Has Quarantine Changed Your Career Ambitions? You’re Not Alone.
This lockdown can play funny tricks on the brain. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. On the worse end of the spectrum, it’s apparently convinced people that toilet paper needs to be purchased by the barrowful and that “watching Netflix for eight hours straight” constitutes a day’s activity.
But on the better end of the spectrum, it has shaken up the way people prioritize their lives. It has caused a lot more people to value self-care, and reassess whether their life choices make them happy or not. This is a profound collective realization, and one that could see a lot of net positives for people in the future.
So, if quarantine has changed your career ambitions, you’re not alone. Now, the question that remains is, “what do you do with your newfound ambitions?” The answer, it turns out, is both simple and complex.
Rethinking the Meaning of “Value”
This whole experience, understandably, is causing people to question whether “work for work’s sake” is really the most personally enriching MO out there. It’s also caused people to dwell more on topics of mortality, purpose and life quality. The world has shown how fragile its status quo can be, so doesn’t it make sense to try and be happy in the moment?
This is all a way of saying that more people are evaluating their careers in a context of “personal value”. What joy and fulfilment do they want to get out of their work? It’s also caused people to view certain careers in a new, more positive light.
Before, for instance, you might have though of the entertainment industry simply as providers of a little light-hearted fun; now, they’re pretty much an essential service, a lifeline to necessary stories and culture that no one is willing to live without.
Kickstarting a New Career
So how do you take that newfound value system and make it actionable? Let’s take the example above, and continue talking about the entertainment industry.
If it’s always been a secret dream of yours to work in the movie industry, and if this quarantine has cemented your view that entertainment offers essential value in people’s lives, then pursue a career in entertainment.
Start from the bottom – secure a job as a production assistant or extra. Write your own screenplay – research resources on line to help you write a sellable story. Seek out mentorship – visit the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation to learn about internships in various roles related to the entertainment industry. In short, take action toward your new goal.
How to Leverage Your Free Time Wisely
Luckily, your career “change of heart” couldn’t have come at a better time. With lockdown measures comes more free time to pursue your passions and research your new career. Use the down time wisely to gain critical insights into the skills you are going to need. Don’t overwork yourself – obviously, self-care still comes first – but make use of the free time.
It’s a little nerve-wracking to consider switching careers. But everything’s up in the air right now. Everything is changing, so you shouldn’t worry about changing as well.