By: Alan Tsang, MA, LPC, NCC
What does a satisfying career mean to you? Living in Chicago, everyone is busy getting their careers together; it can be hard to see whether or not one’s career choice may be their one true passion.
With over 9 million people living in the Windy City alone, and with so many different career opportunities, it would make sense that some of you are having second thoughts about their current career route.
As a therapist in Chicago, I have heard examples of why people might go into specific careers. Whether it’s because of convenience, flexibility, personal interests, or even family encouragement. Everyone has their reasons for why being a helping professional, a lawyer, or a consultant, for example, is the ideal career path.
Now, we spend a good chunk of our days at work. About a third of our days, in fact! It’d be an understatement to say that it’s not a good thing if you’re feeling unsatisfied or discouraged with your current job.
So what happens when out of the blue, we find ourselves thinking about whether our current careers are even fulfilling for us in the first place? Perhaps you’re realizing you don’t really want to go into the same line of work as your family, or that your definition of a satisfying career is not what your current job entails.
Whatever the reason, it’s absolutely frustrating to be at a scary crossroads like that!
Career counseling can absolutely be an option to help you process what you are feeling stuck in with your career. We can help you work on perceived strengths and weaknesses, and any challenges in your current career to help you determine if a career change is a part of your next chapter; as well as preparing for that next step into changing careers.
While there aren’t true signs that let you know that you have to switch careers, there can be a few indicators. Here’s 5 signs:
1. The passion just isn’t there
One of the main reasons we go into our respective careers is because we have an honest passion for it. Someone might work at a law firm because she is feels joy in knowing that her work is making a difference in people’s lives. The same thing can be said with just about any career.
Yet, there are instances where you might be feeling unsatisfied or unfulfilled with the career you have right now. That feeling of dreading to go into work because you don’t want to be stuck at your desk doing something you don’t find as exciting anymore. If the passion isn’t there, perhaps using some time to reflect on what fulfillment and satisfaction means for your career path would be good!
2. Your work is impacting your relationships
The satisfaction that you feel at work has an effect on your personal life too. That’s right, a lot of times, our work can be so stressful and unfulfilling that we might not have much to offer in nurturing relationships that we have with others.
We might feel irritated and maybe even too tired to interact with the people in our lives after a day on the job. The relationships that we keep are an important part of our lives; they help define a part of who we are just like a career. Should we let them plateau because of how our current work environment is affecting us?
3. Your strengths don’t match your career
So maybe you went into the career you’re in now because you thought it was a good fit. What do you do when you find out that this particular career path requires a skill or strength that you don’t have, or just aren’t naturally good at?
Let’s say, for example, your job requires you to make presentations on a weekly basis but just thinking about it causes you high levels of anxiety. How likely would it be that you would feel satisfied with this career looking forward? A career should match the strengths that you have. I would encourage you to take some time to reflect on what strengths you have and take a look at what career paths those strengths can lead you towards!
4. You might be questioning your contributions to the field or workplace
How well do you believe you perform in your career? It can be easy to fall into a cycle of feeling apathetic about your career and trying to perform as best as you can. Your career should ideally be something that you can look forward to being a part of every day. Being in an environment where you know you are making an impactful contribution to your respective field can feel immensely satisfying.
A stable income is an important factor when going into the workforce. Now here’s the challenge question: Can you experience true satisfaction when you are only going in for the paycheck?
5. Your inner voice is telling you something
Maybe you had an dream career that you wanted to get into but didn’t think you had the means or opportunities to get there. You settled for a job that gets you a sustainable source of income but you don’t feel fully satisfied with the work you put out. Everyone has a dream job they want to try and fulfill.
Maybe it’s being in massage therapy or music production. Whatever the choice may be, perhaps the reason you’re feeling stuck in your current career is because that inner voice inside of you is saying, “This job just isn’t cutting it.”
So, if you believe you might be struggling with your current career trajectory or maybe even want to get out of a career that is not beneficial for you and are feeling stuck in this process, I’d definitely encourage you to contact us through our confidential note or by calling us at 773.528.1777.
We have many counselors who can help you navigate through your feelings of being stuck and help you discover what your career strengths are. Remember that your career does not have to be an overwhelming and exhaustive.
Thanks for stopping in!
