Changing Careers in 2024

A lot has changed following the COVID-19 pandemic, but one thing that hasn’t is the core values held by the working class. There has been a noticeable shift toward prioritizing work-life balance, flexible schedules, and redefining what a career truly means to the individual. 

As a result, we’ve seen a record number of working adults making bold, life-altering decisions and changing careers more frequently. Before the pandemic, the average working adult would change careers once or twice in their lifetime. Now, that average has jumped to three to five career changes within their working years.

I guess I’m part of that statistic now.

I’ve been in healthcare since I was eighteen, even before I graduated from college. With a degree in Public Health, I envisioned a lifelong career in the industry, and I aspired to become a physician assistant and make a difference by caring for patients and their loved ones. 

But then COVID-19 happened.

If you’ve worked in healthcare, you’ll understand when I say that something changed in the air after the pandemic. What was once a manageable work environment has transformed into a battlefield. Patients have become increasingly difficult, more argumentative, and often hostile toward staff. Working in pain management during the pandemic was one of the worst experiences of my life — a daily battle with some of the most entitled and combative individuals I will ever encounter.

That experience drained me of any desire to continue pursuing medical school. I don’t think I can ever step into a patient room or do rounds in a surgery center again.

But it’s not just the patients who have changed. The entire healthcare system feels broken. Hospitals, which are supposed to be these supposed bastions of care, now seem driven by insurance companies and profit-minded entities that dictate what can or cannot be done for patients. Staff are often treated as expendable resources, with little regard for their well-being or professional integrity.

And that’s not to mention how politicized healthcare has become. The Trump Administration’s approach to healthcare and public health gutted the scientific community’s credibility, favoring absurd narratives over evidence-based practice. Talking about my work now feels like walking on eggshells, as I fear reprisals from internet conspiracy theorists who, quite frankly, lack the IQ to be qualified to sit at the discussion table.

I’m exhausted, to say the least.

Next week, I’ll be leaving the healthcare field. Will I ever return? Maybe, but it depends on the future of our healthcare system and whether it can recover from the damage inflicted by greed and poor governance. For now, I’m moving on to a new chapter in home renovation and project management. There’s a lot to learn and relearn, but for the first time in a long time, I feel excited.

Bryan Creely from Life After Layoff often says, “Become the CEO of Your Career.” That idea resonates with me now more than ever. A career shouldn’t be confined to a single field; it’s a lifelong journey of personal growth and success. So, here’s to new beginnings and taking control of our own paths.