Remember my musician friend Ken from last week?
Well it was a little bit of foreshadowing because this week I want to announce my new, highly glamourous second job - Tour Manager!

Whenever Ken’s on tour in my area, I like to try to go to shows and sound check with him. I pack all the snacks so we’re never stranded and hangry in the car.
I bring a playlist, which he sometimes appreciates and sometimes very much does not.
I help with merch - which is 100% my favourite part. Using a POS system? Don’t tempt me with a good time.

Ok, so it’s not really a paid gig or a true second job if I only ever go to about three shows a year. And in a lot of ways, I am exceptionally ill suited to Tour Managing - I hate staying up late. I get tired after 9 p.m. Bars are not my natural habitat. The concept of “load out” at midnight feels like a personal attack on my circadian rhythm.

So while it looks like this might just be something I do very occasionally, for fun (and take a week to recover from after two shows) it did get me thinking - are we stuck in the first industry we start working in?

On paper, my consulting work and tour managing look completely different.

One involves systems, process maps, dashboards, and operational clean-up. The other involves snacks, merch tables, playlists, and making sure nobody forgets the Sharpie.

However, both rely heavily on logistics, having a backup plan, communicating with stakeholders, understanding key deliverables and trying to optimize time and effort. I feel the same ‘on’ energy when I’m doing either, the same drive to make sure everything goes smoothly. It’s amazing to me how I feel like I’m flexing the same skills and mental muscles for two seemingly completely different jobs.

I have a lot of friends right now who are either switching jobs or thinking about entering a new industry. And the biggest mental block I see is this:

“I don’t have the exact experience they’re looking for.”

Well, maybe not. It’s likely that nobody does - the Job Description is probably a ChatGPT Wishlist with every possible certification listed, and experience only in the one industry.

But do you have the underlying skills? Don’t you think the company might benefit from an outside perspective? Especially if they are asking for problem solving, new ideas or change - what could be better than someone who doesn’t know what the limits are and can come up with fresh ideas?

If you’re thinking about moving industries, here are a few things to try:

1. Strip your job title away.
Instead of saying, “I’m a [job title],” ask yourself what you actually do all day. Do you coordinate? Solve? Communicate? Analyze? Smooth tension? Optimize?

2. Identify your repeatable patterns.
What do people consistently rely on you for? What do your to-do lists look like? What are you current deliverables?

3. Look for energy alignment.
Even in touring, which is not my natural sleep schedule, I feel energized because I feel like I’m adding value. The novelty helps, no doubt, but it’s also fun to imagine how one could optimize a full tour or improve the POS system inventory tracking (just me?)

4. Be realistic.
Alright, so there is no world in which I would be a successful Tour Manager - the physicality and stress it puts on your body and sleep schedule are nonstarters for me. If it would be a big jump, interview people already working in the industry you’re considering and get the good, the bad and the ugly. You want the most realistic job preview possible before you invest too much energy in the application process.

5. Remember that most jobs are mutable.
Jobs aren’t fixed, perfectly defined things. Most roles are built over time from a hodgepodge of responsibilities. They evolve based on who was available, who left, what gaps needed filling, and what the company needed in that moment.

A Project Manager in one company can look completely different from a Project Manager in another. Focus on understanding the key deliverables of the role. The rest is often flexible and can be shaped around your unique strengths and skill set.

We get so attached to industries. To labels. To what we “are.”
But if you zoom out, most careers are just a series of different stages where you apply the same core strengths.

So if you’re thinking about making a leap, don’t just look at the surface differences - look at the skills underneath. You might be more qualified than you think.
(Even if you need to be in bed by 10 pm)