Before a “non-linear career” was cool, it was called “being confused and not knowing how to stick to one thing.” And in Indian society, everyone would make sure to let you know what a failure you are if you’re headed anywhere except linearly-upwards.
10 years ago, I graduated from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi – with a Gold medal, an unending curiosity about the creative mind, and no desire to practice architecture at all. (Getting into architecture school was a departure from the more-conventional engineering route in the first place, but that’s a story for another time).
Fast forward to July 2026, I’m currently (notice I say currently, not finally) a creative business consultant and career/leadership coach. I have a mutually appreciative equation with my clients. I like them. They’re happy working with me & growing through the work we do together. And that’s all the proof I need for know I’m doing okay, even a “good job” maybe.
As a coach, I now get to interact with dozens of individuals every week. And the question I’ve been asked most is: “how did you go from architecture to… this?”
I used to think this question could be answered by rattling off the timeline of pivots. 👇
2011-2016: Architecture school
2016-2020: Didn’t want to get into the construction space. So used what I’d learnt alongside architecture to freelance across design, writing and travel curation projects.
2019-2020: Felt a gap in my business knowledge because of all the client challenges I was facing. Went to IIM-Ahmedabad for the Creative & Cultural Businesses Programme.
2020: Was going to launch my travel company in Ladakh but the pandemic hit. Started working in Thought Over Design at a Project Manager, and learnt more than I did at IIM-A.
2023: Left TOD, and started working as an independent consultant. Took me a year of working on different types of projects to really figure out what I could offer as a business consultant for creative studios. (more about this on my website)
2026: Trained to become an ICF-certified Leadership Coach, and this training added another layer of nuance to how I work with creative founders.
Seems pretty clear, no?
No.
I now know what someone at the cusp of a pivot is really asking. When they say “how did you do it?”, they actually mean “what were you even thinking?”
More than the practical level, it’s the very-human emotions that often get in the way of a career pivot. I’ve seen the same ones popping up for myself, for my friends and for the career coaching clients that share their stories with me.
So in this article, I want to share my perspective and lived experience around some of the challenges and every mind blocks that we are all prone to facing. If you identify yourself in any of these, I hope that brings you relief. Please know you’re not alone. ❤️
The first one:
"If I change careers, I'll be starting from zero."
We never start from zero. Everything we have done & experienced in life adds to how we approach the next chapter in our lives & careers too. Transferrable skills are a real thing. Perhaps your technical skills will not transfer as-is to the new role you choose for yourself, but your inter-personal and personal management skills very likely will.
My question to you: “What were you good at, which made things easy in the previous career?” This might point to your transferrable skills, and become the foundation of your confidence for the next chapter of your career.
Second:
“I will fall behind compared to my peers if I switch now.”
Perhaps you will. So what?
It’s likely that you’re considering a pivot because you don’t want to live the life they’re living, and do the work that they’re doing. This is the classic comparison trap that we all fall into. Compare yourself to those you’re on a similar path as you (of pivots, of owning your decisions) so that the comparison results in some useful learnings and motivation.
Third:
“I don’t have the right credentials to call myself <whatever you want to call yourself>”
There are so many components to this, that it deserves a separate article of its own. But, I do want to share some facts and thought-starters:
There are more professions in the world than there are educational courses and credential-giving organisations. I’m a business consultant specialising in design studios, and there’s no-one out there who will give me a certificate in this.
Unless you’re planning to go into a profession where “credentials = client safety” (doctor, psychologist, structural engineer, pilot… and so on), you don’t need a credential to get started.
Get started, learn and then work towards the credential (if it exists) to consolidate your path. Focus on building capability.
Brand value & real value are two separate things. I have benefited on the “brand value” side of things because of the courses I’ve done at IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Bangalore. Looks good on LinkedIn, and there’s some value in that. Do you clients/future employers require that credential? I work with creative professionals a lot and the answer is always ‘no’.
Finally, a linguistic solution to this imposter syndrome is:
Don’t say: “I am a writer / a social worker / the title of your designation” - There’s a weight of ‘identity’ that comes with this.
Say: “I am now working on writing projects / with a social sector organisation / the work you’re doing” - This is still true, and it keeps focus away from a shift in our whole identity to only a shift in the work we’re doing. Our work isn’t meant to be our whole identity anyway.
Fourth:
“My income will take a hit, and that means I’m failing.”
Yes, income is important because we all have to sustain ourselves. More importantly: Getting real paying clients is an important indicator that our work is solving something real for them. Personally, it gives me the kind of confidence that no words of encouragement from friends or family ever will, because my clients aren’t paying me just to make me happy.
And yes, a financial dip is very normal in the first few months of changing careers. You might be building up a whole new list of clients or starting at a junior position in a new organisation.
How you navigate this depends on your unique situation, but here are some examples from my experience with clients and my own pivots.
At the emotional level: Don’t conflate a financial dip with personal failure. If you must measure, measure your growth against other factors in life as opposed to income. I have a whole chapter on money mindblocks in my book ‘Inspired’.
At the practical level: Put aside savings, reduce your expenses for a while, or start building up your next career as a side-hustle, instead of quitting the previous role before you have proof of concept. I won’t go deep into this, the online bros already have.
At a very practical level: Even with the bet of intentions, sometimes a career pivot just doesn’t make financial sense. (The uncles and aunties can be right, ugh.)
Hypothetical situation: You’re in a very cushy job and you have other people dependent on you. Now you have two very real challenges:
Your current income is so high that the new career is unlikely to pay you as much, ever. Society doesn’t value all work equally. Perhaps making pencil portraits will never earn you as much as your management consulting job, no matter the life satisfaction you get. But some research should help you find the answer to this numbers-question.
With dependents, your expenses may be so high that you can’t afford that financial dip, even temporarily. Again, calculations will tell.
In this case, take three steps back and ask yourself: What’s the dissatisfaction because of which you want to pivot your career? What are the other ways to satisfy that itch?
Fifth:
“If I couldn’t make the last thing work, what makes me think this one will be different?”
It’s natural to feel doubt rooted in a previous setback. Doubt and fear are part of our brain’s wiring as protective mechanisms. They aren’t emotions to be ignored, but rather explored with curiosity.
What does “making it work” mean?
Will you do better if the new role is more aligned to your natural capabilities?
Are there gaps you can identify and work on bridging for the new career?
Depending on the individual, there are can be a 100 reasons why things will be different, and why they won’t.
Build a short to medium-term experiment around the new career, and aim for small wins to build up your confidence.
The concept of experimentation works to answer many other questions too. For example: “If you have several prospects, which one do you decide is worth pivoting towards?” My answer: Pick your top 3 options (based on what you value & need in the moment) Build short-term experiments to experience the life you’d live with each one of them. And then decide, based on the experiment outcomes.
These were just 5 of the challenges & mindblocks which surround a non-linear career shift. There are so many more:
“What will people think when I tell them I’m changing direction?”
“I need to have the whole path figured out before I take the first step.”
“Everyone else seems to have a clear niche; I’m still figuring mine out.”
“Going independent / pivoting means I’ll be doing this alone.”
The questions vary with each individual but at the core is a universal fear of change. It’s part of our human wiring because from an evolutionary sense, change = danger.
But very often, specially in the case of careers, change = healthy challenge.
I wish you all the courage you need to take up the challenge! 🚀
I’d love to keep the conversation going. What have your experiences with career pivots been like?
My book ‘Inspired: The A-Z of Creative Unblocking’ is a compassionate guide for every creative navigating the highs & lows of a self-driven creative careers.
