Career switch

• 19 May, 2023
• • Growth

5 lessons I have learnt after switching my career

When I started on my journey to switch my career, many things seemed possible but many other things felt impossible at the same time. I was nervous, I was uncertain, I was terrified. But hopeful still. Hopeful that I will get a job that satisfies me in ways that my previous career could not. I realise that I am in a privileged position to switch my career because I want to and not because I have to, so these may not directly apply to everybody. But having made the switch, these are lessons that I have learnt. 1. Having a (sufficient) emergency fund is incredibly importantYes. Having an emergency fund is absolutely crucial and is something that I neglected when making the switch. While having an emergency fund is essential, you also need to calculate the amount that you need on your quest to upgrade yourself to get a job in your new career. I remember being greedy for some additional interest in the CPF and transferring funds from OA to SA periodically , leaving behind too little to pay for my mortgage when I left my job. I eventually have to resort to dipping into savings to pay for it, further reducing my savings. This also means that any future plans needs to be stopped, like going on vacations, buying gifts on festive seasons, etc. Unless you have planned for them and saved enough. Building up a substantial emergency fund also allows one enough buffer time to get the job that you want. Other wise it is really tempting to get a job that you do not really like simply because you have to make ends meet. And this is if everything works out according to plan… 2. Have a PACE plan for your goalsYour plans may not turn out exactly the way you wanted it to be. I remember that when I was younger I wanted to be a games designer simply because I like games and … that was that. I simply assumed that having the desire and a naïve thought would lead me down that path without doing any research and making plans. As you would have guessed, I did not become a games designer. Fortunately I had a more thought out plan for my career switch. As I was aiming for a career in AI I scoped for a way to enter into that industry with either a course, or getting a masters or getting a job straight (with some projects under my belt). This means being prepared and knowing the deadlines of applications and knowing which one had priority over the other. And if one does not work out, you can go onto the other one. This is similar to the PACE planning method which I think is used by the army. It stands forPrimary : Your main way to make the switch. Alternate : Less desirable than your primary way in case your first plan fails. Contingency: Same logic but for alternate. Emergency: This will get you the switch but is the last resort because it is undesirable. For example it could be getting an internship because the pay is very low.Once you have gotten the job, expect things to get harder… 3.Always be humble in your dealingsDepending on how you made the switch, you may or may not start out from the bottom. But I think it is still wise to be humble no matter your station in life or your position in the company. Typically, as it is with me, mid career switchers will be older than their peers who are in the same role. Knowing that I have more working experience I tend to be more arrogant and less keen on hearing their opinions. This is especially so if they are treading on familiar grounds that you have been through before. Having this mindset is very detrimental to growth in general and does not reflect well on oneself. We have seen in the news lately of people with terrible and apalling behavior being displayed on public like this and this. Although this is drastically radical example but I think it stems from a similar attitude of thinking that you know better, so you deserve more respect and others less so. You will be surprised that there are other people that are more experienced or more knowledgeable than you even though they have less accomplishments in life or are a lot younger. I recall my ex boss saying that everyone has something to offer from their lives because everyone has varying interest and focus on their lives, everyone has value in teaching someone else something that they do not know. Which brings us to the next point… 4.Be eager to learn (within your craft and beyond)Life long learning should not be just a slogan for NTUC or the government but it should be something that we constantly practice. Being in a new industry often means that you have very little exposure to what each role in the industry actually does. More so if you are a mid career switcher and have been entrenched in some other unrelated industry for more than a decade of your life. Learning other stuff, especially the auxiliary fields would help one to broaden your horizon as well as to identify other interest. And who knows it may come into good use later on. When I was in my course learning about AI and machine learning, I met a good mentor who introduced to us many core programming concepts which I am still grasping now. I discovered that I am more interested in building applications rather than applied research with led me to choosing software developer as a career path. Learning helps you identify other interest that could be more appealing. In the now famous commencement address by Steve Jobs, he spoke of learning calligraphy earlier on which defined the now classical fonts that Mac machines uses. If anything, learning enhances the flavor of life that we live on.While I was in the course I also learnt about MLOps especially about Kubernetes. I was so intrigued about the subject that I just wanted to learn as much as I can about it, eventually culminating in a certification for it – CKA. Part of the mystic is the name. I mean kubernetes? Which I learnt stands for the helmsman or the pilot in greek (cool factor +1). This also helped in my understanding in software concepts like the microservice architecture and many other associated concepts. 5.Put things into perspective when facing hardshipsSometimes we need to remember why are we switching careers to begin with. Is it because of money? Is it because of boredom? Is it because of a lack of career progression? This I believe will set up a good frame of mind when looking for the next career. Knowing what is your priority. If you wanted an exciting career, then you should not really be looking for a big pay bump in your new career. It will come in time. Finding jobs can also be very frustrating. I remember getting into an argument with my wife because I simply did not have any response from prospective employers on that day. Sometimes we need to remember that we can be grateful for many other things like being healthy, having all four working limbs, being able to walk, having friends and family, not being in constant risk of death and injury as we go about our day. It is widely known that paying gratitude and counting one’s blessings confers many benefits including happiness and contentment. Some people do it by writing a journal, others practice mediation or praying. It is up to you but I think it is very important to remember that we have many things to be grateful for to be alive. Thanks for Reading Those are the lessons that I have learnt directly or indirectly when I was switching my career. Thanks for reading!