To leave or get into tech, decisions on pivoting.
Career transitions can be a lot and it often starts with loads of confusion. But, for every confusion you have, I hope this brings some clarity.
Hey there,
I hope you’ve had an amazing week so far.
Let’s talk about a critical career move that many people make at very important moments in their lives. Pivoting.
Most of us thought about career in a linear way when we were younger.
What do you want to become in future?
Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer.
The assumption was that once you chose a field, you stay there and continue growing in that same direction without interruption.
But reality is often different.
At different stages in life, people leave what they are doing to get into completely new industries/sectors. Many of them still become incredibly successful but it’s never linear. There are terms and conditions that apply to making that transition, and those terms are what I want us to talk about.
Because of the industry I work in, which is the tech space, I often find myself in conversations with people who are considering either getting into tech or leaving it.
Yep. Many people leave tech.
The appeal for those wanting to join is usually the same.
Most of them currently work in traditional 9 to 5 roles where they have to show up physically every weekday. The environments they work in do not support remote work. For people raising families or people who simply dread long daily commutes, the promise of flexibility brought about by remote work becomes very attractive.
They want work that allows them to stay home more often or at least reduce how frequency of going into the office.
While that sounds great on the surface, there is always a dilemma when giving advice. My responsibility is to present the reality in a way that does not ruin someone’s career or lead them into a transition they are not prepared for.
So when someone comes to me and says they were considering moving into tech or leaving tech, here is the general counsel I give.
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Start With The Question: Why?
The first thing I want to understand is why.
Why do you want to get into tech?
Or why do you want to leave it?
If someone is moving into tech, the reasons are usually a combination of three things:
Remote work
Higher income potential
Opportunities to work with international companies or clients
But among those reasons, one usually matters more than the others.
Once we establish the motivation, the next thing I want to understand is what they currently do and what level of sacrifice they are willing to make during the transition period.
A Pivot Is Not Just A Job Change
This is where many people misunderstand what they are about to do.
When you pivot into tech, you are not just changing jobs.
You are changing three things at the same time.
First, you are changing ecosystems and network.
Second, you are changing the demand placed on your skills and competence.
Third, you are adapting to new mode of operation.
This means three new requirements immediately appear:
You need new skills
You need a new network
You need knowledge on how to navigate the space.
Most people only focus on the skills.
Their first thought is to learn a skill and pick up courses.
While that move is not wrong, what people fail to estimate is the time required for all of this to work.
The Real Timeline Most People Ignore
In the tech industry today, it realistically takes two to four years to properly establish yourself.
Year one is usually spent learning and developing foundational skills.
Year two is when you begin trying to secure your first entry level role.
By the third year, if you have been consistent, you begin to build credibility and a professional network.
This is three years of consistent effort.
And the reality is that many people underestimate how demanding that level of commitment is.
If you are not willing to invest two to four uninterrupted years into the ecosystem, the dream of remote work or high tech salaries may never materialize. At least not in this ecosystem.
The Smarter Pivot For Experienced Professionals
There is another approach I often recommend, especially for people who are already senior professionals in their current industries.
Instead of starting from scratch, leverage your existing competence.
The first step is to properly document your experience in your current field and then ask a simple question:
How can this experience be useful in the new industry I want to enter?
For example, if someone works in banking and wants to pivot to tech, it makes much more sense to transition into the Fintech ecosystem rather than starting from zero by learning to code.
If you are already an Operations lead in a bank, the real question becomes:
Which roles in tech require operational knowledge of banking systems?
In that situation, you are not changing everything.
You are mostly changing your positioning.
Your skills remain useful.
Your experience remains valuable.
You simply bring them into a new ecosystem.
Instead of taking three to four years, that transition might take closer to one year to properly stabilize.
That is a much more efficient path than attending boot camps and collecting certifications that force you to compete with complete beginners.
Why Younger People Pivot Differently
Younger professionals often approach pivots differently because they have not yet built deep competence in any specific industry.
That means they usually cannot leverage prior expertise.
For them, starting from scratch is often unavoidable.
But that also means they must fully commit to the learning and networking process that the transition requires.
Always Leverage What You Already Know
This logic applies to almost every pivot.
If you are a fashion designer entering tech, you should look for intersections like:
fashion technology
digital retail platforms
e-commerce design
If you are a marketer entering tech, your content creation and storytelling skills become an advantage.
The key question is always the same:
What do I already have that this new industry can use?
Your previous experience is not something to discard. It is often the shortcut that reduces the time it takes to succeed in the new space.
Pivoting Within Tech
Switching roles within tech is usually easier than entering tech from another industry.
For example, a designer who wants to become a data engineer or cloud engineer is changing roles but still staying within the same ecosystem.
Even then, there is still a transition period.
That person can still take one to three years to fully settle.
The biggest mental adjustment is accepting that you will become a beginner again.
Many people struggle with this.
But starting from scratch is often part of the pivot.
What About Leaving Tech?
There are also people currently leaving the tech ecosystem, especially because of rapid changes driven by Artificial intelligence.
If that is the concern, there are two ways to approach it.
The first option is to change your perspective within the industry.
If you are a designer, consider becoming a founder.
If you are a developer, consider becoming an entrepreneur or agency owner.
You can also stack multiple skills together to increase your value.
The second option is to completely leave the ecosystem for something you believe is more predictable.
Some people move into areas like agriculture or other traditional industries.
But even then, the same rule applies. I might not be able to make projections on the commitment required to fully transition in those industries but there is a way.
Every pivot requires a transition period.
The Reality Of Any Career Pivot
If you are considering entering tech, leaving tech, or switching roles within tech, there are a few things you must always evaluate:
The real timeline required for the transition
The leverage you already possess
The competitors you will face in the new industry
The unique advantage you can bring into the ecosystem
Once you clearly understand those factors, the pivot becomes much more strategic.
And most importantly, remember this.
Career pivots are possible. People make them every day.
The real challenge is not deciding to pivot. The real challenge is doing it intelligently.
I hope this helps someone who is currently thinking about making that transition.
Wishing you the very best in your career journey.
Cheers.
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In summary
Pivoting is nothing to be scared of, just be willing to pay the price.
Not everyone has to leave or get into take, figure out what works best for you.
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