Not happy with your job? Many people find themselves dissatisfied at work from time to time, but if you have a constant sense of irritation or a feeling of dread over going to work in the morning, it’s a red flag. You’re either with the wrong employer or you’re on the wrong career path altogether. In this post, we’ll teach you how to tell if you’re on the wrong career path – and then show you how to progress toward change.
Does your job leave you feeling exhausted and unmotivated? Are you jealous when you hear others talking about their incredible careers? If you feel drained, negative, jealous, or as if your expectations aren’t being met at your job, it might be time to consider that you are on the wrong career path. Take a closer peek at these four tell-tale signs and learn why they’re a major red flag that it’s time for change.
Are You Sure Your Job is Right for You? Read This to Be Sure!
You Feel Drained
Seriously, deeply, completely drained. Your work doesn’t interest you and you feel totally worn out at the end of the day. This doesn’t mean you aren’t good at your job, but a job you love shouldn’t exhaust you day in and day out. Anyone who feels this way about a job needs to seriously consider what is happening. Do you find your tasks at work to be gruesome, or is it your environment? The latter can be solved with a job change. The former may indicate you need a total career shift.
Negativity is Your New Status Quo
People who feel truly negative about their jobs tend to become passive aggressive, play “devil’s advocate” a bit too much, and ultimately drop in overall productivity. They also can’t leave work at work, and their feelings of negativity start to spill into their personal lives. Do you have a problem with a coworker or your work environment? That’s something that can be changed. Do you feel like you hate the work or have no real goals? That’s a career issue.
The Idea of Another Career Makes You Jealous
Do you grow jealous when you hear other people in your life talking about their careers? Does hearing about someone happy with their work make you feel bad about your own life or job? If the thought of another career path makes you feel inspired, it may be time to take a look at what you’re doing. Are there aspects of that other path you can incorporate into your current job? If so, you have an issue that can be changed within that job. If not, you may need to take a look at the bigger picture.
Your Expectations and Your Career Don’t Match
It happens. You went to school and had certain expectations about what your career path would be like. Maybe they were completely incorrect. Maybe they were just a bit over-inflated. Either way, you may have a problem if your current postgraduate career path isn’t nearly as exciting as your internships or your education led you to believe it might be. Do you look at those at higher levels and see yourself in their job roles? This could be a good reason to stick it out. Otherwise, your skills could be better-used elsewhere.
There are many other signs you may be on the wrong career path. Whether, you’re sticking it out because you feel secure, you constantly think about other jobs, or maybe you just feel unfulfilled, it warrants further exploration. You may simply need to find a new way to use your current skills, or you may need to enroll in a new degree program so you can move on. No matter what the reason, know this — it is okay to acknowledge you aren’t happy in your career and do something about it. You deserve to feel fulfilled by your work!
Thinking about making the jump? There’s no time like the present to start studying for a new degree to get you into a new career. Explore your options and settle into a new field of expertise right from the comfort of home.