Changing careers: a reflection on the year

When I followed through on my career change from organisational consultant to ‘tradie’ (i.e. builder) late 2019, I had no real clue what 2020 had in store (pandemic and all). I would probably still have made the same choice, which is more of a testament to how much I had bottomed out than a reflection of how ‘courageous’ I am.
What a rollercoaster ride it’s been! A redirect from carpentry to cabinetry, one not-so-great job lost, one totally cool job gained and trade school being postponed so many times that even I lost the plot. I might have learned a thing or two and found some answers to hard questions along the way.
Disclaimer: This is not your typical ‘look-at-how-totally-awesome-my-everything-is’ kind of write-up, so if that’s what you’re after, best stop reading now.
Did I make the right choice?
It wasn’t so much a choice as a necessary change.
Author
Gilbert Kruidenier is formerly an organisational change consultant with a reputation for witty observations and provocative thoughts. Based in Melbourne, Australia, he’s now on a journey of personal change with a ongoing vision to support societal change. A journey that has started with becoming accomplished in building things – literally – with hammer and nails. In whatever he does, he loves to connect people and ideas; which is one reason why he has been a Ambassador for Self unLimited.
Photo by Callum Hill on Unsplash


