It definitely can be expensive to take a risk.

It's also expensive to stay where you are.

I'm Rima Grace, and you're listening to This Is Uncomfortable, the weekly show for Marketplace

about life and how money messes with it.

There are a lot of reasons why you might start fantasizing about a different career.

Maybe you want better pay, better hours,

or a job you don't completely hate, or maybe AI is creeping into the field you spent years

mastering, and you're starting to wonder if it's time to jump ship. Whatever the reason, in a

culture where so much of our identity is defined by our work,

it can be really daunting to make a career pivot.

So this week, I want to talk with someone who helps people do that to get some tips and perspective on what it takes to make a career change.

But first, I was curious to hear from people

who are in the middle of making that leap themselves.

Like, what does it feel like to take on that kind of risk?

And what do you learn about yourself in the process?

Earlier this year, when I was in Durham, North Carolina,

I spent an afternoon at Hope Renovations,

which is a nonprofit that trains women and non-binary people

for careers in the trades.

So most of their participants are in the midst of their own career pivot.

They're planning to pursue careers in fields like HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and carpentry.

I heard the classroom before I even walked in.

...