From Choosing a Career to Changing One
Navigating Career Paths Across Generations
“What will you be when you grow up?” — the dreaded question many of us heard as teenagers. Today, more and more initiatives encourage younger generations to plan their futures consciously. Still, there’s no universal recipe for finding one’s calling. We all know someone who had a clear answer as a child, and someone who only started wondering about it after years in the workforce, realising their current career no longer fit.
How has Generation Z reframed this question? And what challenges and opportunities await those ready to leave a well-worn path for a new career goal? We explored these topics with Kata Stumpf, director and co-founder of Konnekt Association, in the latest episode of the Game Changers Podcast.
Career Compass – Relevant at Any Age
Career choices have become more varied and complex in recent decades. Young people face a wider range of options than ever, but that also means more chances to choose poorly. While traditional professions still exist, new degree programs and previously unknown job titles emerge every day. No surprise that Generation Z moves between career paths and workplaces more freely, even early on.
But this isn’t just about the young. Whether you’ve been in the workforce for a decade or are fresh out of university, you might suddenly find your internal compass pointing in a new direction. Like graduating high schoolers, these individuals need guidance to understand exactly where that arrow is leading.
“So why do we separate high school career guidance so rigidly around graduation? The process is nearly identical for someone finishing university and realising they chose the wrong field — or perhaps the right one, but now has no idea what to do with it,” says Kata Stumpf.
Choosing Uncertainty Over Stability?
The idea of a career change often starts as a vague feeling, a lack of happiness at work. Kata Stumpf points out that this can stem from choosing a career under parental pressure, without reflecting on one’s own desires.
“They might notice friends with upward-trending careers who seem fulfilled, while they themselves feel unhappy. The root problem is they didn’t choose thoroughly enough and didn’t have the chance to truly get to know themselves.”
Even with a clear new direction, career change brings dilemmas: balancing the stability of a current job against the uncertainty of change, or weighing potential fulfilment against the risk of burnout.
3 Tips for Career Changers
Kata Stumpf offers three practical starting points:
Follow the path of self-awareness. Identify your values, capabilities, and what truly motivates you. Ask three people who know you well: “How do you see me?” Their perspectives can open new insights.
Ask questions. Talk to people working in your field of interest. Learn about both the highs and lows to make an informed choice.
Take small steps, but start. Test the waters through side projects or courses. Set small goals to build momentum and break the paralysis of choice.
If you’d like to explore the topic further, listen to the next episode of the Game Changers podcast, where Kata Stumpf talks with Gabi Bódi, co-founder of [eureka].




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