This blog post has been a long time coming! I’ve been having a lot of conversations offline with friends, and via Instagram DM, about changing career paths in your late twenties, thirties, or beyond. A quick re-cap on me: I studied law at university, went to law school, trained as a corporate lawyer at a London firm, working for five years in total in London, before moving to Dubai at age 29 to continue my career at a different firm in a different city. At age 31 I left my legal career path in search of something more fulfilling, more enjoyable and more aligned with who I am.

My legal career was an amazing opportunity but one which I never really felt fully on-board with. The hours were long, my imagined busy and varied work life turned out to be sitting in front of emails all day and the work itself didn’t exactly set my soul on fire. Add in toxic colleagues, unpredictable working hours and often eating three meals at my desk, I didn’t feel like I was living my best life or being the best version of myself.

In 2019, I studied holistic health and nutrition with IIN, took a 200 hours yoga teacher training in Bali and landed a full time yoga teaching job within a month of finishing my training. After Covid hit the fitness industry badly, I converted to online yoga teaching and started a part-time business assistant role with a health and wellness brand. So that’s where I’m at now!

The events of 2020 put our careers and fulfilment into much sharper focus for many. When large elements of our lives were taken away, be it a long-awaited holiday, nights out with friends, or a fortnightly manicure, it freed up time to ask whether we really like, or feel satisfied with our current career. I remember this feeling all too well as a lawyer, I felt financially comfortable and able to temporarily find satisfaction through holidays, shopping and expensive cocktails in nice bars but strip all of that away and I felt pretty unfulfilled.

My main message from this post is that it’s never too late to change course, start over or take a small pivot. This is the first of a two-part post to help you consider your next steps.

Pick Your New Path

I know a lot of people who know that the path they are on isn’t for them, but who don’t know what to do next. Of course I’d never recommend quitting a job without having some plans for what’s next so use the time in your current role to ask yourself the following:

• What do you like about the job you’re in? If the answer is “well, nothing, that’s why I want to quit!” then a totally new start might be what you need but if there are things you like (and I’m sure there is something), make a list of them and a list of the aspects you don’t like. Let’s say you like the industry you’re in but don’t like your team or boss, could moving organisation help? If you don’t like your role but like the company you’re at, can you make a sideways move at the same organisation?
• Can you do your current job but in a different way? Working remotely, working the same role in a different industry? These may give you a fresh start without a total life upheaval.
• What are your passions? What are you good at? What skills do you have that can be transferred to another career path? As a lawyer I thought that my only skill was “doing law” but I’ve since learned that actually my skill set is more about being organised, problem solving and juggling many things at once – once you separate your skills from your job it may open up a lot of options you’ve previously discounted.
• What are you willing to sacrifice? Ooh, the big one! For me the biggest sacrifice in changing career paths was always going to be salary… For another switch it could be your time, often being self-employed or starting your own business can be far more time-consuming than a 9-5 (if this is what you have currently). It may also be certainty or other benefits like healthcare, or travel costs being covered.

Ok, I Know What I Want to Do…

If you have a new career in mind already, or you’ve figured it out now’s the time to do your research.

• Do you need to get any training or different qualifications to start on this path? Maybe you’ve looked at your skillset and can adapt but for some paths you’ll need to retrain, I have friends at the moment going back to undergraduate or masters courses to shift careers – is this something you’d be willing or able to do?
• Can you meet people already doing this to get an idea of what their life is like? This is a great way of seeing if you new path actually addresses your “must-have” areas. I hated the long hours as a lawyer but found that teaching yoga full-time was also long hours. I obviously enjoyed it a lot more, wasn’t in front of a screen at all and had free time in the day to meet friends for coffees but I still missed dinners out, late nights and going to evening events.
• What are the opportunities like in your location? Is there enough demand to create a career out of what you want to do?

What Can You Do Now?

Can you progress any of the above while in your currently role? I started my IIN course while working full-time and know friends who have started their chef-training at weekends and during holidays. There are yoga teacher trainings you can do on weekends and lots of courses on Coursera and Skillshare which can be studied in your own time. This can really take the pressure off as you’ll still be earning money while you train for your new role and if you know you’re not going to stay in your current role then just maybe you can sneakily study or research during lunch breaks or while you’re not busy (I cannot confirm or deny that this is what I did but I definitely recommend some healthy disdain if you really don’t like your current role).

Be Realistic

Can your passion translate to a full-time job? What’s the supply and demand like in your area? With yoga teaching, for example, there are a lot of yoga teachers in Dubai whereas if I moved back to my hometown I’d be one of a handful of teachers. Can your passion career sustain you financially?

If you feel like it’s passion and creativity that’s missing, can you do your new path as a side hustle or cut down your hours in your full time job and do your passion career a few days a week? This might be enough to make you feel energised and more balanced rather than quitting entirely.

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My journey is no way complete. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that the exploration and learning never stops. I think last year taught us all a lot. I’ll be back with part two soon, and if you want to chat more, my inbox is always open! 

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