Writing this is going to be difficult.
Taking a career break was one of the most freeing, exciting things I’ve ever done. It gave me the break I needed and time to pivot my career into something new. I’d grown tired of the same sorts of jobs in defense and wanted to try something else.
So why would this be a failure? On the plus side, I have 2, probably 3, interviews happening this week.
2 of them are for defense jobs.
Why on Earth would I end up back at the place I’d been trying to leave? Personal things.
I won’t go into the nitty-gritty yet, even though this is anonymous. It has to do with my marriage and what the future looks like. Things are ok, but my husband and I realized there may be a chance that our visions of the future don’t necessarily match. All of this unfolded somewhat unexpectedly 3-4 weeks ago, and we’ve got our first couples counseling appointment next week. There are a lot of things we should have discussed a long time ago. It’s been devastating to discover that he may not have been happy, but I still hold out some hope that we can get ourselves on the same page and move forward. Time and talk will tell.
Naturally, that changed things for me in a big way. The possibility that we may not live together by the end of the year scares the shit out of me. I don’t like making quick decisions, but not having a substantial, regular paycheck has me feeling pretty vulnerable. So I ended up contacting a friend who is hiring and responding to a recruiter about jobs I think I have a pretty good chance of landing.
There is a part of me that is really disappointed, but I also know that this was an unexpected shortening of my career break timeline I NEVER anticipated. There’s still time to make a change.
I am considering reducing my side hustles once I’m hired to ensure my life isn’t revolving around “work” that isn’t necessary or completely fulfilling. I may be quitting my side hustle I picked up this summer and will likely close up shop on my cleaning business by the end of the year. I haven’t made the final decisions on that yet, but neither will be required for financial stability once I get back to full-time work , and both take up time I am no longer willing to spend.
Sorry to be such a downer. I was really hoping for some amazing job update working for National Geographic or something, but that will have to be put on hold for the time being. More important things to tend to for now.
But everything will be ok, one way or another.
-K