Understanding if your career isn’t for you is hard for anyone, and it can be scary to make a life-changing decision. But if it is something that you need to be happy; you shouldn’t let fear rule you. And you are not alone: 49% of people said they’d made a dramatic career change. Here are some of the things that will help you determine if your career isn’t for you.
Pursue Hobbies
Deciding your career isn’t for you and that you are ready for a change is a difficult decision to make. One of the things you can do to explore other possibilities is to pursue some of your hobbies. Sometimes hobbies are our passions, and they can guide us to a new profession that will make us feel more fulfilled.
Other times we can discover things that make us happy, and if we can build a career out of it, then the better. For example, maybe you’ve always liked to draw but never had much time for it. Start practicing, and perhaps you discover you have a gift for the skill. Or you could find out that you like to teach others about something you love, like drawing.
Another possibility is that you could build a business out of one of your hobbies. Maybe you like to do things with your life and realize you are quite creative and that others will pay for your job. It doesn’t matter what activity you pursue, but it will help you try out something different and distract you from what is making you hate your current job.
Try out New Skills
The next step will be to try out new skills. You can start by taking a basic course on a career you think could be a good fit. Let’s say you’ve always been interested in statistics. You can enroll in a part-time course on the basics of statistics and math. This will give you a chance o try out the field before making a drastic decision like quitting your current position.
Some people need some kind of assurance before making a life-changing decision. With a course, you will at least know if that path is something you like. And another plus is that you can try out as many skills as you like. You can even find courses for free in some cases, so you will only have to invest a little of your time.
A perfect skill you can consider is tech skills. The tech industry is growing more each year, and it offers many job opportunities for people with the right skills. And you can become one with coding bootcamps in a few months. Coding bootcamps also offer free courses that give you a taste of what their learning platform is like and if coding could be for you. Check out Bootcamp Rankings to learn more.
Consider an Adult Internship
You could also consider doing an adult internship. It depends on what position in your life you are at. If you are unemployed and don’t want to find another job in your current career, and if you can afford to work unpaid for a few weeks or months, then an adult internship may be the best option. Adult internships are like normal internships, but the intern isn’t a recent graduate.
People who apply to adult internships have some work experience and more advanced skills than individuals that just finish college. But, why should you do one? Because you can have a taste of what the work environment will be like. Learning the skill is not enough to know if your career isn’t for you. But spending some time working on another company in another role will help you figure it out.
Look Inside Yourself
Finally, the only person who can really know what you want is yourself. Thus, no matter how much advice I give you, you will have to look inside yourself to find the answer. Ask yourself, why are you feeling this way? Why aren’t you happy with your career? What are you passionate about? And, what do you want your future to be like?
In Summary
The things you can do to determine if your career isn’t for you are to pursue hobbies, try out new skills, consider an adult internship, and look inside yourself. Some strategies will clear more doubts than others. For example, learning a new skill will help you understand your future path, and the same can be said of an adult internship.