How to explore new career paths without quitting your job

Obviously you don’t just want to quit your job and let the winds of fate guide you. It’d make for a great story if it worked, but I’m guessing you’d prefer to avoid homelessness being part that story.

You want to quit your job once you’ve secured a new job. But not just any new job, a job that actually gives you positive emotion and sustains your energy for life. So this presents another problem, how do you find that kind of job while still dealing with the stress of your current one?

Here’s what most people do:

1) Get caught up in all or nothing thinking, ‘The only way for me to do a different job is to quit this job’. The risk is too much and the thought of deciding a new career causes analysis paralysis which leads to shut down and career stagnation.

2) Try haphazardly according to how they feel in the moment (abit like being blown around by the winds of time). And what happens is these episodes of motivation and collapse inevitably fail and lead people to the conclusion that they may as well just stick it out and stay put.

Either way they’re giving themselves no chance of properly exploring and experiencing a new career. Because there is neither time nor structure to their actions.

This is why it seems so impossible to explore before you commit. But trust me it is possible with the strategies which I’m going to explain in this post.

How Exploration becomes Essential

A lot of people resist the exploration phase of career change. Not because they don’t want to explore but because exploration doesn’t feel worth it unless you’re committed to acting on what you find.

This is based on the belief that it will take a mountain of effort to pivot. In the context of a job that already leaves you running on fumes, your mind just kind of says no.

This is what contributed to the massive delay in exploring new career paths when I was a doctor. It was just never a priority whilst I felt like I just needed to recover between shifts.

It wasn’t until I started observing my own mindset that I realised I was caught in a cycle:

I didn’t explore because I didn’t believe I’d change. But I couldn’t believe I’d change because I wasn’t exploring.

Eventually, I stopped treating exploration as a commitment that bound me to another energy draining path.

I reframed it as process of gathering emotional energy. If I tried something and it made me feel more alive and curious, I could use that energy to make up for my chronic depletion. It was like being resurrected! I could go deep into explorative activities without any effort.

Sometimes, we get lucky and stumble into this kind of moment. It might come from a conversation with someone who does something different. Or being asked to help on a project outside your usual role. Or even scrolling past something online that sparks a “what if?”

And when that moment happens, and we allow ourselves to feel it… That’s when exploration shifts from “optional” to “essential.”

Five ways to explore new career paths without quitting your job

So, if exploration is essential, but your time, energy, and belief are limited, how do you actually do it?

What helped me was keeping things low-pressure, simple and within my control. The aim wasn’t to find the answer. It was simply to follow what gave me energy and clarity - then use that to fuel the next small step.

Here are five ways to begin exploring new paths while keeping your current role:

1. Feed your curiosity

Instead of waiting until you feel clear before doing anything, reverse it. Start feeding your curiosity. Read articles. Watch YouTube interviews. Listen to podcasts from people doing work you admire - not to choose something, but to notice what lights you up.

With more people creating personal brands these days, it’s very easy to find social media videos like ‘a day in the life of a [job role]’ or ‘what it’s really like working as a [job role]’

If you’re already in the habit of scrolling, scroll intentionally.

Keep a ‘spark list’ in your notes: topics, careers or industries that feel interesting - even if you can’t explain why yet.

2. Have one intentional career conversation a week

You’re bound to know previous colleagues or friends who have changed career. Do they seem happy? More importantly, how is that relevant to you, your values and your red flags?

Make a list of your career values and career red flags and go through it with them. You don’t have to make it some intense interrogation. Just have a natural conversation guided by the list.

These chats are one of the fastest, most energising ways to explore a new path. Message someone who’s doing something you’re curious about and ask if they’d be open to a 20-minute chat about their work. You don’t have to follow their exact footsteps but they can certainly lead you to options you didn’t know existed.

3. Run a tiny experiment

You don’t need to quit to try. Could you freelance, shadow someone, take a short course, or help a friend with a project that uses the skills you're curious about?

Treat it like a first date, not a marriage proposal.

One of my clients followed her curiosity to a sewing class. She didn’t commit to becoming a seamstress or fashion designer. She just explored a part of herself that felt buried under the stress of GP work. Now she makes clothes for her friends and family and has the option of starting a side hustle alongside her NHS work.

4. Leverage your current 9-5

Look for opportunities whilst you’re at work. Can you take the lead on a new passion project? Can you get involved in a different department? Can you find a way of engaging your skills or interests that serves your current job role?

If your current job involves talking to the general public, talk to them about their jobs. You never know what nuggets they might come out with.

5. Invest in reflection and support

Clarity can be accelerated with the right reflection space. That might be journaling, talking to a friend, or working with a coach who can help you untangle your thoughts and build a plan that fits your life. You don’t have to figure this all out in your head. Especially when your head is already overloaded.

You don’t need to do all five right away. Even just choosing one can open a new door. The goal isn’t to be perfect. It’s to build momentum - and give your future something to work with.

I know just how hard it can be to find the career change clarity needed to overcome the barriers of your current job and sustain action during your transition.

It takes energy to change careers and a moment of motivation when it’s convenient doesn’t last. Like an iPhone battery, it inevitably dies.

But clarity gives you an emotional charge that can act as your rechargeable power pack indefinitely.

So no matter how much work is dumped on you in your current job, you can still find the energy for your own personal career experimentation.

Stay Healthy

Lewis

P.S  If this resonated I'd love to hear your thoughts. Connect with me on Linked-In or Instagram  

If you want more support to explore new career paths without your current job getting in the way, here's how I can help:

1. Book a Career Clarity Session A 1:1 coaching session with me to find your spark and get the ball rolling.

2. Get The Career Clarity Roadmap A free email course designed to help you break through foggy thinking and reconnect with what you really want.

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