Inbal Alon: 5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Switched Careers
Allow yourself to be a beginner.
Even if your skills transfer, parts of every new career will feel awkward. That phase matters.
Create space before you leap.
None of my changes happened overnight. They happened when I had space — time, distance, or a pause.
Your skills add up.
You’re not starting from zero. Life skills, crisis skills, people skills — they all come with you and can be applicable in new environments.
Depth matters more than prestige.
I left impressive titles for work that felt meaningful. That changed everything.
Curiosity is a compass.
When I followed curiosity instead of fear, I always landed somewhere better.
According to the US Department of Labor, “The average person will change careers 5–7 times during their working life. Approximately 30% of the total workforce will now change jobs every 12 months.” The statistic is disconcerting for many. After all, we tend to think of our careers as a linear progression of increased skills and (ideally) earning power. We reached out to business professionals who have successfully switched careers in hopes of gleaning bits of their wisdom. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of speaking with Inbal Alon
Inbal Alon was born in Canada, grew up in Israel, and returned to Canada to study international development at Carleton University before earning her master’s in educational policy at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She worked in schools in Ecuador, Tanzania, and Uganda supporting education programs, and later earned her teaching credentials in Massachusetts, where she has taught first grade since 2014. Her stories grow out of years of listening to children — what they say, what they avoid, and how they quietly make sense of curiosity, courage, trust, and relationships — and are meant to be read together, at home or in the classroom, sometimes more than once.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would like to get an idea of who you are and where you came from. Can you tell us a bit about your background? Where do you come from? What are the life experiences that most shaped your current self?
Iwas born in Canada, and then I grew up in Israel. A lot of people in my family were teachers. My grandfather was a diplomat, and I grew up with a lot of stories from the time that they spent as a family in Ethiopia, where they were stationed for a few years, and then later on in Italy. And I think that played a big role in my interest in international development.
Let’s jump right in. Can you please tell us about the career changes you’ve made? What prompted you to make these changes? Why didn’t you make the changes sooner?
My first career was in international development and education programming. Over time, I found myself doing more management, reporting, and budgeting — important work, but further from the people and communities I cared about. I realized I missed being on the ground, building relationships, and doing deep, daily work with children.
That’s what drew me to teaching. It wasn’t a sudden leap; it was a gradual shift toward wanting depth instead of scale. Teaching allowed me to build a small universe with 25 children each year and be fully present in their learning and lives.
Have you ever made a career change only to find that your decision to do so was not at all what you expected? If so, how did you handle things?
Yeah. I think that happens a lot. I think when we change careers and come into something and we’re typically older and have a lot more life experience than maybe some of the people we’re working with, that can be hard. It could be hard to trust that it’s a phase and it’s going to pass, but that it is an important phase, and approaching it with curiosity and patience instead of ego and frustration definitely helps in learning and getting through the beginning.
I wouldn’t say I was shocked by any of my changes, because I eased into them. I was a paraprofessional before becoming a classroom teacher, and I wrote privately for years before sharing my work. That said, teaching was far more intellectually and physically demanding than many people realize. The first few years felt like working three full-time jobs at once.
But I also discovered how complex and meaningful the work is — curriculum, relationships, child development, community building. The surprises were hard and beautiful at the same time, and I learned that you don’t really understand a job until you’re living inside it.
The statistic we cited above says that people might change careers about five times during their working life. In recent times some people have questioned the utility or benefit of college because of the often crushing burden of student loan debt. On top of that, in light of this trend that people can expect to change careers five times, how can anyone hope to prepare themselves properly through college for five careers?
I think the value of college isn’t just what you study — it’s how you learn to be in the world. Most skills are transferable, and most people don’t end up doing the job they trained for anyway. College is about learning how to think, how to work with people who are different from you, and how to try things.
My dad gave me advice that really mattered: avoid crushing debt if you can. Because I didn’t graduate with heavy debt, I was able to take unpaid internships in Ghana and Ecuador that completely shaped my life. Financial flexibility gave me professional flexibility.
The other statistic we cited above is troubling; 30% of the workforce will switch jobs every 12 months. The cost to employers — not just in dollars and cents, but in customer service, customer loyalty, and other less tangible ways. What should the smart business executive do to retain talent, if anything?
I think people want autonomy. They want to feel creative and trusted. They want to feel like they’re not replaceable. And I think flexibility is huge, especially as people move through different seasons of life. I also think growth matters. If people can evolve inside an organization instead of having to leave to grow, they’re more likely to stay.
I personally know of at least five people who decided to quit their jobs (three gave their notice immediately) because they “didn’t like the person the job was making them become.” From your experience and perspective, is this sentiment a broader trend? How important is it for an individual’s personal values to align with the values of an organization? How can companies help correct this?
You can’t compartmentalize stress. If your values are constantly under attack at work, it affects your whole life. Employers need to create genuinely supportive environments — not just talk about purpose, but back it up with real resources and empathy.
People know quickly if an organization’s stated values aren’t real. When values are clear and lived, people stay. When they’re performative, people leave.
What are a few things that employers, managers, and executives can do to ensure that workers enjoy their jobs?
Connection matters. People need to feel seen, recognized, and supported. Sometimes that matters more than perks or occasional fun events. Feeling like someone has your back goes a long way.
Can you share a few things that employers, managers, and executives should be doing to improve their company work culture?
Create space for people to connect, grow, and be human. Work shouldn’t feel like a constant emergency. When people are supported emotionally, they do better work — it’s that simple.
Some business leaders believe that the solution lies in the gig economy. Do you believe this trend supports this belief? Do you think the gig economy lends itself to a sustainable and stable business model?
It doesn’t work for every industry. In fields like education and international development, continuity is essential. Constant turnover hurts quality and relationships.
The bigger issue is compensation. When people need multiple gigs to survive, everyone loses. Sustainable work requires fair pay and stability, not constant hustle.
Ok, thank you for that. Here is the main question of this interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Switched Careers?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
- Allow yourself to be a beginner.
Even if your skills transfer, parts of every new career will feel awkward. That phase matters. - Create space before you leap.
None of my changes happened overnight. They happened when I had space — time, distance, or a pause. - Your skills add up.
You’re not starting from zero. Life skills, crisis skills, people skills — they all come with you and can be applicable in new environments. - Depth matters more than prestige.
I left impressive titles for work that felt meaningful. That changed everything. - Curiosity is a compass.
When I followed curiosity instead of fear, I always landed somewhere better.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Optimism gives life meaning.”
It reminds me that hope doesn’t always change outcomes — but it changes how we live through them.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a living person in the world or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I’d love to sit down with someone who has spent their life listening deeply — someone like an educator, writer, or community builder — because those conversations always change how I see the world.
I would also love it if a traditional publisher were reading this. I am currently represented by a boutique publisher (Purple Works Press) for three of my books. I am completing a graphic novel that I’d love to have published traditionally. Hoping one reads this and contacts me.
Our readers often like to follow our interview subjects’ careers. How can they further follow your work online?
Inbalalon.com
https://www.instagram.com/authorinbalalon/
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorInbalAlon
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
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