The idea of starting over — professionally, romantically, even on a large project — is a truly daunting one. No matter who you are, I can’t imagine that you aren’t full of nerves. Even if you’re excited about starting over, there are still the big questions of “am I doing the right thing?” and “what am I ACTUALLY doing with my life?”
Some people are thrust into these situations willingly, some unwillingly. In my case, 90% the latter. Rewind three years ago and you wouldn’t recognize the person I was. A quick summary…I was in a bad place personally and professionally. I was going through, for lack of a better term, an extended period of unhappiness that impacted me in every aspect of life. I was working as a project manager at the time – an amazing job at an amazing company – but just deeply burnt out.
By the time June 2024 rolled around, I made the choice to move on from my job without anything lined up. It’s a ludicrous decision to make, but at the time I felt like I couldn’t add much value to where I was working at and I needed to work on myself.
At this point I had to dig deep and think about what I wanted in the future. Did I want to continue to keep doing what I was doing? Did I want to stay in the same type of job? Did I want to keep up the lifestyle that was contributing to my unhappiness? I’d like to say that I made this grand decision to change everything and improve my life — I didn’t. My body made that decision for me in August, but after being in the hospital for 3 days my mind was clear and so was what was next: the unknown.
I knew two things: 1) I needed a job and 2) I wanted to do something that I loved. Oh, and I also needed to be good at what I do. My thoughts immediately went to what my passion had been my whole life: technology. More specifically, systems administration and IT. I worked part time as a Junior Systems Administrator while I was in high school and until the end of college. This gave me some good experience but the only problem was that this was 15 years ago! Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 administration and Linux administration.
Even so, I ramped up my job search and started looking for IT jobs. My resume is decently impressive…if I wanted to stay in project management. For IT? I’d imagine it confused the hell out of whoever was looking at the resumes. Why should they hire me? Obviously I was looking to make a career change but there was the larger looming question of ‘why’, which couldn’t be answered on my resume alone. After a whole lotta nothing, I heard back for an interview and started my new career in IT!
From the moment I started my new IT career, I felt at home. I knew what I was talking about and I brushed off my rusty SQL skills to make a quick impact. I knew quickly that I made the right decision. I kept myself busy, learned new things both on the job and off the clock, and was a truly changed person. Maybe changed isn’t the best word to use…I felt like I was who I was when I entered the workforce. I had my sense of self back again, and my thirst for knowledge grew every single day.
After about a year and a half filled with hard work and amazing people, I decided that it was time to move on. I wanted more exposure to technology. I wanted to be exposed to problems I haven’t solved yet. I also wanted to move on beyond a Helpdesk role.
I recently started my new job as a Systems Engineer at an MSP and it has certainly lived up to what I was looking for. It’s a very different experience than on Helpdesk, but I have been soaking it up. I’ve started to develop a plan to learn even more and start scheduling certification exams.
With that being said, I’m still at the beginning of my new start. Scratch that…I think I’m starting new every single day. And the nerves still pop up from time to time. A bit of imposter syndrome? Probably. But the biggest feeling? Excitement. I have no idea what the future will hold but I know that I have a sea of options in front of me. Starting over every day lets me take control of my narrative and my future.
Cheers to starting over and whatever the future may hold. To anyone going through this: good luck— you can do this!
