“Can I Change Careers Without Going Back To School?”

Wondering if you can make a career change without going back to school?

Here's the good news. Barring specific professions like Law or Medicine where a specific degree and training are genuinely required, most career changes don't need an advanced degree.

In fact, in the 13 years I've been coaching, I've had exactly two people go back to school.

Even then, they did it very intentionally, with clear goals for what they wanted to get out of it...and what they could deprioritize.

That precision made the investment of money, time, and energy far more targeted than a generic return to school would have been.

Leah’s Story: Changing Careers Without Going Back To School

One of my favorite examples is a client named Leah.

Instead of enrolling in someone else's program, she built her own.

I'll never forget her sending me the "curriculum." It was so clever—broken into credits, semesters, and projects around exactly the skills she wanted. No financial investment required.

She called it "Leah School." (You can watch her career change success story here.) 

What's even more interesting is that she later went back for a formal degree...but only for the training she genuinely couldn't give herself, and she found a way to get it paid for.

Since then, I've seen several clients create their own version of Leah School rather than go the traditional route.

The Real Cost of Going Back to School

Some have even gotten creative with the investment side, taking the same amount they'd otherwise invest in tuition, and using it to pay themselves to self-fund their own "education."

If you're someone who worries about taking a pay cut during a career change, it's worth running the real numbers.

What does going back to school actually cost you, not just in tuition, but in time away from earning?

Sometimes the more empowering money move is redirecting that same investment toward funding your own path forward.

Buying yourself time and space to thoughtfully decide where you want to go next is priceless.

What Do You Actually Want From School?

If you're considering a traditional degree program, I invite you to put on paper what you actually expect to get out of it.

Is it something specific, like building a network of like-minded people or deepening your knowledge and skills in a particular area?

OR...

Is it a vague worry that no one will consider you for an opportunity without a specific degree? (Hear the "not enough" gremlin in there?)

OR...

Is it a hope that school will help you "figure out" what you want to do with your career? (It most likely will not.)

Especially today, your university training has surprisingly little bearing on where you can go.

And what the people I coach often find is that once they're clear on the real goals, there are SO MANY better, easier, cheaper paths to get there than going back to school—like, um, I don't know...working with a super cool career coach who happens to be really good at what she does???

There are so many ways to learn that align with your actual objectives—for your career, your wallet, and your precious time.

There's More Than One Way to “Go Back to School”

In my case, an advanced degree like an MBA never lit me up.

But a coaching certification was such a "heck yeah" that I impulse-enrolled in the first program I googled. 

For me, school wasn't a vehicle to get somewhere else—I was motivated by the learning experience itself.

I didn't enroll thinking I'd start a business and forever change the course of my life. I thought coaching would be a solid skill to have in my toolbox.

But, well, the rest is history.

Once you're clear on the real objectives, the next question becomes whether you actually need a formal degree to get there, or whether there are other paths to the same outcome.

So...what are you assuming another degree will get you?

Share your answers below—because you can absolutely change careers without going back to school.

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Ready to figure out what you truly want—and stop letting assumptions about how to get there hold you back?

Take the first step and get my free 4-step roadmap: Take Back Your Life and Design a Career with Purpose.

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Author Bio: 

Before becoming a coach, Caroline worked in management consulting and financial services. She's made it her mission to help people grow, contribute, and get wherever they want to go.

She’s also a tennis fanatic, aspiring Minimalist, FIRE (Financial Independence and Retire Early) enthusiast, and Aloha Spirit seeker 🤙. She loves to share stories from her unconventional life and career focused on freedom, creativity, fun, health, family, and community. If she can do it, you can, too.

The life and career you want is truly possible once you have the roadmap. Take the first step by downloading her free guide.

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