I actually quit my last job, but the feelings and emotions I went through were much the same. There was a lack of self-esteem for awhile, because I felt my company had treated me like shit and couldn’t recognize my talents. (How much of this was my own interpretation vs. the reality, I don’t know.)

I also knew I couldn’t be a software engineer anymore. I had tried a few times to take the semi-software engineer position and try to move myself within the company to another role. It didn’t work, because people always need technical support and never wanted another marketing person, even when they said there was movement opportunity.

So I had to make a serious choice, and it took me two months to make it. I had to decide if I would apply for more software engineering positions, because those were easy for me to get with my experience. Or if I would take a pay cut and go for marketing or business strategy positions instead, even if it make my job hunt much longer.

In the end, I had to choose the latter. I didn’t think I could do another technical position and hope someone would recognize my greater potential for marketing and strategy. I didn’t want to box myself in as a technical person anymore.

Thanks for writing this post. It makes me feel better knowing I’m not the only one who struggles with confidence issues after leaving a job, and I feel more confident about the choice I’ve made to pursue a career I don’t have the “right” credentials for.