The Career Advice I Disagree With Most

26 Nov The Career Advice I Disagree With Most

As a Career Coach for Rebels, I’m often asked what popular career advice I disagree with most. Since I specialize in helping people create unconventional careers, it would probably come as no surprise to learn that I’m not in support of a lot of what’s out there.

But if I had to settle on one answer, it turns out it’s not really advice per se, but more of a societal expectation that we should choose a career path when we’re 17 years old (and don’t know much about anything, let alone ourselves) and do that thing for the rest of our life.

I spent a lot of years trying my damn best to adhere to this expectation. And when my supposed-to-be-forever career path didn’t work out at all the way I’d hoped, I spent a lot of years feeling like a failure.

But the thing about this societal expectation is that it’s bullshit.

Because people don’t pick one path and stubbornly stick to it forever and ever. They change, and grow, and pivot. In fact, the average person pursues 5-7 different career paths throughout their life!

If someone had told me that 10 years ago, I would’ve saved myself a whole lotta grief. I would’ve never beat myself up for moving on from career paths that weren’t serving me. I would’ve let myself off the hook.

So this is me letting you off the hook. This is me telling you that you’re not a failure if the career path you set out on at 17 years old isn’t even close to what you’re doing now, or want to do next.

You didn’t fail. You reinvented yourself.

And you’ll continue reinventing yourself over and over throughout your life. And goodness me does that ever take a shit ton of courage.

It’s time to stop shaming yourself for evolving and wear your reinvention as a badge of honour.