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‘I felt like I was starting from ground zero’: Finding a new passion without losing your skill set
When Megan Patten realised that she couldn’t spend another day at her job as a family lawyer, “it was like a bus hitting me”.
Jessica Penny
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Content warning: This story contains insights that may be disturbing or distressing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
Ms Patten began practising family law in 2019, but by early 2021, she knew she wanted to take her skill set elsewhere.
“I looked at what my life might look like staying in law in the future and the things that I wanted for my life, and they didn’t align,” she said recently on The Protégé Podcast.
“I didn’t want to take the gamble anymore of going to another firm or another area of law and feeling the same way again.”
Despite knowing that being a lawyer wasn’t an area she could see herself working in anymore, it had been her dream job growing up; not to mention she had spent years earning her qualification.
“I think it was very much an identity crisis as well. At that stage, I was doing a lot of things in law and it had sort of become a part of my identity, and I didn’t really know who I was without that title,” Ms Patten recounted.
“It was just one of those things that was kind of inherent in me.” Yet, she feared that she had set “too narrow” of a scope of what her vocational options could hold for the future.
The biggest distinction for Ms Patten was a healthy work/life balance, which she was never able to achieve during her time in the sector. She recommends that others note this as an important factor when deciding how to move forward using their legal background.
“My advice is definitely to take the time to really think about how you’re feeling, where you’re at, what you want from your career.
“Whether that’s your morals and what you want out of life or how it’s impacting your mental health, really take stock of that,” she said.
“I think that was my problem with law. I thought that family law was my calling because of my personal experience. I think I put myself in a box in that way.”
Since “keeping an open mind” for other opportunities, she has been able to use her skill set every day as a senior analyst at the Australian Energy Regulator. “I use my legal skills all the time. My job is heavily compliance-based,” she said.
“The people across the organisation were very knowledgeable and passionate, and I’ve really surprised myself at how much I actually love the work.
“When I got my law degree, it was attached to being a lawyer. It was never attached to being a senior analyst or compliance officer or anything like that. That’s very much the identity that came with it. But I think it’s really important to know that you can find a purpose, and you can find happiness outside of that and not lose anything.”
Ms Patten had not anticipated this big a change so early on in her professional career, but urges others to take their doubts seriously if they feel like their work/life balance isn’t suiting their needs.
“I’m afforded so many opportunities, and I have all of the things that I had before. It’s not something to be afraid of, but I also would say that I don’t think anyone should make that decision lightly. It is a very, very big call, and it’s a personal decision,” she warned.
Commenting on her time studying, Ms Patten said: “I never have once felt like my law degree has been wasted, and I very much have a bigger sense of purpose than ever … in the work that I’m doing now.
‘‘I think it’s just having that confidence of knowing that there are a lot of options out there. A lot of things you would never even heard of or thought of.
“Knowing that you can use your law degree in so many other areas and fields and you can be an asset and you can still have that sense of purpose.”
The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Megan Patten, click below:
