Career Change Guide: Do you find yourself counting each second of the day until you can leave work? You might not realize it yet, but you could be displaying a number of the main signs of being in desperate need of a career change.
7 Signs That You Need a Career Change
Do you need a career change? We can sometimes stay in a job for a long time before we begin to realize that we hate it. Looking back, it can be a struggle to understand how we managed to go one year, two years, maybe even a decade doing a job that has only benefited our lives by supplying a source of income. In this article, we’re going to look at how you can sooner come to terms with disliking your job by exploring some of the undeniable signs that you’re in desperate need of a career change.
Consider your Dreams
How many times have you had strange dreams involving your job? We’re not talking about the simple kind where you dream that you’re at your job (although we will touch on that momentarily). No, the sorts of dreams we’re referring to are the bizarre, sometimes destructive dreams involving your place of work. You might dream that aliens destroy the building or that your office is closed down and turned into a paintball arena.
If you find yourself having dreams remotely similar to these then this is a sign that you’ve been in your job way too long. Although that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a career change, but certainly something needs to change.
Part Machine
People who work jobs they hate will often say things like “I feel like a robot”. This feeling of becoming part machine isn’t a literal change (although it can feel like that if you’re clued to a computer all day long). In most cases, it refers to our gradual decline into an emotionless, hollow, and empty sensation that we often experience when we have no real purpose.
If you’re beginning to feel like your humanity is slipping or you’re returning home from work each day feeling physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained then it’s likely that you could use a career change. This connects nicely with our next point.
Full of Dread
One of the undeniable signs that you desperately need a career change is feelings of dread. Do you lie in bed at night wondering how you could get out of work the next day? Do you wake up in the morning and ask yourself just how long you can stay in bed before you HAVE to get up? Your questions are indicative of one thing: you hate your job.
When we find ourselves spending all our time out of work thinking about work, especially in a negative way which makes us feel unhappy, maybe even miserable, then a career change might be exactly what you need. This is even truer if your dreams become plagued by work. Even if you’re simply dreaming about an average day, your inability to escape your job, even while unconscious, suggests that it’s time to find something else to occupy your mind.
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Losing Positivity
Ask yourself: why do you do your job? Is there any reason that you haven’t considered a career change in the past? For some of us, the developing of deep friendships within a job can be enough to keep us there. For others, the job is fun, even if it isn’t building towards a career. However, if all the fun seems to have dried up, then you should consider why that is.
Sometimes, even the people or activities that were once what you found most exciting and entertaining about your job can become the very things that irritate and annoy you. So if you’re only working there because the money is good, then you have to ask yourself whether or not unhappiness is a price worth paying for some extra cash.
Break Time
One sign that is certainly worth looking out for is your own breaks. The sorts of breaks we take (and how long) can tell us a lot about whether or not somebody enjoys their job. Do you ever leave a break early to get back to work? How many times do you go for coffee? Do you take toilet breaks more often that you would actually need to?
If you find yourself spending as much time as possible not doing work while at your job, then there is likely a very good reason for this. Consider whether or not a career change to a job that you find more interesting and compelling would decrease the amount of time you spend avoiding doing work.
Big Bad Boss
Do you always feel like you’re on the wrong side of your boss? Do you sometimes think that they have it out for you? Do they seem to go out of their way to ruin your day and give you the jobs that nobody else wants to do? These aren’t the real questions you should be asking yourself. The real question is whether or not your dislike and contempt for your job is actually making you view neutral actions as being negative.
When we go to work in a negative frame of mind, even some of the positive aspects can appear negative to us. The opposite is also true: if we go to work in a positive mind then even if something goes wrong, we can shrug it off, find a way around it, and get on with our day and job. So if you feel like your boss hates you, but know deep down that they don’t then you should definitely at least consider a career change.
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Monday or Friday?
Which day of the work week is your favorite? We’re willing to bet that it isn’t Monday. For most people, Friday is the best day of the week and Monday is by far the worst. For some, Sunday is the worst day because it leads to Monday. If you find yourself more and more excited as the week progresses, only to slump down into a bad mood when Sunday comes around, then you definitely dislike your job.
Your job doesn’t have to be something you dread, it doesn’t have to be something that you dislike so much that you count down the days until you’re free, and it’s not something that has to ruin your weekend. If you find yourself experiencing any or all of these signs, then take some time to consider a career change.
