Career Switches: A Leap To Take
By: Fatmah K. Content Writer Intern
What is the meaning of work? For some, it is a job- a necessity of life without the need to derive meaning out of it. For others, it is a career, a form of exchange in which the more effort I put in, the higher I climb and gain recognition, status and stability. For yet another rising group, is a vocation, in which work is the platform for realising the ultimate a person is striving for, that which gives your life meaning.
Career Switching Statistics
According to the Institute of Policy Studies, work has been gradually declining in importance since 2002. It ranked high as #2 in 2002, fell to #4 in 2012 and was placed at #5 in the most recent survey in 2022. It is clear that the significance of work is shifting, in recognition of other priorities in life. In our Juraseek strategy game on life goals, work is but one life domain. And overall life satisfaction is gleaned from looking at how we fare across life domains, ranging from personal development, family, to communities.
This shift in priorities has likely been accelerated by the covid-19 pandemic. Based on a recent IPS study, nearly one in two of those polled said that they felt that “the pandemic changed their work goals”, and nearly 7 out of 10 polled said they “have considered a career switch”.
A Today article shared stories of people for whom the pandemic acted as a catalyst in shifting mindsets from payments and stability to pursuing a switch in their vocation, for example, Ms Loh who went from being a full-time banker and part-time home baker, to taking the leap to leaving her job to set up her own bakery.
Farrah's Switch
I was curious to understand more about shifting priorities and the process of making a switch in the midst of a pandemic. Is it really like turning on a switch to go from A to B, as the word ‘switch’ seems to imply? Or is it more nuanced than that? During this time, I met Farrah, a migrant worker inspector, through a career-taster programme and she was one of the ‘books’ that caught my attention as her tagline was, ‘you have to be interesting and be interested.’ From her sharing and another interview, I thought her experience could be useful to those considering a switch and what the future entails for me as well when entering the working industry.
'A switch should be a journey of finding out what you have learnt and how you can apply it' says Farrah, currently an inspector who works closely with migrant workers in Singapore.
Farrah's job scope requires her to be out in the sun with boots and a helmet as she visits migrant workers, a stark difference compared to the 10 years she had in an air-conditioned room as a preschool teacher dealing with preschool children.
For Farrah, the pandemic made her realise that it was time to embrace change as the future seemed uncertain, and being too comfortable is not where she wants to be at. This is not to say she did not enjoy her 10-year career in preschool education. She enjoyed learning about how children developed certain attitudes and behaviours from a young age and it allowed her certain opportunities to grow, such as retaking her English O-level examinations to enhance her qualifications, even travelling to give a talk to other educators internationally. However, deep inside, she realised her first love for sports and travel were still very much alive, and she started asking herself, what kind of work would hold meaning for me?
Ultimately, it was the opportunity to serve and advocate for a neglected group in Singapore was what attracted her to her current occupation.
‘It was scary to face a switch especially to an entirely different sector. However, one has embrace the mindset of being ever ready and accepting that this is MY choice. And this will help a lot!’
Farrah’s sense of wanting a change was very strong; this gave her the courage to overcome any doubts or concerns she may have had. The drastic difference in job scopes did make her worry, for example, how would she communicate with an audience so different than who she was used to?
Tips by Farrah
Firstly, reflect on the skills you have gained. She felt that with the right attitude, a change in environment (and audience) can actually challenge you to hone your skills even further.
Secondly, sense-make and get clear on the change you are seeking. When asked what hers was, she said that her definition of change was to experience a new area of work that one did not hear much about otherwise.
Farrah advocates that a switch is much better than just staying stagnant. If this is not the career or job for you, why torment yourself further, as she would say.
Also a switch to a new career or a vocation should not be seen as an end goal, instead it can be a ride of what you would like to create and learn, just as she did. Being an inspector is not her end point, as she would still like to explore her options in sports and/or travel.
But she does not believe in waiting to make the perfect switch. In fact, gaining the capacity to adapt and learn quickly with every switch, is going to be a critical skill as the pace of change only grows. She believes that by switching, even if it is not to one’s ideal vocation, you are in the practice of always seeking a better way, to improve a situation or a state of where we are at, hence. In doing so, we learn not to put that flame of passion out yet, but to tend to it continuously as we inch towards realising our vocation.
Listening to Farrah's story and opinions, made me think of what a designer mindset is, which is something we strongly believe in at Bold and one that we actively mention in our Design Your Life workshop. One of the designer mindsets that I believe she embodies is Process and not an Event or Result. The way she viewed a career switch as a series of progressive moves, each one bringing you closer to where you want to be, and growing your capacity to learn and adapt with each move, was inspiring. It is a lesson in how it is more important to keep Moving with intention in the journey, even when one has yet to arrive.
#BeBoldAtWork is a Design Your Workplace series that seeks to cover practical tips, stories and tools that would serve employees and employers to better design how you choose to think, feel and show up in workplaces so as to improve the performances of not only your organisations but also the lives of the people you work with.
If you would like for us to enter your workplaces to provide talks and engagements on workplace wellbeing & career resilience, drop us a note at hello@boldatwork.sg!