What if I choose the wrong career?
By No Rush · Updated November 9, 2026
The short answer
You would probably cope better than you fear. Research by Daniel Gilbert found that people overestimate how much regret a bad outcome will bring. A career can also be changed, and most of what you learned comes with you. Spend one day close to the work you are considering before you commit to it.
What to do if you have chosen the wrong career?
First work out what exactly feels wrong. The work itself, your manager, the pay and the hours each ask for a different change. Then try the new direction in small pieces before you leave. Herminia Ibarra followed professionals who moved into new roles. They watched people who already did the work, tried small versions of their own way of doing it, and kept what fit.
What if I choose the wrong career and regret it later?
You would probably feel less regret than you expect. Daniel Gilbert and colleagues asked people how much regret they would feel, for instance subway riders who had just missed their train, and then measured what they felt. People expected more regret and more self-blame than they ended up with. We find reasons that take the blame off ourselves faster than we think.
Do people regret what they did or what they didn't do?
Both, at different moments. Thomas Gilovich and Victoria Medvec found that shortly after a choice, people regret actions that went wrong more. Looking back over many years, they regret more what they never tried. Staying where you are out of fear of the wrong career can become the regret that lasts longest.
Is it worth the risk to change course?
Steven Levitt let people who were stuck on a big decision, such as quitting a job, flip a coin online. When the coin said change, they made the change more often. Six months later those people were on average happier than the ones whose coin said stay. Levitt calls this a hint and no more, because the people chose to take part. It suggests that many of us are too careful with big changes.
In the No Rush app
The app has a list called Directions, with things people do when they feel stuck. Each one shows its downside and a first step you can take.
No Rush app
An iPhone app for people who feel stuck. It sets out one small next step at a time and tells you why that one. It is not therapy.
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Sources
- Gilbert, Morewedge, Risen & Wilson (2004). Looking forward to looking backward: The misprediction of regret. Psychological Science, 15(5), 346-350. doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00681.x
- Gilovich & Medvec (1995). The experience of regret: what, when, and why. Psychological Review, 102(2), 379-395. doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.102.2.379
- Levitt (2021). Heads or tails: The impact of a coin toss on major life decisions and subsequent happiness. The Review of Economic Studies, 88(1), 378-405. doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdaa016
- Ibarra (1999). Provisional selves: Experimenting with image and identity in professional adaptation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(4), 764-791. doi.org/10.2307/2667055
Read next
- Why can't I make decisions?You get indecisive when something specific is in the way, such as information you are missing or fear of choosing wrong. Research names four kinds of it.
- How do you decide when both options are bad?Why a choice between two bad options is so hard to make, what research says about waiting and about choices you can undo, and one way to pick.
- What should I do with my life?You find out mostly by trying. Start with what matters to you on an ordinary day, narrow it to two options, and test one in a small way.