Thinking about my next (career) move
Here I am, late-30s languishing on a grey Sunday afternoon. After finishing my first real week-long vacation in 4ish years without even side-hussling, a thought is growing: I don't really want to go back, what's next?
I've browsed topics discussing career changes/pivots when the OP has a desired endpoint, but I could use help brainstorming one step earlier: how to figure out what jobs/career move I might like, might be feasible/pragmatic for me, and even just exist?
Meandering background
if tl/dr, skip to questions below
My current job (ux/comms) is objectively decent for pay, coworkers, work/life balance. So, not in a rush to jump ship. [Edit: removed some details about myself]
Questions
- Any overall life advice or thoughts on that 'something new' itch? Maybe I shouldn't equate it with my career alone?
- Do you have general guidance/anecdotes on how to meaningfully explore job/career desires or options?
- Do you know of niche job opportunities/fields that might tie into skills in various combinations of ux, communication, biology, environmental sciences, possibly healthcare? Or, how to find them? Especially in the Canadian job market context?
Housekeeping: feel free to change group/tags if appropriate. This is also a lot more than I typically share online, I may remove some personal details later.
A million years ago I took a test at my campus counseling center called "The Strong Campbell Interest Inventory".
I answered a million questions, a psychology grad student evaluated my answers, and I I got a printed out report. My personality was assigned a code. I received a list of fields people with my personality code enjoyed and which they hated.
I kept the report all of these years.
Everything it had said about me turned out to be true.
I believe the test is now called "The Strong Interest Inventory". I have no idea what happened to Campbell.
I understand that the type of test I took is professional grade and that there are many web quizzes which are mostly about entertainment( and as useless ).
Maybe you can call a nearby counseling center at a University and begin searching for a place to take a professional grade version of the exam.
Good Luck.
This sounds interesting to me so I did some web searches for The Strong Interest Inventory. I'm posting this in case someone else has more knowledge about it: Specifically where to take a reputable version of it, and if other people found it helpful.
This is what I found so far:
Not the first time I've offered help on this site and have gotten a reply that felt like a left handed insult.
I'm an actual human, who took the test, and it helped.
For what it is worth I know you didn't have an intention of being insulting.
Some tact in the replies on this site would be nice. I could just stop offering my input when it is relevant.
Sorry that you were offended. It was not my intention.
To clarify, I should have said something like: "I'm glad you had a good experience with the test and I would like to find more about it. But when I'm searching about it I see a lot of online offers and it's hard to determine which is genuine. Like all online tests, it seems like there are some disreputable actors."
Separately, I have some experience with Myers-Brigg tests and the personality-type one has been sort of debunked.
Frankly I'm not used to people getting offended by things I say on Tildes. This isn't reddit or twitter so I don't assume trolling or ill intent, and it's never my intention to attack anyone here.
It's held up in research that I can see. the Myers-Briggs company may own the MBTI but their current ownership (licensure?) of the SII doesn't inherently put the two as equal. I get the hesitation and I'm a MBTI hater myself but I think the SII is considered pretty decent for what it is.
I'll back you up as someone who has taken both. I also take anything Myers-briggs with a grain of salt.
I didn't take your concerns as being insulting to be frank. I have also done the SII and felt it was useful. It was surprising to me that the SII is largely associated with MB now, as I remember it being property of CAS.
Check sci-hub and see if they're available there and report back.
For what it is worth I've taken as many personality related tests as the University would pay for and the openpsychometrics website has very similar results to the expensive tests and it is free. So I don't think it's impossible to find something very similar to SII that is free... but I agree that it is not easy and that there are a lot of scammy companies.
One site that I've used in the past is O*NET. It's not perfect but it might be good enough:
https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
Oh god, just got lost in openpsychometrics for like an hour, thanks for the share!
Publisher (I think the MBTI folks) made the call to remove Campbell's just because a bunch of people contributed significantly and recognizing them all would be unreasonable. Plus a simpler name is more "modern"
My personal theory is that Campbell got on the wrong side MacLeod and bought a blade through his neck.
Personality theorists sure are a contentious group of people.
There can only be one.
I did a similar test when I was in high school. My friends and I all had a good laugh about the results as it was all over the place. The test told me park ranger matched to a large extent, but also computer science. At the time I chalked it up to the test being stupid. Now, looking back, I would really like to see the results again. I think they weren’t that far off from reality.
Seeing the other replies about the cost of the test you suggest, I think I’m going to try it out. I’m really curious if there are other interesting careers.
Most of the list of matches for me made sense to me. Some I never tried, but they made sense. I remember geology was one suggested field that came out of the blue. One day when I have time, perhaps after I retire I will take some geology courses.
Hmm, my partner was able to do career counselling through work benefits, which included a number of personality/aptitude-type tests. This could be something for me to look into, though my impression of the results and work he did was more high level than revealing the various types of niche jobs that may exist.
Sounds like a pretty good setup. I can relate to the itch to do something new, something more, but if the job is decent, pay is good, colleagues are not assholes, etc. maybe consider staying and start thinking what the next step at this company might be. If you are not in a leadership role, that could be something to explore.
I've personally had pretty good results on the personality test side of things with 16personalities. I paid for the full report (the whole think is under $20 and it's pretty long. You don't have to agree with it 100%, but it's good food for thought especially if you were honest with yourself when answering the questions. Lighter versions of this such aas Insights at work confirmed what 16personalities already told me.
That said, did I act on what the tests said? Not really, but now that I've hit 40, I am being more mindful of what I learned and those lessons act as a bit of a filter at work. They help me decide what types of opportunities I say yes to and which ones I decline. I've made the mistake of taking on jobs that were very misaligned with my natural inclinations, and I don't want to waste anymore time on those. For example, for me, a job like sales would be a death sentence because I cannot put profit before people. Doing so would mean hating myself every second of the day. Just an example.
On a brighter note, it sounds like you have a decent living situation (house, partner). Taking a chance on something new may be what you need! You say:
That's a tough one. For me, there is always a little voice that wants something new, but a lot of years went into building what I have. I choose to listen to the parts of me that are happy with what I have, because you know what? After 1-2 years of any new thing, the little voice wants yet another new thing! That little voice is not the recipe for a sustainable existence.
FYI for folks, this is the MBTI with cute names for each of the 16 categories, just in case people aren't familiar with it.
Tell me why I should hate MBTI lol, my favorite personality test is 'what's your fav. personality test' so I am geniuinely curious!
You don't have to!
But here's why I do:
A valid use for it might be for some self discovery and helping you identify ways to think about yourself and who you are. But one thing I was taught explicitly in my appraisal class is that no single assessment should ever be the only thing you base intervention or what have you on.
All that said, I'm like "The Diplomat" or something, whatever combination that is. Or I was the last time we all took it at work. (And we've done so many others since then. At least the Working Genius ones put you on a scale not a dichotomy) It's not the worst thing you can take, it's just not really saying much. But the Five Love Languages is still out there and if there are zero haters of that I'm dead.
All valid claims I would say—I think I like it because i just happen to land right in one of their boxes, & I've taken it 3-4 times in 15 years & always get the same one. But yeah humans contain multitudes & can't be smooshed into little boxes like that, unless they're just a born Obi-Wan Kenobi like some losers lol
It is a pretty good setup, but in part I'm a plan B kinda person, and live a bit far from the main job centre in my area for this type of work. If I were to find myself needing to be in person more often, I'd rather already have put some thought toward 'what else' (I could deal with the setup in the short term, but in the longterm Im not sure a closer relocation would be best for me or us).
In another part, the work output isn't really meaningful for me. I do find ways to inject meaning: be a good collaborator and mentor, build people up, advocate for accessibility and transparency of the product. I know, I know, work doesn't need to be meaningful. Meaning can be found off-hours and in hobbies. But I've come to realize I just don't have much energy to volunteer or join organizations after the energy sinks of work and life must-dos. So it'd be real nice to merge this into my work.. one day if not now.
You make a really good point about the 'little voice'. I've made a couple big life changes in the past couple years. The moment I start to settle, the little voice starts dreaming things up again. It can be difficult to navigate which of those things is true to who I want to be, and which is just the bored little evolutionary desire to hoard resources or whatever.
Have you thought about going all in on the HR side of work? You seem genuinely interested in investing into the people at work and get satisfaction there, why not lean in?
I'm just spit balling here because my eye is firmly on early retirement, and HR would be the last thing I'd want to do. So maybe a very different stroke for you as a very different folk
Also HR seems very industry agnostic so whenever you get the itch again you can be HR at a different industry altogether.
Oh, you mean work for the enemy? Heehee, I kid, beyond the 'hr is the enemy' rhetoric online, I've seen firsthand that a good HR rep can be such a great support/wealth of info.
Truthfully, it's an avenue I've never even thought of before. And you're not wrong, I feel strongly about advocating for positive, supportive work environments. It could be something to learn more about at a minimum. Ty!
If you can't beat em, join the dark side lol
but yes a wonderful HR person makes life so much more better for everyone working there. If your "field" for where you want to make a difference is work, this really could be your thing. At least look into your work 's internal career dev options, they might have a quality of life committee or something as well. I've worked for a place where the committee has enough clout and money to put on ice cream / fun snack / food cart socials every Friday or Monday we have a long weekend. (Eg, if Monday off, fun Friday. Vice versa) Things like Popsicles in the fridge throughout summer or holiday family dinner credit for remote workers. Those are the best people.
What are you doing that might afford early retirement?? and are they hiring lol
Remote work + crazy cheap rent 1 ---> pre-pandemic rural property prices . Sorry, not which field but time machine.
If you're young and adventurous, look into digital nomading, there's a subreddit. If you have a family with kids who need school and a mall, sorry, I hope your country's real estate / rentals are reasonable.
1: 2010s $900/month 2 bedroom in Vancouver
Nice—yeah just missed it lol. Did get a house thankfully & it is fine, but also assumed everyone would be hiring WFH forever so now looking at how many hours in the car/nights in a hotel or something makes it worthwhile to do something in a higher-paying but unaffordable MSA...
Hey high five for getting a house! Savings on all those thought cycles of having to worry about rent increases, reno-victions and sell-evictions no joking matter. I'm really hoping the everyone WFH need will come back. It's the responsible way forward for human civilization.
I don’t disagree. Getting more meaning out of work is definitely ideal. And if your commute would be a huge time sink, yeah, I’d likely consider changes too. Eventually all the audiobooks and podcasts fail to subdue the boredom of staring at the back lights of the car in front of you.
For me personally, I have to hard disagree. That little voice is my only recipe for a sustainable existence. I tried not listening and building on what I already had, and that totally burned me out and pushed me into depression multiple times.
I’m probably just lucky, but I don’t think the job/career/hobby hopping has had a negative effect on where I am now. I have a comfortable life, so living this way doesn’t necessarily mean a difficult existence. But again, I may be the outlier here. I think you make good points!
That's fair. It's all very subjective and up to each of us to figure out what works. I did job hop most of my life, with 6 years at one place having been the longest so far, and it is not my current job. Current job, been here for 1.5 years so far. Part of me enjoys the fresh start. It is energizing and fun, I learn new things, meet new people. "Variety is the spice of life." On the other hand, part of me is getting a little tired of these restarts. Of being the "new guy" again and again. As I get older, I think I am starting to just worry less about learning new things and want to see a larger impact, which I cannot have unless I gain some seniority, know the organization well, know the intricacies of a place. Can't really learn all that in 1-2 years. At least I can't.
Hobbies, I have many and have trouble going deep into just one. But even there, I look around and see others who do go deep achieving some cool things that simply don't happen if I'm just an amateur at a lot of small things. Ideally I want to narrow it down to 2-3 hobbies max and at least go little deeper without giving up all the things I enjoy. Ultimately, they are hobbies, so they are meant to be fun. As long as you get what you want out of them, no pressure to pick just one.
Well, it's funny that you ask! I'm an early 40s comms professional who's getting out of my career in higher Ed as soon as somebody picks me up in my new field.
Frankly, what was cool about comms in higher Ed was the generous time off and leaving my job when I left the building. If you're looking for work in your area that pays ok and fills these gaps, working for a university is excellent.
In my case, I completed PT graduate studies for free on the university's dime (Canadian, here) and am making the switch to urban planning. The pay in junior roles begins where comms ends in senior roles and to me, it's a far more AI definsible field than comms is.
This is just a quick and dirty explanation but I hope it helps.
Oh interesting, may I ask what sort of work 'comms in higher ed' can entail? Teaching, or more 'behind the scenes' roles? If I could land it, a university gig could be a bridge to cheaper retraining, if that's an avenue I go want to pursue.
(Pardon my ignorance, I never studied anything remotely comms related, just learned my craft along the way/from other professionals)
Ps - wish you all the luck in getting into urban planning quickly. It's a very cool field, and I feel many Canadian communities could put more stock into smart urban planning!
Sure! Comms at a uni is interesting. Depending on whether you work for a faculty or a central business unit (registrar, donations, student, government) there's a variety of stuff you could be doing.
In my role (I work for an office that teaches faculty), I'll create and run marketing/communications campaigns for university programs, I'll advertise offerings from our group to boost enrolment, I'll shoot photos at events, write web and promotional copy and longform news stories - every day is different.
That said, I think that there are lots of generalist roles out there and if you have lots of skills, you'll do well.
As for education, I do have a Bachelor's degree in the area, but I don't think they'd hold that against you. Demonstrate that you have a record of getting things done, offering sound comms advice, meeting deadlines and being motivated by the academy's mission.
In other departments, you could find yourself doing public or government relations, communicating to students (orientation class registration, graduation, mental health services, extra curriculars) and in faculties, you could be writing stories about academics, creating websites for special projects (using site builders) or social promotion.
There are plenty of places and ways to build a comma career in a university and it's a great, equitable environment to work in.
Working with smart people has its drawbacks when they squabble or huff too many of their own farts, but all in all, nerds are the best.
Lastly - I see that you're not close to where you work right now. The nice thing about public universities is that they're in many large and small cities, and that they'll often have union agreements that dictate pay, vacation and other benefits.
Good luck!
Thank you, this is very helpful and absolutely something I'm going to keep in mind :)
Sure thing! Happy to field questions about the uni application and screening processes or (broadly) what it's like to work in this environment.
Of course each Canadian public uni is different, but y'know.
I bookmarked this post so I could come back to it and give a more complete response. I'm currently a technical content writer (self-employed) and during some recent job angst, Gemini told me to upskill and look into UX writing. Like you, I get the itch pretty regularly. I'll share my perspective on the first two of your questions.
My overall life and work advice is to work a job that makes you the most money in the least amount of time so that you can use the time for more important things. I'm feeling the pinch of rising prices, but I am looking for a way to increase my income without significantly impacting my schedule.
Because of this priority, I stay in roles longer than I think a lot of people my age do. This probably hurts my earnings; I'm just not so inclined to jump to the next shiny new thing in the context of job hopping.
I do think it's important to keep life fresh and interesting. There are other healthy ways to scratch that itch, though. Learning information, developing skills, and seeking out new places and experiences are all ways to do this.
(Side point: Not too long ago, I came across the idea that some people procrastinate because their life is so monotonous that they try to inject some interestingness by leaving tasks to the last minute. What resonated is that it's healthy to want novelty and variety, but how we fulfill that need matters.)
Every job I've had has been the result of someone coming to me with an opportunity because they thought I would be a good fit. The prerequisite to this is talking with people, aka networking. Talk with acquaintances about work and related interests. Try to have interesting conversations with people.
I also try to keep my LinkedIn updated with skills and experience. From time to time, I look for interesting topics or people to follow there. If a post is particularly insightful or funny, I make a point to comment. Sometimes it surfaces ideas or options that are new to me.
It's not installed on my phone, and I don't put very much time into it at all. It feels gross to suggest putting time into LinkedIn, but it has played a part in discovery and getting at least two roles.
Ahh, I don't know why I didn't just say I'm a ux writer in my post. I got into it before that's what my job was called, also as a way to level up my more technical writing/editing freelancing after grammerly launched (as mediocre as it was originally, it felt like the sign of times to come). Technical writing is a really solid skillset to leverage into ux writing imo. Feel free to private msg me if you have questions!
As for the rest, I agree, networking/linkedin feel a little like necessary 'evils', and I've been entirely too complacent recently. I got my last job simply because i told every friend i spoke with that I was exploring new work, and one shared a posting.
Apparently, job hugging is the name of the game right now.
“Mid-Life Crisis” is a thing that manifests differently depending on the individual. It was around age 40 when I started to have the voice described here, but it wasn’t saying “time to move on” as much as “is this it?” Many of us were pushed from a young age to idolize career ladder climbers and it takes a while to recognize it’s a fallacy. It’s possible to find true meaning and purpose through work, of course, and a lot easier to do so in a system that provides opportunities to try different type of work. White collar jobs were the mythical top of the ladder for a lot of Gen X and Millennials. It takes some exploration, but the “move on” voice can be satiated through changes in daily non-work life: new hobbies, new sports, new community involvement, etc. After all, the “move on” voice isn’t entirely about what’s missing in your work life and career. It’s more of a sign that we need something new to engage our minds/bodies; a need to feel something different, learn something new, unravel a different type of challenge. When you’re in a solid career, the best ways to explore that might be through personal life enrichment.
How long can you sustain things on just one (or none if your partner doesn’t work) income?
Ehh, good question. I feel it depends on the level of need, really.
A few months unpaid, if I'm assuming a relatively low impact to even mid-term savings goals (eg, saving for foreseeable but not asap-emergency old-house repairs).
A year, possibly two, if I really had to restructure my savings/finances. For example, if I lost job/couldn't find work, or if I decided to redirect savings to pay for retraining if i felt that action were likely pay off down the line.
I've thought about the benefit of requesting an unpaid leave of a few months to see if I just need a recharge, but it wouldn't really be prudent until next year when my partner finishes their retraining in a new field.