wasted time because i picked up some transferable skills there. Essentially knowing how to speak to a technical audience. That was a huge moat for me in the creative space because most creative people don’t speak tech. So that made me indispensable in a b2b marketing company

 

[jtphins54]

@clothedinsalvation Congrats on the switch.

Were you always a great writer? If not how did u manage to learn to write well? Any tips/resources for learning to write effectively for different channels/purposes?

 

[clothedinsalvation]

@jtphins54 I don’t think I’m a very good writer even today. Some are naturally gifted, I don’t think I am. But my ideas are good, and I have honed the craft of editing too.

And my secret is to never submit or share my first draft with anyone. I always share the second draft.

So there are two parts here. One is the craft of writing or editing.

As for the craft…

I took up a new years resolution to write literally anything for 365 days in a row, no matter the content. Some days it was a song, some days it was a spec ad, some days it was a short screenplay, and on my laziest days I would just take a passage from a book / newspaper and rewrite it with more oomph.

I could see the quality of my work evolve faster than ever.

The only way to write better is to write.

You are your biggest critic usually, so use that to your advantage.

I used to spend 30 minutes every night just writing. And 30 minutes the next morning to read what I wrote and make notes on how to make it better.

As for finding ideas and insights…

there’s a saying that creativity is not “creating” something from scratch, but about combining ideas that most others wouldn’t.

I could sit and think for 8 hours about how to write some ad copy. Or read the top google reviews for a product and combine a couple of those ideas together to form a nuanced insight.

I speak to people. Read research papers. Go on internet rabbit holes and allow myself some unproductive time. They usually pay off in a creative setting.

 

[chrisholland619]

@clothedinsalvation How did you transition from one field to other? In the sense, roles aren’t given to anybody who doesn’t have prior experience, what helped you find the job? Just curious because I may go down this path a few years later haha

 

[clothedinsalvation]

@chrisholland619 Kept doing passion projects. When i was planning my exit at the tech job, i interned at another creative agency. I cold emailed the founder and got his attention.

The internship paid pennies. I literally spent more than i earned in the internship just by paying for cab fares. But passion projects + internships showed prospective companies that i have a high inclination for a particular kind of role. Employers like that.