10 Signs You Need a Career Change (and 3 smart moves to start today)
- Federica Rusmini
- Jul 8
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 9
You’re toying with a big question: Should I stay or should I go?
How do you really know if it’s time for a change? Are you just riding out a rough patch, or are these warning signs you shouldn’t ignore?
Are you being ‘overly-dramatic’...or finally honest with yourself?
Maybe you’re wondering: Is there actually anything better out there? What if I’m just being seduced by pop-psych Instagram posts when I should just be grateful to have a stable job in this economy?
Here’s the thing: most careers don’t implode overnight. They erode quietly, through subtle warning signs we often rationalise away.
This guide is a practical walk through the most common signs it might be time to explore new terrain.
Do any of those hit close to home?
Physical & Emotional Warning Signs You Need a Career Change
1. Your body is breaking down
You’re tired all the time. You feel exhausted, tense, or “off” more often than not. Maybe your sleep is erratic. Your shoulders are permanently tight. You're getting sick more often, or dealing with mysterious symptoms your doctor can't pin down.
The physical signs of an unhappy career are sneaky - and serious. Chronic stress is linked with depression, anxiety, heart issues and even auto-immune flare-ups.
“I kept having intense stomach pains that impacted every aspect of my life. I’d cancel plans with friends, and the pain would lift only when I was on holiday. My GP couldn’t find the cause and prescribed generic meds. But nothing worked until I addressed the real cause: the stress from my job.” - M
When your body keeps the score, it’s time to listen.
2. Your brain is spinning with dread
Your mind won’t switch off. Maybe you have those midnight thought-loops about work or colleagues keeping you awake. Maybe you wake up already dreading the day ahead. Maybe you often hear yourself thinking "Is this really what I want to be doing?". Maybe you find yourself googling "alternative careers for product managers" at random times.
We all have stressful weeks and mornings when it takes a little extra effort to get out of bed in the morning. But if your mind feels like it’s constantly trying to escape your job, it is not going to pass by itself.
“I started having thoughts like ‘I am going to quit’ at random times - while brushing my teeth, walking into the office, even cooking dinner. At first, I thought everyone feels that way sometimes. But the thought became persistent, until finally I acted on it”. - F
3. You feel numb
You’ve mentally checked out. The passion is gone, you do the bare minimum and can’t push yourself to care anymore. The desire for career change doesn’t always show up as stress. Sometimes, it shows up as…nothing at all.
Even after hitting the right milestones - title, salary, prestige - you find yourself thinking “Is this it? Is this how it is meant to feel?”
It’s not you. Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation explains this well: pay, perks, titles prevent dissatisfaction but don’t create satisfaction. Real motivation comes from purpose, growth and contribution.
If you can’t remember the last time you felt energised by an idea or invigorated by a new project, it might be time to re-evaluate.
Psychological & Identity Warning Signs You Need a Career Change
4. Your values have evolved—but your job hasn’t
You feel detached from the “why” behind your work, and feel disconnected to your values. Maybe you’re proud about your title, but deep down you question whether it actually matters - to you or to anyone else.
According to Self-Determination Theory, meaning is a core psychological need. Without it, motivation eventually craters.
Maybe you didn’t always feel this way. You probably picked this career a decade ago. Since then, your worldview and life priorities - and the world around you - may have shifted… but your job hasn’t kept up.
It’s like wearing a suit tailored to someone else. It fits, technically - but not you.
When role and identity diverge, dissonance can show up as irritability, cynicism or that vague ‘this isn’t me’ sensation. It’s worth listening to it.
5. You are playing a role
Do you feel like you are two different people when you are at work or outside of work?
Sure, we all adapt in professional settings. But this is deeper: you hide important parts of yourself in order to fit in - your personal values or key aspects of your personality.
This kind of emotional code-switching is draining, and over time it chips away at your self-esteem and authenticity.
6. You are always venting about work
You dread the question "So, how’s work?"
You avoid it with strangers. With friends, it starts a long ranting session about everything you need to take off your chest.
At first, venting felt cathartic. But now, even you are tired of hearing yourself complain.
“I hadn’t even realised how much I was complaining about my job—until a well-meaning friend said, ‘You’ve been saying the same thing for four years. If you’re not going to do something about it, please stop bringing it up every time we meet.’ It stung. But it also opened my eyes.” - C.
7. You tried to fix it, but nothing worked
You really wanted to make it work. Perhaps you tried switching teams, asking for more interesting projects, speaking about it with your manager. Perhaps you even tried changing companies.
And yet, the grey cloud follows you.
That’s not a ‘you’ problem. It’s a systemic mismatch. It is a strong sign that tweaks might not be sufficient, and that it might be worth exploring what a real change could look like.
“I was so determined to make it work. I kept thinking I was the problem: that I just needed to try harder, prove to myself (and everyone else) that I could make it work. I didn’t want to be seen as someone who gave up. But the longer I stayed, the worse I felt. I think I lost years of peace of mind, and probably passed up better roles with higher pay, because I was too stuck in the story that leaving meant failure.” - J
Future-Oriented Signs You Need a Career Change
8. The future feels bleak
You’ve done the maths. Can you really do this for another 5, 10, 20 years?
The thought of your boss’s job fills you with dread, not aspiration. If the “next step” looks worse than your current one, it's not a career ladder, it's a trap.
Worse, you are observing that the world is changing fast. According to the World Economic Forum, 78% of professionals will need to reskill in the next few years, and the shelf life of many skills is less than three years.
You’re not imagining things, the world of work is changing fast and staying in the same career all of your life is unlikely to be a safe or even possible option.
9. You’re staying out of fear
If you’re completely honest with yourself, you know you want a change. Your main motivation for staying is your rational brain: maybe it is about financial commitment, family opinions, the risk of starting again, not even knowing where to start.
Those are very valid and real concerns. But they’re not cement. They’re constraints you can work with, not absolute barriers.
Stability is important. But if it costs your sense of aliveness…is it really worth it?
10. You daydream about something different
You spend lunch breaks browsing job boards or fantasising about retraining as a UX designer in Lisbon.
You’re starting to become jealous of your friend’s careers, wondering how you could find similar jobs yourself.
Recurring fantasies aren’t silly: they are data. They reveal what your current job isn’t giving you, and what you might be craving instead.
Is It Really Time for a Career Change?
Frankly, if you're reading this article trying to understand if you should take a career change, chances are it’s probably time. People who feel fulfilled in their work don’t tend to search for “signs you need a career change”.
You don’t have to make a decision right now, not even tomorrow, possibly not even this month. And I wouldn’t even suggest you quit your job before you laid out a plan forward. But what matters the most is that you don’t ignore the way you are feeling.
Give yourself permission to get curious. To listen. To explore what might be next.
3 Smart Moves to Start Today
You Need a Career Change
And when you’re ready to start, here are a few smart moves you can start taking today:
1. Diagnose the root causes of your dissatisfaction
Before you can decide whether a career change is the rightmove, you need to get clear on why things feel off.
Is it the nature of your work, your environment, your values being unmet, or perhaps a deeper question of purpose or identity?Take time to unpack the friction points.
👉 Start a friction log: each day, jot down moments that felt draining or energising. Then zoom out on past roles, projects, or environments.
What themes show up again and again?Over time, patterns will begin to emerge.
2. Sketch out 2 or 3 possible career visions
Even if you don’t feel “ready” yet, it helps to begin imagining what other directions might look like. These aren’t commitments, but rough sketches of what might offer more meaning, energy, or alignment. Give yourself permission to dream without editing.
👉 Create three “future headlines”: one if you stayed, one if you pivoted, and one if you went bold. Start a running list of jobs, industries, skills, or problems that pique your curiosity. Don’t judge, just collect. This “possibility bank” is becomes fuel for your next stage.
3. Explore stories of others who've made meaningful changes
At this stage, perspective is fuel. Hearing how others navigated uncertainty can normalise your experience and expand your sense of what’s possible. Most didn’t start with a perfect plan - they followed sparks of curiosity, tested ideas, and adapted. Like them, you don’t need to figure it out alone.
👉 Tune into career-change stories, through podcasts or blogs of people who made a switch. Ask: What resonates? What surprises me?What would I love to learn more about?
Start gathering support - whether it is a workbook, a coaching conversation or a community. The goal isn’t to have the answer but to surround yourself with tools that move you forward.
Want help turning awareness into action?
Book a free 30-minute Career Roadmap Call with me . Let’s turn warning signs into a clear, confident strategy.
Comments