This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

Lost interest at work

Brittany106·May 12, 2021

Posted in:Advice Personal Growth Tech Career Growth

This post is about my little sister. She has been working in mid-size companies in the software field for the past 9-10 years. Since the last couple of years s she has lost interest in coding and says she has been dragging herself to work. She wants to quit her job and take a break to find out what she wants to do with her future and find out where her passion lies. She likes human interaction at work and wants to engage in jobs that involve a mix of communicating with people and can involve tech (but not necessarily coding). What could be her options? Where can she look for any beginners positions or volunteering positions to get an idea of what it really feels like to do such a job? Can a career coach be of any help here? Thank you so much if you read through here!

teresaman·May 13, 2021

Would something like being a product manager be of interest to her? Where there is a lot of cross-team collaborative work, and I could also see her technical background beings super useful in a PM role too.We also recently published a resource guide on becoming a PM and there's a section there specifically on this career transition — you can search for "From engineering to product management".

Christa7·May 13, 2021

My brother went through this. Perhaps this is not the case for your sister but... for him it was more a slow movement into depression which we all missed because it happened over such a long period it seemed kind of like how you describe it.There are plenty of NGOs to volunteer to, she just has to Google it, but it may be the case that some therapy and/or coaching would help too. Sometimes people think a change will solve their problems but if you take your problems with you to the new place that doesn’t happen.I’m clearly projecting a little here but I just wish for my brother I’d spotted the signs earlier so... wanted to raise it just in case. Hopefully your sister’s just fine and a simple career change will do the trick.

Librada156·May 13, 2021

An HR manager role for a tech company ? Since she knows tech and if she can learn HR principles and get trained over time it could be a good combo for her to use her people skills and her tech understanding.

TheGoalGuru·May 13, 2021

Honestly, a break might be the right option, if she can plan for/afford it. As a coach myself, I’ve talked many people through this space and many times just the dread of having to go to the job just drains all mental and emotional energy making any next steps really difficult. The space can really be a big help.I’m obviously a bit biased here, but I do think coaching could be really helpful- particularly career development coaching (there are so MANY kinds of coaches, even within career coaching!). The right coach could help her craft a plan for taking a break (or not) and guide her through building her next steps with intention rather than making choices from a reactive place.As a bonus, coaches generally have a free consultation (I know I do!) and that can be a time to pick their brains a little as a way of seeing if working with them would be the right fit.

MichaGoBig·May 13, 2021

I am biased as I am a coach myself (not for career transitions, though) but I believe coaching is the most powerful tool to get to what you really want, which is often different from what you initially think you want. So yes, if she's willing to work with a career coach, that can be enormously helpful.

wendygrus·May 13, 2021

Oh. She should look into Developer Relations / Developer Advocate roles.

katyapavlopoulos·May 14, 2021

How would she feel about going into management? Engineering managers at mid-size companies rarely code, from my experience, but companies do want someone who has experience writing code for this role. With her decade of software dev experience I don't see her having a hard time pivoting into people management as an engineering manager.

rachelserwetz·Jun 17, 2021

Thank you for sharing your sister's story! For those in a similar position to @Brittany106's sister : Hi! I'm Rachel Serwetz, an ICF-certified career coach. My background is at Goldman Sachs & Bridgewater Associates, before moving into the career space to systematize my novel career exploration and job search methods and tools.My mission in life is to ensure people feel supported in making these critical, impactful career decisions. These decisions can feel stressful and tough, but with the right support (which you deserve), you can feel relieved, excited and confident in your next steps. I have been coaching hundreds of professionals for over 8 years and have developed unique processes and frameworks so that you can confidently clarify your ideal career direction and efficiently job search to land a role you feel fulfilled by. Happy to chat directly and see how I can help! calendly.com/woken/demo Best,Racheliamwoken.com