Great follow up article. It's so encouraging. Yes there are so many people now having multiple careers over their working life. The job for life is a myth, and restrictive when there are options out there. It takes courage and growing self-awareness to make changes. As I have found out over my working life.
Thank you for this second part, in the first one, I got a bit lost and got to the "what now?" And the part where you say "you don't have to choose one career for the rest of your life" I think it takes so much weight from my shoulders. I am in my 30s and I see everyone in my family just had 1 job, like, they were always teacher, or always an architect or just climbing the stairs of a job but clearly in the same field and here I am hopping from one thing to another feeling guilty. I will try to stay more open and search my interests, thank you!
I feel you! I'm also in my thirties and many of the older people I had around me also did only one job for life!! I think it's a bit of a generation thing. I feel lucky I had some examples out of the curve like my mom and my aunt. I think that a lot of the guilty that comes with this is from the feeling of that we "should" have figured out by now. But life is a constant figuring out, especially with so much change coming with the advances of technology. I'm cheering for you!!
I'm so glad I stumbled upon your article. Every sentence made me say "yass" in my head. I've made a big career change in the last year, and it has been very challenging since then. After reading this, I feel like everything is going to be okay and that I'll continue figuring it out. Thank you for your words!! 🫶🏽
The first article and this follow up made me feel seen!! My thoughts regarding turning to experimentation when lost helped me discover my first career which has lasted for almost 8 years and now back in the experimentation phase again to decide the next role that’ll be my love for another couple of years. But it’s hard to explain to people.
I just read Part 1 and then Part 2 on my lunch break and I’m grateful to have found them both. There’s a lot for me to chew on here, and I have to say I’m not entirely surprised by my top 6 points of pleasure. The reality I’ve faced for the last 10 years since I finished my undergraduate degree is that I’m having a hard time fulfilling any of them in the work that I do. Although, I am starting to realize that the issue may be less with my job in and of itself and more in my ability or desire to see opportunities in my day-to-day.
thank you for sharing your insights Brian. The path to fulfilling work is definitely not straightforward. It's not uncommon to find ourselves in work where we don't feel our best. But knowing what direction to explore helps a lot in finding your way through it when we're open to experiment. I wish you find the fulfilment you're looking for in your current job, or out of it :)
I’m still going through mine but heres what I have. I scored high in Nature, Beauty (not creativity!), independence and self expression. And I work as a product designer in tech (no wonder I’m not satisfied) I thought that I would score high in “making money” cos that’s why I went into it, but it turned out to be more trauma-driven. Now that I’m financially ok, that drive is completely out of my system.
Here’s what I have so far:
- stay in product design, stay self employed, focus on climate tech, nature related companies, early stage so that I can wear multiple hats and be the creative creator
Yeh, the confusion around the pleasure of making money is common. It's not really about the drive for the money itself, but what's behind that that turns out to generate money as a consequence. I like that you started writing down possibilities to explore. And that you're mixing tasks around your job with creating illustrations. I'm cheering for your success!
Hi Brian, It wasn’t a straightforward decision. Looking back, I initially saw psychology as an alternative path to a career I was unhappy with at the time. I couldn’t just stop working and return to university immediately, so while preparing financially and continuing in my career (this time as self-employed) I started to feel more engaged and fulfilled in the work itself.
Over time, I realized that I could meet many of the interests that drew me to psychology within my current career, as long as I had the freedom to shape it on my own terms. I now integrate a lot of psychological and therapeutic principles into my one-to-one client work.
So, instead of choosing either one path or the other, I’ve come to see that combining both has made my work more unique and meaningful.
Great follow up article. It's so encouraging. Yes there are so many people now having multiple careers over their working life. The job for life is a myth, and restrictive when there are options out there. It takes courage and growing self-awareness to make changes. As I have found out over my working life.
Yes, love when you say "growing self-awareness". We're in constant discovery of ourselves and the world :)
So many good points in this. This resonates so much: That’s when I realized that I love working with people, instead of for people.
♥️
Thank you for this second part, in the first one, I got a bit lost and got to the "what now?" And the part where you say "you don't have to choose one career for the rest of your life" I think it takes so much weight from my shoulders. I am in my 30s and I see everyone in my family just had 1 job, like, they were always teacher, or always an architect or just climbing the stairs of a job but clearly in the same field and here I am hopping from one thing to another feeling guilty. I will try to stay more open and search my interests, thank you!
I feel you! I'm also in my thirties and many of the older people I had around me also did only one job for life!! I think it's a bit of a generation thing. I feel lucky I had some examples out of the curve like my mom and my aunt. I think that a lot of the guilty that comes with this is from the feeling of that we "should" have figured out by now. But life is a constant figuring out, especially with so much change coming with the advances of technology. I'm cheering for you!!
Such a good article, Nathalia! So glad I found your writing. I love the idea of experimenting as well…and I also started my substack as an experiment!
That's great Jizel! Excited for you to see how your experiments will unfold ✨✨
I'm so glad I stumbled upon your article. Every sentence made me say "yass" in my head. I've made a big career change in the last year, and it has been very challenging since then. After reading this, I feel like everything is going to be okay and that I'll continue figuring it out. Thank you for your words!! 🫶🏽
Everything is going to be okay!! Life is a big experiment, that's all! ☺️ 🙌 thank you for sharing Kristen!
Amazing article! Thank you for sharing your journey, this is so inspiring 🌟
Thank you for your comment Sara, I'm happy you found it helpful :) 🌟
This is EVERYTHING I have needed. Thank you so much. Part II was essential
I'm glad it resonated with you Camila! 🫶
The first article and this follow up made me feel seen!! My thoughts regarding turning to experimentation when lost helped me discover my first career which has lasted for almost 8 years and now back in the experimentation phase again to decide the next role that’ll be my love for another couple of years. But it’s hard to explain to people.
I'm glad that you felt seen through this piece 🥹 thank you for sharing that. One curiosity: why there's is a need to explain to other people?
I just read Part 1 and then Part 2 on my lunch break and I’m grateful to have found them both. There’s a lot for me to chew on here, and I have to say I’m not entirely surprised by my top 6 points of pleasure. The reality I’ve faced for the last 10 years since I finished my undergraduate degree is that I’m having a hard time fulfilling any of them in the work that I do. Although, I am starting to realize that the issue may be less with my job in and of itself and more in my ability or desire to see opportunities in my day-to-day.
thank you for sharing your insights Brian. The path to fulfilling work is definitely not straightforward. It's not uncommon to find ourselves in work where we don't feel our best. But knowing what direction to explore helps a lot in finding your way through it when we're open to experiment. I wish you find the fulfilment you're looking for in your current job, or out of it :)
taking some serious notes !!
Thank you Nathália for part 2!
I’m still going through mine but heres what I have. I scored high in Nature, Beauty (not creativity!), independence and self expression. And I work as a product designer in tech (no wonder I’m not satisfied) I thought that I would score high in “making money” cos that’s why I went into it, but it turned out to be more trauma-driven. Now that I’m financially ok, that drive is completely out of my system.
Here’s what I have so far:
- stay in product design, stay self employed, focus on climate tech, nature related companies, early stage so that I can wear multiple hats and be the creative creator
- spend 3 days a week doing illustrations
Yeh, the confusion around the pleasure of making money is common. It's not really about the drive for the money itself, but what's behind that that turns out to generate money as a consequence. I like that you started writing down possibilities to explore. And that you're mixing tasks around your job with creating illustrations. I'm cheering for your success!
Thank you for setting up this fantastic article!
Thank you for your comment Gil! 💙
Thank you thank you thank you, oh how grateful I am to find this passage
💙🙏 I'm grateful for your comment Nadia. Wishing you luck and success on your path :)
Can I just say how much I love this article, it truly came in a time where I needed to hear this 🙏🏽✨
Thank you, your thoughts are so valuable!
I'm so happy to hear it was helpful for you Faherah! Thank you for letting me know. 🙏🏽✨
Hi Brian, It wasn’t a straightforward decision. Looking back, I initially saw psychology as an alternative path to a career I was unhappy with at the time. I couldn’t just stop working and return to university immediately, so while preparing financially and continuing in my career (this time as self-employed) I started to feel more engaged and fulfilled in the work itself.
Over time, I realized that I could meet many of the interests that drew me to psychology within my current career, as long as I had the freedom to shape it on my own terms. I now integrate a lot of psychological and therapeutic principles into my one-to-one client work.
So, instead of choosing either one path or the other, I’ve come to see that combining both has made my work more unique and meaningful.