Reflections on My Career Journey: What I Would Tell My Younger Self

I was recently approached to return to a university where I had completed an internship as a medical scientist. I was asked to participate in their career day and give a talk. Given that I graduated 16 years ago, I highly doubted that what I knew then would be helpful to new graduates today.

A lot has changed:

1) Saudi Arabia has undergone massive economic changes under the Vision 2030 initiative launched in 2016.

2) Riyadh has transformed into a super city, one of the most important economic hubs in the region. The city will host Expo 2030, and we are witnessing a season of growth and massive transformations.

3) Moreover, when I graduated, there was no artificial intelligence, no concept of a digital economy, and it certainly wasn't bigger than most economies.

So, I didn't know how to approach the subject until one day, my neighbor asked me to be his mentor. This led me to realize something fundamental: some things do not change with time, and these fundamentals have everything to do with you, not the external world.

If I were to share the essentials I learned about my career, I'd focus on three points.

First: It’s Just a Job.

When I first graduated, I worked for three years as a medical scientist. While I did well, I hated it because nothing about being a scientist resembled who I was in real life.

As a medical scientist, I was asked to follow a strict procedure, and there was a committee that audited the quality of my work—understandable, given that we were dealing with patient samples.

However, for someone as creative as me, this structure felt suffocating.?

My job required me to work in isolation, under a hood, without talking. While I enjoy working on my own, my process often involves thinking out loud, singing, or even dancing when inspiration strikes. This dynamic energy was a stark contrast to the environment of a hospital lab. Additionally, I assisted a doctor every Wednesday in a cancer clinic, where we took fine needle aspiration samples from women with breast cancer. It was emotionally overwhelming to witness the pain without being able to engage, listen, or help them vent their feelings. I just couldn't process the constant exposure to suffering.?

But I believe that had I not done that job, I would never have found my career. Elizabeth Gilbert explains the difference between a job, a career, and a vocation beautifully. A job is something that pays your bills; it's what you do as an adult, not necessarily something you love, but something you must commit to responsibly. A vocation, on the other hand, is why you were put on this earth. I see vocation as the thing you would willingly do even during your vacation—the thing you excel at naturally and what others recognize in you. For me, that's storytelling.?

When a job aligns with a vocation, you find a career. But even if they don't align, a job can still provide benefits like health insurance, a retirement plan, or a network that enables you to pursue your vocation in your free time.?

Second: Invest in Relationships.

When I was younger, I focused primarily on building connections with senior people, thinking that having enough sponsors or mentors would help me advance. But in reality, it was my peers—those I graduated with and worked alongside—who knew me best and were more aligned with where I was at every stage of life.?

If I could go back, I would invest more in my peer relationships. These relationships were not only more fun, allowing for easy socializing over lunch, but also much more rewarding over time. Opportunities from peers far outweigh those from superiors.?

I also learned that building long-term relationships, rather than seeking quick wins, brings a much greater return over decades. Life is long, and relationships should not be built on stepping over others for short-term gains. True value comes from investing in connections, building enough trust that opportunities naturally come your way. Relationships, I discovered, yield tenfold returns when you start by giving, rather than taking.?

Third: Know Thyself.

Throughout my career, I have done jobs that did not align with who I am, and I have worked with people who did not share my values. Every time I took such a role—often because of the appealing title or financial incentives—I ended up regretting it. Any behavior that isn't aligned with one's true self isn't sustainable.

This realization hit me hard when I found myself in a project where my focus was more on internal competition with colleagues rather than achieving the project’s goals. I recognized I was in the wrong place and needed to quit. Despite the prestige and financial benefits, I knew that aligning with my values would yield a more fulfilling career.

These are the insights I would share with my younger self.

What advice would you give to yours?