A few days ago, I had a conversation with a 25-year-old who told me something that I and most likely many of you have felt:
“I feel like my life is wasting away.”
He worked at a well-respected management consulting firm.Great role, great progression, great reputation.
And yet, despite having what many people chase, he felt stuck.Not because he wasn’t doing well - but because he didn’t know what he wanted.
And as he was speaking, I recognised that feeling instantly.
Because I’ve been there too.
Even now, with everything I’m building, I still get fleeting moments where I wonder if I’ve made the “right” decisions. We often assume clarity comes with age, achievement, or a job title. But the truth is far less linear:
Your career almost never unfolds the way you imagine it will.
And more importantly, it shouldn’t.
Why your career goals change - and why that’s normal
We don’t talk about this enough, but the version of you that exists today is not the version of you who will exist in five years.
You’ll gain new experiences.Meet new people.Develop new skills.Learn new truths about yourself.Change your views about what fulfilment actually means.
So your ambitions will naturally evolve alongside you.
That’s not confusion.That’s growth.
My own journey: far from linear
To make the point clearer, here’s how my own path unfolded — one I never could have predicted at 19:
19–21: Internships across asset management and consulting21: Graduated into an American investment management firm22: Pivoted into insurance at a major global insurer23: Moved into strategy consulting27: Now running my own early-careers talent-attraction company full-time — a business that began as nothing more than an idea scribbled down during university
If you asked 19-year-old me whether this would be my career… I would have laughed.It wasn’t part of “the plan.”
But here’s the reality:Every pivot made me clearer, not more confused.Every role added something new to my toolkit.Every shift nudged me closer to the work that now feels meaningful.
You’re allowed to change your mind
We place so much pressure on ourselves to “figure it out” early:
Pick the right industry.Pick the right role.Pick the right path.Pick the right identity.
But careers don’t work like that.
They’re not decided in a single moment - they’re shaped through hundreds of small decisions, experiments, realisations, and course corrections.
So if you’re in your 20s (or even 30s or 40s) and feeling uncertain about your future, here’s the permission slip you might need today:
It’s okay for what you want to change. It doesn’t mean you’re lost - it means you’re evolving.
Your career isn’t a straight line.It’s a series of seasons.Each one sets you up for the next.
And that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.
🎟️ Breaking into Project Management - This Thursday, 6pm
Interested in a career within project management but unsure of how to actually break into it?
We’ve got you covered!
We’ve got Thandi Rose, an experienced Technical Project and Programme Manager who has coached dozens of individuals into project management roles, to talk through how to break in, from your CV through to interview prep.
