Having run Career Counseling Connecticut for over a decade, I know with certainty that career misery is largely avoidable.
“Career” misery is different than job misery. Jobs are temporary. Careers while not permanent are lengthy. By definition, someone who has a “career” has stayed on that particular career path long enough to define it as such.
And, that’s where Newton’s laws come into play. Huh? Please no science lecture. But paraphrasing Newton: “Things in motion tend to stay in motion. Things inert (not moving) tend to stay inert” has been a common observational theme for those stuck in careers that make them unhappy.
Why would people give up so much life energy for something that really is their “choice”? It makes no sense when looking backward. Almost everyone who leaves Career Counseling Connecticut’s offices says something along the lines of “I wish I had come here sooner.”
What stops people? Inertia. Unless someone is fired/laid off, the forces of getting through the day take up one’s energy. Planning for the next career or job instead of watching NetFlix is hard.
But career planning is the better choice. As for now…. well the shock of the lockdown has likely sunk in. Time to move forward.