🎭 Conversation: My
Career Story

I remember the exact moment I realised I was in the wrong career. I had been sitting in a strategy meeting for two hours, watching slides about market share percentages, and I suddenly thought: is this really what I want to do for the next 30 years?

My name is Diogo, and I was 32 when I made the decision to completely change direction. I had worked in corporate marketing for seven years. The salary was excellent, the benefits were good, and everyone around me thought I had made it. But every Sunday night, I felt that familiar heaviness — the weight of a life I had chosen by default, not by design.

The change didn't happen overnight. I spent six months researching, saving money, and having long conversations with people who had made similar transitions. I was looking for someone to tell me it was going to be okay. Most of them said the same thing: the fear never completely goes away, but neither does the regret if you don't try.

I enrolled in a UX design programme while still working full-time. It was exhausting — I was attending classes at night, completing projects on weekends, and somehow still performing at work. Three months in, I had already built a portfolio of five projects. By the time I completed the course, I had been contacted by two companies.

The transition was not smooth. I took a 30% pay cut. I had to rebuild my professional identity from zero. There were months when I questioned everything. But I had promised myself I would give it two full years before making any final judgement.

Two years later, I am leading a team of eight designers. I earn more than I did in marketing. And every Monday morning, I have woken up excited to go to work.

The road less travelled is not always easy. But it is almost always worth it.