Moving to a Portfolio career

With a four day week feeling more like a five or even six day week nowadays and the speed of change within our ‘flexible’ employment market, it seems that more of us are moving to a Portfolio Career. Recent reports suggest that more than one in five workers are planning to do so in the next five years, if they haven’t already.

What is it?

But what is a Portfolio Career? Basically, it is having several part-time roles in different sectors at once which can equal a full-time role – in other words you are in the ‘gig economy’.

This could include making a major career change to a more rewarding role, setting up a new business or turning that hobby of yours into a money-making venture. In other words, taking control of your life and the way you live it whilst ensuring (hopefully) long term financial security.

There are many factors that are fuelling this move and the big changes required to our professional and personal lives to ‘reset’ them.

Not just for the mature worker

You would think that this would be driven by the more mature members of the workforce. But no, 70% of 30-40 somethings want to ‘reset’ and see major changes in their lives, with half wanting their own business as well.

Throw in work changes due to AI and the flexible market; long term stress and illness due to work patterns; the need for a good work-life balance; the likelihood of redundancy and your role disappearing all add up to the fact that new workers today will most likely have two or three different careers during their lifetime. So why not take control?

Take Control

With a Portfolio Career you can indulge your passions and your interests, having variety in your work life which may make a big impact on your personal life. Giving you control over your career.

The number of freelance and self-employed workers continues to rise every year with the barriers to entry getting less every year.

The future of work

Perhaps the future we see of huge corporations and micro businesses - individual ‘consultants’ and freelance workers - with no sign of the SME, is starting to become reality. Corporate careers seem to have been eroded over the last 25 years and the days of the true career path seem well and truly over: the portfolio career, which is ever changing, evolving and involves having several strings to your job bow, is now the path to follow.

Reset your career

We all want some control over our future and maybe ‘resetting’ your life and career is one way of getting this. But it seems strange that in our uncertain political and economic climate we would want more uncertainty through change; perhaps being empowered will bring security, form a career, personal and financial perspective.

It’s not for everyone but, if you have a hobby and a passion outside of your day job, can you make it pay? With millions of workers being stuck in their jobs and not using their full range of talents, perhaps now is the time to find out and reset your career!