Career Change Statistics 2026: Where Job Seekers Apply

Of the 15,175 Huntr job seekers we looked at for this report, 10,670 (70.3%) applied outside the field shown on their resume. That share showed no signifcant rise from Q4 2024 to Q2 2026. These results use 26 field groups defined by Huntr (see methodology). This study looks at where our users apply and how AI skill mentions changed in saved job posts over time.

We call someone an aspirational career changer if they apply to a job outside their resume field. This describes where they apply, not where they end up. We can look at this as a leading indicaor of whether someone is looking to make a change.

Hover or tap a field to see two lists: the three fields that send the most applicants to that field, and the three fields where those within the fields apply the most. We rank both by number of people. "Who applies here" uses everyone from other fields who applied to that field. "Where people from here apply" uses everyone who starts in that field. People can apply to more than one field, so the second list can add up to more than 100%.

Key career change statistics

• Using our field groups, 10,670 people applied outside their resume field at least once. That is 70.3% of the 15,175-person sample.
• The share applying outside their field ranged from 68.9% to 70.9% across seven quarters.
• Of the 10,670 people who applied outside their field, 30.5% applied to an Operations job and 30.3% to a Software & IT job. These were the two most popular fields to switch into.
• In every quarter, more people from Software & IT applied to other fields than from any other field. Across the full period, that was 1,807 people (47.9% of its group).
• The largest route was Software & IT to Data & Analytics. It had 722 people (19.1% of the Software & IT group).
• In Operations, 82.9% applied outside their field. In Software & IT, the share was 47.9%.
• In Q2 2026, 33.3% of saved Software Engineer posts with skill lists named AI-related terms. That was up from 10.8% in Q4 2024.

Who is in this study?

We studied Huntr users whose resume role and at least one applied job we could place in a field. This is a selected group, not a sample of all users.

Software & IT alone makes up 25% of the sample. Add data, security, product and design, and the share is 43%. Others work in sales, finance or retail. Some work in operations, marketing, education or consulting.

Many people in this sample work in tech, office roles and other skilled fields.

The 15 fields with at least 300 people make up 86% of the sample. We use these fields when we rank the share who look outside.

The starting field comes from a role marked current on the resume. If none is current, we use the role with the latest start date. The target field comes from the job title. These records show where people apply. They do not prove why they apply or whether they actually ended up changing jobs.

Are more applicants looking beyond their field?

We found no steady rise under our field rules. The share looking outside was 69.9% in Q4 2024 and 68.9% in Q2 2026. All seven quarters fell within a 2.0 percentage-point range. The first quarter had 3,436 people (22.6% of the full sample). The last had 2,319 (15.3%).

Each person counts once per quarter. The chart shows three groups: outside only, both inside and outside, and within only.

When do job seekers start looking outside their field?

Many people looked outside from the start of the records we can see. Within 24 hours of their first saved job, 52.8% had saved a job outside their resume field. That rose to 61.8% within seven days and 73.7% within 90 days. Of those who looked outside within 90 days, 71.6% had done so in the first 24 hours.

Some people widened their search later. For 3,054 people (21.8% of the timing sample), all jobs saved in the first 24 hours were in their own field. We could place every one of those first-day jobs. Of that group, 1,105 (36.2%) saved an outside-field job later, before day 90. This shows a change in saved jobs. It does not tell us why they changed their search.

Are people starting sooner?

Later groups did not show a steady shift toward looking outside sooner. Within 24 hours, 53.6% of the Q1 2025 group had saved an outside-field job. The Q1 2026 share was 48.4%, against 52.8% for all groups combined. By day 90, the two shares were 74.3% and 71.5%. Each group has the same 90-day window.

We used 14,035 people (92.5% of the report's sample) for the timing charts. Their first saved job came between Q4 2024 and Q1 2026. Each had 90 days we could track before July 2026. In time order, the six groups had 3,737 people (26.6% of this sample), 2,810 (20.0%), 2,307 (16.4%), 2,283 (16.3%), 1,447 (10.3%) and 1,451 (10.3%). We left out Q2 2026 because that group did not have a full 90 days to follow.

The clock starts with the first saved card not marked Sample in our records from October 2024 to June 2026. That may not be when the person's search began. Earlier jobs may be missing, resumes may have changed, and users may stop tracking. Leaving out the first quarter gives a similar 52.4% within 24 hours. A stricter title check gives 31.4% in the 8,652 people (61.6% of the timing sample) it keeps. That check requires both resume and outside-job titles to match labels the AI passes agreed on with high confidence. It changes both the people and jobs counted. These charts show when people saved jobs. An applied flag does not tell us when someone sent an application.

Which fields draw people from other careers?

Operations and Software & IT were nearly tied. Of the 10,670 people (70.3% of the sample) who applied outside their field, 30.5% applied to Operations and 30.3% to Software & IT. Sales drew 25.6% and Data & Analytics drew 24.9%. These shares show where people applied, not their chance of being hired.

As a place to apply, Software & IT drew the most people from other fields in four of seven quarters. Operations led in three, including both quarters of 2026 we looked at. In Q2 2026, Operations drew 471 people (29.5% of that quarter's outside applicants). Software & IT drew 435 (27.2%).career-change resume examples show how to present relevant experience in A year earlier, Software & IT led with 800 (30.2%), ahead of Operations at 714 (26.9%). These shifts do not show which field is easier to enter.

Common career-change pathways

Software & IT to Data & Analytics was the largest route in every quarter. In all, 722 people applied along that route (19.1% of the Software & IT group). The reverse route had 439 people (39.0% of the smaller group). Software-to-data interest was already common at the start. Its share was 18.9% in Q4 2024 and 18.7% in Q2 2026.

The chart picks the eight largest routes by people, then orders them by share of the starting field. A high share can come from a small field. Start from a route that begins in your own field, then read the actual postings behind it. A broad field can hide very different jobs. Our career change resume examples show how to present relevant experience for a new field.

Which fields do applicants look beyond?

Software & IT had the most people applying outside their field. Yet only 47.9% of its own group did so. That group had 3,776 people (24.9% of the sample). Outside shares were 82.9% in Operations, 94.7% in Education and 95.5% in Retail & Hospitality. Leadership (99.3%) and Consulting (96.4%) led the ranking. But broad titles can cross a field boundary when the target job has a more specific title.

Only the 15 fields with at least 300 people appear. Each share uses that field's own people as its base; the counts are in the table at the end.

AI skill mentions rose across five job titles

You do not need an AI job title to see AI skills in a job post. Among saved Software Engineer posts with skill lists, AI mentions rose from 10.8% to 33.3%. Product Manager went from 7.7% to 30.8%. UX Designer rose from 2.3% to 20.7%, Data Analyst from 7.2% to 14.3%, and Account Executive from 3.0% to 11.6%. These changes span Q4 2024 to Q2 2026. Check which AI tasks appear in your target jobs. Then choose skills you can show with real examples.

How we counted AI mentions. We checked the saved skill lists for AI-related terms, such as machine learning, ChatGPT and Copilot. We counted each URL once per job title and quarter. Only posts with a URL and a skill list count. A mention does not always mean the skill is required. These are posts saved by Huntr users, not all open jobs. Later quarters have fewer posts, so their rates use smaller samples. The measure covers AI broadly, not just generative AI. Each title had at least 100 posts with skill lists in each quarter.

How we defined an aspirational career changer

An aspirational career changer has at least one applied job outside their resume field. It describes a search, not a proven change of job. Fields describe the work in a title, not the employer's industry. Software Engineer to Data Analyst crosses our fields. Moving between two software employers does not. We place AI and machine-learning engineers in Data & Analytics, so that route need not mean leaving tech.

We use 26 groups defined by Huntr. These differ from US Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) groups. Engineering & Architecture leaves out software roles. Skilled Trades & Construction covers trades and building work. We leave out Other and Unclassifiable titles. We could not place them in a field.

For where people from a field apply, the base is everyone who starts in that field. For who applies to a field, the base is everyone from other fields who applied to it. Charts of target fields use all people who applied outside their own field. Each quarter uses its own group. None of these shares tells us how likely employers are to hire someone from another field.

Field guide and job title examples

The 26 Huntr fields, with job title examples and the number of people who started in each field, Q4 2024 to Q2 2026.

These examples do not cover every title or spelling.

This is a changing group of Huntr users. We do not know their motives or past resume text, and we cannot confirm that they changed jobs. We cannot show that AI caused any change in their search pattern. We keep the queries, field rules, AI prompts, group totals and checks on file. We do not share private user records.

How to cite: Huntr, "Career Change Statistics 2026: Where Job Seekers Apply," October 2026, huntr.co/research/career-changer.

Career change statistics: quick answers

How many applicants look beyond their field?

Using Huntr's field groups, 10,670 of 15,175 job seekers (70.3%) applied outside their resume field at least once. The period is Q4 2024 through Q2 2026. This is a result for the people and field rules in this study. It is not the share of all workers who changed careers.

What is the most common application pathway?

Software & IT to Data & Analytics was the largest route. It had 722 people (19.1% of the Software & IT group). Of the eight largest routes, the reverse had the highest share of its starting field: 39.0%.

Which fields attract the most outside applicants?

Of people who applied outside their field, 30.5% chose Operations, 30.3% chose Software & IT, 25.6% chose Sales and 24.9% chose Data & Analytics. These are also the four largest fields in the sample. A person can choose more than one field.

Is interest in changing fields rising?

We found no steady rise under our field rules in this sample. The share was 69.9% in Q4 2024 and 68.9% in Q2 2026. All seven quarters ranged from 68.9% to 70.9%. This does not tell us the national rate of career changes.

What counts as a career change here?

A job seeker applies outside the field on their resume. We use 26 Huntr-defined fields. Read How we defined an aspirational career changer, or see our career change resume examples to plan your next steps.