Changing careers at 5 years into a job, is it realistic? after 5 years as a sales associate

I want to move from sales associate to something with more stability. I have read a lot of threads here and could not find my exact situation. I have a little time and a small budget for training. Did you take a pay cut?

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

You likely have more transferable skills than you think. Write down what you did, not what the job title said.