In your mid 20s to 30s and feeling unsure about what to do next in your job or love life? Confused about how to handle money, or where to find a career mentor? Turns out a lot of people feel the same way: a new LinkedIn survey found that 75 percent of 25-33 year olds report that they’ve experienced a quarter-life crisis—and the most common cause of that crisis was related to finding a job or career that they’re passionate about.
The LinkedIn blog post announcing the findings defines a quarter-life crisis as the (very relatable) period of “insecurity and doubt that many people in their mid 20s to early 30s go through surrounding their career, relationships and finances.”
Censuswide conducted the online survey for LinkedIn and had 6,014 participants from across the U.S., U.K., India and Australia answer questions about their professional and personal lives. Seventy-five percent of people surveyed, all between 25 and 33-years-old, reported that they’d experienced a quarter-life crisis.
Another big reason for the quarter-life crises in addition to struggling to find work that matters on a personal level? Comparing yourself to people who are more successful than you. This is an especially big factor for women: 51 percent of women surveyed reported feeling anxious due to this type of comparison, compared to 41 percent of men.
The good news is that our perceptions about work are changing: leaving a job or field entirely is no longer considered taboo (now it’s called “pivoting” or “job hopping”) and we’re moving away from thinking success means having the same steady job for years. In fact, more than one-third of people surveyed had switched to a new industry or role during their careers. (It’s important to note that this is part of a larger employment trend: the blog points to LinkedIn data showing that job hopping rates in general have doubled in the last year.) For those people who didn’t pivot to a new job, many went traveling, moved to a new location or took a career break during their life crisis.
One of the things people are missing that may be contributing to their sense of doubt about where to go next, according to the survey responses, is mentorship. More than half of respondents (56 percent) wanted advice about what to do next, but didn’t know who to turn to: 43 percent reported wanting a career mentor but not having the right connections to find one.
While the findings show that many young people are confused about what to do next or what they want to be doing in the first place, it also suggests that changing your mind about a job, and then changing your mind again, is perfectly okay.
Read the full blog post here.