Chapter 6: Mid-Career Pivoters and the Promise of Artificial Intelligence

Mid-career professionals represent a major segment of the workforce. As daunting as it may be, people have historically changed career direction throughout their lives. They do so for many different reasons, some external and some internal. External factors can include environmental and economic conditions fueled by a pandemic or a recession. Internal factors can include increasing job dissatisfaction, burnout or a feeling that one’s current line of work is no longer in sufficient alignment with one’s changing talent or values. There appears to be precious little research done on mid-career change, with even the Dept. of Labor failing to track this phenomenon. Despite the relative lack of resources and as laborious as this may be for folks, feeling the need for a mid-life review can be a positive and healthy process for one’s professional development. Moreover, despite the trepidation many may feel about adoptive technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) can be viewed as a marvelous new tool for facilitating a mid-career review. AI can level the playing field on a number of inevitable mid-career review activities. Career exploration, learning and skill development, job applications, mentorships and various other career transition activities can be rapidly and effectively expedited with the support of AI. With mature use of AI, we may see more folks comfortably negotiating career change within a supportive context of continuity.