11 Signs It’s Time to Switch Careers

A bootcamp like TripleTen is in the business of taking people from careers they’d rather not be in (putting it mildly for some of our grads) and helping them blaze better professional paths. That means we’ve heard “That’s when I knew I needed a change” more than once. So, to save you the agita and self-doubt, here’re 11 signs you should switch careers — distilled straight from the stories of our grads who were once where you are now.

The signs

1. Your job is bad for your health

We’re putting this first because, while the tough-it-out mentality is great in certain situations, gambling with your health for a paycheck is never worth it. Dallin Sly_{From Trucking to Coding: Dallin Sly’s TripleTen Story} was a trucker, and because his job was all about being seated behind the wheel of a rig, he “gained 85 pounds plus” in that career. If your physical health is deteriorating because of your job, it’s time to get out.

2. You feel your soul draining

This heading is a paraphrase of Kyle Kolodziej_{In QA and Never Looking Back: Kyle Kolodziej’s TripleTen Story} — he was in a job that made him feel like a warlock was sucking his life force away because of how mind-numbing his project management role was. And even if you don’t imagine an arcane figure causing this feeling, you likely know exactly what Kyle was talking about. If you feel yourself being turned into a zombie because of your work, that’s a good sign you should look for something new.

3. Your colleagues don’t have time for their families

Every job comes with tradeoffs, but some are just too dear. For example, AC Slamet_{A Producer Switches to Tech to Find Time for Life: AC Slamet’s TripleTen Story} had landed a glamorous job in TV, but it came with a high cost. “A normal shoot day for producers would be 15 hours,” he said. In fact, when he looked around, he saw that his fellow producers could go months without seeing their kids. If you’re chafing against a job like AC’s — one that demands you forsake family life for your professional life — that’s a sign you should consider a switch.

4. Your burnout comes for your passions

We all need to relax and recharge. But when Jenny Doctor_{From Making Music to Making Commits: Jenny Doctor’s TripleTen Story}’s music teaching role went digital during the pandemic, she didn’t get the chance to do either. “I started to get a bit burnt out with teaching,” she said. “When I was teaching, I really didn't make music for myself. I was focused on my students.” She’d loved music, but her career had sapped this creative fuel. If your job is draining you so completely that you don’t have time or energy for your hobbies, consider a change.

5. There’s no more room for growth…

Sure, Rex Rodriguez_{Breaking Through a Professional Ceiling: Rex Rodriguez’s TripleTen Story} knew some tech, but as he said, “I didn’t have any professional experience with JavaScript, which I realized I would need if I was going to elevate my career and go after better opportunities.” And his job wasn’t the place where he’d get that expertise. If you’re like Rex, staying where you are_{Yeah, It's Time to Quit – Part One: Stagnation} might actually be doing you harm, so a stagnating career is a sign you should start thinking about a switch.

6. … Or the growth is in the wrong direction

This is the flipside of the previous entry. Gerardo Antolino Torres II_{From Law Enforcement to QA: Gerardo Antolino Torres II’s TripleTen Story} got into law enforcement to directly help people, but if he kept advancing within the sheriff’s office, he’d no longer have that ability. “I wanted to be able to be more hands on, help people, and I started realizing there were no other avenues that I wanted to take within law enforcement,” he said. If you see growth opportunities that only take you away from your professional passion, consider a career change.

7. You feel called to another field

Say you’re in banking. It’s a fine job. And say you start getting curious about another field — quality assurance (QA), for example. If you find yourself in a situation like Natasha Bagramian_{A New Country, New Career, and New Sense of Belonging: Natasha Bagramian’s TripleTen Story}’s, then  that curiosity might turn into a passion you need help not doing. “I wouldn't eat, I wouldn't sleep, and I would ask my husband to take away my computer,” she said about her time learning QA. If you’re finding a new field so enthralling that you need help disconnecting from it, then that’s a clear sign you should take a change seriously.

8. Your job is subject to market volatility

Volatility — it comes for even highly qualified specialists like Chukwuemeka Okoli_{Realizing an Alaskan Dream: Chukwuemeka Okoli’s TripleTen Story}. He had a master’s in petroleum engineering, but after a crash in the oil market, he couldn’t find work. This led him to take a hard look at his career. “I needed to be in an industry that is not really affected by ups and downs,” he said. If you’re in a similar situation where your next job or your next paycheck is too inflected by the whims of the market, then that’s a major sign you should think of making a professional pivot.

9. You work, but can’t rely on your next paycheck

There are many ways of compensating people for their work, but not all of them are equally as reliable, and this was a source of stress for Sheldon Kinsler_{From Sales to Tech: How Sheldon Kinsler Found a New Career and Community}. “Sales is 100% commission-based. So some months are really great. Some months, you really wonder if you have a job. You can't really predict the future for that,” he said. If you, like Sheldon, can’t plan out your life because of unpredictable income, then that’s a sign that researching a new professional path might be a good idea.

10. You’ve made a major life change, but your career is still the same

Maybe you sat down and had the conversations or maybe you just came to the life transformation on your own. Now, things are fundamentally different. Isabelle Cuisset_{Refashioning a Career with Tech: Isabelle Cuisset’s TripleTen Story} knows what that’s like — she traded a peripatetic life and career for something solid. “I decided, ‘Okay, let's stop this crazy life. I need to choose where I want to live and find a way to stay there.’ I also needed to own something, a kind of craft that I could develop,” she said. If you’re like her, that means your professional life needs to catch up with your personal life — and that’s a sign to look for something new.

11. You know you could be doing more good in the world

After 15 years teaching special education, Tiffany Hall_{A Teacher Switches to Tech to do Even More for Students: Tiffany Hall’s TripleTen Story} discovered the good that tech could do for students like hers when teaching went remote during the pandemic. But once in-person learning resumed, that promise fizzled. It decided her. “I realized I gotta get out and make sure that educational tech gets more opportunity in front of teachers and students,” she said. If you see an opportunity to do good in the world — and know it’s outside your current field — then that’s a sign you should consider a career pivot.

Want to make sure? Take our quiz

If any of these signs sound familiar, but you want to check that a professional transformation is right for you, we’ve got you covered. Our quick career-switch quiz can help you decide if it’s time to go for a new career.