Pushing through the Dread ( while Changing Careers)

— 2 minute read

Changing careers is hard. It's not as easy as a lot of "hustlers" say it is. Putting in 40+ draining hours at a place then coming home to do the work that you really enjoy is A LOT.

A lot of the stories I heard that motivated me to get into tech, were like "Learn to code, get a job making $90k/year after 3 months of learning."

Clearly, that isn't true for everybody, I've done 4 years of hard work and dedication and I am just now getting somewhere. It's amazing to me how much I have accomplished in this time frame.

Working full time, raising a family, while being the sole provider for my family. Having somebody that can hold you accountable for keeping motivated has been super helpful. Another thing is to find an online community of supportive internet friends. Sharing your progress and struggles is important.

The hardest part is the mental toughness. While dreading going to work every day while also keeping a laser-like focus on my goals and dreams for my family.

30 minutes of work everyday for a year adds up to 182 hours.

That is a lot of time! That's like working 40 hours a week on a project for 4 and a half weeks.

Another important thing I have learned is focus on the very important tasks in that 30-60 minutes of time. It teaches you very quickly what actually matters on a project. Trying to break down a project into 30-60 minute chunks has been super helpful. Worst-case scenario, block yourself from using social media, and putting your phone away will also help you stay focused on the task at hand.

Find your community, build cool things, and don't beat yourself up.