3 Signs It's Time to Switch Careers (I Had Every Single One)

I didn't decide to leave pharmacy overnight. There were a number of things that became so loud I could no longer ignore them. And I'll be honest, for a long time I brushed it off. That was just a bad day. We were short staffed. It'll get better.But at some point you have to ask yourself, are these excuses or are these signs?

Here's what mine looked like.

1. The Sunday Scaries

You've had a good weekend. You've seen people you love, you've rested. Then around 5pm on a Sunday, a thought creeps in and suddenly the whole mood shifts.

I faced this every single week as a pharmacist. Genuinely, there were Sundays where I'd be hoping to wake up ill just so I had a reason not to go in. When I caught myself doing that I thought, this isn't normal, and I don't have to accept it.

Work is work, you won't always feel like going. But if dread is consistently stealing your Sundays, that's worth paying attention to.

2. You've Stopped Caring

I studied a genuinely interesting pharmacy degree. Then I spent my days reciting paracetamol doses and once, I kid you not, helping a customer pick a lipstick shade. Not what I signed up for.

A friend told me work isn't meant to be enjoyed, it's meant to pay the bills. Maybe. But I'm spending 40 hours a week somewhere, I want it to mean something.

When I picked up coding as a hobby everything changed. I was doing it on evenings, weekends, losing track of time. It felt like a game. I thought, that's the feeling I want from work. So I went and got it. I still sit at my desk sometimes and think I cannot believe this is my job.

3. You Can't See a Future in It

Ask yourself honestly, if you stay on this path, does it lead somewhere you actually want to go? Do you want the job your manager's manager has?

When I did that exercise the answer was no. And that was enough.

If any of this sounds familiar, even just one of them, I want you at my free webinar. I've been exactly where you are and I came out the other side into a career I genuinely love, at a global investment bank, no CS degree, in under three years.

I want that for you too.

Sign up here

See you there,

Ruth