Being set on a particular career path can be tremendously exciting, but it can also become constricting if you decide your current occupation is not for you.
When you realize that you are on a career trajectory that no longer fulfills you, it can be a disconcerting moment. All the planning, skills, and hard work you have invested into your current career suddenly count for nothing, as all you want is to switch onto another path.
Naturally, changing careers usually brings with it a little risk (especially if you haven’t got a new job lined up), but they can also be a fantastic decision that transforms your life for the better.
In fact, thanks to increasing flexibility in the workplace, it has never been easier to pursue a new career.
Here are five signs you are ready for a career change:
You want to consolidate your existing skillset with new abilities
When doubts start to arise about your career choice, it often stems from a lack of challenge or stimulation within the job itself.
This could be because you have outgrown your current role, but there is no clear line of progression to pursue in the future.
To solve this problem, you may want to either choose a new role that teaches you different skills or develop the necessary skills to progress in new directions, such as towards a Career Change to Data Analytics.
You feel restless and unfocused in your current job
A common sign that tells you it may be time for a new career is a consistent restlessness or lack of focus during work hours.
If you feel like you cannot relax into your daily tasks like you used to, find yourself either consciously or subconsciously distracting yourself from your job, or failing to perform effectively, then you might require fresh pastures.
Of course, this may be symptomatic of a wider lack of focus rather than your career specifically, but it is worth analyzing why this is the case.
There are personal interests that you want to pursue
Alternatively, you may be at a stage of your life when you want to readdress your work/life balance.
Perhaps you and your partner have just had a baby, or you have a deep urge to travel the world. Either way, it may be time for your existing career to take a backseat and for you to put other considerations first.
Your ambitions are outgrowing your current responsibilities
Often, career changes are necessitated by ambitions that outweigh the potential your current position offers.
If you have a burning ambition to reach a certain goal in life, then you may occasionally feel held back by your current career. Maybe you aren’t paid enough or given enough responsibilities to reflect your experience level. Whatever the issue, you may have to switch careers in order to chase your dreams.
There is are fresh opportunities in other industries which you are interested in
Of course, you may not receive the sign that it is time for a career change from within yourself and your work.
There could be an exciting new industry that can benefit from your skills and experience or a job opportunity that is just too good to miss out on. These temptations are evidence alone that you might be ready for a change.
