Making a career pivot in your 30s.

I was feeling stagnant and stuck for the last few years and wasn’t sure what to do next. I felt like I was doing the same thing over and over again, and didn’t feel like I was growing much or doing much.

Side note: Looking back, I achieved many things such as launching a group coaching program enrolling 5 members, finding small success on Etsy, signing my first official business coaching client, helping more small businesses grow through marketing, got to know many new solopreneur friends, and so much more.

I felt like I kept trying many things but nothing seemed to stick. I felt that I didn’t have a direction. I’d fallen sick quite often and had a lot of pains in my body because I was so stressed.

This period was challenging because even though life looks great on the outside, I felt a great sense of loss of my purpose and direction.

Like I’m in my 30s! Shouldn’t I already know what I want by now? Suddenly wanting to do something different, now what am I going to do?

I could hear all the things people and society may say/think:

• You should already have life figured out
• You are at the best point in your life. Got good things going for you.
• You’re at the peak of your career.
• It’s gonna get harder when you get older.
• Everyone else are like senior managers/directors, would it make sense for you to let go of that and become an executive again?
• Why leave a comfortable/secure spot for something that’s unknown?
• How many years do you have left in your working life?

However, the thought of staying in the same place, directionless and purposeless, was something that I could not ignore.

So I decided that it was time to make a change.

The stages of my pivot journey

Stage 1 - Feeling like things aren’t working. Felt stuck and frustrated.

Stage 2 - Looking for options. Exploring what else I could do that were related to my skills and interests. (some examples of what I was looking at - UX design, calligraphy, web development, etc)

Stage 3 - Trying new things, taking up new hobbies and launched new offers to figure out what I love and don’t love

Stage 4 - Loads of different feelings and thoughts. Lots of up and down emotions.

There were also a lot of thoughts around money and earning, especially when you’re in your 30s, such as:

• You should have X amount of savings by now.
• You are less risk averse than you were in your 20s. Why rock the boat?
• 30s are your so-called last sprint to earn more money. It’s going to be hard to earn and save as you get older.
• It’ll be harder to get a job in your 30s and/or as you get older.

I also thought about:

• Am I going to fall behind if I pivot now?
• I may have to take a pay cut/earn less. I feel embarrassed.
• If I start from zero again, how will I ever catch up?

But I also thought about:

• If not now, then when?

This is really a matter of how much you want to make a change. Are you okay with staying status quo or do you want to do something different despite all of the above?

How to decide what you want to pivot into or how you want to pivot

• Make a list of potential paths you’re considering
• Take courses, learn from YouTube, try it out (example, I took a UX course and I found that I didn’t really enjoy it, even though in the beginning, I thought it was something I could potentially do because I love design.)
• Narrow down your list! (Personally, I’d go with my gut. If it’s a hard no, I wouldn’t try to convince myself otherwise.)

Make space and time to explore. Honestly, your time is better spent exploring and trying and even failing, than staying in the same place and not doing anything about it.

Because if you do so, at the end of it, you will get more clarity after exploring, trying and failing.?

There was a period where I thought I needed to get a high paying job or some sort of degree or certification at some point. I spent a lot of time “researching” courses and programs and certifications and also looking for that “perfect” high paying job, which now I felt this time could have been better spent just making the pivot sooner.

At some point, I realised that certifications and courses do take up time AND money, and I already have the skills so why don’t I just start now and figure it out as I go along.

Then the next question was, what if I want to pivot into something that’s totally unrelated to what I’m doing right now and I don’t actually have the skill for it?

In this case, I had to find a way to have a stable income so I can have the mental space to dedicate to learning a new skill. That was the solution I came up with and here’s why…

Feeling financially stable can take a huge mental load off your shoulders and free up headspace so you can dedicate it to learning a new skill or starting something new.

I personally find it hard if I’m having to think about an unstable income that comes from freelancing and also finding the time and space to learn/do something new.

You may face some challenging moments during this period.

Here are some that I’ve faced:

• It may be hard for you to decide because the whole situation feels so uncertain. And it also may take you a long time to come to a decision. → Totally understandable as it’s a big decision. And we are potentially “starting from scratch” right in the middle of our lives!
• You may feel fickle and you may keep changing your mind. It might feel totally irresponsible even.
• You may feel like you’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall with no clear goals.
• You may question your skills and abilities. Am I quitting/letting go because I’m not good enough or will never be better than others? Or maybe I just don’t love it anymore?
• What would the people around me think? Will my family be disappointed? Especially if I suddenly say I want to change to a new career path and may make like 50% of what I am currently making? (Especially when you’re in your 30s and you are supposedly having to have it all figured out and know what you want in life.) Shouldn’t your salary be increasing and not decreasing?!

On the other hand, I’ve seen some friends pivot and they just seem so unapologetic about it! Slay?!

For example, one of my friends made the pivot from fashion stylist to therapist. She basically took her savings, enrolled to study as a counsellor and still do fashion styling jobs to supplement her income.

My perspective is that it feels like the Singapore government is expecting everyone to pivot their career at some point due to all the grants and benefits they are giving for people to start upskilling.?

Because technology and life in general changes so fast right now, it would be SMARTER to pivot than to stay in the same place. Which is probably also the reason why the government is encouraging people to learn new skills or improve their existing skills.

It actually makes a lot of sense to pivot.

Some of my thoughts around pivoting in my 30s...

Hopefully some of these thoughts may bring comfort during the challenging moments of pivoting:

• I’m not happy right now, where I am. I want a change. Why can’t I make a change? I feel like I deserve a change because I want to be happy.
• Is it selfish to change? How will it affect the people around me?
• I want to finally do something for myself. Is there anything wrong with that?
• Is earning less really that bad? I can tailor my lifestyle to fit my current earnings/salary. If I’m willing to do that, what can anyone else say?
• Is it really irresponsible to try new things and give up quickly if they don’t work out or feel good? Isn’t it better to let go quickly and move on to the next thing?

Biggest question: Are we really meant to just do ONE thing in life? Especially if we are multi-passionate? (If you think that you’re a multi-passionate, I highly recommend reading this book “How to Be Everything” by Emilie Wapnick, and my friend's Betty Xie 's podcast, The Everyday Talent Podcast.)

How do we pivot and feel financially stable at the same time?

—-> I navigated this pivot by finding a job.

Because I decided that it made sense to work in a job so I don’t have to worry about my monthly expenses, while I dedicated time outside of the 9-6 to explore how I could pivot.

Also, a job provides opportunities for me to learn and explore new opportunities.

I’m letting go of freelance work for now, save for a couple of clients whose work I thoroughly enjoy. (Additional side income never hurts!)

What I want to do right now/my plans moving forward:

• Focus on setting up my Etsy shop. I’ve created lots of digital content for past programs and memberships. I’m using my existing content repurposing skills to turn these content into digital products. (Etsy has been my favourite creative outlet and an experimental space for me since 2011.)
• My ultimate goal is to do coaching full-time. Right now, I’m currently building my thought leadership right here on LinkedIn, while at the selling 1:1 coaching and refining my coaching niche.

How it personally feels like to make a pivot in my 30s - it’s challenging.

I go through a lot of mixed emotions every day. Sometimes, I wonder if I should have just “stuck it out”. Sometimes, I’m glad I decided to make a change. This ol’ brain is just going back and forth on everything, just like any human brain would react in a challenging period.

It requires a lot of shifts in my mindset and thoughts. At this point, I would say that the phrase I most frequently repeat to myself is “Don’t try, don’t know.”

So if you’re thinking of pivoting or you’re feeling directionless in your career, life or business, it’s honestly not too late and in fact, I encourage it!

Because honestly, will you regret it if you don’t do it?

Why would it NOT make sense to pivot?

If you’re not pivoting:

• You’re not growing
• You will never know what could be possible
• You only live once, so may as well try it out

And you can honestly pivot without risking your entire life or career, by taking small actions!

If you’re in your 30s and you're thinking of making a pivot...

I totally get it. Even if your parents didn’t pressure you to “be the best” or “do well”, we definitely still have that pressure to not disappoint our parents. There is also the pressure from society and our peers to have to “keep up” in the stage of life that we’re in.

“You should already have it all figured out in your 30s!”

“It’s too late to change your career/business/partner/life!”

“What have you been doing in your life if you haven’t had it figured out by now?”

Those are some of the things that I’ve heard and personally have thought about many times.?

It’s too late.. What have you been doing so far… You’ve wasted your 20s…?

And probably, most people, including your parents, may tell you that pivoting right now in your 30s may just be the worst idea ever.

But is it really too late for YOU?

Or is it really too late based on societal expectations of what you “should” be doing in your 30s.

As we go through life, I’m sure there will be more times where we’ll feel like we’ve lost our direction and purpose. It’s okay to feel lost. It’s not a waste of time.

At this point in life, I’d like to view “being lost” as having an opportunity to create a different path for myself.?

A path that perhaps won’t fit into any boxes, but that’s okay.

A path that may seem impossible, but only within the confines of society’s norms.

A path that may turn out to be the most fulfilling and the best decision you’ve ever made.

But it will never look like the best decision in the beginning. Honestly, it would sometimes feel like the worst and possibly dumbest decision you’re making in your life so far. But your heart’s like, “Go for it!”.

Feeling lost may feel like a waste of time. If that’s the case, then take advantage of this opportunity and time to do things differently.

It WILL be a waste of time, if you’re not doing anything about it. But it will be a great investment of your time if you use this opportunity to create a different path for yourself.

Now, it’s really up to you to decide if you want to start to pivot now or later.

By starting today, you can start compounding the effects of your efforts, instead of staying status quo or forcing things to work, even when deep down, you know it won’t. Because pivoting will take time, so start now.

Imagine, in one year, where would you be? Everything can look so different if you start now.

If you feel that you’d like the support of a coach to guide you through the process of change and more importantly, holding you accountable and through the ups and downs of the entire journey, let’s discuss how this can look like for you.

We’ll discuss how we can help you feel grounded in this process, the vision of the change you want to create (e.g. how the impact of this change may even look like for you) and how to create a sustainable and enjoyable way to do so that works for you.

Book a discovery call for us to unpack this together (and how 1:1 coaching can support you with all the above).