5 people on how they changed careers during the pandemic and found jobs they love: 'It was one of the best rolls of the dice I ever made'
- The pandemic drastically changed how we live and work.
- Five people used this time to find roles that better aligned with their goals and home situations.
COVID-19 changed everything about the way we live and work — and for some people, that meant ending up in an entirely new career.
As part of a series on how the pandemic shaped people's careers over the last two years, Insider spoke with five professionals who found themselves, whether out of passion or necessity, pursuing jobs completely different from the ones they'd entered into amid lockdowns.
Each talked about how much happier they are in their new positions and how much better work-life balance they've obtained. They also shared how they made the move — some went back to school, while others took their time applying and networking their way into the right role.
Dan Seiders used a boot camp to break into tech
Dan Seiders had been an audio engineer for 15 years when he was furloughed in March 2020. As an audio engineer, he was responsible for the travel logistics, gear rentals, and concert acoustics of touring bands.
Because of how tour schedules work, Seiders often missed out on family outings. When he had a few months to be a stay-at-home dad, he started thinking there might be a more family-friendly career out there for him — so he invested in a 12-week, $10,000 coding boot camp and afterwards landed a job as a data engineer.
"In the music business, work-life balance is simply not a discussion," Seiders said. "With my new job, I work from home, which not only saves me time commuting but also allows me to be home every night for dinner."
Tara Maxam left a desk job for something more stimulating
Tara Maxam had spent two years as a banker and loan officer by the time the pandemic hit. She continued to work remotely, but as she spent more time indoors, she realized what she really wanted was to be outside.
Maxam had always had an interest in trucking. "As the pandemic unfolded, I realized how therapeutic being on the road could be for me," she said.
After going to trucking school, she landed a position driving between Georgia and Florida. "Post-pandemic, I plan to continue trucking. I want to drive to the other 48 states and possibly Canada," she said. "That's something I'd like to experience."
Angela Hatem shook off complacency for a new challenge
Angela Hatem spent 11 years working at the same nonprofit before realizing she wanted something different.
"By the time the pandemic hit, all the bitterness, boredom, and resentment I'd piled up made a skyscraper of complacency," Hatem said. After contracting COVID-19, she quit her job and thought about what she wanted in a career. Now she works as an implementation consultant for a tech company.
"As a single mother and professional, it wasn't an easy decision to take a chance on myself and leave the security, history, mission, and friendships of my old job, but it was one of the best rolls of the dice I ever made," she said.
Chloe Murray traded one passion for another
Chloe Murray moved to London in February 2020 to pursue her dreams of being a professional dancer — but what she didn't know was that the dance world, just like the rest of the world, was about to shut down. "I thought that maybe I'd taken my final bow, and I felt a little bit cheated," she said.
During lockdown, she started working as a virtual assistant writing website content, blogs, and social media posts. She began to pursue virtual assisting as a career and secured a job with Fox Agency, growing into a senior PR executive role. In her full-time position, she said she can concentrate on her ambition and development — and she pursues dancing on the side, using her annual leave to take on dancing contracts.
Tammie Ash turned her time off into a chance to reflect
Tammie Ash was an engineer for two years before she quit her job a few days before COVID-19 shut everything down. She worried about her job prospects for five months before deciding to try to break into the television industry, which she had always been interested in.
Now she's a researcher at the BBC. "Pre-pandemic, I took my time for granted," she said. "Post-pandemic, I'll be utilizing my time and choosing meaningful projects to work on while building up my creative network."