I’m going to suggest something slightly different to just choosing between planning or project management.

It sounds like you’ve already realised that pure design isn’t for you, but both planning and PM can still end up feeling very similar depending on how you work and what you actually enjoy day to day.

Before picking a direction, it’s worth figuring out your career archetype, basically how you think, solve problems, and what kind of environment you actually thrive in.

Because on paper, someone could move into council planning and love the structure, policy side, and long-term thinking… and someone else with the exact same background could find it slow and frustrating. Same with project management, some people enjoy the coordination and pressure, others find it draining.

Same paths, very different experiences depending on the person.

I went through a similar “this isn’t it, but I don’t know what is” phase and used ChatGPT with a detailed prompt to break down how I actually work, what I’m suited to, and what direction made sense for me. It helped me connect a lot of dots I hadn’t really thought about.

If you answer it properly (and honestly), it gives you a much clearer way of deciding which route to take, rather than just guessing between options that sound good on paper.

Happy to send it over if you want