A tight economy has forced layoffs, downsizing, streamlining and all sorts of other business moves that translate into folks losing their jobs.

But many folks in the Midstate are turning lost jobs into opportunities for change.

In the last couple of years, career counseling company Career Resources has seen:

• A longtime special education teacher return to his first love of printing
• A big-corporation certified public accountant start his own private tutoring company
• A 25-year corporate food services employee launch his own pizza shop in Franklin

“The people we work with, many of them have been laid off, displaced, downsized – some are still working but just not happy in the situation they’ve been in,” says Mike Shaughnessy of Career Resources.

Counselors say most people who embark on a career change are glad they did, but warn the changes have to be deliberate and well thought out.

For instance, people who want to change careers should examine their motives first: Do they really want to try something new or do they just hate their bosses?

For the latter, counseling might be more helpful than a career change.

“One guy, his entire career is retail, and he says, ‘I’m never gonna work in retail again,’” Shaughnessy says.

“What he didn’t want to do again is work in retail 24/7 where he didn’t know his schedule week to week. He ended up back in retail, working 9 to 5, knowing his schedule months in advance. And he was happy.”

Shaughnessy offers these tips for those who truly want to change careers:

• Take a career assessment test, either online or through a career counseling agency. Tests include The Campbell Interest and Skill Survey (CIIS), the Strong Interest Inventory (SIS) or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
• Read and work through exercises in career guidance self-help books like What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers.
• Through friends, relatives and associates, find people with the job you think you want and talk with them. Make sure to ask what education, licenses or certifications are required, if any.
• Lower salary expectations: Most folks who switch careers start out making less.
• Start the process from a positive perspective: “Start the sentence: ‘I’ve always wanted to. . . .’ instead of ‘I never want to do ____ again,’” Shaughnessy says.
• Don’t quit until you have another job lined up.

“It’s a little risky to quit a job without knowing where you’re going” Shaughnessy says. “If you’re a pharmacist, you can find a job, but for most of us that’s not the case.”