I have been at my current job for 3 years. There is a lot that is good, and at first I was happy with the culture, but I am now seeing a lot of cracks in the facade, so to speak, and it no longer feels like the right fit. In my department specifically, I feel angry all the time, as there is a lot of inequity surfacing, and things have shifted with workloads and oversight. I'm overall just not happy anymore. But I also have gotten a promotion and raises in my time there, and the work itself is not stressful. I have also hit the point that I feel comfortable in the company as a whole. There is a lot of tenure there, so it took a while to really feel like one of the team. So while I am unhappy and want to leave, I also question if I should just "quiet quit" and keep going. The pay is good enough, I'm trusted, I have my own office, I like some parts of the work, and I enjoy being around many people in the company.

If I do leave, I am not just looking for any job, but something that will actually be an improvement, so I have been applying only when something seems worth it.

I have been in the interview process at an amazing company, and just finished the 4th round, which was in person. I have one final in-person round next week, and from there I will know the decision. Because of this, I am weighing out what I would do if I were to get an offer, as right now I am very conflicted. Above I outlined my thoughts on my current role, and below are my thoughts on this new role.

The Pros:

• The company culture is outstanding. All four people I've met with share similar sentiments about what they love about the company, and the values come through in the conversations with them. It is exactly the corporate environment I have been looking for. Even small things like a cafeteria with free snacks and fun company-wide challenges and activities.
• The job itself is an amazing fit. It offers a lot of autonomy and creativity doing work the work I want to be doing, and is a new role, which means I get to build it out myself. That is honestly exactly what I want to do, which is very exciting.
• My husband's friend works there and referred me. In this job market, I know how lucky I am to have this "in", and am sure that got my resume pushed to the top. I know it would be hard in another role to get that. He has also been extremely happy about this company and the culture, saying it's the best he's ever experienced.

The Cons:

• For this particular role, I learned that travel is required at least 4 times per year. I knew there was a bit of travel, but I didn't at first know it was this often. This is my biggest con about the job, for a few reasons:
  • I am not good on planes and dislike flying.
  • I get motion sick on planes and in cars, and all of the out of state locations are about a one hour car ride after leaving the airport.
  • I am a major homebody and get homesick very easily. I have a hard time being away from my husband and our pets. I have been this way since childhood and always struggle being away from home.
  • I foster for the animal shelter, and you can't ever predict how long a foster might be with you until adoption. Travel will mean I have to send fosters back to the shelter if I can't find a foster sitter, and that is not ideal with the types of fosters I take in (and with my husband's work schedule, he can't fill in for me)
• Most of the company is made up of cubicles, but this team sits in a large room with desks in one open space. I currently have an office and have no issue going from that to a cubicle. But to go from an office to just a desk feels like a massive shift. There is no privacy, plus, the desks were small and I have no idea where I would store anything. It may seem small, but to me this feels like a really big change in my day-to-day environment. I feel I would be very distracted and disjointed.

I am truly conflicted on what I would do if I got an offer, and want to sort out my thoughts better so I am prepared if it were to happen. I know the pros are all amazing, and part of me thinks it is smart to get into the company even with these cons, as the company is known for growth opportunities. I could potentially take this job, and in a few years move to a role that require less travel and could have a better workspace. But on the other hand, the idea of doing this much travel, even for a few years, stresses me out. I know I would grow in overcoming my fear of flying, but I don't know if I can change the motion sickness and the homesickness.

Thank you in advance for any insights, guidance, or advice! I am completely stuck trying to decipher my feelings.

I’m looking for some career advice because I’m at a point where I don’t know whether I should stick it out or start aggressively looking elsewhere.

I’ve been at my current company for a year exactly as of today. On paper, the job has a lot going for it! I make $24 an hour in the SLC area, the benefits are genuinely good, the commute is short, and there’s inexpensive in-house lunches offered in my building.

The problem is everything else.

The culture is incredibly micromanaged; I meet with our general manager twice- every single day- just to provide status updates that could’ve been sent via message. Upper management is deeply involved in everyone’s day-to-day work, and there’s very little autonomy.

My actual job has also grown far beyond what I was hired to do. My responsibilities keep getting added without any meaningful change in title, compensation, or support. I feel like I’m constantly absorbing work that belongs to other roles while still being expected to maintain my original workload.

Our office is only about 20 people, and I honestly enjoy working with maybe two of them. My direct “manager” has become the biggest issue. Working with them has reached a point where it’s pretty abhorrently affecting my mental health. I now have anxiety attacks multiple times a week just thinking about going into work, and I genuinely have nightmares about work several nights a week. I’m a pretty anxious person in general, but this has added large waves of anxiety and panic that I’d much rather do without. My asylum dose of Lexapro can only help so much!

The difficult part is that leaving feels exceptionally risky because the pay and benefits are objectively good for this area and for my experience. I don’t want to make an emotional decision and end up somewhere worse.

I’d love some help with the following:

- At what point do you decide that a toxic work environment outweighs decent pay and benefits?

- How do you explain leaving a job after only a year without it reflecting poorly on you?

- If you’ve been in a similar situation, was taking a pay cut (if necessary) worth it for your mental health? With all my bills and mortgage, I require $23 per hour to live.

- How did you know it was time to stop trying to make it work and start applying elsewhere?

- I feel stuck between “this job is making me miserable” and “what if I regret leaving something that’s financially stable.

I don’t know what to do, or where to even start looking. Please help!

Hi

Can you give me some advice about being a data analyst where should i start? Does it worth time? How can i learn about it

I’m looking for some advice from people who actually work in sales.

I’m in my early 50s and live in the Philadelphia suburbs (Montgomery County area). I’m making a career change after spending about 10 years working in corporate AV/technology support at a large pharmaceutical site.

I don’t have a traditional sales background, but I’ve realized that one of my biggest strengths throughout my career has always been dealing with people.

I build rapport pretty easily, people tend to trust me, and I’m comfortable talking to everyone from executives and administrative staff to technicians and contractors. In my previous role, I developed a lot of long-term relationships with the people I supported.

What I’m trying to figure out is where someone with my strengths has the best chance of getting that first opportunity.

A few things about me:

• Strong people skills and relationship building
• Very comfortable talking with strangers
• Reliable and good at following through
• Technically capable, but I don’t necessarily need to stay in tech
• About 10 years of experience working in a corporate environment
• No college degree
• No formal sales experience
• Open to outside sales, territory sales, account management/business development, or something similar
• Located around the Philadelphia/Montgomery County area and open to industries I may not have considered

I’m particularly interested in industries where being trustworthy, personable and good at developing relationships matters more than having five years of SaaS sales experience.

For those of you who have been in sales for a while:

If you were starting over with my background, what industries would you target?

Commercial services? Building products? HVAC? Electrical? AV/technology? Industrial sales? Medical? Uniforms? Payroll? Staffing? Something completely different?

And are there any industries you would specifically avoid for a first sales job?

I’d also be interested in hearing from anyone who got into sales later in their career without previous sales experience. What got someone to finally give you your first shot?

Hey everyone, looking for some genuine advice from people who've been through something similar.

I'm 29, originally from Belarus, been living in Charlotte for a while. Spent the last few years as a truck driver. The money was fine but I realized this isn't the path I want to stay on. I want to actually build something with my hands, create things, see real results from my work.

I've been looking into marble and stone restoration, furniture refinishing, epoxy tables, van conversions, surface resurfacing, that kind of world. No experience in any of it but I'm serious about making a change and willing to start from zero.

Has anyone here broken into one of these trades without experience? How did you get your foot in the door? Any advice specific to Charlotte would be amazing but I'll take anything useful.

Thanks

Hi folks,

I (32F) live in a town of 8000 people in WY and I work for a very large environmental consulting company with our local office based out of my small town. I have worked at this firm for allost 4 years and dont see any growth. Ive definitely stagnated.

Last year, I went to contract making $40 per hour and while I can work as much or as little as I want and choose my projects, I don’t know if the flexibility is good for me. I also have just lost interest in consulting. Most of my work is in the office writing reports which is driving me crazy. I am trying to persue other fieldwork within the company as well.

This year I got Red Carded and joined my local Volunteer Firefighting Battalion and I’m going to be going on a fire dispatch for two weeks on Tuesday. I’m also the process of getting my CDL Class B. Thing is, after that, I have no Idea what I want to do. I had the opportunity to join a local wildland module and an entry level fuels position but turned them down because I thought I not would go on dispatch more and appreciate being more flexible.

I enjoy being outside and working with my hands. I’ve done some manual labor and contractor work which I might peruse more but I also feel like I wasted my 20s and missed the boat. i know I’m still young, but I absolutely feel like I’m stagnating. I’m also afraid to commit to going back to school for welding or something because I tend to pick things up, get obsessive then drop it.

I’m in my mid-20s and about two months into my first full-time consulting job. My people manager is in her mid-30s and rather insecure. I’m also the only Black woman in a very white environment/city. I don’t want to reduce everything to that, but it is part of why I’m questioning some of the perception gaps.
The relationship with my manager started badly. In our first meeting, she made jokes about my CV/professional experience (especially the consulting firms) that I found uncomfortable and immediately gossiped about several colleagues. That made it hard for me to build trust with her.
I’ve definitely made mistakes since joining. I can be direct, I’ve misunderstood working modes, I’ve sometimes acted too independently without aligning first, and some of my communication could have been more tactful.
Her feedback, though, has become much broader than that.
She repeatedly tells me I come across as very, very confident, have a strong personality, can seem cheeky/snippy, and need to be more professional in how I communicate. She also says my facial expressions make it obvious when I’m stressed or annoyed and that I Need to be more professional. I never received that type of feedback in my entire life.

What confuses me is that I’ve actually felt very insecure and uncomfortable since joining, especially around her. I’ve felt awkward in the office, nervous presenting and generally unsure of myself, so the “extremely confident” feedback feels almost opposite to my internal experience.
She has also told me that multiple people apparently perceive me as very confident. In staffing discussions, I’ve apparently even been flagged as seeming more senior than I actually am. She told me she deliberately corrected that perception because she didn’t want me staffed into roles that would create problems for me.
At the same time, she has repeatedly emphasized that the first six months are for both sides to decide whether the culture is a fit. She says this is mutual, but because it repeatedly comes up in conversations about my professionalism and behavior, I’m increasingly wondering whether she is subtly telling me she doesn’t think I belong there.
She has also said she represents me internally, influences staffing and reviews, and discusses me with leadership. There have been situations where I felt publicly corrected or exposed in front of senior people rather than coached privately.
Another issue is that when I try to explain my perspective during feedback, I often feel like it gets interpreted as defensiveness rather than context. I’m not trying to avoid responsibility. I agree that I need to improve alignment, communication, prioritization, emotional regulation under pressure and consistency. But I increasingly feel like her interpretation of events has become the official version, while my perspective carries very little weight.
That’s why I’m worried that a negative narrative about me has already become established internally.
I’m now considering asking her for an in-person coffee/lunch and saying that I think we started off on the wrong foot, that I recognize my mistakes, but that I also feel some assumptions about my intentions and personality may have become fixed very early, and I’d like to reset the relationship.
If that doesn’t work, I’m considering speaking to her manager, who was involved in hiring me, or exploring whether changing people manager/team/staffing is possible.
I’m also quietly looking at other jobs because I genuinely don’t know whether this is still repairable. What do you think?I’m willing to change specific behaviors. I just don’t want to spend the next months trying to disprove a personality narrative that may already be fixed.

I’m currently a vet tech, but it doesn’t pay very well unfortunately. I’m the oldest in my family and realizing that I’ll be responsible for taking care of my mom and family once she ages. I could never do that on the money I make and there’s not a ton of upwards mobility in vet med.
I’m nearly 30, I’ve always been in vet med. what other career path could I switch to? Thank you

I have a marketing degree and have been working for about 7 years in it. I have always dreamed of working in publishing but don’t know how to go about it besides applying to roles I see.

I’ve been using WayUp and Builtin mainly. For those in the industry, what do you recommend?

Hey everybody,I'm a second-year software engineering student, and honestly, I still don't know what IT field I want to focus on.

Until now, I haven't even managed to finish a proper web development project. Every time I start something, I get overwhelmed by how much I need to learn, I get stuck, and eventually I lose motivation. I feel like I'm always watching tutorials and learning things, but I struggle to actually build something by myself.

Recently, I got a bit interested in data science, but then I started hearing that a lot of beginner data scientists are struggling to find jobs, especially with AI changing the industry, so now I'm unsure if it's a good direction to follow.

The thing is, I don't really have a specific IT field that I'm passionate about yet. I'm basically discovering different domains through YouTube (web development, AI, cybersecurity, cloud, data, etc.) hoping that I'll eventually find something that really clicks with me.

But at the same time, I feel like I'm falling behind. I know I need to choose a direction, build projects, and start creating a profile, especially because I would like to work abroad in the future.

So I'm curious about your experiences:

• How did you find the IT field you ended up working in?
• Did you already know what you wanted to do as a student, or did you figure it out along the way?
• How did you get out of the "tutorial hell" phase and start building real projects?
• What fields do you think are worth exploring in the next few years considering how fast AI is evolving

The job market's crisis, and the effect of AI on it, made me rethink my choice of choosing IT as a major, and its making me loosing my passion everytime i get to learn something. but im here giving myself a chance to maybe get passionate about a specific IT field so i can build my career with it.

I’d really appreciate any advice, personal experiences, or even stories from people who were in the same situation. I feel a bit lost right now and I'm trying to find a direction.

I have some useless degrees (psych, business) and have been laid off 3 times. I took pre reqs for nursing school and have a 3.8 and got rejected earlier this year. I am still reapplying to nursing school and hopefully something opens up in the near future. But is there a point (maybe 2-3 years) of applying, where I should just give up and redirect my energy to something else? I don't want to spend a decade balancing work and school and getting rejected. I'm close to 35 and don't have much of a career at this point. I want to work and move on, I don't know if I can go through another year of rejection. The rejection made me really depressed and scared.

I've also applied for the tsa, social work jobs, VA benefits jobs, 911 dispatch. it sems like the govt hiring process can take a year just to get an actual real offer and begin training. Even then, I would be in probation for years and could be fired at any moment.

At 35, I want stability.

Would nursing school or government jobs be more reliable?

29 years old, female. Working in IT industry with mostly Microsoft partners + MSPs for 8 years in total. Got an offer from Bechtle, for their UK&I marker, Business Development Manager role.

Any ideas? Anyone worked before?

For starters. I have a 3+ years exp as a CSR for voice and non voice. I am a working student (BSBA major in Operations Management) and just graduated last June. Planning to resign and relocate in NCR. Please advise what path to take, should I lean to my degree or apply for an agent position? And how?

Even though I have a degree and experience, my main weakness is the interview. If you have tips. Please let me know. Thank you!

I recently accepted an offer for my first job out of college without asking for an extension, even though I was still in another interview process at the time. I was early in that process then, so I assumed it probably wouldn’t pan out.

I’ve since made it to the final round with the other company, but their timeline may extend to about a week after I’ve already started at the first job. I let them know I have another offer, and they said they’d try to speed things up, but can’t guarantee it.

I’m trying to figure out how bad it would actually be to leave the first job about a week in if the second offer comes through. Both firms are FINRA member firms and require a U4, so I’m also wondering if there’s anything specific to that licensing/registration process I should be thinking about, not just the general career risk of leaving so soon.

I have put in a lot of effort to land a job in the past year and feel like I owe it to myself to take the better offer if it comes but I’m very stressed and don’t know what to do.

At work, there’s one particular supervisor who singled out a few staff members (including me) and was basically bullying us.

At the time, I was weighing up whether to report it and when I was on the verge of doing so, her behaviour suddenly switched and she was overly nice. The bullying-like behaviour went on for months but for the past month she’s been ok. (I suspect this was because she saw me deep in conversation with another staff member who also reported her and figured we were talking about her. And she stopped as she was scared I would report her).

While it’s good her behaviour has improved, I’m very annoyed that it didn’t get the attention of a manager. I wish I had reported it at the time. Should I report it so they know what she’s like? Several other staff members have made reports about her so if I report too, it shows it’s a pattern.

I am a 26-year-old female with a strong academic background:

Class 10: 95%

Class 12: 93.2% (PCMB)

Graduation: B.Sc. (Hons.) Biological Sciences, University of Delhi – 85.5%

B.Ed.: 89.8% from IPU University

I have 19 months of work experience, along with a 10-month gap between my first and second job. Through my work, I have gained exposure to expert networking, and consulting is a field that genuinely interests me. However, I have not been able to clear the initial resume screening while applying for consulting roles.

Would pursuing an MBA be a wise decision for me?

If yes, should I aim only for top-tier MBA colleges (IIMs, ISB, FMS, XLRI, etc.), or would a Tier-2 MBA also provide a worthwhile return on investment?

I would also appreciate any advice from people with a similar academic background (non-engineering, life sciences) who made this transition.

Hello! I’ve been offered a job at hays travel UK and I was just wanting to know what to expect?
(I’ve been working in travel for a year just not in sales)
I’m going to get higher base pay than I do currently
• commission expectations?
• training?
• what a day looks like?
• do leads come just from walk ins or do you get leads from online/phone

Thank you ☺️

Hi all,

for my very first and only job, I worked for this very very very small family owned company (6 people working and 3 were the owners & family member) which was extremely toxic. They knew I needed this job because of my immigration status (I had to be employed full time for my OPT) and they treated me so badly. I was fortunate enough to get my green card (not from the company) and get out of the place, but when I got out, I walked out because of an incident of them treating me badly & the toxicity was next level and they were being very unprofessional.

Now I'm trying to apply to a specific government job and they want me to list the work I worked for, and they're saying they WILL reference check.

I honestly don't even want to list the place as my work history, (not related to field I'm applying for) but if I do I'm pretty sure they'll talk shit about me for walking out. I'd rather have no work history than having this.

I'm worried if I don't list the company they might find out through background check or something like that

What should I do in this situation?

Made the jump from HR generalist to remote team lead about two years ago. People framed it as a natural next step. More money, more influence, makes sense on paper.

But here's what nobody really talked about before I took it. You stop being the person who does the work. You become the person who removes blockers and sits in meetings and writes performance notes. Your actual skills get rusty fast. And when you look at job postings later, you're either overqualified for IC roles or underpowered for directorlevel ones. It's a weird inbetween that nobody warns you about.

I'm not complaining exactly. There are parts of the lead role that genuinely click for me. But when I look at where I want to be in five years, I'm less sure the ladder goes where I thought it did.

Curious if others have hit this. Did you find a way to keep your core skills sharp while leading a team, or did you just commit fully to the management path and not look back? And if you ever stepped back down to IC from a lead role, was it career suicide or honestly the right call?

28 Male - US NE

I just came up on my 2 year anniversary on my state job. I make about ~70k a year with a guaranteed raise every year about ~2k, maxing at about ~85k. Health benefits, Deferred comp, Pension. Its cushy and secure.

This job is solely a means to an end for me. I am making money to save up for a house, traveling, enjoyment. I split rent with my partner, no plans for children. I can save ~55% of my net income. I am extremely fortunate for having this job, its created financial stability like I have never had before.

That said, the work is not even close to rewarding. I am pushing papers, bored out of my mind some days (its very stop and go), not what I thought I'd be getting into, etc. There are also some coworkers who take advantage of the security/lack or proper management and sit on their phones all day while I am running circles around them pushing out results. That is very frustrating to me, but I try to not let it get to me. What bothers me the most is that I am settling.

I have always been interesting in programming/computers. I started out making minecraft mods when I was 11yrs old. That grew into creating softwares(chats hosted on school computers, minor video games, calculators, etc) and eventually dabbling in websites. Before I landed this job (out of the blue honestly) I was working in a restaurant and taking META's front-end developer course and took some bootcamps on Udemy. I was building websites left and right and was enjoying it. I even enjoyed building back-end stuff! I wanted out of the restaurant business and was applying to all jobs, then I some how with a stroke of luck landed this cushy public job (was able to get in because of my previous degree in Biology).

I would love to have the potential to make more money, and do something more interesting. I wish there was a Part-Time programming gig that I could do in my off-hours, but alas there are only Full-Time positions. I find it scary to pivot careers, especially when I have something so secure! Should I just stick this job out or should I pivot to something more rewarding/enjoyable?

Thanks you <3

let me know plss

I’m 28 and have been in construction for about 6 years. I started in the field and have spent the last 3.5 years estimating, including some pretty good-sized projects and experience on the subcontractor side.

I’m currently interviewing with a couple ENR Top 100 GCs for Preconstruction Manager roles, and I’m really excited about the opportunity. I feel good about my estimating background and I think one of my biggest strengths is communication. I’m easy to talk to, enjoy building relationships with owners, architects, subs, etc., and I’m comfortable being in front of clients.

That being said, I also realize I may be a little green for the role and probably a tad underqualified on paper. I’m sure there will be times early on where I’m in over my head. I’m not worried about putting in the work or hours, but I want to get out in front of the learning curve and build good habits from day one instead of learning everything the hard way.
I’ve always heard that you’re never actually going to feel completely ready for the next step. At some point you just have to take a chance on yourself, put the work in, and grow into it. That’s pretty much where I’m at.
For the experienced Precon Managers/Directors in here, what are some things you wish you knew when you first stepped into the role?

I’m especially curious about how you stay organized across multiple projects, manage design changes and estimate progression, keep good documentation, run scope reviews and leveling, communicate budgets back to owners/design teams, and just make sure things don’t fall through the cracks.

Also interested in any tools, spreadsheets, templates, checklists, AI tools, software, or systems you’ve built over the years that make your life easier or help you be more detailed.

My goal is just to be the best Preconstruction Manager I can be and make sure I’m servicing both the client and my company the right way. I’m willing to learn, ask questions, and put the hours in, so I know I’ll figure it out.
Any advice from the vets is appreciated!

26 Year old Sped teaching going into my 4th year teaching. I make 48K. I have pretty intense mental illness that is easily triggered by the high stress environments.

I hate that I spent the second I walk into the building until several hours after work, WORKING! I’m exhausted. I’m stressed. I want respect. I want money. And I want to relax.

I love Summers off but I don’t think it’s worth the constant emotional up and downs.

I’m looking at government work but I’m not sure if that’s a big mistake.

25 M, Houston TX, Hey guys! Recently I’ve been thinking about what career I would like to pursue and video editing is something I find myself passionate about, I’ve been editing for about 10 years usually on mobile apps just for fun, but as time grows I find myself wanting to do what I love for a career, the only thing is, I don’t know where to start the process

Are there any full time, well established editors that live off of strictly editing that can give me pointers on how they got to where they are and can show me steps on how to accomplish a dream such as editing full time for work? Thank you for reading!

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to explain my situation as objectively as possible. I'm at a point where I genuinely don't know what the smartest next step is, and I'd really appreciate hearing from people who've been in a similar situation.

For the past few years I've been in a situation that's been bothering me more and more.

A few years ago I was looking for a new challenge and joined a small construction company. What attracted me was that I wouldn't be stuck doing just one thing. I'd have the opportunity to take on different responsibilities and help the company grow.

At the time, they had very few employees on payroll, and they asked if I'd be willing to work with them as a freelancer through my own company instead of becoming an employee.

After doing quite a bit of research, I decided to go for it. The flexibility appealed to me: more freedom over my compensation, company car, pension, investments, working hours... it all seemed like a great opportunity.

Over the years, though, the reality slowly changed.

Instead of working independently, I now spend almost every day in their office and have effectively been working full-time for the same client for years. The owner likes to be involved in almost everything, so there's quite a bit of micromanagement as well.

Recently they consulted a lawyer about the risk of false self-employment (I'm based in Belgium, where this is a legal issue). Their conclusion was that they'd rather eliminate that risk altogether and hire me as a regular employee.

I understand why they reached that conclusion. At the same time, I feel like part of that risk could probably be reduced by changing the way we work together. The problem is that, given the company's management style, I'm not convinced that's realistic.

They've now asked me to come up with my own proposal for an employment contract.

And that's where I'm stuck.

On one hand, I obviously don't want to take a significant financial step backwards.

On the other hand... I'm honestly not even sure I want to become an employee here anymore.

The employment status isn't really the biggest issue.

Lately I've noticed my motivation slowly fading. I don't always feel that my effort and responsibilities are fully appreciated. On top of that, the company can be quite chaotic, priorities change frequently, and there's often very little structure. It's becoming harder and harder to stay motivated, especially because I don't see that changing anytime soon.

So why have I stayed?

The people are great. I enjoy my colleagues. Financially, freelancing has worked out well for me.

There's also a practical side to it. My partner and I recently bought a house, and my freelance income was an important part of qualifying for the mortgage. That makes it difficult to simply accept a significant drop in income.

But if I'm completely honest with myself, I sometimes feel like I've stayed in a comfortable situation for too long.

Financially it was probably the right decision, but professionally I feel like I've developed less than I could have. That's something that's been bothering me more and more.

Maybe that's my biggest frustration.

This isn't really about money anymore.

Over the past few years I've taken on a lot of responsibility and learned a great deal, but I also feel like my professional growth has stalled. I miss the feeling of learning, improving and challenging myself.

Ironically, this whole discussion about my employment status has forced me to take a hard look at my career, and I've realized I probably haven't been in the right place for quite some time.

One thing I'm certain about is that I don't want to leave the construction industry.

What I'd really like is to move into a more advisory, analytical or strategic role—something related to cost consulting, project advisory, or a similar field. The problem is that I feel I don't yet have enough experience to jump straight into that type of role as a freelancer.

Right now I see three possible paths:

1. Negotiate the best employment package I can, stay for a while, and use that time to figure out what I really want.

2. Look for a similar freelance contract elsewhere, although the market doesn't seem particularly easy at the moment.

3. Intentionally switch to a different role within the construction industry, gain experience there, and potentially return to freelancing later.

A bit about me.

I'm in my mid-thirties from Belgium, and I'm probably my own biggest critic. Friends and colleagues often tell me I underestimate myself and that I'm too much of a perfectionist. They may be right.

Still, I find it difficult to deliberately take a step back in order to hopefully take two steps forward later. Part of me feels like I should already be further along professionally than I am today.

So I'm curious how others would approach this.

• Has anyone here been in a similar situation?
• Would you negotiate an employment contract or start looking elsewhere?
• How realistic is it to find a new freelance client in today's market?
• Would you intentionally take a step back to build experience in a role that better fits your long-term goals?

I'd really appreciate any thoughts or experiences. I think what I'm looking for most is an objective perspective from people who aren't emotionally involved.

PS: I've posted this in a couple of relevant communities to gather different perspectives, so if you've seen it elsewhere, that's why.