Mid-Career Media Tech Wobbles
What they mean and what to do with them.
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The Mid-career Dip
The mid-career dip in media tech is rarely talked about until it’s too late.
I know what it’s like to work hard and play hard for decades only to turn around and question it all.
It’s not something that happens overnight.
The apathy that creeps in after years of caring about everything. The tolerance for things that now feel stupid at an all time low, plus the repetition of seeing the same things play out over and over, leading to questioning whether any of it is making a difference.
At some point, whether it’s your tenth year in or after your second job, you look around and think:
"Is this it?"
You still love the industry, the people, the pace (well, parts of it), but something has changed.
The urgency that once thrilled you is now starting to get on your last nerve and the ambition is quieter, still there but now so are the doubts…
The early years in media tech are fast and full. Wild and wonderful projects, site visits, migrations, constantly learning something new, making mistakes, occasionally taking things off air! The long hours, fuelled by excitement, ambition and energy drinks, loving the chaos just enough to ride it.
Then time passes and you’re no longer the rookie. You are running projects, or people, and you are in the meetings where the decisions get made, and yet, you feel… unsatisfied.
The learning has slowed, the workload has gone up, and the praise has dried up.
The stakes feel higher, because somewhere in there it stopped being about your next step and became about your whole life.
So the wobble is not really about the years. It is everything you have done, managed and held together without a pause, finally catching up with you.
How you know the dip has arrived
Most of us were sold a version of success that looks neat and linear. You progress, you hit milestones and you level up. We were told that if you’re smart and hardworking enough, you’ll arrive.
But mid-career often doesn’t feel like an arrival, it feels like standing still. Or worse, like slowly sinking whilst everyone else seems to be sprinting ahead.
The doubt tends to announce itself in the same few thoughts. What if I stay and nothing changes? What if I leave and it is worse? Have I peaked?
You notice it most when you are faced with a choice, because that is when all the uncertainty is loud.
There are other good reasons it turns up now: you’ve changed, your values, energy and priorities are not what they used to be. The industry has changed too, with layoffs, restructures and AI creating crazy expectations, so everything feels less stable even when your experience is solid. You’ve outgrown the goals you set when you started working and haven’t found the new ones yet.
None of that means something has gone wrong with you. The questions are not a fault. They are just great data
You don't have to start again
Some clients feel like something is wrong with them for feeling stagnant or unsure. That they need to do more. Mid-career doesn’t have to mean turning everything on its head… but you do need to pause long enough to listen to yourself.
Do you want to keep climbing? Great, let’s do it with some intentionality.
Do you want to pivot, step sideways, or even slow down? That’s great too.
In media tech, we think our only choices are to burn out while trying to keep up, quit and do something “softer” or to suck it up and make peace with the grind, but there are other ways that will work for you.
You just have to give yourself room to find them.
Ready to find a clear way forward?
Whether you’re looking for coaching for yourself, your team or your organization, I’d love to hear what you’re navigating and explore how we could work together.
Where to start
The first job is working out what you actually want, which sounds obvious but is often the vaguest part I hear. Get honest about what is working and what is not, and expand into the details, be specific.
We often think it’s about making the right decision, when usually it’s examining the choices, and the beliefs sitting behind them, that gets you there.
Say it out loud to someone who knows the landscape. Not because you cannot work it out on your own, but because it is much slower alone, and you are not the only person in your building feeling this even though it looks like you are.
It might sound cheesy but you’re not behind, you are where you are, and that is somewhere you worked hard to get to. There’s also nothing wrong with making time to check in and plan where you’re going next.
I know these feelings, which is why I now work with women in media tech to help them overcome self-doubt so that they can make confident decisions and love their jobs again. If you recognised yourself in any of this, book a free call.
