..... to ask if you left a job after many years, because you just new that "there has to be more to life than this" - how did you do it and what did you leave it to go and do?

[MumInTraining66]

I work for a good, large company. My manager is lovely, colleagues are really nice, and the pay is not bad, and decent annual leave allocation (you can see why I'm still there, right!!!!). However, I get no job satisfaction and every day I just think there must be a more rewarding way to spend my time". I am lucky as, since Covid, I have worked from home - so no commute (which is a big plus for me). It means I have flexibility to help my Mum (lives on her own and has dementia - still manageable) and be here for the kids. BUT I'm just completely unfulfilled. SO, I am just wondering how to make a change, for me and my family, that will mean I can still pay the bills. My husband, btw, has some mobility issues and works part time. I earn more than him and he does most of the childcare (ie taking to and picking up from school).

Just looking for some inspiring (possibly life-changing) stories. So, please, fire away. I'm all ears....................

I left retail after years and years!

After vivid sales dropped off and if all got tighter, nobody was replaced when they left etc

And the public are VILE!

Was so glad to take the plunge and move on

That's a great way to look at it. Thank you.

Same exact situation here. Most people would think I had it made (six figures for 100 pct WFH, make my own schedule, nice laid-back boss) but I'm just turned 60 and feel life is running out. So utterly bored with the job that i dread every morning and live for weekends.

Don't have the nerve to take a leap. Not sure who'd hire me at this age.

So happy that you realised that if it was that bad, to actually make you cry, there had to be something better - and, of course there was. A great lesson to all. Thank you.

It's not a cop out because you did make important changes and your work now does not rule you so you are much happier. Thank you for this. I need to be more strict with myself, to be honest, as I will do extra hours to finish stuff etc etc. I should just 'clock off' and do it the next day. Or just plan better so I don't start stuff late and end up finishing work late. I need to be 'more you'!!!! lol

I bet many people are in this situation. Keep reading - hopefully you'll have a lightbulb moment and this will be the start of something new......

Thank you! 😊 There are so many different ways to look at it. I guess it depends on the person and on what you go on to do. But yes, you are right - I keep telling myself all the positives about my job. In fact, here's something - they even offered vol redundancies this year and I figured it wouldn't be enough to leave and not work still and what would I do. SO, that tells me that if I won't leave with a chunk of money as a payoff, why am I now considering it without??? I think I just needed to hear some other stories/opinions and see how others deal with a similar situation as I bet it is really common. So, again Thank You.

I could have written your OP a few months ago. I was bored to tears in my job but financially comfortable, happy in my team, no commute (WFH) and had a huge amount of flexibility which I really valued. I agonised for months over whether I should take the plunge into something else or whether I just needed to stop expecting work to be anything other than the means to other, more interesting, ends.

Eventually, I decided to stay but got an allotment, took up singing lessons and am starting a PhD later this year...

Following too! I spend most time at work thinking I have outgrown this and am not interested anymore.

I'm bored and need to do something else but finding that something else is the challenge. It also does a disservice to the people I work with because although I'm good at my job I'm not really that interested.

I have money and no mortgage so I'm in an ideal position but I'm on my own so there's no backstop support from a partner. I'm getting to the stage where I think I just need to make the leap and put myself in a position where I have to find a different type of lifestyle and work. Take the leap and the net will appear type of thing which actually has happened throughout my life.

I'd like to work for myself or do more flexible consultancy type stuff. I'm building up the client base of contacts right now, but it's going to take some time and I think that's what's holding me back from just quitting my job right now.

I wrote in my journal the other day "to be honest I don't want to work I just wanna do the things I love " and this really sums it up. My work is a chore and what I need to do is work out how I can make what I love pay.

I could've written the start of your post.

I was at the same place for years, was bored to tears and so unfulfilled, but the people were nice, the money was ok, it was easy, and the benefits were good.

I finally moved on to a similar but slightly more senior role in 2021. I actually hated the new job! But quickly moved on to something better. I now quite like what I do (have managed to increase my responsibility a lot and joined a different industry) and have also increased my earnings by £40k in two years.

Go for it, I say!

I took a gamble at 53 and moved out of my comfortable job to something many people would NOT be comfortable with

A year on I don't regret it at all

Bounced around all sorts of jobs doing not very much of any meaning, then 11 years ago decided I wanted to do something to make a difference. Did an access to healthcare course, followed by my nursing degree and here I am 7 years qualified, still doing modules that I've always wanted to do. Working as a nurse practitioner and hopefully will be a qualified prescriber by next summer. Don't regret a thing.

I agree with this completely!

Good for you. Enjoy the present and the peace it brings all of you xx

I was looking for a way out but eventually got made redundant which is good because I got a decent pay off having been there for over 10 years.

I used that money to set up a business in an unrelated field. It went well, but covid made things very difficult. Four years on I picked that in and took a job that is in essence very similar to what I used to do but more interesting and varied and with a very good company who give me great flexibility and w/l balance. I wouldn’t say I love it but it’s an nice place to be, I like the people and get satisfaction for a job well done. Change was a very good thing for me. I still do wonder about being stuck here until I retire and there being more to life… but between dh and I we earn well and are able to be financially secure and support the kids with whatever they want to do. That’s most important to me right now.

I was miserable and bored in a senior job. Paid well, flexible but was very stressful. Decision was taken out of my hands and I was made redundant. I’m retraining now but will earn a fraction of what I was on before so feeling a bit stressed about that. I would say if you are ok money wise then go for it. If you still have financial goals I’d be very careful. It’s early days for me so perhaps it will work out but I could end up on worse money hating the new career!

It's a weird feeling isnt it when you feel you should be happy with your lot but - hell, life is short. 60 is young these days. I'm not far off! There is something else for us out there - even maybe just tweaking our jobs a bit to make it more worthwhile/fulfilling/palatable.... Don't stop dreaming. You never know what is around the corner. 😊

Ha ha ha - now this could be it. I have a garden which I love - just need to work less, and spend more time in it. I love singing - and there's a choir group nearby. the PhD I may give a miss. LOL - Thank you. 😜

I get it completely. I do have bills and a family so have more to consider - plus it sounds like you have a definite idea of what you could do. But I wonder, can you, say, give yourself 6 months and decide to put money aside in that time with a view to moving on when that end date comes? Maybe if you put a date on it, it'll make you feel better about it and will start to set some definite plans in motion.

Good luck!

Keep reading - and I hope that things improve for you well before the next 3 years is up.

I was twelve years into a private sector job that was boring me to tears, but the benefits kept me there - flexible part time hours, fairly decent pay, lots of annual leave and working at home.

It got to the point where I felt I wasn't doing anything meaningful, the work itself just felt pointless and senior management kept bringing everyone down.

A job at a local primary school popped up in my many, many hours of perusing job sites, and something about it just appealed to me so I went for it! I was absolutely terrified of the change after so many years but I'm now in a full time, but term time role, doing a job I love, and it is so much more exhausting than my cushy working at home job but I am so much happier for it.

There were a lot of logistics that we needed to figure out as I was also the one who did all the school pick ups and drop offs, we only had 1 car, etc... but it has definitely been worth it!

Thank you so much everyone who has posted. It's been lovely reading through the different scenarios and advise, as varied as they are.

I love that there's been some who have followed their dreams and gone into nursing. The number of times I've sat in the hospital and just thought "This job is really hard but it is amazing how much of a difference you make and with every day you have impacted a life positively". I don't feel that way in my job, but I realise that in my many exchanges with people I do make a positive difference and I think that, as several of you have said, I can start by making a positive difference to myself, by making my non-work time more enjoyable. And not let my work encroach on my home/family time so much.

Also, I have to add, that it's been really nice reading all positive responses. Maybe I've been reading the wrong posts on here (when I do dip in) but sometimes they can get so negative. This post has been just what I wanted it to be - like sitting with mates and listening to opinions and helpful advise.

Thank you. It's very much appreciated. And I hope it has helped some of you who feel you are in a similar situation. 🙏

I joined the prison service. At 53!

I really enjoy it

Speech Therapist? I believe there are some courses in healthcare funded through the NHS and this is one.

It's a hard mentality to break! Sometimes I think you need to be treated appallingly for it to come to a head - in my previous company I was on the official headocunt as 3.5 FTE! That really shifted my perspective and I just remember that conversation with my boss when I asked for more support and her answer was a demotion! ... I handed in my notice a week later for the new job. That's what I remember every time someone tries to push a boundary.

Stick with it, it becomes habit soon enough!