Thinking About a Career Change? Prepare Your Finances Before You Make the Jump

We would all love to love our jobs. Unfortunately, it���s just not possible in a lot of cases.

The fact is, they call it ���work��� for a reason.

Still, it doesn���t mean you shouldn���t try to love your job. And part of getting there may mean going through a career change.

Career changes can be fraught with risk, including the risk that what you thought was going to be a dream job ends up being, well, not so much.

That���s not the only gamble, however. There���s the financial risk you take during the transition period.

When you transition to a whole, new career, you will usually have to begin at the bottom of the totem pole. And that typically means enduring a pay cut ��� a big one.

As an article over at CNN Money explains, perhaps the most important step you will take in anticipation of a career change is ensuring that you���re financially prepared to withstand the challenges.

Kimmie Green, a money expert at budgeting app Mint is quoted in the CNN Money piece as saying, ���If you���re not happy where you���re at right now, you want to make sure you have enough runway for whatever it is that���s going to make it a better fit. And if you only have one month, one month can fly by -- you can���t even catch up on past episodes of Game of Thrones in one month, let alone make a job transition.���

In other words, make sure you have enough set aside to ensure that salary shortfall is covered for several months ��� six is a good target.

Because everything worth having costs something. Especially a chance at getting your life back.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large