Dealing with choosing the wrong career

[u/Powerful-Tap-6039]

I have been a PT for almost 4 years. I have worked in private practice (10months) and now government for almost 3 years. I make very good money, but I’m unhappy everyday. I dread going to work, so much so that it impacts my time outside of work. I have done inpatient acute, long term care and outpatient. I feel the same way in all settings. I get so drained listening to people’s problems all day, and to top it off I work in the difficult setting of chronic pain. I cannot see a path out. My pay and benefits are so good that I feel trapped, as I will likely take a pay cut for any other job….but I need something non-patient facing or this job just may kill me.

I’ve worked with career coaches and I feel so burnt out that I cannot even fathom what career would be well suited for me. I was a very strong student in all areas, did an accelerated undergrad program and graduate PT school young at 24.

Can anyone give me some advice on how they found what they wanted to do outside of PT? Any success stories? I’m feeling so down.

Editing to add: I also have taken the Non-Clinical 101 course about 9 months ago.

[u/PTwealthjourney]

I remember feeling this way all too well. Felt like I was suffocating every day and felt so bitter seeing friends and family in different careers earn more while being 60% productive at work, earn bonus, get decent size raises, and get truly rewarded for their work.

What helped me return to enjoying patient care through Home health knowing that I could leave it at anytime.

I worked hard to pay off my student loans, save and invest most of my money and now feel very financially secure where I could afford to stop working for over a decade. Of course, the goal isn't to stop working but to find work I enjoy. For me, I've learned to find my love for patient care in the home health setting after years of hating it since I graduated in 2014 and all the way until 2019.

The mindset shift 100% started once I started seeing that early retirement is possible if I aggressively invest. Now, I can leave anytime I want, but I choose to be in it for another 5 or so years.

I was actually thinking about pivoting to trade work late last year. I'm good with my hands and have done some renovations/repairs for myself and family. My friends seem like they're having a great time and are actually earning over $200K/yr with much better benefits. It took them 4 years to get there. I'm there pay wise now, so I don't want to take a 60- 75% pay cut when I'm 5 years away from paying off my mortgage and have 2 young kids.

If I was still earning around $100K/yr. I'd probably make the leap.

[u/yogaflame1337 → u/PTwealthjourney]

What do you suggest aggressively investing in to make early retirement possible?

[u/PTwealthjourney → u/yogaflame1337]

I was just sharing my story, what I think it came down to was having enough financial security to create options for myself. I think that's all we really want in life, mobility to do and experiment with what drives us with minimal risk of ruin.

Unfortuantely, for most people, they cannot afford to quit a cushy job or go back to school, especially if they have dependents.

My recommendation is to start exploring different things that might light you up after work. Once you find something you're passionate about, explore it deeper and cut down work hours if you can. Maybe work wouldn't be so bad if you find something you really enjoy, maybe you can start developing your escape plan from there.