When to jump

Not too long ago, people started a career and stayed with the same job at the same company until they retired. It was about working and providing for your family and remaining loyal to your employers. And there’s nothing wrong with finding a job and being content with it.

But is being content enough?

I feel people my age, “Millennials” if you will, are more likely to explore their options. We’ll go to school for one thing and then do something completely different. (Hi, I’m Jordana, a flight attendant with a Journalism degree.)

“When to Jump” is a community that shares stories from people who have made the move from one career to the other. Mike Lewis — the author of the book of the same title — went from corporate America to playing professional Squash. He shares the stories of people who wanted something more out of their lives, including a middle-school friend of my own, Anna-Kay Thomas. And they’re pretty inspiring.

Changing careers wasn’t easy for me. It was a long process of talking and writing and thinking about what I wanted out of life. Would leaving the news industry mean I failed? Would I be wasting a degree I’m still paying off? Would I find whatever it was that I was looking for in my new career?

Honestly, I was scared. I was scared my parents wouldn’t think it was a smart move (my mom actually told me “you can’t do that” when I told her I filled out an application). I was scared I was starting over too late. I was scared what people would think when I told them I was giving up a life on TV, a life I’d thought about since I was 12 years old, for a life of pouring sodas at 35,000 feet.

One thing When to Jump is about is, there’s never a perfect time to jump. You just have to do it. I didn’t know if becoming a flight attendant was the right move. But it had gotten to the point where I knew I needed to make a change. After sending in the initial application, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and kept going through the  process. When I got the job offer, I said yes. I jumped. I was leaving the world I’d studied and worked in for the better part of my life to go to a place where I was starting from scratch.

But wow, was it worth it.