Career
How to Financially Prepare for a Career Change
A career change can mean months without income. Here's how to build a financial runway, plan for insurance gaps, budget for retraining, and make the leap without going broke.
Career Change Runway Calculator
How many months can you survive without income? Models savings drawdown, COBRA insurance, retraining costs, and income ramp-up time.
Career Change Runway Calculator
Thinking about a career change? Let's see how long your savings can carry you.
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$0$500,000
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$0$20,000
Rent, food, utilities, minimum debt payments — the must-pays
3
124
Time for job search, training, or building a client base
You have 10 months of safe runway — plenty of room to make this transition.
Here's what I'd tell a friend
Your savings can comfortably cover 6 months of transition time while keeping your 3-month emergency fund intact. This is a solid position to make a career change from. Just make sure to track your actual spending against these projections once you start.
Safe runway (preserving emergency fund)
10 months
Total runway (until savings hit $0)
5 years
Monthly burn rate
$4,150/mo
$3,500 expenses + $650 insurance
Total transition cost
$27,000
Over 6 months of transition
Emergency fund preserved
$10,500
3 months of expenses
Transition timeline
6 months
3 mo no income + 3 mo ramp-up
The Money Friend
You have 10 months of safe runway — plenty of room to make this transition.
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