In this day and age, jobs tend to be confused with careers. An easy way to appreciate the difference is to understand that a job is what pays the bills and a career is what you’re passionate about.

For many people they are not one and the same. So what can you do if you’re in a job but you want to be in a career?

Figure out what career you’d like to do.
This can be a wide open decision. We’ll narrow the field of possibilities a little later on. Make a list, and yes, for some people, there will be only one item on that list. But many other people will have several things they’d like to do.

Assess your strengths.
Do you already have training in something you feel strongly about and haven’t been able to find work in that field? Or did you start down one path and never quite figured out how to change direction?

Take a serious look at your career choices.
What might be involved to go down this direction? Would you need to go back to school? Get a degree? A trade ticket? Or do you just need a community course to help build confidence and to upgrade your skills? If you’re serious about any of those career choices, then do your research and find out everything you can. This is your passion, your dream. Don’t leave the details to anyone else. This is too important – it’s your future.

Do your research.
This could and should include, depending on your career, information interviews with people already working in the field. Take the time to do this part of your research carefully. A good half dozen interviews will help to give you a rounded idea of this career choice and how good a fit it is for you.

Personal and family commitments now need to be assessed.
Is it reasonable to go back to school for four years, or do you have three little children at home and your partner has just been laid off? This is your future but don’t burn bridges and make mistakes that you’ll regret later.

Look at your budget.
What savings do you have that might tide you over or help you to retrain? Do you have any savings? If school is required, can you find ways to make it happen? If not now, can you set up a savings program for schooling in a few months? Years?

When your research is complete, then it’s time to put it all away for a bit. Taking a step back to get a new perspective is important to understand the difference between a dream and a possibility. If you want to know truly what’s in your heart, then examine the idea from every angle, look at it from every viewpoint, listen to your emotions, write down every thought, and then when everything has been researched every which way you can – then put it away.

If this idea, this career choice that sits before you goes away with time - if by putting it away – it stays away, then how important is it?
If however, this career path bothers you, sits on your shoulder and nags at you, maybe, just maybe it’s time to make a serious step away from your job and into your future.

Scott Brown is the author of the Job Search Handbook (http://www.JobSearchHandbook.com). As editor of the HireSites.com weekly newsletter on job searching, Scott has written many articles on the subject. He wrote the Job Search Handbook to provide job seekers with a complete yet easy to use guide to finding a job effectively.