When I did my last job switch, I decided to be more assertive once I got to the new place. I had to make this change because I worked on hardware for the space shuttles and, as you know, they are gone now. I was no longer going to sit around and just be another engineer working on relatively cool hardware but not looking out for the future.
“Best career advice I ever got? Pose well, smile on one-side only, and sit in an old mansion. Prepare for the dollars to roll in, ya’ll.”
As I quickly found out from my career-changing experiences with NASA, the future is not a definite thing. So if you’re looking to go forth with some real direction, guidance, and advice in your change of career, then stick with these next three tips and I’m sure you’ll find out something useful. Don’t get caught hanging onto an out-of-this-world cash-vehicle when it comes time for that vehicle to stop.
External Motivators At Work
Surely, you’ve come to realize that there are certain things that affect you at work from outside of your body. I’m talking about paychecks, awards, and general Atta-boy recognition. These are the external motivators that can help you make it through the day, make it to the next milestone and keep you going through the tough times.
These are things that you need to find out what works best for you and let your management and other people know so that the day to day motivation that you get from other people is in-line with what you’re looking for. Discovering what works best for you from the outside gives you knowledge of the things you can carry on to the next job, too. For example, environment, workspace, and teamwork details that work best for you.
Know Your Internal Motivators
Now you can take the self motivation quiz here on this site to give you a clue at the nine top motivators that do it for you. However, you can also just look back on things that you resort to thinking to during the tough times, during the good times, and during the boring times. Take a moment or two when you’re done reading this article and write down the top 3 things that motivate you when you need to get things done.
There are clues in those thoughts, in those things that have happened to you, and how you’ve dealt with them, that give you an idea of what it is that drives you. Once you know these things and are aware of them, it really doesn’t matter too much where you work. It just matters how you apply them to the work that you do. Remember that for your next job search.
Go Horizontal, Keep Your Skills
Maybe your current position’s not doing it for you anymore on the economic, professional growth, or fulfillment fronts. That doesn’t mean you need to seek an entirely new position. If you’re in engineering and you enjoy engineering work, but you’re maybe just a little bit disenchanted with aerospace, defense, or government, there are other options.
Plenty of engineers are needed for oil and gas, for medical, and for electronic measurement devices. Your skills can be carried over to different industries and you’ll still be able to do what you love to do. Imagine the chance to love what you do even more and while helping the rest of world benefit from your contributions.
Bank That Advice Already
If you’re looking for advice that can help you during your next change of career, make sure you know what motivates you from the outside, what motivates you inside, and that you can still do what you love at a different company, a different industry, and maybe even a different country. If you haven’t already, take the self-motivation test, figure out which of the nine motivators work best for you, and start on your next journey today.