More than half of North West workers are willing to give up 3.5 holidays abroad to change careers With Summer get-aways often triggering life changing decisions, new research reveals that over half of North West workers (55 per cent) are so eager to transform their careers that they're willing to spend up to £10,000 of their hard earned cash to help them that's equivalent to the average cost of 3.5 family holidays abroad.

The research conducted by GE Money suggests people believe £10,000 (and for 5 per cent that rises to £20,000) on a career change is money well spent a small price to pay for how much happier they perceive they'll be. In fact they're not wrong; of the four in ten workers (43 per cent) who have recently changed careers, 86 per cent report a positive impact as a result.

Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of the 1,000 adults surveyed say a change of job has improved their working life and 44 per cent believe being happier at work has benefits for their close relationships. For over two thirds (69 per cent) perhaps the improvement to their personal lives can be partly explained by their new career giving their finances a boost.

The positive impact of a job change might further explain why, for one in five (21 per cent) people, it tops their wish list of major life changes above moving home, changing relationships and their finances. A further 27 per cent want to improve their academic qualification, perhaps to enable them to get the job of their dreams.

The results also reinforce the rising trend of the serial career shifter. Most likely to make a significant job change are thirtysomethings (53 per cent) though surprisingly 42 per cent of 18-24 year olds have also already undergone a career move.

For those who have not yet taken the leap to change career, a substantial 39 per cent are willing to invest money, from employing a life coach to funding their retraining (for instance going back to university). While 4 per cent stated they would be happy to fork out over £20,000 to achieve their ambitions, the average amount of money they would be willing to invest was £3,238.

In spite of the relatively low reported cost of changing career, lack of money (31 per cent) was the number one factor holding people back from finding the job of their dreams, followed by not having the right qualifications (30 per cent). A lack of confidence was the issue for a further one in five (19 per cent). For those wishing to boost their academic achievements, a shortage of funds (32 per cent) was closely followed by a lack of confidence (27 per cent).

Dr Sally Ann Law, executive life coach, says: "People are increasingly willing to tackle some very courageous changes to achieve a more fulfilling, challenging and satisfying work-life.

"They realise how important it is to their overall quality of life to have a career that truly suits them."

Commenting on the research, Najlaa Taqi-Eddin, managing director, GE Money Direct and CMO said: "Being happy in your job is so important to being happy in general.

"This helps explain why people are willing to personally invest money to transform their working lives, especially given the positive benefits that were reported."