The Itch to Switch

Changing Careers to Break the Monotony

Many moons ago, when I was researching which colleges to apply to, I remember coming across a statistic that most people change careers seven times in their lives. Not just jobs, but whole careers. At the time, I thought that seemed like a lot, but now, looking back, seven seems about right. For this post, I decided to revisit that statistic.

The general consensus is that the average person will change careers three to seven times during their working life. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks job changes, not career changes. " Career change" is difficult to define consistently, so it’s hard to pinpoint, while job changes are more straightforward.

Studies, including those by the BLS, show that the typical person works at many jobs over their career. For instance, a BLS study of Baby Boomers found they had an average of 12 jobs between ages 18 and 54. Other sources indicate the average person will have about 12 to 16 jobs in their lifetime, with Millennials and Gen Z tending to change jobs more often.

Reflecting on my adult working life (excluding the jobs I had in high school and college at a pizza place, a plastics blow molding and injection molding manufacturing plant, and a sandpaper packaging company … good jobs can be hard to find in small towns), I’ve held at least three different specialties in Human Resources across five companies over about 20 years. As a solopreneur, I wear many hats, including yoga teacher, health coach, retreat leader and coordinator, website designer, social media manager, accountant, author, wellness program creator, travel agent… the list goes on and on.

When I worked in Human Resources, I’d start feeling that itch of wanting something new around four or five years into a role. As soon as I sensed that the work was becoming routine and no longer challenged me, I would feel restless. I mostly changed jobs because something happened, like my decision to move across the country or my company being acquired. My longest-held role in Human Resources was the seven years I spent managing international benefits for a global technology company. I left partly because I wanted to focus on building my own business and partly because the company was being acquired, and I wasn’t interested in working for the acquiring company. I was able to stay in that role longer than usual because I had a great manager, and every day was different since I supported several countries around the world.

I’ve been teaching yoga for 13 years and leading retreats for a decade. While other aspects of running Firefly Community have become less exciting, my passion for hosting yoga retreats remains strong. I get to travel the world with wonderful people. Not only do they benefit from taking a break from their daily routines for a week, but I also learn and grow through each experience. Organizing the logistics for a retreat has become more routine over the years, but each retreat feels unique. Challenges naturally arise, especially during international travel, but it beats sitting at a desk all day looking at spreadsheets. I still value Excel as a handy tool for budgeting and pricing retreats, but being out in the world with people living my passion fills my soul in a way no HR job ever could.

I’m not exactly sure how much longer I’ll teach weekly yoga classes or continue leading two to five retreats each year. I also don’t know what’s next, but what I do know is that learning new things keeps me engaged. Routines, while helpful in some ways, can become dull and make me feel stuck.

How many times have you changed your career? What about a job keeps you interested? Share in the comments.