Feeling Stuck in your Job?

It’s a tale as old as time. You wake up, work the same job each day, and you feel like something is missing. Maybe you’re completely unhappy due to poor company culture, you’re burned out from being over worked, or you’re concerned that you aren’t keeping up with current technology. Whatever the reason, many of us have felt “stuck” in our career or position at some point in life. Let’s talk about some general tips on what to do when you’re feeling this way.

The first step is to figure out why you feel stuck. It’s always a good idea to put pen to paper when you’re trying to target why you feel the way you do about something. Make a list of the things that you enjoy about your role, things that are lacking and things that just flat out suck. Once you’re done, review your list. It will be up to you to determine if the reason you’re feeling stuck is grounds for leaving your current company. 

Say you love your company, you love your boss, but you’re completely bored with what you’re doing. You’re no longer challenged. It could be beneficial to take this your boss and have an open conversation. Many companies are willing to move great employees to new roles when they feel this way. Is your company big on internal growth? Start applying to new roles within your company. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there in some capacity, otherwise nothing will change. And if they aren’t open to it, at least you’ll know!

Now, if you don’t like your position, you’re feeling overworked, you don’t have a voice within your company, it may be time to start looking outside of your organization. If this is the case for you, start applying to roles that look interesting to you. Refer to the list you made previously. Use this to determine some key factors in selecting your next role. These could be quality of life, tech stack, the scope of projects you’re working on, fair salary, or a company that simply cares about their employees. Create questions surrounding these identifiers to ask in interviews. Make sure you’re not going to run into the same issues at a new company.  

Are you wanting to do something completely different? This is totally fair and doable, but it can be tricky. I’ve talked to many people who get burned out in their career and want to make a complete industry change. If that is the case, I would need to write an entirely separate blog on the topic. If you’re wanting to transition from one technical role to another, it’s bit more feasible for me to tackle here. 

There are a couple of things you’ll want to take into account:

If you’re wanting a shorter route to get to your destination, think about your skillset. Are you a SysAdmin? Gain a general understanding of Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines. DevOps could be a great next step. Are you a Data Analyst with several years of experience? You could transition into many other data focused roles such as a Data Scientist, Data Engineer, maybe even a Business Analyst (although a slightly less data focused role). The key is to make sure you’re adding skills to your toolbox that will be useful on your next path.

For those wanting to take a less linear path... Are you a Developer and you want to become a Project Manager, a Network Engineer looking to become a Developer? You might consider bootcamps (*cough cough* Techlahoma has many great resources!) or getting relevant certifications as you are going to have a few more hurdles with less relevant experience. You will want to do research on salaries for the jobs you are considering. Career changes can come with a pay cut at times if you don’t have experience. Be prepared for this and remember, in most roles within the tech community, it’s only a matter of time before you’re making what you were making previously. Having mentors and connections, knowing people who can speak to your experience, or just having people in your corner in general, is invaluable. Build relationships with your co-workers, your bosses, utilize LinkedIn and Techlahoma. We are here to help each other in this community, just remember to always pay it forward.

This is just the tip of iceberg on this topic. I could on and on, but for the sake of not losing you, I’ll stop here. Dig deep, figure out if your issues can be resolved by simply talking to your boss. If they can’t, take action. Make a move; change can be a beautiful thing. I know how cliché it is, but we really do spend much of our time at work.  Find something that is conducive to your mental health and overall happiness. It will web out to other aspects of your life. I’m happy to chat more in depth on this topic you want to reach out to me directly! 

-Ashley Faram