What I’ve Loved About Each Stage of My Career

I've had one of those days today where I thought to myself, I really love this stage of my career.

I've seen enough in the world and in my professional life to have perspective on most issues. I'm talking about perspective based on experience and well-honed instincts, rather than quick reactions. I can reflect on my feelings and performance on any given project with clear context about my strengths and weaknesses, as well as what energizes me and what drains me. It's satisfying and confidence-inducing in a way that's hard to appreciate until you've lived through enough cycles to recognize patterns.

Naturally, I then began reflecting on what I've loved most about each stage of my career and on how each stage felt unique. 

Here are mine:

Stage 1 – My 20s/Early Career

Enthusiasm, time, focus, mentorship

I was so enthusiastic. Most situations felt new, and I soaked up advice and mentorship wherever I could find it. I didn't always know what questions to ask, but I knew enough to listen and observe.

I was hungry to get more experience under my belt and had the luxury of pouring as much time as I wanted into my work. There was energy in that phase that felt almost limitless. I regularly worked late nights and evenings, but that pace mostly felt doable, even exciting. I craved getting experience and years under my belt, so every new assignment and bit of feedback felt like progress.

Happily, my top priority at that time was building my career. I had a life too, and I never felt like I had to sacrifice one for the other. There was room for both, and the momentum of early career growth made the future feel wide open.

Looking back, what I loved most about that stage was the sense of possibility.

Stage 2 – My 30s/Settling-In Stage

Adjustment, balance, depth of experience, leadership

Then there was a shift in my 30s. I was in a new city with a different set of responsibilities. I learned how to keep growing in my career while also reconfiguring my list of priorities.

This was the stage where I learned to balance leadership responsibilities with the demands of parenthood and to juggle and compartmentalize. It was hard but also confidence-building to evolve in such a drastic way and carry such different responsibilities at the same time. There were moments of humor in it, too. I used to think, why don’t people listen to me at home the way they do at work?🙂

What I loved most about this stage was the depth that came with it. The responsibilities were weightier and greater in number, but so was my sense of capability. I acquired greater perseverance and resilience.

Stage 3 – My 40s/Career Evolution

Agency, context, discernment, confidence

This stage feels different in that I am more confident in what I want and in the conditions where I excel. I also don't get so hung up on the fear of the unknown. I get that change is inevitable, and I can chart my own path in it.

I have agency over my career now and am steering it toward what I do best and what I want to do. That doesn't mean everything is easy, but I understand the tradeoffs and can make intentional decisions about where to spend my time and energy.

Earlier in your career, awareness about strengths and weaknesses develops through experience, feedback, and performance reviews. Then comes the work of improving weaknesses and handling the parts of your job you don't enjoy with discipline and skill.

As you grow older, there's an opportunity to specialize in some ways and generalize in others. The lucky ones, like me, take control of that intentionally.

When I do something well or something I love, I have context as to why. When I struggle or drag my feet, I understand that too. Being able to hone in on the how and why is incredibly empowering.

This stage has been particularly enlightening as I carve out portions of my day for my coaching business, along with some side marketing work I'm doing, remnants of my former career. There is something deeply satisfying about building something new while carrying forward the lessons from everything that came before.

I look forward to continuing this career evolution path. I'm also increasingly aware that the stages ahead will likely be defined less by obligation and more by choice. I'm excited about that and gratified to know that the work I'm doing now will continue paying off in the years to come. I want the same for you.

What have you liked most about each stage of your career?