Career Comedown: When Ambition Stops Feeling Good
Many women reach a point in their careers where everything looks fine on paper. The job title is respectable, the salary is stead, and the career path ahead clear. And yet, something feels off.
In this episode of The Wallet, Vestpod founder Emilie Bellet is joined by Stephanie Sword-Williams, founder of F*ck Being Humble and author of Career Comedown, to explore why ambition can start to feel heavy, and how to rethink work, money, and success without blowing everything up.
Listen on Spotify | Apple Podcasts
What is a career comedown?
A career comedown is the moment many people experience after years of striving. You climb the ladder only to realise the next step is not something you actually want.
Stephanie describes it as the slow realisation that what is ahead no longer matches what you value. The problem is not a lack of ambition - it’s just that the version of success you were working towards no longer fits.
Early signs can include:
Feeling like you are “settling” rather than choosing
Staying in a role because you feel you should, not because you want to
Believing the next title or pay rise will fix how you feel
Thinking “I just need to stick it out” and not really living in the moment.
Why the career ladder no longer works
For many women, the traditional career ladder promises clarity and reward. In reality, it often delivers more pressure and less day-to-day joy.
Stephanie shares how many people discover that the roles above them are not aspirational once they see them up close. Status and titles are often “rented”, they look impressive from the outside but come with costs that are rarely discussed.
This is why portfolio careers, side projects, reinvention, and redefining ambition are becoming more appealing. Not because people are lazy or ungrateful, but because they want their work to support their life, not consume it.
Care-out, gratitude guilt, and why women stay stuck
The episode also explores two particular experiences that affect women:
Care-out describes the exhaustion that comes from years of caring for everyone else. Children, partners, parents, teams, clients. Eventually, many women reach a point where they want to put themselves first, often for the first time.
Gratitude guilt keeps people in roles that no longer fit. Feeling grateful for an opportunity can make it harder to admit that you want something different. Stephanie makes it abundantly clear that it’s possible to be grateful and still want more or something else.
Where money fits into career decisions
Money matters in every career decision. This episode does not ignore that reality.
Stephanie emphasises that career change should never happen without understanding your financial position. Before making any move, she recommends:
Having a clear financial audit
Understanding your non-negotiables
Knowing how much finances you need
Being honest about trade-offs.
Sometimes, staying put for financial reasons is the right choice. The key is making that decision consciously, rather than staying stuck out of fear or habit.
Redefining success and healthy ambition
For Stephanie, success is no longer about titles or milestones. It is about a calm nervous system, feeling connected to herself, and experiencing daily joy.
Healthy ambition, she explains, is setting intentions without attaching your worth to outcomes. Wanting to grow, create, or contribute without burning yourself out in the process.
As she puts it, ambition does not need to disappear. It just needs to be redefined.
One question to sit with
If you are questioning your career, Stephanie leaves listeners with a simple but powerful line:
“I deserve to find what is right for me.”
Career Comedown: What to do when work isn’t working for you by Stefanie Sword-Williams
Resources
Connect with Stef at F*ck Being Humble
Instagram @fbeinghumble
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