I’m 24, married, we just had a baby, and we own a home so I’m at the point where I can’t just drift anymore and hope things work out.
On paper I feel like I did things right. I have a BS in Data Analytics, MBA in IT Management and I’ve got about 4 years of experience across data analyst, business analyst, and IT type roles. I’ve worked with SQL, Power BI, Excel, Dynamics 365, reporting, UAT, process improvements, all that.
Right now I’m a contractor as a Business Analyst for a big energy company. The pay is good, I only go in once a week, and being home with my wife and newborn is honestly the best part.
But I really don’t like the job. And the bigger issue is this keeps happening.
Every role I’ve had I start off strong, learn fast, do well, and then once I feel like I understand everything I slowly start checking out. I don’t quit, I just do enough to stay under the radar. It’s like once there’s nothing new to learn I lose interest.
I don’t think it’s that I hate working. I actually like being busy and figuring things out. I just don’t stay engaged long term.
I also don’t really know what I’m actually good at. I can do a lot of things okay, but nothing I’d say I’m great at. I’m stuck somewhere between technical and business and I don’t know if that’s helping me or holding me back.
What’s been messing with me is when I look back I feel like I might have actually enjoyed my earlier jobs more. I used to work in retail management and I liked the people side a lot more than I expected, training, coaching, hiring, running things. I left because I thought I should go for something better and higher paying, which I did, but now I’m not sure it actually fits me better.
I’ve also always had this itch to join the military. I’m working on an officer package right now because I like the idea of structure and committing to something I can’t easily walk away from. But that process could take one to two years and that’s if I even get in.
So now I feel stuck in the middle. My current contract ends in a few months and there’s a low chance of conversion. I don’t really want to extend unless I have to, but I also need something stable for my family. We own a home but we’ve talked about moving to another city or state if the opportunities are better.
I feel like I need to pick a direction and actually stick with it, I just don’t know what direction makes sense for me.
For anyone who’s been in a similar spot, how did you figure out what actually fit you long term? Was it more about finding the right career or fixing your mindset? And if you were in my position right now, what would you actually do next?