Decision-making

‘It seemed so easy for all of you, but I have no idea where I want to go – how did you know?’ was a frequent comment after our Nonlinear Career Paths event in October. Why do careers seem so hard when it comes to deciding on the next step, when in retrospect, they seem to just have happened? ‘I met this person, and then one thing led to the other, and now I have my dream job’ or ‘I never imagined myself in this place but X happened, and got me interested in Y, so now I am here’, are frequent answers when asking people how they got to the position where they are today. Do you have to be lucky, or can you plan a career?

This question showed up in my LinkedIn inbox a few days ago, out of the blue, asked by a person I had collaborated with a decade ago and not had any contact since. Clearly, my decision to leave academia made an impact. But what were the reasons, anyway?

‘If I change to industry or the public administration, does that mean I have to start all over again?’ is a question that is often asked in career counseling sessions one way or another. Clearly, after having invested so much time and energy in your education and your research project, the last thing you would want is starting from scratch. But do you really have to start all over again when you change career direction? And what is so bad about a fresh start?