Fast, cheap career changes that pay off
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"I think in a way I've always been a life coach, even though I didn't realize you could make a career out of it," says Cusick, who started Connecticut-based Define Yourself Coaching. "It energizes my passion for helping people. I love it."

A recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that life coaches typically make $205 an hour.

Some coaches hold full-time staff positions at large corporations, but many life coaches are independent professionals who may opt to work part time.

Allied health care
Health care careers are in demand. They are slated to grow by 22 percent through 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That compares to 11 percent growth for all other industries combined.

Many traditional medical careers take years of school. However, allied health care professions frequently require no more than two years of study.

Allied health care professions include cardiovascular technicians, occupational therapy assistants, radiographers, pharmacy technicians, Certified Medical Assistants and many other professions.

Earnings vary widely, from a starting salary of $15,100 for an ophthalmic lab technician up to $158,000 for a senior medical librarian, according to wage data from the American Medical Association.

In some cases, allied health professionals are able to start working within six months. So, it's possible to earn a living while attaining additional allied health training to move into better, more lucrative positions.

Jim Hart, 42, will complete radiation therapy training in August. The former communications major used to be a circulation manager in the news industry before working for private foundations.

"I always made good money, but it wasn't fulfilling," he says. "I was leaving on Monday, coming home Friday and working all weekend."

Hart was interested in health care for a long time, but a medical job seemed like a drastic switch. His reservations evaporated when his brother and two sisters were all diagnosed with cancer within a span of five years.

So, while Hart continued to earn money consulting for Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, he enrolled in X-ray technician courses. He completed his initial training in two years, but considered it "a means to an end" in becoming a radiation therapist, which required six months worth of additional classes.

"Everyone asked, 'If you're going back to school, why don't you get an MBA or a law degree?' They thought I was an idiot," he says.

When Hart finishes his training, he'll be among 17,300 certified radiation therapists in the country. Base salary for radiation therapists averages $64,400, and a chief radiation therapist who supervises a department earns roughly $82,500, according to American Society of Radiologic Technologists.

"There's a very high demand for what I do, so I feel more in control of my own destiny," says Hart, who's already interviewed with five medical centers near Chicago.

Hart says it's also a "good feeling" to know that his new job will allow him to help save or extend lives by delivering radiation to shrink cancerous tumors.

Biomedical equipment technician
Moving into health care can also be an attractive option for mechanically inclined individuals who don't want to work face to face with patients.

Biomedical equipment technicians, or BMET specialists, use electrical, mechanical, chemical, optical and other engineering skills to repair and overhaul machines like dental and imaging equipment, EKGs and lasers.

BMET workers usually specialize in a particular kind of equipment. They are in high demand and are compensated well.

Entry-level pay stood at $38,000 in 2007, according to a recent compensation survey from Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, an industry group. Managers' base pay averaged a robust $85,000.

There are other perks, too.