Reinvent Your Life

The Washington Post has an inspiring article in this week’s Sunday Source called Reinvent Your Life. The article divulges the details of for individuals who gave up their boring, unhappy lives in search of adventure. Everything from a software engineer turned model to a help-desk support technician moving to Antarctica. The article takes a look not only at the positive side of changing careers, but also the darker side, which can lead to loneliness and perhaps an even unhappier future.

The article says more than half of Americans across all income brackets are dissatisfied with their jobs today. Up from 39 percent in 1987. One of the profiled individuals encouraged unhappy individuals to consider alternative career choices. But first she said to ask yourself the following, “Do I need a total change of scene, or do I just need a vacation? Do I need to change my whole entire career, or do I just need to change the company I’m working with?” She suggests considering changing the company you work with before considering changing your career completely.

Just this week I met with a friend of mine who has been encouraging me to change careers. I’m unhappy with my job but the pay and benefits make a monotonous job much more bearable. I would love a fulfilling job but I’m not certain what I want to do with my life or what career path I’d like to take. My friend drastically changed careers a few years ago, but she knew that she wanted to be a teacher. It is much easier to jump ship when you have a goal in mind and much more difficult when you are unhappy with your career but uncertain what you want to do. Nevertheless I did find inspiration in this article.