I recently resigned from a TC:350 role with nothing secured and while I don't regret the decision, I feel forced to rethink my entire career. I've worked across the broad spectrum of digital for >20 years. I have no degrees or formal education, which has been a challenge at times, and I realize has set me back overall. I absolutely love learning new skills, and go deep in many. While this has proven helpful in opportunity development, it has diluted my value proposition on paper. Despite that, I've secured or ascended to leadership roles across each category (Dev, Mktg, Strat, Creative), and founded a small agency for years. As a result, I've cultivated a highly unusual composition, which I feel blessed to have and serves me well in any category. ...Until it doesn't. The Crux: - The employers interested in my scope couldn't do the things. - The employers who could do the things are not interested in my scope. I realize this isn't unique to me. But the more I see, the more I feel. I'm incredibly protective of the user, considerate of my teams, committed to the integrity of our work, and considerate of the opportunities to the business. And so my tolerance for conceding on either side is soon exhausted and I move on. The end result would be a career that is all over the board; Sr. Developer > Creative Dir. > Global Marketing Mgr > Innovation Mgr. > Product Manager > IT Solutions Mgr > Customer Experience Owner. And while each of these consisted of significant contribution and successes, my longest tenure is a paltry 3.5 years. I try to remain self-aware, which makes the reality of this very difficult. I'm not perfect, and waited too late in my career to learn the importance of being easy to work with. Please don't misunderstand, I never had issues with my teams or colleagues. But staying in my lane has often been a challenge, with the scale of impact typically correlating directly to that of the opportunity (*See 'The Crux'). I often wish I could care less. Not work all-nighters spinning up prototypes, circumventing friction, and overcoming internal issues. Not be constantly disappointed by leaders on cruise control or the lack of passion they've cultivated in their teams. More than anything, I want to work alongside people with the heart to do the hard things, for themselves, their team, or users they will never meet. I want to work with people who care enough to leave a bad relationship, and develop one that never puts them in that position. I want to work for an employer that considers Integrity to be an employee's greatest measure. I want to see somebody risk it all for the right thing. Maybe it's time to go solo, and accept the limitations that brings. Maybe I need to seriously rethink how I qualify opportunities. Maybe I just need to find a job that keeps my hands busy and my heart full. I feel discouraged, hopeless, and at the same time I am overwhelmed by options and a sense of obligation to push on. Just me?
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I have been in a similar situation multiple times until someone gave me a piece of advice. 1) We are not defined by our career. There's a life beyond that. 2) We should do something because we can do. Not because someone's doing or to prove something to the world. There's a world outside the job. There's family. There are a lot of things we can do outside the tech career. Take a break, go places, see & do things. You'll eventually figure out something and come back stronger!