u/Trick-Creme5426

On paper, my life was very stable. I was an operations coordinator at a supply chain company, and I was making good money. I wasn't rich or anything, but I was comfortable enough that I didn't have to think too much before buying things. After a little over 11 years, I felt like I had hit a dead end. I became disconnected from the job, bored, and felt like I was spending my days turning into someone I didn't even want to become.

So I bought into the whole "bet on yourself" thing people love talking about online. I left the job, enrolled in a product design course, and put almost all my energy into learning it. And honestly, the course was excellent. I enjoyed the projects, liked solving visual problems, and for the first time in a long time, I could imagine myself doing that kind of work long-term.

The hard part came after that. When I finished, I spent about seven months applying for jobs, and most of the time I got no response at all. The few interviews I did get were discouraging, because I kept hearing the same idea phrased in different ways: "You have too much work experience for junior roles, but not enough design experience for anything higher." Being stuck in that weird middle zone is extremely exhausting.

In the end, I got an offer, but it was about 35 percent less than what I had been making before. I accepted it because I felt like I needed to get into the field any way I could, but now the financial pressure is constant. My savings are shrinking, I've had to cut a lot of expenses, and I keep asking myself whether I was stupid for thinking that loving the work would magically make the rest of it easier.

I'm now about 14 months into this career change, and I genuinely enjoy the work itself. But some days I look around and think: did I ruin a stable life for no real reason? Has anyone else changed careers in their thirties and felt this "what have I done?" panic? And did things work out for you in the end?

Look, everyone, here's the situation. I'm an analyst at a regional credit union. About six months ago, a spot opened up on my team when someone at a higher level left. I applied for it. My manager was very encouraging, even telling me I was their first choice and that the promotion was almost certain.

But more than a month has passed since then, and nothing has happened at all. Every time I follow up, I get a new explanation or an unclear timeline - I feel like I'm constantly being put off. It's become very frustrating, honestly, I feel like I'm being played.

Coincidentally, an old colleague from a previous job contacted me recently. They offered me a very similar senior analyst position, with a respectable compensation package. So now I'm at a crossroads: Should I accept this clear offer for a senior position elsewhere and leave, or wait indefinitely for a promise that seems to be constantly postponed here?