To quit my job

[mumum1]

Hi,

Hoping someone can help please.

I currently work as a health care practitioner and have been working for about 10 years. My degree is specific for the job I do and I have never worked as anything else.

My role is very different from what I expected when I first started out 10 years ago and unfortunately there's not much progression. I'm constantly worrying about making a mistake and is causing a lot of anxiety. My hours mean I'm routinely missing class assemblies etc and I'm relying on wonderful PILs to pick up the slack.

I feel I can't carry on and need to make a change but I just don't know if I would be good at anything else and I don't know where to even start.

How does an adult go about getting careers advise? Would it be unreasonable to hand in my resignation without having a plan? I am in a very good position that I have savings which would last for a good while and my partner is working.

Thank you

Why don't you go to a careers advisor? A few sessions and you'll prob have a good idea of what skills you have that are cross transferable in a new field. Always easier to find a new role when you're currently employed. Any chance of going pt in interim?

@mumum1 Can you tell us what you do?

As someone in the same industry I wouldn’t blame you at all for changing careers. In my experience healthcare practitioners and carers are massively underpaid and overworked.

Not advisable to resign without a plan.

My personal opinion is that careers advisors don't always give great advice, realistically it has to come from you.

Depending on how much you need the money and in what part of the country you live in, you might already be in the best job financially for you. It might be more the case of staying, and working out how you can continue in your job in the best way for you.

Not advisable to leave if you don't know what you are going to do. Whatever it is, it will take longer and cost more than you thought, so keep your existing earnings for as long as possible. Even start the retraining in evenings, weekends, online etc. to keep the money rolling in as long as possible.

@CareBear50 I'm not sure how to access a career advisor. Last time I did I was in high school.

I just wish my qualifications were more transferable.

@CareBear50 I'm not sure how to access a career advisor. Last time I did I was in high school.

I just wish my qualifications were more transferable.

@thenaughtyone I work in optics

Thanks for all your replies.

I'm not sure how long I can cope dreading going to work and feeling like this. That's why I was thinking of just quitting.

I've asked for part time hours but have been declined as they won't have sufficient cover

Good careers advisors are hard to find, but invaluable if you manage it.

What branch of healthcare? It might be helpful to ask for suggestions on here. I’ve seen both teachers and doctors get good advice on potential new careers on MN.

@mumum1 have you been working in the nhs? I've not long left the nhs and have gone into teaching now. Maybe HEE or NHSE? They quite often need experts to consult on training programs so that might be a way of getting in.

What have you got to lose - Google 'careers advice mytown'.
You'll be really surprised how many of your skills are either transferable,. or demonstrate your ability to learn something new.

Is a health care practitioner like a nurse, physiotherapist, sonographer etc (medical staff that are trained but not to doctor level) that gain another qualification to effectively do the duties of a doctor without the authority of one?

Best thing to do is start thinking about what makes you tick, what you enjoy and then what careers for that (and are realistic to an extent). I found it really hard to find any careers advice. There are some books which could help instead. Ultimately you need to try things out. Try a free online course, talk to people in careers you are considering.

While your degree isn’t transferable you should be more employable and able to progress than a fresh schooler leaver or graduate - you know how to work with people and get things done.

I started a new career and certainly didn’t start at the bottom again. My first job was partly general admin which helped overcome lack of direct experience. I chose something a bit boring but decent pay and I knew I would enjoy it enough.

Employment is high so a good time to job hunt.

I suggest starting by doing an online search for jobs within a reasonable distance of where you live that pay the sort of salary you are after. The Guardian jobs site is good for this. Review all the vacancies against a) how interested you are in doing that sort of job and b) how well your skills currently match. Create two lists - ‘I could do now’ are those that score positively against both criteria and ‘I could do in future’ are those that score well against A but not B. If there is anything on the first list then apply for it, for items on the second list go away and research how realistic they are. For example, how much training would you need to do, could you train whilst in your current role, how would you gain experience to make you the successful candidate when you come to apply. Also review both lists for jobs with common elements and then explore that further eg are you attracted to working for a charity etc.

Good luck

@thenaughtyone

I don't work for the nhs but I feel I need a complete break from what I'm doing.

Nothing to do with my profession. I've considered teaching but have read so many horror stories about teaching it's put me off.

Teaching in my role would mean I would need to supervise trainees and I'm not sure I could cope with the anxiety

Could you lecture at uni or do a temporary sideways step into optometry on the high street?

It’s a bit cheesy as it’s very US focussed but What Colour is Your Parachute (book) has been helpful for me in understanding how to move laterally with a view to moving up.

@ShastaBeast @alwayscoffee thank you for the advise, some really useful suggestions

Go to a careers advisor like pp has suggested. You’ll be taken through a Q and A as well as a personality / qualifications /interests assessment and they’ll suggest areas suited to you.

A lot of jobs are understaffed and most people I know are doing 1.5 jobs and feeling very stretched.

It’s difficult to recommend a job that would be less pressured, and might be best to find coping mechanisms for you to handle your anxiety and fear of making a mistake. This will help not only in your current job, but also in the future.

From your previous post around going to part-time, it sounds like this wouldn’t impact your financials too heavily, so would you consider an apprenticeship?

More than happy to do an apprenticeship or retraining.

It's just trying to figure out exactly what I want to do.

Definitely will get in touch with professional careers advisors as a starting step.

Can you articulate exactly what it is that is making you unhappy? If you address the problem then you will be better able to find a solution. Rather than looking for what makes you tick (let’s face it, work is generally boring otherwise people wouldn’t get paid to do it) fibd something that doesn’t make you miserable.

@Velveteenfruitbowl

You're right.

I feels it's the monotonous nature of the job and having to put on this happy cheery face on when I don't feel like that is exhausting.

I give the people I deal with the best care possible but at the back of my mind there's always a niggle that have I done everything correctly, have I ticked all the right boxes etc

I just feel exhausted with it all.

Perhaps you are looking for a role that isn’t client facing then?

If you have savings would you be able to take a sabattical for a couple of months? You sound quite worn out and it's hard to make decisions in that state. It would give you a bit of time to recharge your batteries and clear your head.

It is possible to do your work on a contractor/self employed basis?