Is it possible bless to have a good career without stress?

[chickaleta]

Posting here because I can't find an appropriate topic in work but can I ask if you feel you've got a good long term career that doesn't cause you stress.
I returned back to work earlier this year after 3 years off. My job is fairly high pressured, corporate contracts stuff and I always thrived on the responsibility. I loved the challenges and actually if I'm honest I lived for work.
It was quite difficult to get back into as I needed a part time role to fit around kids.
I'm now really feeling I've made the wrong life choice. Not only do I not like the role but I feel I'm a different person and I'm not cut out for the corporate world any more.
It's making me really depressed and anxious and I think I need a complete career change.
So... if you you feel you've got a great job that makes you happy and doesn't make you lose sleep at night what is it?
Or if you've mastered work stress and can leave work at work at the end of the day how do you do it?
Or if you're in the same boat what are your plans?
Is this just part and parcel of returning after kids?

(Not sure where bless came from. Also. Bump.

No in my experience.

I'm now self employed and often make way below the minimum wage, but I'm not heading for a nervous breakdown anymore although my last stressful job means I'm still dealing with MH issues and I left years ago.

I don't think so.

A good career to me is good money and good progression. With money and progression comes responsibility, which comes with pressure. Hence stress.

The more I progress, the harder I work, the more heart clenching, stomach churning stress I feel.

You have to decide if it's worth it for you; I thrive on the adrenaline, so for me it is.

If it's not making you happy, can you consider your options?

You want a highly paid, non stressful, part time job?

Yabu

Interested to see what people say on this.

I would say that in very rare cases it. An happen. Those people earning big money following a passion (successful artist for example.) there does tend to be a lot of luck involved there and 'the career' of (for example) an artist generally isn't well paid.

I work in drug development/clinical trials in a very stressful role in an industry known for high burnout and poor conditions. I earn ok (which is the only reason is stay.)

Since having kids I've certainly felt like I'm stretched too thin, and that my priorities have changed a bit. I try to see the work day as something I have to get through and the thing that enables me to earn well.
He first few months after coming back were hard. I'd previously work 60-80 hours a week and I simply cannot do that now - ds needs to be fed, paid attention to and put to bed. For the first six months I was also existing on less that a couple of hours sleep a night.

It's hard. I don't think there are any easy ways out.

There are few highly paid professions that don't involve stress, responsibility and long hours, sadly. It's why you're paid more!

Yes, I think it's quite possible, but I think you need to be able to be very self aware and recognise the differences between being very busy, carrying a lot of responsibility, and being stressed. Because they're very different things.

I've encountered people with hugely busy work lives, who make important decisions, manage others etc but aren't stressed. And conversely I've come across people who are doing very lowly low paid work who are hugely stressed. Sometimes not having enough to do can be a stress. Or feeling that you're doing a menial job with no autonomy can be stressful.

So I think it's far more complex than just: high powered well paid job = stress, and low key low paid job = stress free.

I think a person only has a certain amount of headspace, and kids have to go somewhere in there.

My job isn't too stressful because I don't manage anyone but it's only medium paid. It's worth it to me.

Anatidae a successful artist I think is someone that earns enough to live on, and that's pretty rare.

Yes that's what I mean - that it's a rare thing to do and that most artists are more towards the starving in a garret end of the spectrum.

I can't think of a specific career path that's reproducibly well paid and low stress. 🤔

Unfortunately most high paying careers are difficult and stressful - that's what you're paid for. I suppose it comes down to how people react to that stress? Some people flourish on high pressure.

I don't need to be high paid but I'd like a comfortable, liveable wage and a career where I feel Appreciated for what I do. Rewarded I suppose, but not necessarily financially.

Accountancy. Doesn't have to be stressful (in comparison to law) but you will have to accept some stress re deadline and office politics.

Well paid. You have to be qualified though which is the hard/ expensive part.

I don't need to be high paid but I'd like a comfortable, liveable wage

Define comfortable? 😉

Yes, autofill that definitely appeals to me. It's steady, you need a certain amount of brains to do it and but it's regular office hours and quite task focussed. (I'm sure a load of accountants will be along to tell me I'm wrong though).
Sadly.... I'm lacking in mathematical ability!

£25-30k. I wouldn't expect to earn that straight off.
I don't want to be flamed by people telling me I'm greedy and expect too much. I can only speak for myself.

I used to find my role quite stressful, however since returning to work following two mat leaves I have found it much easier to compartmentalise - when I'm at work I think work; when I'm at home I think home.

I have been lucky however that my work has been flexible in allowing me to adjust my hours to accommodate school runs (I work 4 days of hours over 5, with two days at home), so I don't feel I compromise things for the kids and the work:life balance works well...I think that reduces stress all round.

Has anyone had any experience of career counselling as an adult?

Chickaleta - that doesn't sound greedy at all and I'd have thought you could earn that much working part time in a decent professional career without too much stress.

I earn very well in a job I love - self employed - but with guaranteed work for next few years(so also have sense of security for now at least) and it is a lot of work, but flexible and I do it mainly from home (no office to commute to)
My industry is notoriously stressful yet v personally rewarding and fun - but it has taken me 6 years since having children to reach the point where I have found a way of doing what I do in a way that best suits me and my family and that also pays me very well.
I'm now the main breadwinner in my household by a long way - and do have a very supportive DH who is also happy to do equal childcare etc.

Can I ask what field you're in cantseemtohaveitall as that sounds perfect ;)

I've known people with part-time, professional, highly-paid FTE jobs, but they've tended to be specialists in a niche field who've turned to consultancy work. As a result, they've been quite far along in their careers and have been aged around the mid to late 50s/early 60s mark ... so, for example, people who work with the highways agency over road networks in areas of outstanding natural beauty, or people that have an in-depth knowledge of a certain type of valve used in oil drilling.

Other than that, it's been well-established creatives, so writers, artists, composers, designers, illustrators, editors, actors etc ~ and the money is not always great.

I think you are possibly looking at some form of self-employment/freelance/own business where you can control your hours.

I know nothing about your field, but is there a possibility you could turn your hand to working with local/regional SMEs about contractual issues on a consultancy basis?

It depends what your bar is for a stressful job

I think my assistant has a stress-free job. She works 9-5 and doesn't get bothered outside of that. I think she has interesting and varied work to do, and plenty of opportunities for training and taking on new things, but is equally able to stick to her core job if she prefers.
Other than things like submitting expenses before the payroll cutoff, she doesn't have many hard deadlines, and for all this, she gets paid around £50k
I think she has got a very easy stress-free life

However, she seems to find stress in everything she does. We aren't a 9am-on-the-dot sort of office but she will still come in very flustered and upset if her train is late. She has had meltdowns over tiny things and is visibly stressed when she is asked to do things in a different way to she is used to
She would probably tell people that she has a stressful role

If you are the sort of person who bursts into tears when the printer jams just before a meeting, then no, you will probably struggle to find a job which you find truly stress free.

But if you want something where you can leave work at work when you leave for the day, there are loads of careers out there which fit the bill

I have a pretty good balance I think. I work FT but 1 day from home and I finish at 4.30.

I find it relatively unstressy although with short bursts of stress sometimes. I earn around 100k.

Software engineering hits the sweet spot I think - salaries where I am (UK, not London) reach £60k-£70k full time for competent staff who are avoiding management. If you're willing to manage people - which is often where the stress comes in - can earn a good bit more. If you want a technical role, then there is a ceiling to progression, but I'd argue it's a fairly high ceiling! Most roles are pretty flexible about hours (good if you have caring responsibilities), though the work does have to get done, so that means a bit of overtime occasionally.

The trick is to get really good at something quite difficult. Software engineering fits this as do some parts of lawyering.

It depends on what you actually find stressful. For example I work as a therapist in an NHS service, yes I see people with mental health problems for around 4-5 hours per day but it's completely flexi time, I can work from home if I'm doing telephone counselling (rare) or anything admin/note input related, I just go to the office when my client appointments are booked and otherwise am left to my own devices. No managerial responsibilities and I earn £32k at the bottom of my band (it'll go up to £40k over several years). I enjoy what I do so I rarely find it stressful, it's not easy but it's mostly enjoyable and I feel that's a cracking wage for my needs. No kids yet but it's a great organisation to work for if you do and when I eventually have them I'll probably go part time or condense my hours across four days.

Whereas I found waitressing and factory and supermarket work mega stressful due to the sheer boredom.