Simple Career Changes To Make More Money In 2025
If you're looking to change tracks in 2025 and jump into a new career, but aren't looking to go back to school for a new degree or spend too much time and money retraining in an entirely new profession, here are some career changes you can do relatively easily next year.
How Do I Start A New Career?
While starting a new career can seem daunting, here are a few tips to help you get started—whether a career change in 2025 is something that's already in the cards, or just in the back of your mind.
Take Stock Of Your Existing Skills & Education
When choosing a new career path—particularly if you're not prepared to take a second degree or go back to school for any extended period of time—it's worth taking stock of the skills and education you already have and thinking about how you could apply those to your potential new position.
Photo By: Kaboompics.com, Pexels
Choose A New Career
Your new career could be whatever you want you want it to be! But, if you're staying within the same field (roughly), try to find something that will be a less difficult transition for you, but still provides you with the benefits and pay scale you're looking for.
Use Your Existing Network
Chances are, you've built up an extensive network throughout your time with your existing employer, or even in your personal life. You can use this existing network of contacts to possibly land an interview that you might not otherwise be considered for.
Review And Update Your Resumé
Your resumé should be up-to-date, whether you've recently left a job and are looking for new work or are considering doing so, it doesn't hurt to keep an updated resumé on file to provide to prospective employers.
Freelancing To A Full-Time Gig
If you've been freelancing for a time—whether you're doing graphic design, content writing, or anything else, making the switch to a full-time position (if you so desire) will likely come easier to you than you think.
Keep using online job platforms to apply for full-time positions and you may find yourself slotting into a new role, with a paycheck, rather than having to chase every dime.
Floor Managers To Human Resources
If you've worked with people all day long as a floor manager at your local hardware store, or any other local establishment, consider a career in human resources. Perhaps that same location or company has an opening in an HR position.
Your established track record of working well with people to ensure a happy customer will put you in good standing for Human Resources.
Bookkeeping To Professional Accounting
If you've been doing your local business' books for a few years, you could be getting paid far more by a large corporation or company to do their accounting.
While the workload increases dramatically, so too does the pay. You may need to take an accounting course, but once qualified as a Chartered Professional Accountant, you could make an average of $67,000 per year.
Always Online? Become A Social Media Manager
We all suffer from the curse of social media, so if you find that you spend most of your free time browsing social media, or perhaps use it to publicize a side hustle like photography or artwork, why not become a social media manager?
Companies and individuals lead busy lives and don't always have the time to publicize their products or services. Get paid to manage a company's social media accounts.
Cashier Clerk To Cosmetologist
If you're working behind the beauty counter at your local pharmacy or salon, consider taking what you've learned and becoming a full-time cosmetologist. Beauty products aren't going anywhere anytime soon and you could be paid far more by obtaining a cosmetology certification and helping others "love the skin they're in", as L'Oréal says.
Turn Your Online Presence Into A Digital Marketing Job
Another option if you'd rather take the marketing route with your digital presence is to find a position doing digital marketing for a company or small business. Whether you run your own side-hustle or not, having an understanding of the digital space is something that many companies are lacking.
You could use your expertise to help companies reach more people and obtain a full-time, well-paid job making $75,000 per year.
From Retail To Salesperson
If you've been working a retail job for a while, 2025 may be the time to consider going into sales. Your experience working with people and getting them to make purchases for your company will be invaluable in sales. Let your excellent communication and people skills shine with a career as a salesperson.
From The Warehouse To Logistics
If you've been working in your company's warehouse for a while, you may consider making the leap to logistics. Working in a warehouse will give you a good idea of how the back-end logistics of lots of companies work and could make your switch into a logistics management position smoother.
Logistics professionals can earn an average of $45,000 per year.
From Social Media Managing To Market Research
If you've been looking for a raise for a while and have been working diligently as your company's social media manager, it might be time to take the plunge and go less on-line and more in-depth, becoming a Market Research Manager and taking control over your employer's marketing strategies.
This could be particularly good if you've been successful as their social media manager. Market Research Managers can earn over $100K per year.
Freelance Writing To Technical Writing
Another great option for freelance writers is to embrace technical writing as their specialty. This is particularly the case if you have something that you're passionate about that you could write about in great detail. Technical writers usually write manuals or complex educational documents covering a specific topic.
Put your passion on the page and become a technical writer. You could earn an average salary of $68,500 per year.
Legal Assistant To Paralegal
If you've been desk-jockeying at a law firm as a legal assistant doing various sorts of administrative work, then becoming a paralegal might be right up your alley. You will need a law degree, but it's a great path to get yourself started on a career in the legal profession. The average annual salary of a paralegal is $60,000.
Sous Chef To Executive Chef
Most people who are executive chefs began their journey in the culinary arts in their local restaurant's kitchen(s). If this was you, and you're now a sous-chef, it may be a good time to consider making the step up to becoming a full-time professional chef.
You may need a degree in Culinary Arts, but you'll be making $86,000 per year.
Air Traffic Controller
Surprisingly, you don't need a professional degree to become an Air Traffic Controller. You just need to pass a few medical exams and display an ability to resist stress, make quick decisions and demonstrate excellent spatial awareness. For a job that doesn't require anything special to get it, it certainly pays well—with an average salary of $137,000 per year.
Petar Marjanovic, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Translators
If you speak two or more languages, you can earn a very decent living as a translator. Whether you're working for the government, a private company, or indeed as a private tutor, your language skills are invaluable. Translators who land lucrative contracts earn an average of about $60,000 per year.
Translator To ESL Teacher
Another benefit of speaking two or more languages is the ability to then teach others to speak those languages. If your primary language is English, you could wind up teaching English as a second language through personal tutoring, or online to students in other countries as a contract-based teacher.
ESL teachers make an average annual salary of $56,000 per year.
Photo By: Kaboompics.com, Pexels
Teaching Assistant To Full-Time Teaching
America is crying out for teachers. Maybe you've been a TA for some time now, working in your old high school through connections you have with your teachers when you left, but want to move into teaching yourself. Being a TA is a great way to get experience, but you'll need to go back to school to obtain a teaching degree before you can start teaching your own classes.
Once there, though, you'll be earning an average of $69,000 per year.
Long-Time Employee To Recruiting
No matter where you work, if you've been a long-term employee, you may consider a leap into recruiting. Working with a company over the long-haul might put you in a unique position to recruit others to join. Leverage those people skills and earn $60,000 per year, while bringing in new talent for your company.
Real Estate Owner To Real Estate Agent
Whether you have an investment property or your own home and are always keeping an eye on the property market, there may be a good opportunity for you to become a real estate agent. Earning both a salary and commission on property sales, your knowledge of the real estate market and, with a little training, qualifications to sell real estate could net you as much as $100,000 per year.
Proofreading To Professional Editor
Suppose you're in university and your friends are always asking you to look over their essays. Sure, the $20 per review may mean some extra pocket money, but what about making it a career? Publishing companies and other writing professionals all over are longing for a reliable, quick editor to proofread their work before sending it out.
You could be that person, earning an average salary of $70,000 per year.
Security Guard To Police Officer
A career in law enforcement may be your calling if you enjoy your job as a security guard, but want better pay. Although being a police officer is a very stressful job, you'll certainly be paid better, earning an average annual salary of $66,000 per year.
Freelance Writing To Transcriptionist
If you're a freelance writer at the moment and are looking for a different way to keep the keyboard buttons mashing, but possibly make more money—consider becoming a transcriptionist. Transcriptionists use high-quality headphones to listen to audio recordings and transcribe them to text-based documents.
You could find yourself still freelancing, or working for a company or organization. Transcriptionists can make about $50,000 per year.
Hospital Administration To A LPN
If you've been around medicine for a few years and have always wanted to get into it, maybe 2025 is your year! If you work in a hospital already in the administrative department, you may find it easier to get into an Licensed Practical Nurse training program.
While you'll need to complete an LPN certification, you could earn an average of $59,000 per year.
Licensed Practical Nurse To A Registered Nurse
If you've been an LPN for a while and are considering taking a step up in your career to becoming a registered nurse, you can expect to go back to school to obtain your Bachelor's Degree (usually in a science-related field), and you'll need to pass an examination, but as an RN you'll have more discretion to make medical decisions, administer treatments and be paid an average of $80,000 per year.
Salesperson To Corporate Strategist
If you've been a salesperson for most of your professional career, it's likely that you'll have business insights that corporations find invaluable. If you're considering leaving your position as a salesperson, look into becoming a corporate strategist.
Depending on your sales background, you could be hired on-the-spot by a corporation in your field looking for your expertise. On average, corporate strategists earn $90,000 per year.
Salesperson To Consultant
Jumping from a sales position to that of a consultant will require a nose for good business decisions. This nose of yours can lead to a lucrative career as a consultant for other businesses that need a roadmap for success that you could create for them. Consultants earn an average annual salary of $74,000 per year.
IT Consultant To Software Developer
If you've been in IT for a while, either as a consultant for a company or own your own small business fixing other people's computers, you may consider the highly lucrative jump into software development. If you're already skilled in various computer tasks, you could obtain a simple qualification by taking a course and be instantly hirable.
Or, go back to school for a little bit and take a bachelor's degree in computer science. Software developers can make upwards of $100,000 per year.
Bookkeeping To Financial Planning
While accountancy is a great option for bookkeepers looking to go bigger, so, too is financial planning. If you've got a few years of experience working with other people's money and enjoy finding ways to make them successful, then you could be getting paid very well as a financial planner for a private company or wealthy individuals.
Financial planners make an average of $99,000 per year.
Artist To Full-Time Graphic Designer
If you're a born creative with a passion for drawing, painting, or any other type of artwork, you may consider a career move into the graphic design field as part of a marketing team. Check your online presence—if you notice that a particular company or organization is always "liking" your stuff, maybe reach out to them and see if there's an opening?
Graphic designers working full-time for a company can earn an average salary of $52,000 per year.
Good Luck!
We understand that looking for a new job can be a challenge and we hope that if you work in any of the above-mentioned fields and are considering taking the leap of faith required to get a new job, that you'll do just that. 2025 is your year—carpe diem!
