Why switching careers is so hard?
The day I quit my programming job (for the record, I really enjoyed that job) to try out something new, many people said, 'What a cool decision! I wish I'd done that in my younger days'. Those words stayed with me for months. To be honest, I had saved some money to quit my job a long time ago. However, it still took me over a year to actually take that leap. I kept postponing it because it felt like a hard and difficult step to take. So, this raises the following question: Why is quitting your job to pursue your passion so psychologically challenging? In one of my YouTube videos, I delved into the psychological concepts that hinder us from taking the leap towards our dreams. For those who enjoy watching rather than reading, this is the video. And for those who prefer reading over watching, here is the article. First off, quitting your job to pursue your passion or any major career switch is basically a step in the unknown. It's an uncertain path and as humans we often have a natural fear of uncertainty. But there is more behind this. I've found that there are three major psychological concepts at play.
Loss aversion
This basically means that we as people are more afraid of losing than winning. Studies even suggest that the pain of losing is psychologically about twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining. Whether you like it or not, loss aversion plays a role in many life decisions. Marketers often use scarcity tactics like 'SALE: TODAY ONLY' or 'ONLY 1 ROOM LEFT' to convince you that you may miss out if you don't act now. This psychological phenomenon also explains why switching careers can be such a hard thing to do. I mean loss aversion often kicks in when you are mapping out the actual steps to quit your job. Because at that point, our mind quickly shifts to what we might lose rather than what we gain. For instance quitting your job could mean, losing financial stability, jeopardising relationships or risking your reputation. Loss aversion is a key reason why we are often hesitant to let go of what we already have when facing change. Even when the change is positive, we still tend to focus on what we might lose instead of what we gain. And this can be one of the reasons that stops us from switching careers. We are simply more afraid of what we lose when we leave our current job than what we gain from it.
The Sunk cost fallacy
This is the dangerous belief that you should stick with something just because you’ve invested something in it. Let me explain. Imagine you bought tickets to see a movie at the cinema. You're twenty minutes in, and it becomes clear that the movie is nothing like what you expected: it's extremely boring. Now, you might find yourself thinking, well I've already paid for it, so I better finish it. To be honest, I've been there, continuing to watch a boring movie just because I paid for the ticket. And this is a great example of the sunk cost fallacy, but it isn't limited to money; it can also be about time. For instance, you keep reading a boring book just because you've already read 100 pages, which took time and effort. In essence, the sunk cost fallacy means we make choices not because we think they'll turn out well, but because we don't want to waste what we've already put in. We apply this reasoning to various aspects of our lives, including our careers. It can be another reason, why we stay in jobs we don't enjoy, fearing that we'll waste the time and effort we've invested in them. This invested time and effort are what we call 'sunk costs', and they're often the reasons people remain stuck in unfulfilling jobs. Now, a major reason why we fall for this sunk cost fallacy is because, as described, we don't treat gains and losses equally.
Self-efficacy
This is your belief that you can succeed in a particular situation. So it is not about if you already have the skills, but whether you believe that you have what it takes to succeed in a particular situation. This belief is situation dependent, for example, you may have high levels of self-efficacy towards cycling but low levels of self-efficacy towards math. Now you might be wondering how this relates to switching careers? Well individuals with low levels of self-efficacy for a certain task often avoid doing that task because they think they can't succeed. And if they do try, they are quick to give up. On the other hand, people with high levels of self-efficacy believe in themselves and feel capable of doing something, and it motivates them to try, take action, and keep going, even when things get tough. So self-efficacy is the fuel that drives change. And it's one of the reasons why people hesitate to switch careers, because they simple question their capability.
Conclusion
The message of this article isn't to quit or to give up on everything. I mean, not giving up quickly is a powerful skill to posses. However, we tend to think that we are rational decision-makers, but unfortunately we are not. So I just want you to be aware of that and hopefully it brings you closer to your dreams.
PS: If you liked this post, then don't forget to check out my YouTube channel!
