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Career Change/Shift

Snowflake

Snowflake

Well-known member
I'm considering one. My career working with at risk teens has obvious associated burn out. I still love it, but Ive had a couple of rough cases recently & I can feel to starting to happen. BUT... I still love my job. Very much so. Has anyone left something you love preemptively? The new position will allow me to have a larger impact on at risk youth, but will be less direct practice... It will also allow me to utilize more my education, training, talents, etc, but again... will remove me from direct practice. My pro/con list is pretty extensive on the pro side, but still I'm hesitant. When making a career change or shift, what do you consider?
 
Probably not less, but will be less evening & night travel for crisis intervention & MAB. Probably more overnight.
 
Speaking of, another couple of positives about the new job if I take it are less likelihood of bodily harm and damage to my property :-)
 
I guess I'm just afraid I'll leave something I love for something I only meh. You don't go into this field for the money, the inherent rewards are a big deal.
 
Something meh huh? If you love what you are doing now that much, then you should stick with it, but it sounds like something is sucking balls since you are considering a change. Meh is probably what 95% are working, cept wyovanian. I hear he has a killer job.
 
If your really liking your job, but you are feeling burnt out, take a nice long vacation. No reason to quit a job that you like unless you just can't make ends meet.

I've worked at jobs where I was payed well and the benefits were great - but I wanted to wrap my tie around a ceiling fan and jump so I didn't have to go to the office that day (this is a sick joke - I'd never do it, but the though had crossed my mind I hated that place so bad!). I've also worked at places I really like, but the pay was terrible. You just have to find a good balance.

Don't let a few series of bad days or weeks get you down. They happen to everyone - just don't let it happen all the time.

Take a break - get away from it for a bit. Don't let the burnout make your decision for you. If your gone for a week or two and come back and still feel it - its time to take a serious look at change.
 
I agree that pay is not everything. I would not take a job I didn't want to do only for money. In fact, I have turned down two promotions in the past year because they were not positions I wanted, even though the money would have been nice.

One thing about working with teenagers with serious mental illness is that the work never stops. I am on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and as much as I love my job and love the kids I work with, I can definitely see a time in the not-too-distant future where I do not. The other thing about this work is that if you don't love it completely, it will shit on your face and leave you for dead in a ditch near the road. It is not for the faint of soul or emotion. The horrors that these kids deal with every day, i deal with too.

The worst thing I can think of happening is me getting burned out and not being able to recover from it, and being stuck in a position that I don't love. In that situation, I wouldn't be able to help anyone. I am torn about this new position because it sounds like it would be a good fit for me and allow me to still have an impact on many cases, but more as a consultant with less of the day in/day out drudgery. I have definitely paid my dues and think I am ready to move into something more administrative, it's just a big shift and I want to make sure I make a good decision.
 
Once you're burned out it's hard to get remotivated.. I'm dealing with it now myself.. I've been in a 2 month funk I can't snap out of.. so I'm looking for something different..
 
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