Career change after a layoff, where to begin? (Raleigh)

After 13 years as an office manager I am thinking about moving into a different field. I have read a lot of threads here and could not find my exact situation. I have good customer skills and I am comfortable with spreadsheets. Did you take a pay cut?

Try a small project in the new field before committing. It told me a lot about whether I would enjoy it.