Career switch at your 30s

[Vasundara]

Hi .. I have been always a very confused soul while it comes to taking decisions. Right now going through another confusion in my life. Two years ago, I was earning pretty well and I had to quit my job after having a baby. The role I was handling demanded lot of time and effort and as a mother I had to give priority to my baby. After 2 years of break, my same old company offered me a job of same title but the salary offered was less than what I used to earn, because I had 2 years of career break. I joined, to cope up with my break. While I was in my break, I also did some courses to make a career switch to digital marketing field . The problem is I have to travel 5 hours a day to get to work and it's really getting hectic with a toddler at home. My job now is really good but the travelling is taking most of my time and I am unable to spend time with my kid. So I have resigned from my current position and currently serving notice period. Meanwhile, I also managed to find a job in digital marketing field.I have total of 9 yrs of experience in IT but as I am new to this digital marketing field, they are offering me salary of only 1/4 of what I am currently earning . I am confused if I am doing the right thing by making a switch at this point. My idea to make a career switch was to get more time with kid, but over here even Saturday's they work. Which forces me to send my kid to daycare even on Saturdays. I currently have 2 days off on weekends. Is it good to make a career switch at your 30s? I have to start everything from scratch. I am also stressed about facts that my husband is unable to manage expenses alone and always ends up borrowing cash from his friends. All these has been stressing me out and I am looking for some good solutions to handle all this. Please help.

[vijendrakumar]

Dear vasundhara,
First, you need to believe in yourself, and not deciding that you get confused or calling yourself a confused soul! There is nothing wrong in switching over, if there are good opportunities and you are passionate about it. And next is you need to prioritize it too. If you think your kid needs more time, then spend time him and the remaining time, you could focus on career. However, you may not able get a job like this, except home based marketing including digital marketing or part time flexible work. It is a nice thing that you are concerned about your husband's financial condition and support. You sit with him and work out on these things and child responsibility. It is your husband's duty as well, and I could not get a hint on this in your mail. At times, you need to compromise on salary, but not a quarter of your previous salary. If they knew your potential, they would have offered fair compensation.

Regards,
Prof. VijendraKumar SK
Counseling Psychologist,
Team YourDOST

[robinthomas]

Dear madam

I understand your predicament as you seem to be in a catch 22 situation between your intention to augment the income and nurturing your child. Career switch, I think, can be made at any point of time, provided it makes your life more comfortable, satisfied and fulfills most of your important needs. The priorities have to be first resolved. Sometimes, the weight of the pay check may not be important compared to other responsibilities. You may have to weigh the things depending on priorities. Your kid needs you as these are growing impressionable years. You should not miss out on the joy of being together as these are developmental and nurturing priorities. I think Digital marketing has growing potentials, possibilities and opportunities and you could see if there could be any proposals where you could work from home. That would be a blessing from the heavens directly. No commuting strains and stresses, you are your own CEO and so on. You never know what you can do until you try, so dont let this feeling of being new to the field be an obstacle. Why underrate yourself? Opportunities commensurate with your capabilities will always present themselves as long as you keep trying. Set the intentions and priorities right, be hopeful, optimistic and confident. Life is all about learning. There is no age bar for learning and growing. The Chinese say, just as one day the yellow river becomes clear, the wheel of fortune must turn in ones favour. We can only make it true by trying and believing we can, and seeing it happen . All big things have small beginnings. Your happiness, responsibilities and comfort are top priority always .

All the best