Finding a job, being good at it and having a solid career is a hard long race, we all know that. When you find your place and build your own portfolio and client base, you feel secure and get confident. But the problem is way more deep than that. In the middle of this crazy path, we very often wanna change - is the nature of human beings: get used to your routine and then, wanna change (normally, for the best). So, before you freak out because you think you wasted all your past years doing a thing that didn't fulfill you anymore: relax! Grab a coffee and let’s discuss changing career paths.

In the end of 2018, here in Brazil, country that I was born and living in, we had elections and it was really hard times, because people basically went crazy. Polarization, fights, discussions started to be part of people's lives and for me it was (and still is) hard handle this situation, but besides that, I was suffering from another thing: I didn't see any purpose in my work and I didn't know what to do; in that time I also went through a grueling relationship. You realize later that sometimes when a part of your life doesn't work, anything works neither. I was in the 3rd year of college, had just returned to my hometown, after a 6 month exchange in another university and realized after all that: I didn’t wanna work with anything related to my portfolio and current experiences anymore. Spoiler: I burned out heavily but by that time I didn’t know this was even possible.

It was hard because I was so close to finishing my bachelors degree and also because I was confident about my client base and work, after many years building everything. But there it was: when you didn’t feel happy anymore about your job, or you don't feel valued, it’s easier to find another alternative than to insist on the one that hurts you and makes no more sense. And here It was the things that I did and helped me to change my career from Advertising, Marketing and Social Media, to Web Development and Web Design.

Time is gonna pass anyway, so you better start NOW!

There’s a quote I liked that says:

“You are afraid to take a 4-year course because you are already 28 and when you are finished you will be 32. But, whether you are doing it or not, in 4 years you will be 32 years old so why not be 32 years old doing something you love?”

and it resumes everything: it sucks you had wasting your time on another field or job? Of course! But no ones gonna make it work for you now. The first thing you have to do is change your mindset and understand that, if you are not happy with your work now, you are not gonna be happy later; it only gets worse, trust me. Yuval Harari, a historian and professor, said that humans are getting older and healthier over the years. We are living longer and with more quality and our jobs and economic structure do not follow with the same speed. Even if you don't want to change your job, you probably will, because there are high chances that it will disappear (or change) over time.

From: pa/dpa/Fabian Sommer

It’s time to roll up your sleeves.

After you figure out you wanna change your job and career, it’s time to acknowledge how to do this. My tip is not switching quickly, because you are probably gonna get frustrated - and remember, it’s hard getting a job without experience, you don’t wanna be unemployed right? While you are at your (old) job, start taking courses in the new area and getting acquainted and meeting consolidated professionals in the area. Doing that will make you more confident and have more sense of how this medium behaves. One thing that is also important is to understand that knowledge is often unified. Using myself as an example: I worked with graphic design and social media for 5 years and it helped me a lot with web design. Most areas can be related and reused, but it is clear that if you have experience in sales and want to become a doctor it will be more difficult to combine the two.

Study, practice, study, practice.

There is no way out: you have to study - A LOT. And this is the hard part: no matter how experienced you are in an area, from the moment you decide to change, you are just another newbie, but that's okay! Remember when you first started and realize that everyone also started from somewhere and sooner you get into, sooner you will be able to handle everything.

Conclusion:

It’s not gonna be easy, but it will be so worth it when you get to the place you want. I hope you enjoy your journey and realize that we have more in common than differences. If you wanna talk about it, get in touch!