Lateral entrants, what is that?

Should I try a lateral move to another job? - You, like many others, have already asked yourself this question. First of all: Yes, like any career change, a career change brings challenges - but like most others, you should take this step when the time is right!
You can think about it: If you retire at around 64 and start your career at around 16 - 20, that would mean you work in the same job for at least 40 years. It's perfectly normal to choose a career at the age of 20 that suits your circumstances at the time. If you change, it's perfectly okay to choose a different job!

Well, what is a career changer? A career changer is a person who enters a profession or industry for which they have no traditional training or relevant professional experience. A career changer has usually already worked in another job and thus differs from career starters and trainees. 

Lateral entry is not the only way to make a career change: For example, you can also do another apprenticeship or study, set up your own business or start a new job directly by retraining or lateral entry. 

In this article, you can find out exactly what it means to start a new career as a career changer, what typical professions there are and what salary opportunities await you!

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What is a lateral entrant - definition

What does it mean to be a career changer? A career changer is a person who switches to a profession or industry without having any traditional training or specific professional experience in this field. The meaning of career changer refers primarily to people with no professional experience in their chosen field. Instead, it means that as a career changer you use existing skills and knowledge from other areas in a new working environment to reorient yourself professionally. These can be, for example, strong communication skills and stress resistance, or general manual skills.
The advantages of joining the company as a career changer include the fact that individual skills are in the foreground and you bring new perspectives to the working environment. Companies value career changers as a valuable resource, as they bring fresh ideas, varied experience and a high willingness to learn.

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Typical jobs as a career changer

As a career changer, there are a variety of jobs open to you in which you can apply your skills and experience from other areas. Typical jobs as a career changer include, for example

• Maintenance: Maintenance is a wide-ranging area that primarily involves servicing and ensuring the functionality of machines, buildings or infrastructure. For example, as a janitor, electrical assistant or machine and plant operator, you can use your manual skills in a new context. 
• Project management: In project management, you can use your organizational skills and strong communication skills to manage projects efficiently. It is not important whether you already have experience in a particular industry. What counts is your ability to coordinate different tasks and work with people.
• Technical customer service: Implementing and supporting customers doesn't have to be a desk job (although that is also an option)! As a customer service fitter or service technician, for example, you can use your manual installation skills in a wide variety of areas and also take on the task of supporting and instructing customers. 
• Sales: Salespeople don't always have to come from the sales industry. If you have a good feel for people and negotiating skills, you can be successful in sales, even without specific training in sales.
• Human resources: Career changers with social skills and a talent for communication are also in demand in HR. Whether as a personnel officer, recruiter or team assistant - your people skills can make the difference in finding the right talent for a company.
• Marketing: Creativity and a good feel for trends make it possible to gain a foothold in marketing as a career changer, be it in social media management, content marketing or market research.
• IT sector: You can be successful in the IT sector even without a traditional education in computer science. Career changers with technical knowledge, for example in web development or as an IT consultant, are in high demand and find good opportunities to apply their skills in a dynamic environment.

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There are numerous other opportunities for career changers, depending on individual skills and interests. The key is to recognize your strengths and incorporate them into a suitable job, even if it doesn't necessarily match your previous work experience.

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Salary prospects for career changers

Salary prospects as a career changer are (naturally) highly dependent on the profession you choose. 

The salary as a career changer can vary depending on the industry, company size, experience and area of responsibility. Let's assume, for example, that you want to become a salesperson: As a rule, the starting salary of a retail salesperson between 2,600 and 3,900 euros gross per month - the average is 3,200 euros per month according to StepStone 2025.

As a career changer in the skilled trades, you can look forward to typical salaries of between €3,126 and €4,882 (Gehalt.de, 2025). The range depends very much on the industry you work in, whether you have also completed retraining or work as an unskilled specialist or career changer and how much professional experience you have. A typical job in production that you can do as a career changer without retraining is production assistant. Here, for example , you earn €2,500 per month in your entry year, which increases steadily each year (gehalt.de, 2025).

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What do you have to consider as a career changer?

There are a few things you should bear in mind if you want to take the plunge:

• Invest in your further training. Especially if you want to work in a new professional field, additional qualifications are crucial to catch up on missing specialist knowledge.
• Take advantage of networking opportunities. Making contacts is an important step in gaining a foothold in your new field and discovering possible job opportunities.
• Gain practical experience. Whether through internships, voluntary work or part-time jobs - practical experience helps you to apply and expand your theoretical knowledge.
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Your chance as a career changer

Lateral entry offers you the opportunity to reorient yourself professionally and immerse yourself in a career that you may not have considered before. With the right skills, a clear training strategy and a willingness to learn new things, you can get off to a successful start as a career changer. But where can you find job offers for career changers? On the one hand, your personal network can be an advantage here, perhaps a company in your area is currently looking for support - or you can use online job platforms such as WorkerHero!
On WorkerHero, you will not only find numerous job offers in the skilled trades, but also numerous articles on the various job profiles! Whether you want to find out about the tasks of a team assistant or the salary of a production employee - you'll find lots of exciting information in our magazine. Be open to new challenges and take advantage of the many opportunities that a career change can offer you!