Career Change - The Universe Is Well Aware of Your Ordeal

It is life in one dimension to sit at your desk indulging in warm-and-cozy fantasies of a career change. It is orbiting in another dimension to actually embark on that journey. As I detail in an article published in O'Dwyer's Communications, changing careers is an ordeal. Poof go your identity, track record, network and ability to feel confident about your knowledge base and skills.

No surprise then, the Tarot cards are jam-packed with messages about the two-fold messaging 1) Change is difficult and 2) Human beings have what it takes to create fresh new paradigms for themselves.

A major speed bump along the way is the longing for "how things used to be." Actually that is an illusion. Nothing, even in the former career, stays the same. Currently that is more obvious with the upheaval put in play by AI, widespread layoffs in white collar lines of work and so many skills becoming obsolete. 

Among those who came to me for direction had been a middle managed forced out of Big Pharma. Lots of experience usually means a high salary and that puts a target on your back. A recent divorce also knocked the financial stuffing out of him.

To slash expenses he paid the penalty to get out of the lease of a lux apartment and rented a room. He did plenty of research and conducted informational interviews about a possible next. A shock to him, he was not turned off by going blue collar. Loans were available for training/licensing to be a long distance driver. The tuition ranges from $1k to $7k. Those who agree to drive for the company for two years can undergo the training free. 

In his mindset the former white-collar manager positioned that career change as an "experiment." That kept expectations low. He also used the Serenity Prayer to get help in accepting what he could not change and to change what he could. Therefore the first year on the road, in which he had no negotiating power with his employer, didn't go so bad. Now, he has been driving for five years. 

Although legal journalist David Lat is not a client, I have followed his work journey. It has not been smooth. 

Lat left managing Abovethelaw.com, a legal tabloid he had founded, to make the transition to what was possibly more lucrative: being a recruiter in the legal sector at Lateral Link. Along the way he almost died from COVID. Also, he decided recruiting was not for him. He circled back to journalism, but with some tweaks. Those were enough to essentially mean he was starting over. He set himself on the self-publishing platform Substack and eventually also added on a columnist gig on Bloomberg Law.

I also analyze career changes toyed with but not taken. Before his chairman contract expired at prominent law firm Paul, Weiss Bard Karp, Hamlet-like, mused in Business Insider if he would put himself up for another term. Well, he did. Although there has been no career change there seems to be a major mutation in role and personal branding. Both the firm and Karp seem quite different. You bet, lots of change can happen during the same career context. In addition, considering a career change can in itself reset who we are professionally. 

So, here you may be, proactively planning a career change or fearing it will be necessary. What to do? I recommend thinking about how the manager exiled from well-paying Big Pharma paradise approached what could have been a catastrophe:

1) He radically cut fixed expenses

2) He avoided excessive optimism about what he was trying out

3) He reached out to the universe for guidance, strength and protection.

Tarot Card Reader. Intuitive Career Coach.

Don’t Give Up Before the Miracle.

Empathy and compassion.

No-pressure complimentary consultation about the answers you need. Then, fees custom-made for your budget.

For an appointment, please contact janegenova374@gmail.com or text 203-468-8579.