47: Battling an identity crisis with a career change

Former newspaper reporter Jonathan McFadden opens up about the identity crisis he battled with his career change. He recalls everything he was afraid to lose if he left journalism—would it be worth it? 

“I, like many of us do, conflated my value as a human with my value as an employee,” says Jonathan.

In this episode, Jonathan shares how he tried a couple of different jobs and industries before landing on user experience, also known as UX.

Was it all worth it? Tune in to find out and to hear Jonathan's advice for changing careers more than once. 

Episode Highlights:
• Feeling overworked
• Wanting a better quality of life
• Planning to leave
• Former colleagues look out for each other
• Soft skills are core skills
• Learning the language in a new industry 
• Battling an identity crisis about leaving journalism
• Transitioning to user experience, or UX   
• Feeling aligned with what you’re doing 
• Don’t focus on the job title
• Advice for making multiple career changes 

Additional Episodes:
Ep 31: Leaving journalism: When you need to change industries
Ep 35: Leaving media: Career change for editors

Additional Podcast Mentioned:
What Rules!?: A Career Podcast for Women of Color


Resources:
Where Editors Go Next—An Ongoing List of Pivot-able Industries by Chandra Turner
2024 Editorial Hiring Report by TheTalentFairy

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.