If you have been toying with the idea of changing your career, it is important that you ponder some important points.

Question Your Motives

First of all, ask yourself why you want to change your career in the first place. If this is what most of your friends have been doing lately, and you just want to jump on the bandwagon, you do not have a valid sensible reason to do the same.

Of course, if your financial condition is absolutely sound and stable, you can probably afford to experiment more with different career options.

But if that is not the case with you and you have a family to provide for, it is not advisable to give your adventurous and enterprising spirit free rein.

Is It Part Of Your Strategy?

There are cases when people accept any job that comes their way. Naturally, they don't have a particular strategy in mind.

Of course, some people are so lucky that their very first career or job becomes their lifetime passion and they keep prospering in that career without looking back. But such cases are exceptional, and your career is not something to take a chance on.

Make sure that your idea of a career change is part of a well thought-out strategy - not just a passing fad or a fleeting whim.

Assess Your Competence and Capability

For whatever reason, a career change is already a certainty, make sure your knowledge and skills matches what the new career demands.

If you find yourself lacking in the required expertise, take the necessary courses so that you acquire new skills.

Find Out What It Will Be Like

You may have heard the saying 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.' Chances are that you have an inflated and exaggerated view of the new career because of your fantasies or hearsay.

Find out the reality by visiting the place where you are planning to work. Talk to people working in that career and try to figure out both the positive and negative aspects of that career.

Check out the truth by talking to more than just one person working there. Arrive at your conclusion after careful consideration.

Make a Comprehensive Evaluation

In order to avoid disappointment, it is important that you are able to see your new career in the proper perspective.

Is the new career only going to give you more money or for greater satisfaction?

Pondering over these tips will help you avoid potential pitfalls and embark on a career that gives you all that you have been looking for in your professional life.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.