Your career will evolve over time—just as you do. Each evolution, ideally, brings you ever closer to fulfilling your life’s work more profoundly. Live your life by design, not by default.
By Deborah Guy · May 29, 2025 · 🕒 6 min read
Not every hiccup or dry spell means it’s time to throw in the towel and pursue something completely new. We’ve all had the occasional day when getting to work wasn’t our very first choice for how to spend our time.
However, if you’re consistently bored at work and bitterness becomes chronic, these are clear signs it’s time for a career change. That may mean a slight modification or a complete overhaul. Let’s take a look at some sure fire things that indicate it’s time for a change.
Sign #1: When Chronic Boredom Signals Time for Career Change”
If your iron levels are fine, you’re not anemic, you’re eating well, and you’re still feeling drained and bored at work—it’s time to get specific about what’s draining you. Is it the commute, the projects, your coworkers, your boss? Get specific. This will help you figure out what needs to change.
What’s Really Draining You?
Like your work but hate the commute? Move closer. Don’t fancy your coworkers or your boss is overbearing? Get reassigned to a different team or switch to a similar position at a different company.
If it’s the work you hate, well read on before jumping ship.
Find What Jazzes You
Think about the things that jazz you. The people, the places, the activities you enjoy. What fascinates you? When do you frequently lose track of time because you are so entranced with what you are doing at work? What is it about those people, places, things that you enjoy? Any themes? What do they have in common that holds your interest?
Do you enjoy sales because you truly enjoy people? Finance because you like working with numbers? Writing because it allows for creativity?
Andrew’s Story:
Andrew’s dad worked in real estate, he had done well and wanted Andrew to join him in the business. As Andrew began his work with dad after college, he noticed that he thought real estate was okay but found that the work he enjoyed was less involved with working directly with clients and more based in reimagining how an older home might be upgraded, staged and its curbside appeal enhanced.
He loved the challenge of having a budget and being charged with giving a home a ‘facelift’. He successfully worked his way into creating a team that did high-end landscaping and exterior/curbside redesigning. His energy and engagement were high. At the end of his day, he’s tired but satisfied with how he’s spent his day. Andrew’s story shows how recognizing signs it’s time for a career change because he was chronically bored led to a career that aligned with his personal strengths.
Sign #2: You’re Running on Autopilot (Career Apathy)
If you feel like you’re on autopilot day after day, and you’re wishing you were somewhere else, it’s a good time to ask yourself what you would care about. Are you ready to work at things on a larger scale? Do you want more independence, more brainstorming opportunities, more challenging work?
Break Out of Autopilot Mode
Sometimes the fix isn’t a complete career change—it’s about finding the right project, team, or company culture that aligns with what you actually care about.
Sarah’s Story:
Sarah liked her team but wasn’t enjoying the project she was working on. She did great work but it didn’t energize her. She took the initiative and began looking at other projects within her company and soon found one that dealt with accessibility solutions for blind people. Her grandmother had gone blind at a later age and she felt very connected to the project.
With a little convincing she was able to change projects. No major career upheaval, just a simple change in how she applied her skills. She quickly noticed an increase in how invested she was in the new project.
Kim’s Story:
Kim knew that she thrived when she was able to problem solve in creative ways. Luckily she took it to heart when I shared with her that the probationary period works both ways. It’s not just, are you a good fit for them, it’s also, are they a good fit for you.
Shortly after taking a new job she realized that she liked her work but that the company culture was ‘by the book’ and she felt stifled. She had continued to keep her eye on additional opportunities, as I advised her even after she started the job and during that flexible probationary period. This time with a focus on company culture and soon found a job that valued her out of the box approach and her passion for her work skyrocketed.
Sign #3: Career Jealousy is Your Wake-Up Call
When jealousy rears its ugly head it’s often a sign that you want something you haven’t given yourself permission to have. In the area of careers, it might be worth exploring why you are so ticked off about the job that a friend has. It may be that it’s a job in a field you yourself would secretly like to pursue.
What’s up with that?
Decode Your Career Jealousy
Before doing anything drastic, you’ll want to identify what ‘triggered’ your jealousy. Do you get curious whenever you hear someone is involved in tech or feel envy if you meet someone who is in research?
First: Break it down. What aspect of the job is making you jealous? Are you jealous of Andrew the landscaper because he gets to spend a lot of time outdoors, or of Sarah because she’s working on innovative technology? What would be thrilling for you about the job?
Next: Is there a way to bring the aspects you crave into your current work? If not, a serious career change may be in order.
Trip’s Story:
When Trip started working with me as his coach, he was the head of a research lab working at the cutting edge of his industry and yet he was bored and still unsure about what he wanted to do. By his own admission, he pursued a second degree in Bio-Technology more to delay making a decision about a career than because of a passion for the topic.
On a regular basis he presented his work to the business side of the company. He consistently found the discussion on what they would do with the science more interesting than his own lab’s findings. He increasingly found himself resentful that once the meeting was over, he was back in the lab. Meanwhile, those that worked with him really disliked all the ‘suit-talk’ and couldn’t wait to get back to their test tubes and processes.
What Trip Learned About Career Jealousy
Once he realized he was really jealous of those that ‘got to work’ on the business side of the industry, he was able to begin bridging the gap between his education and his desired work. He spoke up and got himself involved with business projects and shortly became head of product development and got a hefty raise.
When It’s Time to Make a Change
Here’s what I know: The universe is not sending you a signal to make over your entire career when you have an occasional slow day or a jealous pang. Sometimes just spending your lunch hour in a way that makes you happy can have a dramatic impact on how you feel about your day.
However, if you are living your life by default instead of by design—if you start to notice that there’s an ongoing, chronic sense of being bored at work or bitterness—it may be time to think about making a change.
Remember: not every career change requires starting from scratch. Sometimes it’s about finding the right environment, the right projects, or the right application of skills you already have.
Ready to Design Your Next Chapter?
If you recognize yourself in these signs , you don’t have to navigate this transition alone. As your coach for the personal side of professional life, I help high-achieving professionals move from career transitions with strategy and self-respect.
What would change if you stopped second-guessing yourself and trusted what you already know about what energizes you?
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