Do you have change for a dollar? 💵
Changing direction isn't a bad thing - When and how to pivot.
As the saying goes “fall 7 times but get up 8”. Thomas Edison failed 100 experiments and his 101th was the light bulb 💡 (don’t think this is true but you know). The benefits of persistence can go on and on, and are always referenced in our cultural mindset. At least that’s what they proverbially tell you!
However, there are (many!) situations when it is fine to change and move in a different direction. How many (still) have the dream of becoming a pro athlete and now find themselves in some dull 😴 corporate job, working 80 hours weeks, having 100 emails when you wake up at 5:30am (maybe one of our editors. Note from editor: this hit hard.)? Sometimes change is required.
The dead end job
Until high school, life is pretty much the same for everyone. Sure, you might have some more demanding AP courses, but the overall experience is the same (unless you are dropping out or some strong bullying is involved! 😲). When applying to college, a mixture of interest in a subject, future job prospects, and partiiiiieeesss is what you search for 🥳. Not a lot of advice though is given towards the type of life you want to have.
A lot of people “find” themselves in their careers without fully understanding its effect on your quality of life. There are some natural trade-offs in every job that are not given enough consideration at the beginning.
Value your time with friends and family? Probably Investment Banking with its demanding hours is not the right job for you.
A strong preference for stability? Then the start-up world is probably not where you want to be.
As insightfulness grows with time, so does the ability to shift from your set career path. The end result is accepting the situation we have put ourselves — many times choosing what feels comfortable. Admit it, you’re guilty of this too. At some point we must accept the fate we are in: the dead end job. The safest trap in corporate America.
Time to make it happen! 🎉
The only way to get out of this golden cage is to assess what you want, and take a chance. Careers have become a lot more flexible (weirdly thanks also to the pandemic! 😷). It has never been as cheap and easy to move without all the downside that comes with it (loss of income, seniority, familiarity with colleagues, etc.). With the shift to WFH, there is a realm of training courses and remote jobs that have now become accessible. Obviously the question then becomes, how do I find the time (and 💰) to make it happen? Some of our favorite on-line courses providers:
Coursera- Coursera partners with more than 200 leading universities and companies to bring flexible, affordable, job-relevant online learning to individuals and organizations worldwide.
edX - It hosts online university-level courses in a wide range of disciplines to a worldwide student body, including some courses at no charge.
Udemy - An open online course provider aimed at professional adults and students.
Udacity - Online courses in programming, data science, artificial intelligence, digital marketing, and more.
Skillshare - An online learning community for people who want to learn from educational videos.
While these courses are easy to access, similar to New Year’s resolutions, you need to stick with it! How is that second language training going for our readers? Luckily for you, we have already covered this topic in a previous newsletter. The one piece of advice, while they may be a tad more expensive, always go for the accredited courses, as they will hold more value in your CV, and therefore to your future employer. Or you could always drop $150k for another graduate degree — to each his/her own!
Hey reader, are you looking for a career change? Trying to shift into something new? Let us know!