The Bold Journey: Redefining Career Success

Redefining success in a world that values relentless progress

As I move into another shift in my career and into another group, I am going to (try to) welcome new challenges and unknowns as they come

I have two technical degrees in science, specializing in a niche energy industry. I thought I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I spent five years in university fighting my natural artsy, creative tendencies to earn a degree that would ensure a safe financial future. I was raised with the mindset of being practical, safe, and logical when it came to my future career.

When I graduated fresh out of school, my plan was to muddle through the tormented early-career technical individual contributor roles and then springboard into management, where I’d start climbing the corporate ladder. The path was always very obvious, and I followed the plan for the first eight years of my career with great success.

A few years ago, I decided to level up and pursue an advanced business degree—because let’s face it, VP and C-suite roles often come with the prerequisite of an MBA. Doing an advanced degree while battling the demons brought on by COVID isolation kicked my ass, and I ended up in complete burnout. However, the goal was still clear, right? Keep climbing. Keep moving up and over. Go! Go! Go! After finishing a grueling full-time degree while also working full-time, it was quite possibly the worst time for the nagging feeling to whisper that my course was changing.

So, I made a bold decision: I left behind the technical career I’d built, the leadership role I held, and the team I valued to chase new experiences and explore different facets of business. I went from leading a large technical team to… floundering. I dabbled in a few groups, trying out new managers, new ventures, and new opportunities. Each time I rotated to a new group, I felt excited by the job description’s potential, and yet, for one reason or another, the role failed to achieve liftoff.

I felt so much frustration and disappointment for leaving behind something secure and known for what felt like failure to land. I found myself floating through a series of projects, never finding anything I could really dig into, grow roots, and build. I tried to offset my day job with ample side hustles and creative projects to fill my cup in other ways. However, my inner voice was screaming, “You did a hella expensive degree and put your body through hell for this?!”. Disappointment in myself—especially as a driven, results-oriented “RED” personality—was a tough pill to swallow. We. Don’t. Fail.

But was it a failure? Enter the mindset shift. There is no way every career path is a steady up-and-to-the-right trend. I did gain different business perspectives through the lens of different managers, regardless of my day-to-day role. A few years without a job that has a ten-out-of-ten sparkle factor is part of the journey. As a RED, I love fast, immediate results and the ability to control the outcome. As much as I know that is not always possible, I still find myself with a subconscious expectation that I can run fast and uphill forever in my career.

As I move into another shift in my career and into another group, I am going to (try to) welcome new challenges and unknowns as they come. It’s all part of my career journey, and there’s plenty of time left to find the right fit to land.