Career change is never easy. But let's at least make it a little less stressful.

Maybe it's time for a career change.

Perhaps you feel it's time to change careers, or simply take a different job within in the industry your currently employed. 
Either way a little Foresight can be everything.

The first thing you should do is closely examine the reasons behind your decision to jump ship.
Do you just hate your blue-collar, middling day gig only to conclude you can do better?
 A good resume followed up by a few good interviews gives you a pretty good chance of landing that job.
Maybe you feel you've gone as far as you ever will in your current company and want to secure a higher paying position or the prospect for advancement. 
You might even be considering a professional transition into a different industry altogether.

Changing careers no longer has the stigma attached it once had.
 Blue and white collar workers alike are more than ever exploring their options. 
And you should too.
Though sometimes you have to move sideways to move up.

If you've made the decision to change careers and aren't sure where to start the following list should at the very least get you started in the right direction. 

*Make sure it's a decision both you and your family, whom are dependent on you, can live with. Are you likely to miss those special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, baseball games) that make your life worthwhile.
Self-assessment is key.

*Set the goals you're going to need to set and start working toward them.
Of course most people are really just daydreaming about switching jobs and changing their careers.
It's nothing more than fantasizing about quitting their sole-crushing job.
Be realistic. 
It won't happen unless you make it happen. 
You can't just send out resumes and hope. 
You have to set the goals and conquer them one by one. 
Otherwise keep daydreaming.

*Take the initiative to research as much as you can about what it is you want to do.
You can't expect to know little to very little about ANY industry and make a career of it.

* It might not be possible to get the job you want in the field of your liking immediately.
If you think that's the case you should consider a part-time job within the industry. 
A part-time job, either one directly or even indirectly involved with career of your choice is at least a positive first step.

  *Prove you can do the job!
You can't get hired in any field unless someone hires you.
Expect no one to hire you if you can't prove you can't do the job. 
You and only you can demonstrate your ability in any area of expertise.

*Soft skills matter. 
It's the soft skills that's going to separate you from any of your similarly qualified completion.
Try to put yourself in the hiring manager's position. 

He has to hire someone for a specific position and before him are two remaining applicants.
One of these job seekers is as about as qualified as you are. 
The firing manager can however see your ability to communicate ideas, get along with others is considerable better than the first candidate.
 You get the job. 
The manager already has enough headaches to deal with without creating more for himself by hiring another weak link.

Soft skills are real skills. 
You'll either learn them or learn about them the hard way.

*If possible network.
Knowing people already "in the know" will make you more aware than anything else when opportunities do arise.
 You may even be fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time.

*Stay on good terms in your current job.
Nothing scares prospective employers more than unresolved issues with a current employer.
If there is some unresolved matter with your current employer make it known up front when your standing before a prospective employer.
They're probable going to find out anyway. 
It's far better they hear it from you.

Everything written here would be incomplete without taking note of what should be obvious.
Changing careers is a lot of things.
Challenging, difficult, confusing, exciting, and perhaps even scary at times.
It can be all these things and more. 
One thing that can't be said about career change is that it's impossible.
It's literally anything but impossible. It's the opposite of impossible. 
There's literally no job you can't have.