I wrote this in December 2018 after leaving a stable enterprise gig for a startup.
Leaving a stable enterprise gig for a startup that demanded self-driven work was the right decision for the right reasons. The timing was wrong. Three months later I was at an agency.
Early career moves feel like they need to be perfect. They don't. They need to be brave. The wrong move made quickly teaches you more than the right move made never.
Looking back
Seven years later, I can say with certainty: every career move I've made that felt reckless at the time was the right one. Not because they all worked out — some didn't — but because each one compressed years of learning into months.
In the AI era, career paths are even less linear. The riverbank you're exploring today might not exist tomorrow. Move anyway. The people who are thriving right now aren't the ones who picked the perfect path. They're the ones who moved fast enough to find the next one when the ground shifted.
Stability is a loan, not a gift. Eventually you pay it back with interest — usually in the form of missed opportunities and atrophied instincts.