The term New Year New Career has become a clich?, with so many of us wanting new jobs planning major advertising campaigns for January is common amongst recruitment agencies. An alarmingly high percentage of workers change are dissatisfied with their current jobs and the New Year is one of the times when this dissatisfaction comes to the fore. If you are thinking about career change, it's important not to just rush into applying for a new position because you made a decision to change on 31st December.

Making the decision to change careers is just the first step and it could be months or even years before the reach your goal. So congratulate yourself on having made the decision, but don't beat yourself up because you haven't reached your goal by 31st January.

Now it's time to create your career plan. It is important to set realistic career goals, both for the long and the short term. this will help you to stay focused and motivated. Long term goals on their own may seem so distant that you disregard them as impossible, when in fact, if they are broken down into manageable steps, they are very achievable.

Let's say you your dream career is working in complementary medicine and your long-term goal is to qualify in acupuncture, osteopathy or homoeopathy, all of which require degree level study. At the moment this seems like an impossible dream. But if you break down the steps, you'll find that there are two main themes: time to do the course and money to pay the fees and support yourself and any dependants whilst you gain your qualification. These steps apply to any new career - simply substitute your own ideal job for the example given here.

If you look into both of these areas, you will see that there are a number of possibilities open to you. For example, you can study part-time at some colleges, or do some of your degree by distance learning. You can finance your studies by using savings, student loans or loans from family members, or by getting a scholarship or grant.

As far as studying is concerned, you may be able to take individual modules now and use these credits in a couple of years' time to do a shorter full-time course. Alternatively, you could decide to start out in a branch of complementary medicine which requires less training, examples being Reiki and massage. Learning these disciplines involves attending shorter intensive courses and although these are not cheap, they can usually be done whilst working full-time. You can then establish yourself in the area in which you are qualified and if you still want to follow your original idea, you can think about a degree a little later, when you have the advantages of having personal experience in the field of complementary medicine and in setting up a business.

So your first step is to look at the big picture and consider all the possible ways of reaching your goal. Then map out the route which is most suitable for your circumstances.

Short-term goals would include doing background research into available courses and funding options. Depending on your schedule, these could both be done this month or one this month and one next month. You might contact local practitioners and ask if they would be prepared to talk to you, perhaps over lunch, which you pay for, so that you can get an insider's view into the career. This could also give you a great deal of insight into how you might achieve your goal and provide you with additional steps which could speed up the process.

Next, you might consider a short course, say an introduction to anatomy and physiology or setting up a business. These options would provide valuable career information, helping you decide if it's right for you before you invest huge amounts of time and money.

Once you know you're on the right track, you can make longer term career goals.

Starting out with your end goal and moving backwards to identify the steps you need to take will enable you to create both short and long term goals and a career change plan which is workable and can be acted on immediately. When it comes to changing jobs, planning is an essential ingredient if you want to achieve long term success.

? Waller Jamison 2008

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Waller Jamison is a freelance careers advisor and former university lecturer.