Breaking up with your career
I was at a long meeting the other day and during the lunch break I found myself telling my life story to someone with a sympathetic ear. Somehow I was heading for the big reveal. I blurted it out: “I’m having a career crisis.” At that moment all the other conversations in the room stopped and there was a brief but potent pause.
So I’ve blown my cover. I can’t be the only person who worries about their career, and wonders if it’s on the right track. Retraining to do something completely different can be tempting, especially in a recession. If you currently don’t have any paid work, then now is a good time to evaluate your options and look in new directions. The greatest danger is taking on debt. In the boom years people took out private loans to finance an expensive career change – such as a law conversion or other postgrad degree – only to discover that the jobs they were banking on to pay off those loans have now dried up.
The grass is always greener
But what if you do have a job, nay, a career, but you feel it’s just not you? Have you looked over to the other side of the fence and seen the beautiful, lush green grass? Does your fantasy career always look pleased to see you, and never nags you to take out the garbage?
Changing career is a truly life-altering decision, but we should know by now that the reality will be different from the fantasy. If you are hoping to find a new you by retraining in a different career, chances are the new you is going to be the old you but with an initial pay cut. I’m not saying the solution is to give up on your dream and make the best of what you have, but it is worth considering that what will be changing is not so much you as your circumstances.
Career or job?
Maybe it is time to pursue a more fulfilling career that uses your talents. But maybe it is also time to stop thinking in terms of careers and start thinking in terms of jobs.
The one idea our generation has bought into most wholeheartedly must be the idea of the career – what you want to be when you grow up. Maybe it’s because it’s one of the first questions you remember being asked as a child. As a child you know that the answer is supposed to be a profession, something like fireman, doctor, or artist. You’re not supposed to describe the person who you want to be in terms like kind, fair, just, wise, or compassionate. It’s not easy to distinguish what we do for a living from the label. But the truth is that how we do our job, how we live our lives, is more important that what that job is. Mother Teresa said it best: “We can do no great things; only small things with great love.”
Five questions to ask yourself
So before you write that break-up letter to your company’s HR department, reflect on the person who you want to be when you grow up. Not the fireman, but the person.
• What will your life look like if you throw all of your eggs into the career-change basket? What about the other things in your life that are important?
• What will it cost? Draw up a budget and only go ahead if it works.
• Will you have sacrificed having a family, or time with your family, for your dream?
If you are happy with the answers to those questions, I have a just a couple more for you.
• What are the employment prospects for your new career choice? Have you talked to someone in the field who knows first hand?
• Have you discussed your plan with the people who you are closest to?
Now that you’ve found the perfect career with great employment prospects that outweigh all the sacrifices to get there, let me know what it is… I could use some help.
Not sure what your ideal job would be? What not try our free quiz, 'Look at Me'
Written by Johanna Shepherd.
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