A rollercoaster approach to reshuffle your career

Reshuffling your career doesn’t happen from day to night. It starts with the realisation of a misalignment between the current job, who we really are, what we really value and appreciate in a profession and what we would like to do instead. The misalignment can take many forms or shapes. It’s the frustration for not being considered (again) for a big project and feeling invisible, no matter what you do and how good your performance is. It’s doing the same tasks over and over again with the feeling of utilising only a small percentage of what you can really do. It’s going with the flow of the daily meetings and operations dreaming to be somewhere else. Taken to the extreme, it’s provoking the direct manager into several nasty conversations with the precise intent to be fired. Or being totally burnt out with no energy to even bother go to work.

Recognising the misalignment is the first step which usually leads to the question: ok, now what?

Changing your career is a process per se. It will take quite some time as is linked with the financial and personal situation plus what skills need to be acquired. Needless to say it will not always go in a straight line. On one side it generates a lot of stress and uncertainty about the final results. On the other side there the adrenaline in building something from scratch and making it come to life. Something to be proud of. Said like that most people would think: if it’s so difficult then is better to stay in my misaligned job rather than going into the rollercoaster of a career change. Thinking about it… how is a rollercoaster ride similar to a career change?

You make a conscious choice

Imagine wandering in the park; you see the rollercoaster. It’s super colorful with a lot of twist and turns and upside downs where people scream and laugh and have fun. It’s also extremely high and there is loud music. Looking at it there is the choice to ride and experience it, or not.

Thinking about your career the similarity is: you can decide to stay where you are or…you decide to ride it.

It’s scary and safe because of meticulous engineering and planning

When setting foot in the carriage, sitting down and the bar is slowly lowered, almost everyone (me for sure) has a pang of adrenaline pumping into the veins. Remember you consciously chose to have the experience, though you can always jump off before it starts. It’s going to be scary and exciting at the same time. With a career twist is similar. Unlike the roller coaster you can always get off at any time and continue with the same job. It’s guaranteed is you are going to survive it because – despite few cases – the roller coaster is safe. The reason for the safety is because it was meticulously planned and engineered. When choosing a career change, meticulous planning is a big part of its success and cannot be skipped.

At first it goes very slow and then it picks up the pace

In the initial part of it the speed is painfully slow. On one side it builds the expectations of the fun and the adrenaline, the heart beats faster. When changing your career the beginning is also quite slow as many elements need to be solved. Is an additional certificate/degree necessary, how much it costs, how much it takes, will you be doing this in parallel in your free time or will you resign tomorrow. How much money can you invest and crunching numbers to understand the financial side of it is part of the game. Once all this is figured out the pace picks up. Pace starts to go quicker there are new skills to learn, new people to meet, a whole new professional strategy to put in place.

It’s not a straight line; it twists, turns and shakes the entire body

Not even the slower roller coasters for kids go in a straight line. Why would they? Going into a straight line will take all the fun away. Same goes in a career twist. Delays might be experienced due, for example, to family decisions, or because the certification/degree takes more time than expected. Like on a roller coaster when is twisting and turning the natural reaction is to hold tightly onto the bar. Hold it tight in difficult situations. They are there to sharpen the new you and to keep you safe.

Once out of it you feel proud

When the ride is over you are out of it looking at the giant monster from the ground, there is a general sense of pride. You made it, most likely a picture of you screaming with a funny face and hair all over is taken and it will be handed to keep it for future memory. Be proud of it.

Rollercoasters are not for everyone and that’s OK

There are professionals who do consciously decide not to step into the rollercoaster. Like there are a lot of professionals who choose to change their career. Career changing and rollercoasters are not for everyone as it takes and extra pinch of courage to make the first decision and then the grit to hold onto it.

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose” – Dolly Parton