A colleague once asked me why I left journalism. “If you had remained in the media, you would probably be an editor by now!” I flippantly answered, “What’s the fun in that?”
It’s not that I don’t want to be an editor, but I was getting too comfortable in the print media field at a time when massive change was happening. Being an editor would probably be the right move for someone else, but I wanted to be where the change was, and that meant the digital side of things.
So, I pivoted. Was it challenging leaving the familiar comforts of the print world?
Oh gosh, yes! In the first few years after leaving journalism, I was very tempted to return to the media. Sometimes, I felt that I had made a mistake.
New kid on the block
It was tough being the new kid on the block when you’re not, well, exactly young. There was so much to learn; new work cultures to adapt to; new ways of collaborating with people. It was incredibly humbling.
Fortunately for me, the media wasn’t hiring then, so I pressed on, learning more about #digitalmarketing, #contentmarketing. The more I learned, the more I discovered what I liked, and what I wanted to do.
Six years after leaving the newsdesk, I am now a #technicalwriter. I suppose you can call it another career pivot, but to me, I’ve fine tuned my career trajectory by marrying my love for tech and writing into one job.
I love what I’m doing and learning every day. It’s hard to explain the thrill I get when playing with software and writing content to help people to use it. It’s terribly geeky but I guess that’s why I’m a tech writer!
What I’m trying to say is this: Don’t be afraid to pivot in your career. And even if you do change careers, the journey isn’t smooth most of the time. There will be times when you will doubt your decision. But the key is listen to yourself: what do you like/don’t like? What do you want to do or learn?
Then, fine tune your career so that you can learn, do and experience what you want.