To get a new job or to start a whole new career?

This is a piece by Brainster, a platform for education helping you future-proof your career.

You’ve been aware for some time now of the level of your professional dissatisfaction, but are sure you successfully recognized the reason behind it? Is it your company that needs to be changed or is it that you simply made a poor career choice?

Most of the time, coming up with the answer is more difficult than it sounds. You can spend months and even years believing it’s the plain working environment (the managers, colleagues, the way the company functions) that is slowly making you miserable, before finally realizing there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s you, you don’t fit in that world.

But maybe you did fit at first, let’s say you loved what you did, and you just outgrew it now. You gave your fair share to that company, and it’s time you move on and dedicate some reasonable amount of time to that talent/passion you just realized you have.

Nevertheless, are your unbelievably good design skills a good enough reason to let go of what you’ve worked so hard to build and achieve and switch your career by 180 degrees? Let us help you out — check the list of advice we compiled, all based on all our good and bad decisions we’ve made through the years, take a nice deep breath and whatever you decide to do, do it with passion.

What are the best and the worst aspect of your current job?

Probably, the very first thing you need to do is a thorough analysis of your current job. This is the most necessary step in the quest of determining exactly what you like and what you don’t like.

Think of all (and even the smallest) obligations that you face throughout the day, and pick the one that you like absolutely the most. Maybe it’s that great and huge responsibility you have that always fulfills you or the project you currently coordinate. Whatever it is, try and identify the most enjoyable aspect of your current job. Next, do the very same and locate the thing you always hate doing (monthly financial reports?), the thing you do everything in your power to delay and postpone as much as possible.

The important conclusion you need to come within your attempt to answer this not-so-easy question is how much time you needed to recognize the positive and the negative aspects? And even more importantly, are the things that bother you most closely associated with the basic description of your job/profession? If so, now might be the right time to consider a brand new career.

Describe your boss in three words

Now, instead of focusing only on yourself, take a look at your surroundings. Grab a piece of paper and write down the first three words that come to your mind when you think of your boss.

Coming to a conclusion should be simple. Are the attributes you just appointed him/her positive or negative? Your working environment can greatly affect your everyday satisfaction, sometimes it just goes down to that that the company you work for and your team are not strong enough and unable to respond to your abilities and possibilities, or maybe even if they’re wonderful, they just don’t fit your personality and needs.

Would you refer to your colleagues as your friends or just as ‘the people you work with’?

It’s even cliché to talk about the influence your team can have on you. They’re the people you see more than you see your parents, it’s crucial for your happiness and well being that they fit you nicely, and even perfectly. So maybe your boss is a wonderful person that never fails to inspire and motivate you, but how much time in the day do you actually spend with him/her?

Instead, think about this — may be the reason why you hate going to work in the morning is not that what you do doesn’t satisfy you, but who you do it with. So instead of giving in into detesting your job and career, think about a scenario where you’d be doing the very same, but with a team that fits your vision nicely. Does that instantly make you smile? Well, it might be time to search for that team you always dreamt of.

Imagine the perfect company

It’s easy to know what you don’t like, but sometimes it’s really hard to imagine exactly what’s that you want and expect from a company.

Think about and outline the qualities you look for in a company. Perhaps the company you always wanted to work has a relaxed working atmosphere, no strictly defined work hours, nor a dress code. Or maybe, you always thought you’d function better in a strictly defined and organized working environment that never fails to boost your will to work and motivation?

Look at the list of attributes you just made, does it correspond to that of the company you’re currently working for? Or did you just describe the very opposite? If your company still meets your requirements, probably the right decision you can make is look for another company in the same field.

Have you ever done the same work elsewhere? How did it feel back then?

You have a huge advantage if this is not your first job in the field. So think about your past experiences, how did it feel compared to now? Were your commitments then similar to those you have in your current company?

If your past commitments were the same (or very similar) to your current ones, and you felt much happier and fulfilled than you do now, the obvious conclusion would be that you need a change in the workspace. But if all you can remember about your previous work experience is a lot of days filled with similar dissatisfaction, sadness, and boredom, maybe you should opt for a complete career change.

If you have ever thought about a future-proof career in UX/UI Design or Data Science, have a look at our remote Bootcamps.