Career change after a layoff, where to begin? - what worked for you?

After 17 years as a nurse's aide I am thinking about moving into a different field. There are 17 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. I have good customer skills and I am comfortable with spreadsheets.

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

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