Some of us went to college with an idea of what we wanted to do in mind.
We picked a major, dedicated the next 4-8 years to studying, and graduated with a diploma and maybe some experience in our field.
Fast forward a few years, and you’re disenchanted with your career. It’s not the dream you thought it would be.
Some of us also went to college with absolutely no idea of what we wanted to do, and picked a random major that “sounded” good on paper, only to find that we hate it.
These stories are not unusual. In fact, in a 2015 study by The Conference Board, it was discovered that only 48.3 percent of US workers were satisfied with their job.
Considering we sometimes spend more time at our jobs than we do at home, that’s an abysmal number.
If you’re feeling restless and unhappy in your current position, here are a few signs you should change your career.
1) You’ve Lost Interest
Perhaps you started off as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed college graduate, and ended up completely disenchanted by the industry you’re in.
Many times, the vision we have of our career in our mind is a lot nicer than reality would have it.
Other times, our interest naturally wanes after years in the same position, or at the same company.
If you’ve lost interest in your job to the point where you simply couldn’t care less about what happens in your industry, company, or with your colleagues, that might be a sign you need a change.
Apathy isn’t good when it comes to any aspect of your life, but it’s even worse with your job. Most managers want employees who are engaged with the mission of the company, and who are driven by intrinsic motivation to get the job done.
If every day is a countdown to when you get to leave, and days blend together, you might need to look for something you actually care about.
2) The Pay Isn’t That Great
Normally, I’m not one to say you should pick a job for the money. Many non-profit jobs don’t offer awesome salaries, but they can be fulfilling in other ways.
However, if you graduated with a boatload of student loan debt, you might not be able to make ends meet if you’re underpaid.
Additionally, you might start to feel resentful that you paid so much money to end up where you are.
You deserve to get paid according to the market, and according to the value that you bring to the table. If you’ve asked for a raise and haven’t received any sort of positive answer regarding one, it might be time to move on.
You could stay within the same industry and make a lateral move to another company willing to pay you more. You could also change careers entirely and either enter a field where the starting salary is more than what you’re currently making, or where you’ll have more earning potential after a short period of time.
3) There’s No Flexibility
A lot of millennials are fighting for better work-life balance. They want the flexibility to work from home, to telecommute, or take days off without feeling guilty.
There are jobs in certain industries that require you to work long hours, holidays, overnight shifts, or crazy work schedules that leave you with limited time to enjoy life.
Some people think they can handle it at first, but as time goes on, they grow tired of not having a social life, or not being able to take a vacation.
I’ve known a few people who work odd shifts (late night, overnight, on-call weekends) who find it’s fine most of the time, but hate having to say “no” to hanging out with friends, or not having their weekends free.
I’ve also known a few people who have overtime baked into their work schedule who might enjoy the extra money, but dislike the way working extra hours impacts their ability to do things.
Personally, I value my time a lot, and not having flexibility can be a deal-breaker when it comes to a career. Just imagine the next 10 or 20 years of working like that!
While your work culture might say differently, it’s okay to want to take time for yourself. Taking a break from work can help you recharge and come back with a fresh perspective. If working all the time isn’t for you, then you might be better off finding a career that isn’t as demanding.
4) It’s Just Not a Good Fit
While I don’t have the longest work history, there have been a few jobs I’ve held where the work culture didn’t mesh well with my personality. I hate drama and confrontation, and unfortunately, office politics are a very real thing.
Beyond that, you might hold personal beliefs or have personal values that clash with the mission of your company.
Even worse, your industry might frown upon personal expression (tattoos, fun hair colors and makeup, etc.) and you find yourself stifled at work.
Your career shouldn’t feel like a prison sentence. If you can’t flex your creative muscles, express your opinions, or simply be yourself, you might want to change things up. Putting on a facade for years will be tiring and stressful.
If any of you have watched How I Met Your Mother, Marshall’s career as a lawyer comes to mind as an example. He always wanted to work in environmental law, but couldn’t find a position in that field.
As a result, he worked at other companies in-between, but became fed up with the lack of justice in the system. He eventually became a judge, but the constant conflicts he experienced at his job were hard to watch!
5) Your Expectations Were Flawed
This actually happened to me. I interviewed for an executive assistant job, only to be placed in what was essentially a customer service position. Absolutely nothing that was discussed during the interview actually played out.
If you start out on the wrong foot like this, it can be difficult to have a good relationship with any aspect of your job, because you were misled from the start. There’s a lack of trust there.
You might adapt, or you might find that you struggle to perform well in the position given to you, and that’s not a good feeling to have every day.
This can happen with a career as well. You might find that having the curtains pulled back lessens the magic of it all, or you might have talked up a job in your head so much that reality will never meet your expectations. Even worse, you might just have a misconception of the industry or of what a job entails.
The sad fact is every job has its downsides. You need to set your expectations accordingly by talking with others in the industry, or by interning.
6) You’re Not Learning, or Growth is Limited
In my opinion, not having any progress to make in your job is one of the most frustrating feelings, and can quickly lead to boredom (and losing interest!).
I’ve worked office jobs that had limited growth potential, and I lost the motivation to be there about six months in. I might have liked everything else about the job, but if there’s nothing more for me to learn, I can’t see myself doing the same thing day in and day out. I like variety.
If you work at a small company, or at a company where seniority is valued (and people only move up when someone retires), you might want to think about making a change.
7) Your Health is Suffering
This is probably the biggest tell-tale sign that you need to change careers. If you’re super stressed, exhausted, depressed, or anxious about your job, then the money probably isn’t worth it.
Easier said than done, I know, but your health needs to be a priority. Unfortunately, when your health suffers, your work performance also suffers. You might be taking more sick days than usual, or leaving a bad impression, which might have negative consequences.
You shouldn’t be dreading work every morning, you shouldn’t have nightmares about work, and you shouldn’t feel completely miserable and defeated when at work.
I noticed this happening to me at one of the most stressful jobs I’ve had. I decided to take a position that paid less and had limited opportunity for overtime because I didn’t want to “handle it” anymore. I knew the new position would be less stressful overall, and to me, that was worth the pay cut.
How to Switch Your Career
Switching careers isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. You shouldn’t need anyone’s permission to change what you do for a living. If what you’re doing right now isn’t working, there’s no use in committing to it for the next few decades.
We don’t live in our parents generation where staying at a company until retirement is normal; many millennials have been casually job hopping for years now.
The biggest things I can recommend to make the switch are as follows:
- Never burn bridges, no matter what! Who you know is always important
- If you want to take control of your career completely, start a side hustle doing what you think you might enjoy
- Talk to others that are doing what you’re interested in so you can get a realistic idea of what it’s like to work in certain places and positions
- Keep your expectations realistic – don’t make something into a dream job only to set yourself up for disappointment
- Figure out what benefits are important to you in a career and don’t settle for less; find a work culture that reflects your values
- Keep your skills sharp and don’t be afraid to learn new skills to bolster your resume
_____________________
I firmly believe that you should never feel trapped by your career. Many of us go to college for one thing and end up working in a different industry that we never expected to be in. That’s okay.
The important thing is to keep learning new things so you can figure out what you like, what you don’t like, and what you’re good at, so you can figure out what a good career match is in the end.
Have you ever switched careers before? How did you know it was time to make the switch? What did you do to make the transition easier?
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Sadly, that job satisfaction number isn’t all that surprising. In fact, I’d expect it to be lower to be honest. While I changed a number of jobs, they were all in the same field so I don’t know that I’d call it a career change – until leaving my day job altogether that is. For me, it came down to impacting my health and would get physically ill walking into my office building. That being said, completely agreed on the steps to take if you do want to change. You never know when you may want more control/need to utilize your network so being proactive and professional is best practice in my opinion.
Same here, John – I thought it would be lower as well. It could be, considering the survey was slightly older.
Yes – getting physically ill, being super stressed, dealing with headaches – all bad signs it’s probably time to move on. Life is too short to be stuck in that position. I don’t think people fully realize the impact our work environment can have on us.
As I am getting older, job flexibility is becoming more important to me. I left a job with more flexibility for an increase in pay. Although less flexibility was tough at first, I am happy that I made the move. Between my ending salary at my previous salary to my current salary, I make over 20k more (not including the additional benefits and bonuses).
There are definitely times when your priorities change! Technically, since I’m self-employed, I have more flexibility, bur I’ve found myself working more because I’m earning more. However, it’s nice to have the option of scaling back.
This is all great reasoning and advice. My previous career just wasn’t a good fit. I knew I couldn’t stay much longer.
Thanks, Aliyyah. It’s unfortunate that most of us (with our first full-time jobs) aren’t taught to focus on companies and industries that will fit well with our personal needs and goals. We just know that we’re interested in the field, not everything that might come along with it!