Case Study: Career Change – Aligning Career Success with True Success

Is your career success truly aligned with what matters most to you?

Picture this: you climb the corporate ladder, sacrificing time and values, only to realise it was the wrong ladder. Success feels hollow when it doesn’t reflect your core values or ideal life.

At 31, I was thriving as a Project Manager and Site Senior Executive, leading a major mining project in Central Queensland. With a young family, I was commuting from site back to my family in Brisbane on a five-day-a-week roster, pouring my energy into a role I loved. However, the tension between career and family values grew unbearable. I was chasing financial security and status but felt increasingly misaligned with what truly mattered.

Growing up on a family cane farm, I didn’t realise how deeply the simplicity of being present shaped me. As my career progressed, I felt the absence of that connection. Despite the rewards—salary, bonuses, and a promising trajectory—I knew something had to change.

Transitioning careers seemed daunting. I enjoyed my job, the team, and the challenges. But clarity on my values made decisions easier. As Roy Disney said, “When your values are clear, your decisions are easy.”

I embarked on my third career: from Engineer to Project Manager to Financial Adviser. The shift required effort—completing eight postgraduate courses—but my skills in managing budgets, risks, and outcomes proved invaluable. Today, I guide individuals and families toward financial and life goals, building meaningful connections and lasting impact.

So here I am now, in 2024, in my 15th year of my Financial Planning Career. I am one of 8 shareholders in our business and I’m the Managing Director.

My close friends from back in my mining days, who back then said I was mad to walk away from the career that I had worked so hard for, now say that I’m so lucky that I made the change! If the definition of luck is; where opportunity meets preparedness, then upon reflection, being aware of the misalignment between career and values and being prepared to change, allowed me to recognise an opportunity when it popped up. So yes, I feel very fortunate!

The transition wasn’t without sacrifice. My income dipped initially, and my wife and I were expecting our second child in the second year of my new career. But by year five, potential earnings as a qualified Adviser exceeded $220,000 annually. Beyond financial rewards, the fulfilment of helping others align their wealth with their values has been unparalleled.

What I have learned over time, however, is there are wonderfully talented humans who naturally ‘lead with heart’ that find themselves in corporate hierarchies, exhausted from swimming against the tide! Find a home where these individuals can flourish, and the finances look after themselves!

From my perspective, there is no better career in the world than Financial Planning and there is no better place to work in the world than with the team at Alman Partners! We partner with individuals and families who are successful in their own right and help them experience a life of True Wealth and this extends to their children and their children’s children! You build deep and meaningful connections with the client community through leadership, education and inspiration. You are a guide! The positive impact that you have and the personal reward that comes with it are second to none! Doctors and health professionals come close, but they are dealing with accidents and illnesses, whereas we are dealing with goals and aspirations!

If you’re climbing a ladder that feels misaligned with your values, it’s time to reassess. What defines success for you? What are you unwilling to compromise? For those disciplined with finances, effective in delegation, and passionate about helping others, financial planning might be a path worth exploring. It’s a career of servant leadership, guiding clients toward their aspirations and leaving a legacy of True Wealth.

If this resonates, let’s have a coffee and talk about the next step in your journey, whatever that may be.

Paul Shepherd (CFP® Professional, BEng, DipMgt, DFS(FP)) | Managing Director & Senior Financial Adviser of Alman Partners True Wealth.