How to know if it’s time to change careers | The Way We Work, a TED series

Transcriber: TED Translators admin

翻译人员: Ruilin Yao 校对人员: Jiasi Hao

I was not one of those kids

我不是那种从小就明确的知道

that knew exactly what they wanted to do when they were growing up.

自己长大想要做什么的小孩。

In the last 15 years of my career,

在我职业生涯的过去 15 年里，

I've been an English teacher, attorney, video game creator

我做过英语老师、律师、 电子游戏创作者，

现在，一名厕纸销售，

and now, a toilet paper salesman,

selling millions of rolls of toilet paper a year.

每年销售上百万卷厕纸。

【我们工作的方式】

[The Way We Work]

Life is about finding the intersection of what you really, really love

生活就是找到你特别特别热爱的，

with what you're really, really good at.

和你特别特别在行的 重叠的那部分。

As simple as it sounds, it's really not that easy to find.

听起来简单，但很难找到。

After a brief stint as an English teacher,

短暂的做了一段时间英语老师之后，

I went to law school and ended up becoming an attorney

我读了法学院， 最后在纽约这儿的一个大法律公司

at a big law firm here in New York City.

当了一名律师。

Like most Americans, for the next two, three years,

就像大多数美国人， 接下来的两三年里，

I was holding on to my job for dear life,

为了生活，我继续做我的工作，

working really late hours at a job that I thought maybe I was good at

在一个我觉得或许我很擅长，

but certainly not one that I really loved.

但绝对不是我热爱的工作上 疯狂加班。

I then came upon the epiphany

后来我突然灵光一现，

that it takes years if not tens of thousands of hours

意识到要特别擅长做一件事，

需要花费数年，成百上千个小时。

to get really good at something.

I really didn't have a lot of time to waste.

我真的没有那么多时间来浪费。

This talk isn't for those looking to quit their job

这个视频不是给那些因不喜欢他们老板， 或是在公司过了很艰难的一天

because they don't like their boss or they had a long day at work.

而准备离职的人的。

This is for those that are ready to make the completely scary leap

这个视频是给那些 已经做好准备要做一个完全大胆的

into a brand-new career.

向一个全新的职业转变的人。

So as you think about making a career change,

所以当你想要换一个职业，

here are a few tips I hope you consider

这有几个我希望你考虑的小技巧

and a few things I've picked up along the way.

和一些我这一路来积累的经验。

First, there's three things to think about before you're ready to move on.

首先，有三件事 你需要在做改变前想好。

Number one: professional life is about learning.

第一：职业生涯重在学习。

If you're not even interested in learning anymore,

如果你不再对学习感兴趣

that's a huge red flag

这是个很大的警告：

that there might not be a future for you in that industry.

或许你在那个行业里没有未来。

Number two: career changes are often gut-driven.

第二：换工作大多数是冲动的。

If you constantly have sleepless nights

如果你一直失眠，

你经常清醒地注视着天花板，想：

where you're wide awake staring at the ceiling thinking,

"Oh, man. I can't live with myself if I never try to make this change

“唉。我无法接受自己 如果我试也不试，

哪怕只是认真的调研一下。“

or if I don't even actually investigate it,"

那，相信自己的冲动。

then trust your gut.

或许是时候换个工作了。

It might be time for that career change.

另一个角度看，

On the flip side,

不要换工作的其中一个原因 是短期痛苦。

one reason to not move on is short-term pain.

如果你不喜欢你的老板，

If you don't like your boss

or people at the office are grating on you,

或者公司的同事让你烦躁，

that's actually not a good reason to absolutely change your career,

其实这不是一个换工作的好原因，

因为当你换了工作，

because when you do change a career,

你得从最底层开始，

you generally have to start from the bottom,

你很大概率依旧会感受到 很多短期的痛苦，

and you'll probably feel a lot of short-term pain,

可能是资金紧张或少了一个头衔。

whether it's through a lack of salary or lack of a title.

任何工作中的痛苦都是不可避免的。

Pain at any job is inevitable.

所以如果现在你确信是时候换个工作了，

So now you're convinced that it's time to change your career.

Then there's three things to do immediately.

有三件事你要立刻去做。

First: network, network, network.

第一：社交，社交，社交。

No one ever builds a career without a good mentor

没有人能在没有好的导师、

或是没有好的社交网络的情况下 获得职业成功。

or a good support network.

What I mean by networking is getting all the great advice

我说的“社交”是指获取你所能得到的

that you can possibly get.

所有好的建议。

Technology has made it so simple to reach out to new people

科技让认识新的人变得如此简单，

to say, "Hey, I'm thinking about making a career change.

只是说一句 “你好，我想换个工作。

你能抽出五分钟一起聊一下吗？“

Do you have just five minutes to chat with me?"

那种热情、渴望， 还有愿意接收建议的表现

That passion and that hunger and that ability to be a sponge

really attracts awesome mentors

一定可以吸引很多

and people willing to give you their time

愿意花时间给你些好的建议的

to give you some good advice.

优秀的人或导师。

So go out there and meet new people.

所以出去，认识些新的人。

第二件你必须立刻做的事是

The second thing you need to do immediately

支撑住你的经济。

is shore up your finances.

The reality is, when you change your career,

事实是，当你换工作时，

you'll either start with a job with a lower title

你要么获得一个头衔更低的工作

要么钱更少，甚至不给钱的

or lower pay or maybe even no pay,

especially if you're starting your own business.

特别是如果你打算自己创业。

So going out there and making sure your finances are in order

所以出门社交并确保有经济来源

to make the transition less painful

是能让你在过渡期不那么痛苦的

is really, really important.

很重要的事。

For me personally, as I made the transition from being an attorney

对我自己来说，当我从律师

over to a video game creator,

转去做电子游戏的时候，

I wanted to have at least six to 12 months of personal runway in the bank.

我在银行留了 6 - 12 个月的 个人花销存款。

Six to 12 months might not be the right number for you,

6 - 12 个月 不一定对你来说是最合适的数字，

but be honest with yourself on what that number should be.

但诚实对待自己 应该准备的存款金额。

Number three, if you're not ready to make the full jump right at this moment,

第三，如果你此刻 还没有做好准备完全换工作，

then get your side hustle on.

那做点副业。

Side hustles could be anything from volunteering with an organization

这个副业可以是 在你想要去的新行业中的公司里

that's in the new industry you want to go into,

做志愿者，

could be starting your business part-time on the weekends.

也可以是用周末时间自己创业。

这是个自由的时候 去看看自己到底热爱什么。

It's a free way to get a taste to see if you really love something.

So you're ready to make the move

那你现在准备好动起来了

或者你已经动起来了。

or maybe you already made the move.

Here are three things you should think about doing, right now.

有三件我认为 你一定要现在就去做的事情。

One: do not -- I repeat -- do not burn bridges.

第一：不要断了自己已有的关系。

You spent years building those bridges,

你换了好多年建起了自己的关系网，

why burn them now?

为什么要毁了它？

The world is such a small place,

这个世界很小，

especially with all these online platforms,

特别是那些线上平台。

相信我，你会再见到那些人

that, believe me, you will see these people again

and probably in the most inopportune times.

或许是在最不合适的时间里。

Number two: take stock of what you've learned

第二：记住那些在过去的职业生涯中

in your previous career or careers.

你所学到的东西。

Most likely, a lot of those things are really applicable

非常有可能，很多事情都是

to your new job and your new career,

你在新的工作中可以用到的，

whether it's interacting with people, playing on a team

无论是与人们交流，团队合作

or dealing with jerks and assholes.

还是应对讨厌的人们。

All those things are really universally applicable.

所有的事情都是宇宙间通用的。

You'll find jerks no matter what industry you're in;

无论你在哪个行业， 都会遇到讨厌的人，

no one's immune to it, everyone's got to figure it out,

没有人能完全避免， 每个人都得搞清楚怎么处理，

and you probably know how to do it already.

你或许已经知道怎么做了。

最后，当你开始一个新的工作时， 你会很紧张。

Lastly, when you start your new job, you're going to be nervous.

But don't worry, take a deep breath,

但是没关系，深呼吸，

because this is what I want to tell you:

因为我想告诉你：

you're part of a new team now,

你现在是新团队中的一员了，

and everyone around you is rooting for your success,

你周围的每个人都在期待你的成功，

because your success is their success.

因为你的成功，就是他们的成功。

So welcome to your new career.

欢迎来到你新的工作。