'I quit! Now what?': Pandemic leads woman to reevaluate career

ORLANDO, Fla. - "It would be crazy for me to just pick up and leave. I have a secure job and people are out of work," Kristine Sullivan said.

Sullivan struggled with those thoughts at the beginning of the pandemic. She was working as a food and beverage supervisor at a casino in Pennsylvania. Like many others, the pandemic caused her to reevaluate.

"It was a huge impact on the casinos. We were closed down for a while. During that shutdown, it kind of forced me to want to do something else, Sullivan said.

Between that and the cold, gloomy weather, Sullivan told her fiancé she wanted to move to Florida. So, she did. She took real estate classes for about a year leading up, then she quit her job, sold her house, and moved to Central Florida with her fiancé and three daughters in May of 2021.

Sullivan had a temporary job lined up when she first moved. By July, she got a job working as a real estate agent at Watson Realty Corp. in Longwood.
She said her quality of life is far better.

She is working about 20 to 30 hours compared to 50 hours a week at her previous job. She works in the day compared to a night schedule. But as far as financially, she said it is still a struggle at her new job.

"I don’t know many people in Florida and real estate is word of mouth. I feel like I need to get myself out there more, meet more people, network a little bit," Sullivan said.

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Sullivan hasn’t had any clients so far and that’s impacting her income. But she said she didn’t do this for money. She did it for happiness.

Donna Thrash is a Central Florida career coach. She’s seen a 50% increase in the number of clients who have come to her since March of 2020. The majority share similar concerns. 

"I’m burned out. I’m tired. I’m not happy. I can’t imagine doing this for the next 20 years," said Thrash, of Donna Thrash Counseling and Coaching.

Thrash advises if you are unhappy with work to think before you act. She said to start reaching out to contacts to network, update your LinkedIn profile and resume, and talk to your employer to see if there is a way to make changes at your current position.

"Very often employers are very willing to hear what you have to say about what you love and don’t love about your job," Thrash said.

As for Kristine Sullivan, she calls herself a struggling real estate agent right now, but she has hope."I don’t regret it. I keep saying that. I keep saying that it’s going to get better. I try to stay very positive," Sullivan said.

If it is time to quit, Thrasher said the most important thing is to know your financial situation and how long you can go without a paycheck.

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