WNBA. MVP. 3.6 GPA. MBA. Los Angeles Sparks star center Lisa Leslie has a whole alphabet of honors. In addition to her stellar career on the court, she’s spent her free time the past two years pursuing a master’s of business administration degree at University of Phoenix that could help her make a fast break into the business world within a few years.

While she enjoys the camaraderie she has with fellow Sparks teammates, Leslie says, “Being in a position to be my own boss is one of my long-term goals.” With her commencement this past June, Leslie’s options after her pro basketball career are wide open.

Change Is Good

Welcome to the 21st-century workplace. No longer are individuals staking out a career and sticking with it for life; they’re reinventing themselves on the fly. For some, embracing a new career beats sitting at home growing old. For others, it’s the natural outcome after a stint in politics, sports or acting. For most, it’s the natural outgrowth of a layoff or dissatisfaction with a current career.

In addition to Leslie, examples of high-profile career changes are everywhere. Former Arizona Governor Fife Symington has emerged as a pastry chef; former bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger landed himself a job as governor of California; and former basketball superstar Magic Johnson has earned the title of businessman extraordinaire.

Others are busy preparing for change. For example, the Miami Heat’s Shaquille O’Neal has expressed an interest in law enforcement after his basketball days end. He has already earned a bachelor of science degree in general studies from Louisiana State University and is continuing his studies at University of Phoenix.

“Lifelong learning and professional growth are at the core of today’s thinking. Most people don’t want to feel stagnant,” says Brandon Hall, a Sunnyvale, Calif., consultant. Adds Debbie Brown, president of D&B Consulting, an Atlanta career counseling firm, “Some people have achieved a great deal of success but they are not happy. They need a new direction.”

Re-careering is becoming a commonplace event. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 78 percent of people will change careers at some point in their lives. However, “making a successful change isn’t easy. There are a lot of practical and psychological barriers,” observes Tom Welch, author of Work Happy Live Healthy: New Solutions for Career Satisfaction Including More Time & Money (Rhodes and Easton, 1997) and president of Career Dimensions Inc., a Stuart, Fla., career coaching and consulting firm.

Rita Bennett knows all about stepping out of a comfort zone. For years, she and her husband, Martin, operated a successful intercultural training business, helping multinational companies prepare workers for the rigors of overseas assignments. After selling the company in 1996, she continued to run the business for another five years before opting to retire. At age 59, she envisioned a life of leisure—visiting family and friends, gardening and traveling.

The thrill of retirement lasted about a year. Then, the San Francisco Bay area resident began to feel a calling. “I couldn’t rest at night knowing that I had a lot of energy and vitality left and wasn’t putting it to good use. I still had something to contribute to society,” she explains. While volunteer work seemed appealing, it couldn’t provide the level of commitment Bennett desired.

So, at age 60, she embarked on a new career working for CARE USA, a nonprofit humanitarian outreach organization that battles global poverty. Today, Bennett serves as director of development for CARE. “Changing careers created an amazing learning curve but offered a remarkable transition. It has been both frightening and exciting,” she says. “I am not earning anywhere near the income of my past career, but I am happy and content. I feel that I am doing something I always dreamed about. I’m effecting positive change in the world.”

A Change of Place

Over the past decade, the nature of work has changed in profound ways. Some jobs have vanished, while entirely new ones have appeared. Workers, caught in the middle, have found themselves retooling, retraining and, in some cases, going back to school to gain new skills and knowledge.

At the same time, the idea of staying at a company and earning a gold watch for retirement has become a quaint concept. “People are far more likely to consider various options,” Welch explains. The trend is particularly pronounced among young workers, who have grown up with a different value system than their parents and grandparents. “They are much more open to exploring career options,” he says.

The first—and most important—step in re-careering is to determine if it’s the right thing to do. Too often, coping with long hours and the stress of a job can create a general sense of dissatisfaction. In some cases, the situation might indicate that a person is in the wrong job or at the wrong company rather than in the wrong career. Or, it might indicate a need for a vacation or voluntary leave of absence. “It is easy to feel overwhelmed and seek a change,” he says.

Welch says that four key factors determine whether a person feels happy and satisfied in a career: the ability to use core skills and talents, engage in work that jibes with core values, and to work with others who share a similar energy, along with the feeling that one is making a difference. When he administers aptitude tests to clients, “it is often apparent that some tweaking is in order, rather than a drastic overhaul,” he explains.

Unfortunately, one of the most frequent strategies for dealing with dissatisfaction is to change jobs. “Too often, people make a cosmetic change without analyzing what the underlying problem is,” Welch continues. “As soon as the newness wears off—usually after about six to nine months—they’re right back in the same boat they were before.”

Kelly James-Enger can relate to that concept. After she passed the bar exam in February 1992, she embarked on a career as a civil lawyer. Four days into the job she felt as though she had made a terrible mistake. Nevertheless, over the next five and a half years, she worked at four law firms in Illinois and Missouri—attempting to find a place where she could feel happy and satisfied. Along the way, she grew more miserable and dissatisfied. “I felt like I had a ticket on the Titanic. I was changing seats but I couldn’t get off the ship,” she says.

In 1996, James-Enger decided to pursue a lifelong interest in writing and sold two articles to national magazines. Burned out and unable to continue as a lawyer, she quit her job and entered 1997 unemployed. After six months, she opted to pursue writing as a career, and has never looked back. The Downers Grove, Ill., resident has published two novels, three nonfiction books and hundreds of articles. “It was all about getting back to something I felt passionate about,” she says. “I wish I would have made the transition earlier, but I just wasn’t ready.”

Hire Ground

If a career change is in order, it’s wise to engage in some planning. Making the leap can have a financial impact—at least in the short term. “It is likely that a person will have to accept a cut in pay to make a change, particularly if he or she is moving from a more senior position to an entry-level position,” Brown says.

Likewise, it’s possible to take a hit on the status front. “There are implications within the workplace as well as in a person’s social circle,” Welch adds. A different career also can generate plenty of internal stress, particularly early on.

Nevertheless, Welch believes that, given the right circumstances, it’s a road worth traveling. He notes that various studies show that 70 percent to 80 percent of the work force is disenchanted “and most people do nothing about it.” The end result? “Too often, people wind up staying inside a cocoon and collecting a paycheck until they retire, and only later do they regret the fact that they didn’t pursue their passions. Making a career change doesn’t have to be complicated. It can open the door to greater happiness and success.”

Five Tips for Changing Careers

Figure out if a career change is really in order. As the old cliché goes, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. “Sometimes, it’s as simple as a person working for the wrong employer,” Atlanta-based career counselor Debbie Brown says. Yet, if frustration and bad days are a chronic problem and the work doesn’t seem to match your core interests and passions, then you might be in the wrong career. Qualified career counselors can conduct an in-depth personality test and analysis.

Investigate the possibilities. If you’re considering a career switch, conduct research on different professions and consider attending a job fair. If possible, talk to people working in the profession to gain a realistic idea of what the work is like.

Consult family members and friends. It’s always wise to discuss any potential change with a spouse, children and other family members. A career change could mean different hours, new social obligations and other unanticipated lifestyle adjustments, observes Tom Welch, a Stuart, Fla., author and career coach.

Prepare and plan for the change. In some cases, a career transition can require additional education, training and skills. It might be necessary to go back to school or brush up on past learning. If you’re looking to invest in your own business or will endure a pay cut, save money ahead of time.

Have realistic expectations. Changing careers isn’t an automatic ticket to happiness and success. It’s part of a balanced, holistic approach to life. No career is devoid of frustration and stress. However, if you’re doing something you love, it’s highly likely that you will feel a deeper sense of satisfaction, Brown points out.