Many Ironhackers join our bootcamps because they feel "stuck" in life trying to navigate their career. Often, they feel they’ve reached a dead end; they crave development and growth, and they don’t see a future progressing from where they are right now, professionally speaking. But the alternative can be so much scarier: making a major change in one of the biggest areas of your life, like your country of residence, your social circles, or your career, seems like a very looked-down-on, very risky move. And the truth is that it’s not easy to do it alone. But it is easier than you might think.
The great thing about Tech is that it doesn't matter what your background is– it’s an incredibly flexible field where, with a set of essential skills (that we can teach you!), your transferable skills that you bring from your previous background, no matter what it is, will make you stand out and make it easy for you to pivot to a career in Tech!
Unsure? Here are six ways for you to know that it’s time for a new career.
You Don’t Feel Challenged
In your job, you should feel motivated to resolve the problems that arise every day, happy to help your teammates, and excited about the next big thing. But, more often than not, your day to day might not sound exactly like this description.
Maybe you are no longer learning and growing as a person and as an employee. Maybe projects feel stale, and it gets increasingly harder to get out of bed and go to your job. You might feel bored, lethargic, and hate the hours you have to spend at the office. No one expects to be fascinated at work all day everyday: it’s WORK! But it should definitely not feel like torture, or like your braincells are dying of boredom– when you find your job tedious on a regular basis, enough to start hating it, then it’s time for a change.
You’re Only There for the Money
Having enough income to live (not just getting by, but also being happy) is not just very important: it’s non negotiable! But it’s not everything your should aim for in your professional life. Even if you earn mountains of cash, if the job does not make you happy, eventually you’ll know it’s just not worth it. While financial stability is a must-have, at the end of the day, a job that feeds your stomach will not necessarily feed your soul and fulfil you.
If this is the case, you might feel disengaged from your work, and just not care about what happens. Take a second to think about what is keeping you tied to this job: is it the ‘cost’ of what you’ve invested to get there? Or the security of the good pay and the comfortable life you’ve been able to lead? Are there more reasons to stay? If not, you might have a problem.
You Don’t Feel Important
You might be doing great at your job, but under a definition of ‘great’ that isn’t exactly what you had envisioned when you started aiming for this career. You’ve started lacking the desire to suggest new ideas or innovate at your company, because, in the past, your suggestions have been ignored or straight up dismissed for no reason. You don’t feel supported to openly brainstorm or suggest solutions for problems that are blatantly obvious to you, and you suspect it’s not because your ideas are bad.
You may not be the CEO, but you should feel valued in your job. Not every project you work on will be revered and rewarded with a bonus, but take a hard look at the feedback you’re getting: are you receiving constructive criticism or just plain criticism? Are you getting praised? Are your achievements recognised as yours? It’s easy to feel apathetic about your quality of work if you aren’t treated like a valued member of the team.
Your Values Are Suppressed
What is most important to you? What are your core values? Are any of these values shared by your current company– plainly speaking, do these people care about what you care about? If not, it may be time for a change.
A workplace isn’t just a place you go to to deliver eight hours of dummy work. Your principles and personal choices play a role, and should have a place alongside your projects, your work ethic and your team members. If your colleagues share your values and mindset to an extent where your work feels dynamic and like a ‘together’ effort, or your ideas are frequently suppressed, something might be wrong.
You Know You Want Something more
We’re gonna break it to you gently: people who are happy at their jobs don’t fantasize about other (very different) jobs, companies or industries on a daily basis. Don’t misunderstand this: it’s healthy to look beyond your current job, and you should absolutely do it every once in a while. You should know how the job market is going, make sure you’re happy where you are, and value yourself professionally. But if you're constantly eyeing up other companies, or have a specific career path in mind, or have identified your dream job, you owe it to yourself to go for it!
You Made It Through This List
Did you read this entire post fervently? Yeah, we noticed. Chances are, if you made it all the way to this point, you are thinking pretty heavily about making a switch. This is a choice that can be very difficult, and ultimately the best advice is this: don’t make your choice out of fear– don’t let it be a decisive factor in your life. Trust your instincts: do you want to do something about it? Be bold. You can do it!
Changing careers and investing in yourself is a big commitment… but you don’t need to do it blindly. You might know you’re not happy where you are, but you might not be sure about where to go. Good news: we have you covered! You can use our Career Vision Planner to figure out what your dream career will look like– and it comes with a Job Hunting Checklist to help you go out into the world and GET IT!
And if you want the skills to switch to a booming career in Tech, check out our bootcamps!
