Changing careers at 11 years into a job, is it realistic? - any advice?

After 11 years as a payroll clerk I am thinking about moving into a different field. It has been a long 19 weeks. My family is supportive but nervous. Did you take a pay cut?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

I began with informational chats, then a short online course, then a related entry-level role. It took about 6 months.