In a Career Rut?

It’s happened to many of us. You wake up one Monday morning and roll over to hit the snooze button. You lay in bed and think to yourself how you’re going to manage another week working the same job that you’ve been at for what seems like forever.

You’ve lost the excitement and fulfillment that your job once gave you. You don’t like what you do every day anymore. You’re in a career rut.

“Rut” is defined by Webster’s dictionary as “a usual or fixed practice.” The definition does offer a bit of hope, however, because with a little practice your rut can be fixed. How you fix it can depend on what you’re practicing, and whether you truly want to improve your unsatisfying groove.

If you continue to practice the same things that helped you get into your rut – be it a boring monotonous routine, a job that allows you coast through each day relying on the one skill you’ve mastered, or even just making sure you get your couch and TV time – chances are you’ll stay in that rut. Breaking any habit can be tough; just ask any former (or current) smoker.

Help You Help Yourself

Remember when you were in grade school and every adult you met would ask you what you wanted to be when you grew up? Well, unless you’re a doctor, astronaut, or the President of the United States, chances are you aren’t where you thought you’d be by now. The better question is: If you were asked by the grade school you how things could change, what would you tell them to do? It may sound clichéd, but I bet you’d say “study more.”

You’ve established that your career is sucking the life out of you and you want more – more of a challenge, more fulfillment, or simply more money. Just like the grade school you, the adult you will find that one of the best ways to get ahead in the job market is by getting ahead academically. The more education you have, the more skills you acquire, the more opportunities there are that will become available to you.

Improve Your Groove

You’ve decided you want out of your career rut, and that the best way out is to further your education. Now you need to know exactly what it is you want to be “when you grow up,” and what type of education you’ll need to achieve that goal. There are several options available to you; you can go to a traditional university or college’s night school program, a career college, or an online program. In choosing which one you’ll have many factors to weigh:

1. How much money do you have? Not everyone has a fund set aside for furthering their education. Can you afford all the programs available? If not, maybe your current job offers a reimbursement program, or your new priorities can mean rearranging your budget to meet your needs.
2. Can you manage your own time? If so, than an online program may work for you. But if you need deadlines and greater support for motivation, you may be better off with a more traditional means of earning a degree.
3. What do you want to do? If you are looking into a specific field, or a specific skills set, perhaps there is a career college offering classes for just what you need.

 

There is no doubt that earning a degree while still working a full-time job can be a challenge, but finding a new job with old skills can be even more of a challenge. In the end, if you want to get out of a career rut and improve your situation, a great first step would be to improve your education.

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