Men's Fitness: Career arrears: stop wasting time sheets in the career you don't want and park yourself behind the desk of one you do

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Career arrears: stop wasting time sheets in the career you don't want and park yourself behind the desk of one you do

Dan Tynan

At work, do you spend most of your time focusing on the duties of the career you wish you had? Join the club. Whether you're flipping burgers at Mickey D's or flipping companies in merger-and-acquisition deals, there's a good chance you're not thrilled with your current gig. No wonder experts say the average guy changes careers up to six times. Here are the four easiest ways to shed your current job and find a new one that truly suits you.

SEE THE SITES

Research your career, says Carol L. McClelland, author of Changing Careers for Dummies. At the Occupational Information Network site (online. onetcenter.org), plug in your skills and interests to get a list of matching jobs. Then use Google to find associations with the info on your chosen profession, and salary.com to reveal your potential wage.

MOVE LIKE A CRAB

Sometimes you go forward by moving sideways, says Ian Christie, a Vancouver career-executive coach whose clients pay $300 a month to "work out" at his online "coaching gym" (boldcareer.com). Says Christie, "Your chances for success increase if you take existing skills and contacts and do something lateral."

PUT YOURSELF ON TRIAL

Want to open a self-esteem clinic but aren't confident enough that you'll succeed? Then start the venture part time while still employed--you can test your idea and develop a client base. So advise Rich and Jeff Sloan, brothers who founded a site (startupnation.com) that counsels budding entrepreneurs. "It's amazing how many upfront risks you can chip away before you finally make the leap," says Jeff:

SCHMOOZE OR LOSE

Making the right connections is essential, says Christie. "Identify key individuals who have the power and get introduced to them." A Stanford University study found that the people who enjoyed the greatest success exploited well-placed acquaintances. Business-oriented networking Web sites such as Linked In (linkedin.com) or Spoke Networks (spoke.com) can help the unconnected rub virtual shoulders.