Build My Career or Take the Risk?
When is the right time to do either?
I am sure we are both familiar with those stories where one central theme threads through them all. Perhaps even more circulated in the online blogging platform we associate ourselves with. It’s that office employee stuck at work in the evening, drained to their bones. Each day, the schedule is the same and the only short-term reward they look to is the weekend. The long-term reward? Retirement. If lucky, maybe a pension that their less active and energetic self can try and enjoy.
Yet, an epiphany strikes when motivation is at an all-time low. As a single lightbulb in the room illuminates the workspace, the mind drifts off to some intangible, philosophical conclusion: we all only live one short life. The next few months are spent building the side hustle, until one day, the person finally quits the 9–5 and moves abroad.
We all love a good dream chaser. It may even inspire you to start something you’ve been putting off for months, even years. That fuel keeps you surfing the web, researching on how to double-down on your hobby and turn it into a profitable business. But as with most external motivation, momentum often plateau. As sand stirs from the waves, it soon settles back down to normality.
My challenge ahead
A trait of mine (I don’t know if it is a strength or weakness) is that I never seem to settle or live in the moment. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate what I have, but it does mean I am always thinking two to five years ahead on what to do next.
At my new workplace, seniors see this as being career-driven and knowing what I want. Good thing. But for me, where I’m failing to focus on what’s in front of me, I feel lost and anxious.
In recent months, I have been debating with myself, usually way past a sensible bedtime. On one side of the argument, I’m telling myself to just continue in my field, receive a stable income and pull myself up that greasy ladder of promotion. Maybe to spice things up a little, take some time out to pursue a PhD, something I had considered embarking on before the age of 26. But the conflicting voice on my other shoulder is telling me to live a more unpredictable but adventurous lifestyle. Often reminded by one of those go-getter stories I mentioned above, I feel with the one chance at life we all have, if I want to get out of my comfort zone and experience a different life, why not?
Each day I battle the topics of finance, period of leave, actual ROI of the new path, and managing relationships. One of the top priorities I need to figure out is whether this is the right time for me to drop things and go. I don’t mean literally now (I’m aware we are in a global pandemic!), but as in the position I am in my career.
What do I have to lose?
As I was cautiously leaning out of our apartment window to clean the outside glass whilst trying to not go overboard, I was listening to a great podcast by medical doctor and Youtuber Ali Abdaal, called ‘Not Overthinking’. Ali’s dilemma was whether it was beneficial for him to move to America for over a year as an experience. One of his friends made a comment which really stuck with me. He said for the duration of Ali’s leave, be it one year or two, what loss would he have taken if he stayed in the UK instead? There wasn’t that ig of a growth leap during that period. Instead, going overseas, in his eyes, only proved to be productive.
I have just a little shy of two years of post-graduate work experience. Within the next 8–12 months, a promotion is very obtainable. I would gain more responsibilities, be involved in more valuable projects, and a pay rise. And for some reason, that doesn’t excite me. I am aware of my incredibly privileged position of not having to provide financial support to my family, or of any responsibilities of childcare and so forth. What do I really have to lose missing out on this promotion?
Community advice!
I guess what’s holding me back is the actual practical review of what this trip will give me. Is happiness and fulfilment enough? I actually began writing the next sentence of this paragraph but suddenly stopped… Why wouldn’t happiness or self-fulfilment be enough for me to take on this challenge? This has probably turned out to be more of a rant than any useful piece to anyone in the same situation, so I do apologise and thank you if you have read this far! What do you think? Reading my situation, do you have any advice for me, or areas to consider before taking that leap to work abroad, in a field outside of my career focus? It will most likely be an English teaching post so that I can sustainably fund my year out.
I plan on documenting my thoughts and preparation in the eventual leap, so please feel free to follow me along in this journey! If you are also considering a career break or have done so, please share with me how that initial step was, and if you would do things differently this time round.
