Can design thinking help you switch careers?

Many professionals hit a point where their work feels flat, their role seams uninspiring, or their path becomes uncertain. Switching careers can feel overwhelming, but there’s one tool that can help you approach the challenge differently: design thinking.

Let’s clear something up first: you don’t have to be a designer to use design thinking. In fact, it’s a creative problem-solving process that anyone can apply to their life, their career, or any problem that requires a creative solution. It works too: design-driven companies have outperformed the S&P Index by 219% over 10 years.

Let’s break it down, step by step, and see how design thinking might just give you the structure, and the courage, to pivot. 

First, what is design thinking?  

Albert Einstein had a good saying: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” And this is basically what design thinking boils down to. 

At its core, design thinking is simply a way of solving problems that puts people first. Instead of worrying about designing a bridge, for example, you start by asking: who’s going to be crossing it? Designers use design thinking to create products and services that actually work for users. But the process isn’t limited to design. Design thinking can be used to untangle messy problems in business, education, healthcare, and yes, even in your career.

1. Empathize. Understand the people you’re designing for (in this case, that’s easy: yourself).

1. Define. Frame the problem you want to solve. Again, we’re looking at a career change. 

1. Ideate. Generate lots of possible solutions or paths to check out. 

1. Prototype. Build small experiments to test your career change ideas.

1. Test. Try out those experiments, learn and adjust. This is the key step.

    

Sounds structured, but also flexible, right? That’s why it can be such a powerful tool for career changers.

Most of us rush into career decisions by jumping on job boards or scrolling LinkedIn. But design thinking asks you to pause before doing anything else. The first step is always empathy. Normally, designers spend this phase understanding users. In a career context, of course, you are the user, so we need to start by asking stuff like: 

• What energizes you in your current role?

• What drains you? (Emotionally, physically etc.) 

• What values do you want your work to reflect? 

• What does a great day at work look like for you?

One simple method is to keep a “career journal” for a few weeks. Write down moments when you felt excited, frustrated or fulfilled. You’ll start to see patterns emerge, and they’ll become the raw material for your ‘career design’.

Remember what video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto said: “A good idea is something that does not solve just one single problem, but rather can solve multiple problems at once.” Energy, purpose, fulfillment, passion, a reason to get up at 5am – a new career can provide all of those. 

Once you’ve gathered insights, it’s time to define your challenge. A vague problem like “I hate my job” isn’t very useful in terms of design thinking. A sharper definition might be, “I want a role where I work more with people than spreadsheets” or “I want to move into an industry that aligns with sustainability values.” See the difference? 

Framing the problem clearly helps you avoid chasing the wrong opportunities. It narrows your focus and sets up the next phase: idea generation.

Here’s the fun part: ideation. In design thinking, this means brainstorming as many solutions as possible, and this is the important bit – without judgment. For career changers, it’s all about exploring paths that might not have crossed your mind before. At this point in the process there really are no bad ideas. The trick is to get as many paths down on paper as possible. 

For example, if your problem statement is “I want to work more with people,” your brainstorm might include HR roles, coaching or mentoring positions, sales or customer success jobs, or maybe even community management. 

Go wild! And don’t censor yourself. Even if an idea feels unrealistic, or kind of silly, write it down. The goal is volume and variety. Later on, you’ll filter and refine the list.

This is where design thinking really shines for career changers. Instead of making a giant leap (and possibly a giant mistake), you create workable prototypes (small, low-risk experiments to test your ideas, or in this case, your career paths). 

Curious about teaching? Volunteer to run a workshop at a local meetup. Interested in sustainability? Join a short online course or attend an industry event. Thinking about sales? Shadow a friend in the role for a day, or do an informational interview.

These prototypes give you a taste of different career directions without committing months or years. They provide real-world feedback, rather than just theories in your head.

Finally, it’s time to test your prototypes. Which is where design thinking really shines. By objectively testing and refining our ideas, we can actually make better ones. So after each career experiment, try and reflect. Really think. Did you enjoy it? Did it align with your values? Could you see yourself doing it long-term? Does it meet your financial objectives? 

The beauty of design thinking is its iterative nature. That means there’s precisely zero pressure to get it right on the first try. Each test teaches you something new, helping you refine your direction until you land on a career path that feels right. So if you’re an accountant who feels drained by numbers, try prototyping mentor roles and networking events – see if that sparks anything. Are you a nurse who’s craving more creativity? Experiment with volunteering at health tech startups, and maybe pivot into UX research. There are no wrong experiments. In a way, when it comes to design thinking, the only mistake is to not design, to not try; to leave things stuck on a repetitive loop. You can’t optimise anything without a little risk. 

Changing careers can feel like standing at the edge of a cliff. But design thinking turns that leap into a series of stepping stones. Instead of one big, terrifying decision, you just take manageable baby steps: empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test.

Most importantly, it shifts your mindset. You stop asking “What job should I apply for?” and start asking “What problem am I trying to solve for myself, and what experiments can I run to find out?” Once you do that, the sky’s the limit.