Lessons From My Career Switch: One Year Later

Today, November 2nd 2022, marks exactly one year since I joined Chipper Cash as a Content Designer within the Product Design team. While I no longer hold that title (althought I still handle product design for one product area), I must say things have moved faster than I ever imagined and the easiest way to sum it up is to quote a former favourite smartphone brand, “Never Settle”.

The past twelve months have been filled with luck, aligned stars and sleeves-up-getting-to-work. I say luck because we tend to think hard work is the key to success but the truth is, crossing paths with your destiny helpers is a better pedestal to achieving success. But even so, putting in the work should not be compromised but we’re not here to talk about work ethics (which we really should because Kenyans on Twitter really surprise me).

Small tip: If you are reading this as your first piece, there’s a bit of catching up to do — I won’t get into the details of my career switch, you can read up on that here.

Now back to the lessons. I am no expert here, actually, I only have a cumulative 6 years of industry experience. What this means is that I had the privilege of switching careers early, at a time when I could possibly recover if anything went wrong but that doesn’t mean it was any easier.

1. Starting over sucks but you have transferable skills!
   Ain’t this the truth! Lots of people have this fear of starting things over — mostly relationships but it also applies to our careers and if you’re not happy with how your professional life is going, maybe it’s time to switch it up? I know, putting aside 10 years of experience in field X to try your hand at field Y is daunting. We haven’t even touched on how much learning you have to do, going back to being a beginner or intermediate from an expert with age catching up but the truth is, unless you’re on your death bed, it’s never too late to chase after your goals.
   If you’re in the process of thinking about a career change, look at your transferable skills — this means the skills you already posses that can be useful in your new target career.
   For example, if you have been a project manager, it means you have the skills to be a product manager, just top up a bit of product knowledge, a bit of developer relations (you don’t really have to know how to code but knowing the basics of how software development works is a must-have) and voila!
2. When you start, commit and don’t be afraid not to know
   This is very important! It will get uncomfortable. It will be intimidating. Remember, once you switch to a new career, you are no longer an expert. You may have 10 years cumulative job experience but someone with 5 in this new field you’re in, probably knows more than you do.
   So, take a humble pie, learn from everyone — even those younger than you in age. You will catch up, as long as you’re willing to learn.
   For me, I had to get comfortable with asking for help, asking questions on almost everything for clarity and downright getting tutored by our Design Lead on how to properly do the job. Even in my current role, I do not shy away from asking my colleagues silly questions that someone may think I should know.
3. Find your motivation
   Why are you changing your career? Is it money? Fulfilment? As long as it’s not chasing a romantic interest, your motivation is probably valid. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for wanting to leave a career that’s not paying well anymore but also, don’t be greedy — finding the right balance is a secret to a fulfilling life.
   Personal example, first time I switched into Product Design, I was excited, ready to learn and happy to earn as well (my previous salary was a joke folks). However, 6 months into design, I realized I wasn’t feeling as fulfilled as I had hoped to be. For me, I needed to be more involved in the business, have a direct impact in revenue generation of the company, all this aligned with my future ambitions and so I switched again to something that worked for me.
4. Pray that you get good managers!
   This one is totally out of your control but the bottomline is, if your manager is your professional support system, ain’t no ceiling you can’t break! I was privileged to have managers that have always aided in my career growth. From the onset of my first job, to now, it’s just been blissful! I have had managers who have both held my hand and thrown me into the deep waters and with that, I have grown into a professional who can tackle anything.

With that, let me end it here before this turns into a novel. Wishing all the best to you career switcher, you got this!