What I Learned Changing My Job Every Two Years

Straddling multiple careers is good for the right kind of person. But, you better be ready to work hard.

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“Are you changing your job again? Didn’t we just have this conversation last year?” My friend pushed her plate away to focus her eyes on the story of my next big adventure. I can’t help but notice that she’s trying to be supportive.

But, her eyes tell me that she thinks I’m sabotaging my career by changing my job every two years. She’s been at her job for the last 7 years. She only changed her firm once. Her dream is to stay with her current employer for the long haul.

Our greatest ability as humans is not to change the world, but to change ourselves. — Mahatma Gandhi

When I was working in IT for investment banks, I changed my job every two years. Often, it was just switching teams while working for the same bank. As I progressed in my career, there was a move to project management. Then, there was a move from development to support. There was a move from Middle Office systems team to Front Office systems team. There was also a promotion up to low-level management.

After I ended my career, I became a student with a graduate degree in Statistics. I ventured into Data Science. Then, I volunteered in a healthcare facility while studying natural sciences. Later on, I became a parenting blogger. Now, I’m building a freelance writing business while trying to become a writer and author.

Life has many twists and turns. Along the way, I found solace in exercising my business acumen while retaining my technical skills with side projects. I also found that the only way to be comfortable with change is simply to lean into the change. There’s no other way to thrive.