Career change after a layoff, where to begin?

After 10 years as an accountant I am thinking about moving into a different field. It has been a long 26 weeks. I have good customer skills and I am comfortable with spreadsheets. How did you start?

I began with informational chats, then a short online course, then a related entry-level role. It took about 13 months.

I took a small pay cut for a year, and it was worth it for the growth afterwards.