60+ Career Change Statistics for 2022 [That You Didn’t Know!]

60+ Career Change Statistics

#1. Stats on What Stops People From Making a Career Change

• 43% of workers who consider working in science, technology, engineering, and maths think they lack industry-related qualifications. Another 5% of workers are discouraged by the shortage of role models in the field. Source: NTT Data UK
• 32% of Britain’s working population struggle to find other fields in which they could use their current skills, and only 16% know exactly how they could transfer their skills to a different career path. Source: City & Guilds Group
• A third (34%) of Britons worry about having to make a fresh start in their career, another 21% of Britain’s working population remain in their current positions due to a lack of knowledge required in other fields, and around 19% of respondents admit they don’t have enough confidence to make a career change. Source: City & Guilds Group
• 31% of British workers between the ages 25-34 say they don’t have enough knowledge in another field to make a career change, 41% worry about making a fresh start, 21% are concerned about retraining costs, and another 32% don’t change careers due to a lower salary in a different field. Source: City & Guilds Group
• 22% of workers over the age of 50 don’t believe they have the experience and skills required to work in a different field. Source: NowTeach

#2. Stats on Age of People Looking to Make a Career Change

• Workers in the age group of 25-34 are more willing to learn new skills (14%) or switch their career paths to a completely different direction (14%) compared to people across all other age groups (10% and 9% respectively). Source: Aviva
• Nearly 9 out of 10 (87%) people under the age of 25 plan to reconsider their current job situation and potentially change their career path in 2022. Source: Aviva
• A combination of mid-career stagnation and financial stability leads most people to make a major career change at the average age of 39 years old. Source: CNBC
• In Britain’s working population, the 25-34 age group is the least willing to change careers. Source: City & Guilds Group
• 11% of workers over the age of 50 wish to make a career change. Source: NowTeach
• In a survey of older workers, 82% of respondents reported having successfully switched to a new career after the age of 45. Most older adults who made career changes later in life were successful in their new jobs. Source: American Institute for Economic Research
• 80% of people over the age of 45 consider a change in careers, but only 6% of them actually pursue it. Source: The Conference Board

#3. Stats on Wanting More Work Flexibility

• 76% of workers want to have the opportunity to work remotely and have a flexible schedule. Source: CNBC
• 41% of Americans intending to switch careers are looking for flexible job opportunities, such as remote work. Source: CNBC
• Nearly half (48%) of workers find remote work less stressful because of its numerous benefits, including not having to dress up for work (42%), not having to drive to work (57%), and being closer to family (29%). Source: Aviva
• A considerably smaller portion of workers - only 19% - find remote work more stressful, mentioning the inability to switch off (43%), the lack of a proper working space (27%), and the lack of interactions with colleagues (36%). Source: Aviva
• More than half (68%) of workers in the United States think that the perfect workplace model is a combination of working remotely and working on-site. Source: Prudential
• 87% of American workers want to keep the option to work from home at least once a week after the pandemic is over. Source: Prudential
• Only 23% of workers expect to have a say in whether and how to work from home after the pandemic subsides. Others expect their company (42%), department/region/location (15%), or their managers (15%) to make the decision. Source: CNBC|SurveyMonkey
• 1 in 3 people doesn’t want to work in a company that requires them to work on-site every day. Source: Prudential
• 18% of all workers and 34% of remote workers in the United States seek a job in which they can work remotely. Source: Prudential
• In a survey of 1,000 white-collar professionals, 94% said they would benefit from work flexibility, although 30% said they feared consequences in terms of their professional growth if they chose to work remotely. The top benefits mentioned by the participants were less stress/improved mental health (43%) and better work-life balance (38%). Source: Deloitte
• Regarding flexible work options, 1 in 3 say it would increase their job satisfaction and morale, and almost 30% say it would increase their overall productivity or efficiency at work.  80% of professionals agree a traditional work setting is important for advancing their career and 52% of the respondents say that leaders and managers have the greatest impact on advancing a culture of flexibility in their organization. Source: Deloitte

#4. Stats on Being Satisfied at Work

• Last year, job satisfaction rocketed to a record high compared to any year in the last two decades - a whopping 56.9%. By comparison, job satisfaction was at its lowest (42.6%) in 2010. Source: The Conference Board
• As of April 2021, 86% of workers are satisfied with their jobs, while just 4% are very dissatisfied. Source: CNBC|SurveyMonkey
• 75% of workers say they are well-paid at their current jobs, increasing job satisfaction by 1% from 2020. Out of them, 31% of men and 28% of female workers say they are very well-paid. Source: CNBC|SurveyMonkey
• 60% of workers say they have good or excellent opportunities to advance in their career. Source: CNBC|SurveyMonkey
• 83% of workers feel valued by their colleagues. Source: CNBC|SurveyMonkey
• 90% of workers say their work is very or somewhat meaningful, in comparison to 91% in 2020. Source: CNBC|SurveyMonkey
• 70.5% of fathers working remotely from home report having a positive mental state, while 79.4% say they manage to work effectively. Source: McKinsey & Company
• 39% of workers say diversity and inclusion have become a bigger priority in their company in 2021, and 53% of workers say it’s very important to them to work in a company that focuses on these issues. Source: CNBC|SurveyMonkey
• Workers who rate their organization as doing enough or too much to address diversity and inclusion have a Workplace Happiness Index score of 75, while employees who think their workplace isn’t doing enough to address these issues have a much lower Index score of just 63. Source: CNBC|SurveyMonkey
• Out of the workers who think their company isn’t doing enough in terms of diversity and inclusion, only 42% report having good or excellent opportunities to advance in their career, in contrast to 65% of workers who think their organization is putting too much effort to address diversity and inclusion issues. Source: CNBC|SurveyMonkey

#5. Stats on How Many People Seek a Career Change

• Nearly 6 out of 10 (59%) middle-income American workers consider changing their careers, and 44% already have a specific plan to make the change. Source: Fast Company
• 13% of furloughed workers in all sectors are using the time to reskill and change careers, with 16% of them planning to work in the technology sector, 13% in retail, and another 13% in education. Source: NTT DATA UK
• 64% of employees furloughed in the hospitality industry and 55% of employees in the travel sector plan to change careers. Source: NTT DATA UK
• 17% of workers in the hospitality industry are actively training and re-skilling to change sectors, in comparison to 13% of workers in the travel industry. Source: NTT DATA UK
• 29% of furloughed employees in the civil service industry, 40% of such workers in the financial services industry, and 47% of those in the automotive industry are planning to make a career change. Source: NTT DATA UK
• Nearly every second of American worker plans to make a career change due to the pandemic. Source: CNBC
• 10.8 million people in the United Kingdom intend to make their hobby a full-time career or to turn it into a source of additional income. Source: Aviva
• As of March 2021, 1 in 5 workers made a recent career change, with half of them seeing these changes as a permanent step in their career. Source: Prudential

#6. Stats on What Drives People to Make a Career Change

• 27% of people change careers in search of a better work-life balance, making it the primary reason for a career change in 2021. 26% of employees make career changes to get a larger salary, and another 26% are looking to try something new. Source: Prudential
• In 2020, the main drives to making a career change were a larger salary (39%), interest in another sector (21%), and wanting upward mobility (20%). Source: GoRemotely
• 41% of workers consider changing jobs because their employer ignored their distress during the pandemic. Source: CNBC
• 26% of workers intend to look for a job with a different employer as soon as the pandemic is over. Source: Prudential
• 22% of workers who plan to make a career change intend to start a personal business. Source: CNBC

#7. Stats on Wanting a Better Work-Life Balance

• Wanting a better work-life balance is the top #1 drive for a career change, with 27% of people citing it as their reason for taking a different career path. Source: Prudential
• 72% of people looking to make a career change say that work-life balance is important in choosing a new career. Source: Statista
• 69% of workers want their companies to focus more on maintaining the work-life balance after the pandemic ends. Source: TotalJobs
• 94% of American service professionals work over 50 hours a week instead of the regular 40 hours. Source: Business News Daily
• 66% of American workers say they lack work-life balance, and 48% of them say they are workaholics. Source: Health Careers
• Out of the people who find remote work stressful, 43% say they struggle to switch off. Source: Aviva
• According to a survey of nearly 3,000 employees from eight countries, 34% said they would prefer to work 4 days per week if their pay remained the same. Full-time workers in Canada (59%), Australia (47%), and the U.S. (40%) prefer a four-day workweek. Source: Kronos/The Workforce Institute
   
• 24% of U.S. workers and 29% of Canadian workers would take a pay cut in order to work one day less per week. Source: Kronos/The Workforce Institute
• Nearly half of full-time workers (45%) said that they could do their daily work in under 5 hours if they were allowed to work without interruptions. 75% said they could do it in less than 7 hours. Source: Kronos/The Workforce Institute
   
• U.S. workers do the most overtime, with 49% of them working more than 40 hours each week. Source: Kronos/The Workforce Institute
• 71% of workers say that work interferes with their personal lives and 79% suffer from at least some burnout. Source: Kronos/The Workforce Institute

#8.Stats on Number of Jobs in a Lifetime

• The average person holds 12.4 jobs between the ages of 18 and 54. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Women on average hold 12.1 jobs in their lifetime, while men hold 12.5 jobs. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Men with a higher education hold an average of 11.9 jobs from ages 18 to 54, while men without a high school education hold an average of 13.8 jobs between these ages. Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Women between the ages 18-54 with a higher education hold an average of 13.1 jobs, while those without a high school education hold an average of 10.0 jobs. Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Between the ages of 18 and 24, workers hold an average of 5.7 jobs. Between the ages of 45 and 52, people typically hold an average of just 1.9 jobs. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• White American workers aged 18-24 change jobs 5.9 times on average, compared to Black workers who change jobs an average of 4.8 times, and Latinos who change jobs 5.1 times on average. Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• The average person will change careers 5-7 times during their working life.  Approximately 30% of the total workforce will now change jobs every 12 months. Source: the U.S. Department of Labor.

#9. What is the Median Job Tenure? 

• The median tenure of employees in 2020 was 4 years. Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Workers between the ages of 25 and 34 typically hold a job for 2.8 years. The median job duration increases to 4.9 years by the time the worker is in the 35-44 age group. 45-54-year-old workers stay in the same job for an average of 7.6 years, while the median tenure of workers aged 55-64 is 10.1 years. Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Workers in the public sector have nearly twice the median tenure of those in the private sector, at 6.5 and 3.7 years respectively. Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Federal employees tend to keep the same job for an average of 8.2 years, while local government employees’ median tenure is 6.6 years, and that of state employees is 5.6 years. Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• In the private sector, workers in the manufacturing industry have the longest career (5.1 years on average), while those in leisure and hospitality have the shortest careers at just 2.3 years on average. Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Foodservice workers have the lowest median career duration at just 1.9 years, while employees in management and legal occupations hold their jobs the longest, both at a median tenure of 5.8 years. Source: U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

#10. Which Career Will Have the Most Jobs in 2023 & Beyond?

One of the hardest parts of making a career change is deciding on a new career.

Need some inspiration to help you make the right choice?

Check out these 20 occupations that are expected to experience the fastest growth this decade:

1. Motion picture projectionists - 70% growth rate
2. Wind turbine service technicians - 68% growth rate
3. Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers - 62% growth rate
4. Nurse practitioners - 52% growth rate
5. Solar photovoltaic installers - 52% growth rate
6. Cooks - 49% growth rate
7. Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes - 46% growth rate
8. Costume attendants - 44% growth rate
9. Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors - 39% growth rate
10. Model makers, wood - 39% growth rate
11. Athletes and sports competitors - 38% growth rate
12. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance - 37% growth rate
13. Occupational therapy assistants - 36% growth rate
14. Statisticians - 35% growth rate
15. Entertainment attendants and related workers - 35% growth rate
16. Physical therapist assistants - 35% growth rate
17. Animal caretakers - 34% growth rate
18. Miscellaneous entertainers and performers, sports and related workers - 34% growth rate
19. Information security analysts - 33% growth rate
20. Film and video editors - 33% growth rate

And, if that’s not enough, here are the top 15 most in-demand jobs in 2023 according to LinkedIn:

1. Workplace Diversity Experts - 90% hiring rate growth
2. Frontline Ecommerce Workers - 75% hiring rate growth
3. Loan and Mortgage Experts - 59% hiring rate growth
4. Professional and Personal Coaches - 51% hiring rate growth
5. Digital Content Creators - 49% hiring rate growth
6. Data Science Specialists - 46% hiring rate growth
7. Business Development and Sales Professionals - 45% hiring rate growth
8. Health Care Supporting Staff - 34% hiring rate growth
9. Digital Marketing Professionals - 33% hiring rate growth
10. Artificial Intelligence Practitioners - 32% hiring rate growth
11. Nurses - 30% hiring rate growth
12. Specialized Engineers - 25% hiring rate growth
13. Mental Health Specialists - 24% hiring rate growth
14. User Experience (UX) Professionals - 20% hiring rate growth
15. Education Professionals - 20% hiring rate growth

7 Free Career Change Resources

If you’re planning to make a career change, you know how hard it can be to start over.

You’re not alone - career change statistics show that struggling to make a fresh start is one of the main reasons why many people don’t go through with their career change.

Of course, it’s even harder to start new if your last job interview was years ago.

With the right tools and information, though, it doesn’t have to be hard! 

Here, we’ve compiled a list of our resources to help you transition to another career more easily:

• How to Write a Resignation Letter [5+ Templates] - This useful guide contains all the tips you need to write a professional resignation letter that will help you quit your current job the right way.
• The Ultimate Guide to Job Hunt - Land Your Next Job in 2023 - This comprehensive guide covers the job hunting process from defining your career goals to acing the interview to get you hired.
• Career Change Resume for 2023 [9+ Examples] - Struggling to write a resume for a different position? This guide includes all the information on making an impressive career change resume that shows off your transferable skills and work experience.
• Free Resume Templates - Our professional templates will help you create an effective career change resume quick and easy.
• Free Cover Letter Templates - Want your cover letter to match your resume? Pick one of our 12+ templates to create an attention-grabbing cover letter that helps you land the job.
• How To Find A Job In 2023 - 5 Easy Ways - Not sure how to find a new job? This guide contains 5 strategies to help you get hired.
• 35+ Interview Questions and Answers [Full List] - Use this guide to prepare for your job interview to make it as stress-free as possible!
• 80+ Job-Search Statistics You Have to Know - Want to stay up-to-date with the current job market situation? Check out these job search statistics!

Key Takeaways

And that’s a wrap! Now you’re up-to-date and know everything there is to know about the latest career change statistics.

Before you continue with your new job search, let’s take a look at some of the key career change statistics in 2023 again:

• A lack of transferable skills and knowledge is the most common reason why people don’t make a career change.
• Career change statistics show that most workers change their careers at the average age of 39.
• The majority of people want to switch careers to have a better work-life balance and more job flexibility.
• Despite the pandemic, job satisfaction is at a record high.
• Employees are more satisfied with their jobs when they work for companies that address diversity and inclusion issues.
• The average person holds around 12 jobs in their lifetime.
• Nurses, digital content creators, motion picture projectionists, and workplace diversity experts are some of the most in-demand occupations in 2023 and beyond.