Time for a Major Career Change?

[Anonymous]

I am at a weird crossroads. I have spent the last 15 years fighting my way through a very corporate facing career. I have, to my surprise, been quite successful and am now the youngest VP at my organization. But it has come at such a cost – work-life, my marriage has suffered, my parenting experience has suffered, my health is suffering. I am not sure it has actually been worth it. My stress levels have been off the charts for most of my career. More importantly, I am not sure I have ever “loved” what I do. I would definitely not say I am living my passion. I have been with the same org for almost 9 years and I am not sure if my itch for change is just from exhaustion and frustration or if I am actually really ready for a BIG life pivot. And if I am ready, I am not sure what that pivot even would be. I am scared I am in that “grass is greener” situation where I leave the comfort of my role and current org to go someplace that could be worse. I have worked in AWFUL, toxic environments before and I don’t want to ever go back. In my current role I have a ton of flexibility and I work virtually, I have earned the trust and confidence of our CEO and I have been tagged as high potential and the org is investing in my growth. Basically, even if a recession hit, it would be hard for me to get fired here. But I am just happy. I am over the same old stress, the constant battle and negotiation I am fighting in my current role. I am tired and feeling beaten down, and like I am missing out on life. That whole “work to live, live to work” thing is ringing in my head. When I look at Linked In and job postings, nothing really speaks to me remotely close to my field and experience where I could be a competitive candidate. So here are my stats: I have been in consultative sales for my whole career, working with mostly F500 and F1000 orgs. Sales, account management, managing large teams, working with C-suite executives, big speaking engagements, process improvement and operations, P&L management – all in both for profit and non-profit settings. Financially I do not have the luxury of taking some time off to figure out next steps. I have to work as we have a pile of medical debt. We do live within our means but have a way to go in terms of being debt free. In my current role I am over six figures and would like to stay close to that. While I find myself daydreaming about a franchise or running a new business, the bottom line is we have zero investment capital, NONE. And we are risk adverse people. I love to write, watch TV and movies, flowers and all things to do with home design/decorating. I am passionate about the environment and have always wanted to work in that space somehow but it has never panned out. I have a BA but no MBA or advanced degree. I feel drawn to “doing something”, meaning not sitting behind a computer all day. I need flexible work times, to go back to an office or non-home based location full time is not super appealing to me. I am not particularly creative but also have always been such a straight shooter/academic/corporate person that I never really stretched my creativity muscles. I don’t know what I am asking for here actually. I guess maybe any suggestions on what types of jobs I could look for. How do I take my skill set and translate it into something that brings me joy and keeps me at around the same income point? Am I just whining about being at a new stage in life? I am grateful for where I am at and have worked my tail off to get here. But….is there more? If you that made major jumps in your late 30s – why, what did you do and how did you do it? Thanks for reading this far, I appreciate this group!

[Susan Hart]

Wow you have a lot on your mind. Want to have coffee.
My intuition says maybe there are people in my network that might be good connections

I also do
think that talking with Laura Tara Reichart who is a Life Coach might be a good resource for you

[Author]

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