Hit 5 years in my field last month and the milestone felt empty

Everyone says stick with it for 5 years and you'll finally feel like you belong. I'm at that point now in IT support and I still second guess my decisions daily. Has anyone else hit a career milestone that just didn't land the way you thought it would?

3 comments

3 Comments

sethhernandez7d ago

Oh man, I gotta push back on that. Five years in IT support is a solid run, and you're probably way more capable than you give yourself credit for. That imposter feeling doesn't go away just because you hit some arbitrary mark on the calendar. I've seen guys with 15 years in that field still doubt themselves, and they're the ones fixing stuff the new guys can't even figure out. Maybe the milestone feels empty because you're expecting some big switch to flip in your head, but that's not how it works. You belong there because you kept showing up and fixing problems, not because you feel like you do.

uma_martinez7d ago

@sethhernandez I get what you're saying, but I see it a little different. That "arbitrary mark" is five years of solving stuff, not just sitting around. Someone who keeps showing up for half a decade has earned the right to feel a bit solid in their spot. I've seen IT guys with ten years who still can't handle a server crash without panicking, while some with three years just quietly fix everything. Time doesn't automatically make you an expert, but it does prove you can handle the grind. Maybe the milestone feels empty because you're comparing yourself to some imaginary perfect version.

reese1247d ago

But what if the real trap is thinking you ever stop being in that "proving yourself" phase? I have a buddy who's been a network admin for 12 years and he still double checks basic configs sometimes because he thinks he missed something. Meanwhile the new kid who's been there 18 months will just set up a whole VLAN off the top of his head like it's nothing. The five year mark doesn't mean you're done learning or that you should feel like an expert. It just means you've been around long enough to know how much you don't know and you're still cool with showing up every day anyway. That quiet confidence from just grinding it out is worth more than any milestone.