*4.3. Theme #3: "Reevaluation of Career"*

According to 18% of the respondents who experienced a negative effect to career advancement, the COVID-19 pandemic caused them to reevaluate their current position and career path, which they may not have without the pandemic experience. No matter the reason, reevaluation may result in career disruptions and have financial implications. One respondent stated simply, "Significant burnout has led me to consider changing careers". The analysis of the data showed that 10.4% of respondents indicated the pandemic had prompted them to reevaluate their current situation, while 9.4% said either they had already or have now planned to switch industries or careers. For some, the reasons

were because of how their specific industry had fared in the pandemic; others wanted to find more supportive employers. Some participants realized they wanted to go back to school, while others decided to leave the workforce altogether. Overall, the three subthemes presented here included changes that were industry-specific, changes that were sparked by unsupportive employers, and changes that resulted from general reflection and reevaluation.

#### 4.3.1. Industry-Specific Concerns

Of those reevaluating respondents, 19.8% did or wanted to switch industries because of how their industry fared or handled the pandemic. For instance, one woman stated, "I had to change my career path completely. The hospitality world will not recover from the pandemic for a long time, and I could not wait for it to bounce back to start working again". Another participant explained, "The unpredictability of the public from low to extreme this past year has made me think about moving out of retail due to burnout even though I've been doing it for 30 years". A few simply stated, "I'm not sure if I want to continue being in education with all this stress", and "It just makes me want to get out of healthcare faster". Finally, one educator shared, "Honestly, it has made me want to quit. My local school board has not prioritized the safety of teachers at all. I feel like I'm part of an experiment, being thrown back into a classroom with little precautions".
