Career Change: How Do I Know It Is Time to Start Over?

Are you sitting at your current job feeling like you need a career change? Are you wondering when or how you will know if it’s that time to start over? If that has crossed your mind, don’t worry, it’s normal. Wanting to make a career change at 35, or feeling like you want to start a new career at 40 is okay. If anything, listen to that feeling, because you will be so much happier for it.

At The School of New Work, we encourage you to strive for a career you love. Many of our students come to us with reservations about changing careers, which is normal, but we want to reinforce that making a career change can be an incredibly liberating decision. While it may feel like a career change is not an easy journey, we are here to help you see that it is feasible and, actually, very common in today’s day and age.

There are many signs that it is time to start considering a career change. The change can be very difficult, but your happiness and time is so worth it. There are many opportunities to change careers later in life, so why not go for it? If you are going through a few or even one of the scenarios listed below, it may be time to take the plunge. Continue reading to learn the signs to know if you are thinking of a new career. 

 

How do you know if it’s time to start over?

This is the million-dollar question. This is because the moment you know when it’s time to start a new career can be different for everyone. There are several different ways to test whether you are going through a rough stage in your career or whether it’s actually time to make a switch. 

Here are some signs to look for to know it may be time to start over.  

 

Energy Depletion

We all have days where work feels like it is dragging on. The days you look at the clock and feel like lunch could not come soon enough. Here and there, those are normal. It should not be a regular occurrence. It is when work begins to feel like it’s dragging from the moment you wake up, during and after that is a clear sign you could maybe use a change. Look for signs like struggling to get out of bed, forcing yourself to be enthusiastic, finding it hard to stay awake during meetings, etc. 

 

Self-Esteem 

Working a job that makes you feel badly about yourself is not a great situation to be in. If you are in a negative environment day in and day out, it will start to weigh heavily on you and your self-esteem. No matter what the pay or perks are, there is no job that is worth having a low self-esteem every day. Look for signs like feeling like your suggestions aren’t being taken seriously or not feeling confident in decision making. 

 

Day-Dreaming of a Different Career

Are you sitting at your desk thinking and Googling different jobs? If that’s the case, that should be sign #1 that your mind is elsewhere. If you are browsing for different jobs or reading about people who have made career changes—lean into that gut feeling.  

 

Feeling Disconnected

Are you no longer feeling creative in your field? Is it possible that you have worked your job for so long that you have forgotten or gotten far away from the main reason you started out in that career? Look out for feelings like missing the work that brought you into the job in the first place, or feeling like you don’t recognize yourself anymore. If you feel any of these things, you should look for a career you feel connected to. 

 

Feeling Jealousy 

Jealousy is not fun and is usually a sign that you would rather be doing something else, somewhere else. Instead of seeing jealousy of friend’s or family’s jobs as a negative, ask yourself why you feel these feelings. Understand what you are jealous of and try to bring some of those aspects into your career.

 

Apathy 

Many of us have experienced workdays where our head and our heart just aren’t in it. Usually a good sleep or a good rant to a friend will fix this. But, when those apathetic feelings turn into operating on autopilot, consistently wishing you were somewhere else, and checking out, it’s a sure sign that you need a change. Look out for signs like feeling zero interest in the company you work for, saving all your good ideas for your next job, and just coasting along. 

 

You found this article 

Simply the fact that you are reading this article shows that a career change may be right for you. You wouldn’t be looking up resources for this sort of thing if you weren’t interested in a change. Lean into that feeling and think about what makes you tick. Where do your passions lie? Put money and logistics aside and think, what do you want to do with your time? Once you have that idea, then you can start searching for people in those positions and ask for help.  

 

So, now what?

If you resonated with even some of the above points, it may be time to consider a career change. Now that we have identified that you should look into a career change, let’s talk about next steps. What now? It’s time to start a career that you are passionate about. There are several ways to go about making a career change. Check out our handy resource that outlines career change tips in further detail.

If after considering all of the above points, you are interested in enhancing your skills or training for a new career, consider Robertson. We have a variety of online and hybrid programs that will help you hit the ground running!