Don't Just Quit. Upskill. Your Guide to Changing Careers in Motion.

You wake up. You turn off the alarm. You stare at the ceiling and dread the commute. You know you’re in the wrong job. You know you have more to offer. But you have rent to pay. You have bills. The idea of quitting your secure job to "find yourself" sounds nice in a movie, but in reality, it feels reckless.

So you stay. You stagnate. You tell yourself you will make a move "when the time is right".

We’re here to tell you that the time will never be right. But there is a third option between staying miserable and quitting blindly. You do not have to leap off a cliff. You can build a bridge.

This is upskilling in motion. It’s the art of learning your new career while still funding your old one. It’s not easy, but it’s the smartest way to reclaim your future.

Conventional wisdom says that to change careers, you need a clean break. You need to take a gap year, go back to university for three years, or retreat into a cave to study. This is nonsense. It’s a gatekeeping tactic that keeps ambitious people stuck in roles they outgrew years ago.

You don’t need to pause your life to change it. In fact, keeping your current job while you learn can be a superpower. It removes the desperation. When you upskill alongside your work, you’re not interviewing for junior roles because you’re broke and terrified. You’re interviewing because you are ready.

Upskilling allows you to test the waters. It lets you validate your passion for design or creativity before you let go of your safety net. It turns a terrifying risk into a calculated transition.

Time is your most expensive currency. If you’re working full-time and learning part-time, you can’t afford to waste hours on fluff. You don’t need a three-year degree filled with academic essays on the history of aesthetics. You need practical, tangible skills that get you hired.

When choosing a course, be ruthless. Ask these questions:

• Is it practical? Will I spend my time listening to lectures, or will I be using industry-standard software like Figma and Adobe Creative Cloud?
• Is it current? Is the curriculum updated for the industry as it exists today, or as it existed five years ago?
• Is there a clear outcome? Will I walk away with a certificate, or will I walk away with a portfolio?

Employers don’t hire certificates. They hire portfolios. They hire problem solvers. Choose an education provider that respects your time and focuses entirely on getting you industry-ready in the shortest timeframe possible.

Let’s be direct: working a full-time job while studying is hard. It requires grit. It requires saying "no" to Netflix and "yes" to late nights. But remember, this is not forever. It’s a season of your life dedicated to changing the rest of your life.

To survive the double life, you need a strategy.

You can’t find time; you have to steal it. Audit your week. Where are the dead zones? The commute? The lunch break? The two hours of doom-scrolling in the evening? Reclaim them. Block out your study sessions in your calendar as if they were meetings with your boss. Because they’re meetings with your future self.

Look for courses designed for people like you. Part-time schedules, evening classes, and weekend workshops are essential. You need a program that understands you have a 9-to-5. Flexibility doesn’t mean lower quality; it means higher efficiency.

Tell your friends and family what you’re doing. Tell them you might be absent for a few months. You need a cheerleading squad, not a guilt trip. When they know you’re building something important, they’ll support your temporary unavailability.

The biggest mistake career changers make is waiting until they "feel ready" to start acting like a professional. Imposter syndrome tells you to hide your work until it’s perfect.

Ignore that voice.

You need to be building your new identity from day one. You’re not just a student; you’re a designer in training.

Don’t wait for the final exam to start your portfolio. Every brief you answer, every logo you sketch, every layout you design is a potential portfolio piece. Document your process. Save your sketches. Industry leaders love to see how you think, not just the polished final result. By the time you finish your course, your portfolio should be ready to launch.

Stop introducing yourself as an accountant, an admin assistant, or a salesperson. Start introducing yourself as a creative. Update your LinkedIn headline. Follow design studios, attend industry events—even virtual ones.

The design community is surprisingly welcoming. We value enthusiasm and fresh perspectives. If you reach out to a senior designer and say, "I am transitioning into design and love your work," they’ll likely listen. You’re already part of the tribe; you just need to claim your spot.

One day, you will sit at your desk in your "old" job, and you’ll realise you’ve outgrown it completely. But this time, you won't feel trapped. You’ll have a portfolio full of professional-grade work. You’ll have a network of contacts. You’ll have the technical skills to execute your ideas.

That’s when you hand in your notice. Not with fear, but with confidence.

You don’t need permission to become a designer. You don’t need to be born with a special gift. You just need the drive to learn and the discipline to stick with it.

Stop waiting for the perfect moment. It doesn’t exist. The only moment you have is this one.

Design your future. Start learning today.