Test-drive a new career with a free careers adviser
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
Most people who change direction start by hearing someone describe a job they had never considered. A free conversation with a careers adviser, and an evening with the official job profile, turns a vague idea into a route in, the hours and the pay.
GentleFreeA few weeksIndoorsAlone or with othersUK and US
Someone who has done it
Alex Worsick changed career after editing a radio interview with a train driver; she applied directly to Northern, and this activity is a general first step, not her route.
How to start
- Write down three jobs you have wondered about and read each one's official job profile.
- Book a free conversation with a careers adviser (in England, the National Careers Service number for adults; in the US, an American Job Center).
- Ask one person who does the job how they got in and what their first year was like.
Where to go
- National Careers Service, about us and how adults in England can speak to a careers adviser UK
- CareerOneStop, American Job Centers (free help with job searches, career changes and training) US
We opened these links on 22 October 2026 and found them to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
This is general information, not financial or business advice for your own circumstances.
Plan this
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. Projects run over months and stall without a rhythm, so the plan sets milestones you can see.
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Returning to work after a career break
How to return to work after a career break: what returner programmes and returnships are, how to update a CV (résumé in the US), how to handle the gap honestly, interview practice, and the free upskilling routes in the UK (Skills Bootcamps, Multiply, Free Courses for Jobs) and the US (community colleges, AARP Foundation's BACK TO WORK 50+).