8 People Who Changed Careers and Achieved Great Success

Whether you’re considering quitting your job to another one, exploring a new industry or restarting your career in a completely different field, a career change could be hugely rewarding, leading you to opportunities that allow you to grow exponentially and pursue your passions.

Here are 8 inspiring individuals who took the courageous step to achieve great successes.

1. Jeff Bezos: The Path of Least Regret

In 1994, Bezos read that the web had grown 2,300% in one year. Astounded by the figure, he wanted to take advantage of the rapid growth of the technology and decided that he should start with selling books online. Despite having a great job as a senior vice president at Wall Street hedge fund, Bezos decided to leave his then career to start a new venture.

This decision came as a shock to his boss, who took him for a 2-hour walk to persuade Bezos to stay. It was during this time that Bezos thoughtfully deliberated his choices with the regret minimisation framework, where he asked himself, ““Will I regret this not making the leap when I’m 80?” He arrived at the conclusion that he would rather attempt the ‘crazy idea’ and failing, than to not try at all. Thus, Amazon.com was founded.

2. Kyra Claire Bismark: Finding Passion in Education

Being in education had never been part of Bismark’s plan; in fact, she shared with Cosmo PH that she had initially wanted to become a news anchor! After graduating with a degree in Communications, she landed her first job as a digital executive at a digital agency. She decided that the agency life wasn’t what she wanted.

Bismark explored job opportunities beyond the advertising and media industry and was inexplicably drawn towards openings in preschools. Despite applying to many schools, she was met with limited success due to her lack of relevant experience. A friend of hers, who was a senior psychology major, then encouraged her to apply for a position at a centre for children with autism. Despite doubting her capabilities, she got the job and have been working as a behavioural therapist ever since!

3. Sheryl Sandberg: From Washington DC to Silicon Valley

Best known for her tenure at Facebook as Chief Operations Officer (COO) and for her bestselling book ‘Lean In’, Sandberg has also accomplished the impressive feat of breaking into the tech industry with zero tech experience.

When she decided to make the pivot, Sandberg was working as chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. While she did not have any background in tech, she held her decision to leave politics and move to Silicon Valley in search for new pastures. Sandberg’s transition to Silicon Valley got off to a bumpy start, as she faced one rejection after another, due to her career background. However, that did not discourage her from following through with her decision. After 10 months, she got an offer from Google, where she helped build Google's AdWords and AdSense platforms. In 2008, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was poaching top talent from Google and hired Sheryl Sandberg as his COO.

4. Georgina Wilson: Catching the Eyes of the Nation

After being casted in a facial wash commercial, Wilson’s popularity skyrocketed. She became a highly sought after model appearing on numerous advertisements, receiving acting offers, while growing her career in media as a VJ and TV host.

These days, the media darling spends most of her time as the co-founder and Marketing Director of Sunnies Studios. Starting off with offering chic sunglasses in Philippines, the company has expanded to offer prescription eyewear. The brand has also evolved into a lifestyle brand with their venture into the café business and cosmetics! Moreover, she continues maintain her influence in media while her work and her role as her mother of two.

5. Gordon Ramsay: Kickstarted by an Injury

Ramsay hadn’t always dreamt of becoming one of the world’s most recognizable celebrity chefs. As a young man, Ramsay had always pictured his life as a professional footballer. He showed such promising talent on the pitch, that he was scouted by his favourite club at the age of 15. Alas, a knee injury prematurely cut short his sports career.

Following the turn of events, he went back to school and enrolled in a hotel management course. Despite starting anew, his fiery dedication and talent also shone in the culinary world. Upon graduating, he underwent several apprenticeships, training under some of the world’s leading chefs. He went on to receive prestigious awards, garner Michelin stars, and make TV appearances. This led him expand his business into restaurant groups, recipe publications, and even his own independent production company!

6. Gretchen Ho: From Sports to Screens

Ho gained popularity as one of the Ateneo Fab 5 in UAAP women’s volleyball, which led her to opportunities to establish herself as a prominent female sports personality and television host. At one point, she was juggling between her sports career and budding media career – waking up at before dawn for training call times and staying up late to attend shoots.

As the lifestyle of a volleyball athlete and a television host were at odds with one another, Ho found herself at a crossroad and eventually chose to continue in media and forgo professional sports. She then got a job in the news department of ABS-CBN, after which her TV career took off. Today, she’s thriving in media and television as a news anchor and host.

7. Jackson Wang: Pursuit of a Lifelong Dream

Hailing from a sports family, the Hong-Kong born was on the road to becoming an Olympian. His mother was a world champion gymnast, and his father is an Asian Game gold medallist in fencing. At 16, It’s no surprise when Wang became an Olympic-level saber fencer with Hong Kong’s official junior fencing team at the age of 16. While preparing for the 2012 London Olympics, he was offered a scholarship to attend Stanford University!

In 2010, a representative of South Korean talent agency JYP Entertainment invited him to participate in the global auditions in Kowloon. Wang passed the audition, and the rest was history. Instead of going to an Ivy League university or the Olympics, he relocated to South Korea to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a performer. Wang realized that his passion was in singing and he didn’t want to have any regrets, despite his parents initially doubting his drastic career change.

After spending 2.5 years as a trainee at JYP, he stepped into his career as part of K-pop boy band GOT7. Since then, he has gone on to start his own record label Team Wang and built a wildly successful solo career with chart-topping tracks and successful world tours.

8. Marvin Ramirez (Marvin Fojas): Committing To What He Loves

With over 8.1 million followers on TikTok and counting, Ramirez, better known as Marvin Fojas, is one of the most popular content creators in the Philippines. When he went viral on TikTok for his comedic skits as ‘Luh’ and ‘Bhie’, he was creating content on the side while working as a licensed pharmacist.

In 2020, Marvin announced to his fans that he would be quitting his full-time job to pursue his passion in creating content that makes people laugh. "I planned, worked hard, and prepared enough for this. This was my dream, I will make this work," his tweet said. In addition to earning more than he did compared to what he made in his previous job, Marvin isn’t merely ‘making it work’ – he appears to going onwards and upwards in his new career.

The stories of these inspiring individuals demonstrate that changing careers helped them achieve a fulfilling, meaningful career, regardless of circumstances. While the journey of changing careers may be arduous, we have seen how these people have grown to excel in their new careers.

On top of having a growth mindset that lends strength to resilience and joy, one should also be armed with a career change action plan that’s been well thought out with all risks considered. You can read more about it here.

You have the power to craft and shape the career that you want. These days, you could even find work from home jobs and not be bound by geographical limits! When we approach our career paths with an open mind and a practical approach, a world of possibilities opens to us.

If you need career advice or want to learn the ins and outs of the job market, visit JobStreet’s Career Advice. Check out insights, career tools and expert advice as you explore career options that match your interests and skills.