career change ideas

Have you been considering a career change?

As you consider different career change ideas here are some global factors that may influence your thinking.

There are many reasons for considering a career change.  Maybe you have a difficult boss, or there is a lack of challenge at work, or you are being asked to work part-time or casual.  Maybe you have undergone a redundancy or job loss from a downsizing.  There are many reasons to consider a career change.

In fact, today there are problems and change all around us which are impacting on careers, and a growing part-time and casualization of the workforce.  It can be difficult to see where work will go in the future.

I have been observing the impact and disruption of the collaborative or sharing economy like Uber on the taxi transport industry, AirBnB on hotels and Taskrabbit on full-time employment.

Knowing more about the changes we are living in today and the drivers of this change may assist you to take advantage of this change.  Where there is a problem or change, there can be opportunities.

“We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work” 
― Thomas A. Edison

Remember Velcro?  This came about as a result of the Swiss Engineer George de Mestral becoming annoyed by burrs sticking to his socks and his dog when he hiked in the Swiss Alps.  A microscope, some thinking and a bit of time created velcro which is used world-wide today.

So, let's learn a little more ... maybe some insights will help us see those opportunities.

My research led me to a document by an eminent international research company that helped me understand and I thought I would share with you - the McKinsey Global Report.  McKinsey and Company are advisors to government and corporations around the world.

According to McKinsey there are four significant drivers of global change of which Technology is one.  These are an aging population, technology, urbanisation and global markets.  Within technology alone there are twelve disruptive technologies that are influencing us right now.

This does not consider climate change as this is a whole other force all together.  That said, there is a major amount of research into how technology can assist to research climate change as well as resolve it with say solar and wind technologies.

Four Drivers of Disruption

According to the research for the McKinsey Global Report, in general terms there are four major drivers operating at the moment: 

  • An Aging Population - we are getting older.  This is happening all around the world and there is a major post Second World War cohort of people called the Baby Boomers who are moving through and out of the workforce.
  • Technology - is impacting on life, making it easier and also automating work.  You've heard of robots taking jobs, well that is part of it.
  • Urbanisation - people are moving to the cities.  This has been happening in Australia for years, country children moving to the city for study and staying for work, and in recent times there has been rapid change to cities in that powerhouse called China.  When I was last in Beijing, there was cranes and building all over.
  • Markets - we hear about it when there is talk of the large multi-nationals not paying their taxes.  From my lounge chair in Australia I can buy a book at Amazon and you could be making the transaction via Chigago in the US.  In another life, I bought Microsoft Licences through Singapore.  LinkedIN has its operations in Dublin, Ireland.  Organisations have markets and can undertake business anywhere in the world.


I have been imagining how to be independent of all this.  Sure there are things that cannot be avoided, but there are opportunities here.  Here is one way to view these threats (?) or are they opportunities ...

Remember what Thomas Edison said above!


Aging - so what!  I stay healthy with exercise and participate in life.  Maybe you can too.  A couple more wrinkles doesn't slow me down. With technology today, even when I am not feeling the best, I can communicate with others and undertake business.  With the focus on healthy aging today, there is no need to slow down. Age can also bring important life skills and wisdom.

If one of your career change ideas is a business, then this could be a major market for you depending on your business niche.  Think about the motivations of this group.

Technology - other than letting it impact on my life, I am grabbing it tight and use it to my advantage.  There is the Internet, and recently I needed to update my small netbook laptop for when I travel and found a magnificent ASUS model that zings along for $279!!  Inexpensive communications and I can continue my business whilst travelling.

Today's technologies are not expensive, but are powerful.  Think about Apps for a Smartphone or a Tablet.  Applications on a desktop computer enable people to do work at home that was a few years ago only undertaken in an office.  You can

Urbanisation - with high speed Internet becoming more available across Australia (I hope it is near you) it can be possible to create an income from a regional location other than having to live in the city.  Whilst I live in Sydney now, I have enjoyed the benefits of country Wagga, Orange and Gosford, and I really enjoy it when I am away from Sydney (with my Netbook of course).  So a regional location can be better for you and also it can be easy to do business as well.

Marketing - like the technology, I am going to take hold of what is happening and turn it to my advantage.  I can dial into "The Cloud" just like the big guys and find markets anywhere in the world.  This is what we do at GreenDoorIDEAS.  Small businesses and solopreneurs can be flexible and nimble and can tap into the markets that the big guys ignore.

So take advantage of these four drivers as you think about career change ideas.

twelve disruptive technologies

Looking at just technology (one of the four Drivers), McKinsey have identified twelve disruptive technologies.  Some will be familiar, and others could be a surprise.  These include:

McKinsey Report    www.wordle.net

  1. Mobile Internet - increasingly inexpensive and capable mobile computing devices and Internet connectivity.  Add sensors, webcams, GPS to name three and suddenly you can connect the world.
  2. Automation of knowledge work - intelligent software systems that can perform knowledge-work tasks. We see this today.  Scary.
  3. Internet of Things - networks of low-cost sensors and actuators for data collection, monitoring, decision making and to optimise processes.
  4. Cloud - connect to large computers 'in the cloud' and use computer resources to deliver services over the Internet and connect an 'office' together.
  5. Advanced robotics
  6. Autonomous vehicles
  7. Next-generation genomics - fast, low-cost gene sequencing, analysis and synthetic biology (ie "writing" DNA)
  8. Energy storage
  9. 3-D Printing
  10. Advanced materials
  11. Advanced recovery of oil and gas that make extraction of additional oil and gas economical.
  12. Renewable electricity - solar and wind

There are certainly global forces that are breaking all sorts of trends at the moment and placing pressure on jobs and careers.  Do you feel threatened? 

What to do?  Maybe you may already have all the career change ideas you need?

Is This A good time to be self-Employed?

If your current job or indeed career, does not allow you to take advantage of these Drivers as you see opportunities, then this may be a time to consider a casual or part-time self-employed role for yourself.



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