This is for the teachers, especially the Alberta teachers who this week were handed some pretty hard news. It’s a difficult and very important job you have. Teaching is a calling and this can make it difficult to imagine doing anything else, but if you’ve had enough, I promise you, you have options.

Career Imagination is about envisioning what’s truly possible for your work life. It’s about dreaming, shifting, adapting and believing: believing in your dream and believing in yourself. This is followed by making an actionable plan… Most people dream too small, so challenge yourself to think big and be bold. If you build a strong plan and stay committed, you'll probably get there.

After years of moving around the globe, Deo was hired at the University of British Columbia. He is finally doing the work he’s so well suited for and that he loves. His experience, his mannerisms, his background, his culture, and his personality are all quite different from the people he works with. This is a big part of why they hired him. He brings the team something new. He makes the team stronger, and he’s relatable to a whole host of students who might be feeling different and alone.

But for Deo to be successful and to feel comfortable enough to stay long-term, his co-workers needed to be patient while he learned a new set of systems.

With years of experience and from the insights we gained in researching this book where we spoke to more than one hundred people about their careers, we discovered that people who successfully changed careers had some things in common. They all dreamed big, talked to a lot of people with good support from a few, had a (mostly) positive attitude, and didn’t give up. Add it all up and this is what it looks like to succeed at work in the 2020s.

When I get asked about what the future of work looks like, I say that for many it will mean holding multiple jobs, most or all of them part-time. It might look like a number of puzzle pieces, some that fit together nicely, some that almost fit, and some that really don’t fit. Each puzzle piece represents a separate job or bit of work. Sometimes the employer will be yourself where you have a micro-business and sell what you produce online or locally, either a product or a service. Work overall is becoming less permanent and more flexible which can be if you like change and have in demand skills, since the demand reduces the insecurity, you’ll always have work.

“I hate my job. I hate my job. I need the money. I hate my job. I totally hate it.” I’m dragging myself in to work and asking, “Why am I doing this? It’s the same thing I’ve been doing forever.” If this is you, you just might be bored. Boredom at work can look like lethargy, agitation or irritation, and it’s draining. It’s a signal that you aren’t doing work that you find meaningful. Maybe you’ve mastered the job and aren’t learning anything new anymore. If you’re work is no longer challenging or engaging, you might be bored and ready for a change.

For many in the federal workforce, this is an uncertain and challenging time. Long-held careers in public service are being disrupted by widespread layoffs, restructuring, and shifting policies. These changes can feel overwhelming, leaving many to wonder: What comes next?