Career Aspirations

Ask a Therapist Is This Normal?
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I studied Architecture in my younger years. As I’ve grown, the industry has expanded both vertically and horizontally. While I’m not fully specialized in a particular field, I have a strong interest in Building and Project Management, including aspects of Quantity Surveying.

Recently, my department underwent a restructuring of its sub-departments and teams. I’ve now been grouped with a Civil Engineer whose scope of work goes beyond my current knowledge and capabilities. Still, I’ve always viewed such situations as opportunities for growth.

However, this change has left me feeling shortchanged, and I’m beginning to lose interest in the field. It feels as though I’ve never quite met the expectations or requirements set for me. I do feel challenged—but by unclear instructions and an undefined baseline of expectations.

At times, it feels like I need to develop mind-reading skills just to receive a good appraisal or be considered for promotion. It’s been mentally exhausting, and I’m starting to feel both burned out and emotionally numb.

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Dear @user6964,

What you just described, “it feels like you need mind-reading skills just to get a good appraisal” carries both humour and defeat. Like you’ve tried so hard to stay adaptable, but the rules keep shifting.

It’s clear you’ve shown a strong sense of reflection, you know your strengths, your interests, and how the field has evolved. And that growth mindset, it shows, you didn’t shut down when change came; you faced it unconditionally, even when it stretched you beyond what you felt was comfortable.

But it sounded like this new structure has taken away what you once were capable of, navigating your work, unclear instructions, undefined expectations. They don’t just confuse; they quietly threaten your confidence. Especially when it feels like you’re supposed to already know what to do.

Sometimes, what hurts most isn’t the workload but the fear of being judged for needing guidance. Admitting “this is beyond my current scope” can feel like failure in a culture that prizes competence. But at the same time, if you hold back that judgement, yet that very awareness, of your limits and where you want to grow, is what healthy professionals do.

For now, maybe step back from asking “what next” and sit with “what’s shifting.”? You’ve been placed in a new structure, but that doesn’t erase the foundation you’ve built, your curiosity, your discipline, your willingness to learn.

When you think about reaching out for support, not as a weakness, but as aligning expectations, who might be a safe person to start that with? Sometimes naming what you don’t know is the first way to regain direction.

If the exhaustion and numbness continue to blur your motivation, it could help to have a space just to unpack this safely… You can always chat with a counsellor through mindline.sg/get-help. Perhaps, in reality, you’re not losing interest in architecture? You’re trying to find solid ground in a structure that’s shifted beneath your feet. Let us know how you feel?