#HighlyPaidButMiserable #CareerStruggles #FinancialStress #FindingHappiness
Feeling Stuck in a High-Paying Job?
Are you in a position where you are earning a hefty paycheck but feeling completely unfulfilled in your career? You are not alone. Many individuals find themselves in a similar situation, torn between financial stability and personal happiness. It can be a tough decision to make, but ultimately your mental well-being and satisfaction should be a top priority.
Identifying the Problem:
Like many others, you have reached a point where the daily grind feels unbearable. The passion you once had for your job has dwindled, leaving you feeling empty and unfulfilled. As a highly paid professional, the pressure to maintain your lifestyle can add to the stress and anxiety you already feel about your work.
Practical Solutions for Change:
1. Consider Your Values:
- Reflect on what truly matters to you in life and align your career choices with your core values.
- Money may provide temporary comfort, but long-term satisfaction comes from pursuing work that brings you joy and fulfillment.
2. Explore Alternative Career Paths:
- Research other industries or roles that align with your interests and skills.
- Networking and seeking mentorship can open doors to new opportunities that may offer both financial stability and personal satisfaction.
3. Seek Professional Guidance:
- Consider consulting with a career coach or counselor to help you navigate your options and make informed decisions.
- Therapy can also be beneficial in addressing any underlying issues contributing to your unhappiness at work.
Final Thoughts:
Ultimately, the decision to make a career change is a personal one that requires careful consideration and planning. While the prospect of leaving a high-paying job can be daunting, prioritizing your well-being and happiness is crucial for long-term fulfillment. Remember, it’s never too late to pursue a career that brings you joy and satisfaction. You deserve to live a life that aligns with your values and passions.
Stay strong, and remember that your happiness is worth more than any paycheck. You have the power to make a change and create a fulfilling career that brings you true happiness.
Find out your interest or take a holiday and spend some time travelling this will help you to explore the world around and will give you motivation.
Would hiring an assistant help? Maybe subtracting the busy work would help. What kind of job is it?
Perhaps you want to start adjusting your spending (excluding mortgage and private tuition) so you can start saving more. Once your children have finished their current school, you could move them to a public one if they’re still in education.
Use these few years to transition into another work field or orientate yourself in a similar but more meaningful job. You’ll then have a financial buffer and become more comfortable with spending less.
May I ask what your job is? I know many people may lose passion if something is too repetitive or difficult. Which one of the options would you say it is?
According to your one sentence I may be leaning towards the second option in which you have too much of a workload. Should this be the case, then I suggest you to not take on that much of a workload of you are allowed to. You can also hire assistants to help manage your workload. Not a lot of people realise, but much of the mental work comes from simple organisation.
I am going to say that this is a very big decision if you were to suddenly quit.
Should this be the case, I highly suggest you mapping a series of alternative pathways you are able to take. You should be able to map out if not at least a couple back up plans if you were to take the route. You can start by following my previous advices. If this does not make you happier, then you can proceed with your alternate pathways.
I’m going to say one thing though, family will always be family at the end of the day. If you fear your family being ripped out of their current lifestyle and hating their new lifestyle, there may be a high possibility in which they do not mind as long as you are not living in poverty.
I’m very certain they value your own happiness as much as theirs. You can try sitting down and chatting with your family about this should this be the case.
By any chance should you want security, I also did read about job demotion.
Change is necessary, I worked in the same industry for 15 years forging my career and making very good money until it all became too much and I hit the point of burn out at 32. I was so worn down I was hospitalised trying to unalive myself. I have now found a “dumb dumb” job that I love and it still pays well enough to support me and my wife. I’m a much happier healthier person because of it and you could be too!
Every job gets boring eventually no matter how much money you make. But in your case, it seems like a yearning for a more balanced life which I highly doubt your job will ever provide. The best way out would be to cut down on your lifestyle, save, invest, grow your wealth and retire as early as you can.
Everyone’s job sucks bro. Take the millions and start scaling down so long term you can change if required. Do not quit on a whim.
Jesus, $1.25M total comp and you don’t have savings? Can you add more details around your expenses? How old are your kids, what does your mortgage look like, does your wife have any income, do you have any investments/401k that you can fall back on if you quit?
If I was making that kind of money I’d put all my energy into saving enough to retire/be able to afford moving to a less stressful role as soon as humanly possible. I’m actually in the process of doing so with a kid, a mortgage and a wife that doesn’t really work yet, but my total comp is ~20% of yours (I’m a 35M)
I’m almost halfway there, my goal is to save up >$2M, move back to my home country and have a more laid back lifestyle. I won’t be able to fully retire, but I won’t be as dependent of my current 9 to 5 corporate job, and I might be able to comfortably take part time/better WLB roles for less pay without too many compromises to my ideal lifestyle.
I think you need to do some math and figure out how much you need to save to be able to comfortably quit, this way you have a clear goal to work towards. In the process you should also consider if you can make any adjustments to your current lifestyle. Kids education comes first but could you maybe downsize the housing, request a move to a lower COL area, spend less in travelling/ordering food/frugal entertainment? All that can speed up the savings process and give you more flexibility when it comes to planning your current/future employment situation.
Good luck and stay strong, this is a “good” problem to have.
suck it up and get your finances in check. Reduce your spending and start saving more, use the money you save to do things you enjoy like everyone else 🙂
Work is called work for a reason. I don’t want to work I have to work, my dream job would be no job at all.
Yeah man. Adjust your lifestyle bro. You make in 1 yr what I make in 13 yrs. Spend like you make $500k/yr and you’ll be fine happy and tons of savings and retire early with boat load of cash.
>Do I suck it up and live the good life while not being happy at work?
Absolutely.
You’re management, you know how to change this, you know the drill, apply it. You need a vision, strategy and realistic plans with good risk analysis … i.e. a vision were you want to be and how to downscale your lifestyle, building savings etc. before you ditch this plush job and take on something easier and more fulfilling.
You cannot pull the plug on a business investment in the middle, you see it through and wind it down in orderly fashion.
1.25 mil/year and no savings. Jesus…
Downsize your life immediately while.earming that income you can retire in a year or two and never work again in your life and have a happy life.
Maybe a change of pace might help…either by vacation or a change within your job role or company.
Since you work for a global company are there projects or temp assignments you can get into?
If you just lost passion for the company and not your career, maybe pursue into mentoring or teaching at a CC.
What don’t you like about your job? Do you think you could get another gig paying what you make and be happier than you are now?
Also, how does someone who makes $1.2mm a year not have much in savings?
You need an exit plan/ goal, you have what i call a “gom jobbar” job.
Like in dune where paul had to put his hand in the box that caused pain and keep it in to prove he was human, and the longer he kept it in the better.
If you’re doing a job like that you need to be saving a ton and tell yourself this is a temporary thing to achieve a goal.
OR
find out what your worth, sit down with your family and make a choice.
OR
find a really good cognitive behavioral therapist and try to retrain how you think about problems.
With how much you make,it wouldn’t take long to save money for a transiston, time off to reevaluate your path and have room for bills (mortgage, private school), no?. I’m not rich but that would be my game plan. Unless your expenses are the majority of your income, which is wild to me with that much yearly income. I couldn’t imagine spending over 1 million annually to maintain my lifestyle. Maybe it’s time to scale down?
Firstly, congrats on ‘making it’. You’re on a career advice forum, so the answers are going to be a bit biased towards sticking it out and making that money. That might be right for you or it might not.
You say you lost your passion? Why? Maybe take some time to reflect on what exactly makes you unhappy. Maybe see a therapist if you need help working it out.
Get your finances in order. It sounds like you’re slightly overextended and don’t see the end in sight. What is a reasonable amount to spend each year? What do you really need? Maybe if you can work out a plan where you can retire in 5 years, you can rough it out until then? Depends what you’re prepared to sacrifice. Or maybe you can step back into a lesser role where you are more happy. Having more money is nice but after a certain point, it has diminishing returns. A financial planner might be able to help you figure this out ( just make sure you opt for a one off fee and that you don’t get stuck paying them yearly).
Talk to your wife and family about it before making any big decisions. Let them know how much this is affecting you. See what their thoughts are as you might be sacrificing yourself for something you only think they want. Of course, they might be selfish and happy for you to be dying on the inside (and if so, are they worth sacrificing for?)
Good luck with whatever you decide.
My family makes about half what you make per year in TC. It can be really hard on us – long hours, stressful situations, less time with our kid. We’re going to retire early and take easier careers once we hit a retirement number we feel comfortable with (enough for private school for our child’s education, and for a four year college paid). If I were you spend time looking up FIRE, decide what your number is, that can be a goal for you then you can see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Also we do recognize how incredibly lucky we are in life in terms of money. I came from a lower middle class family so I never thought I would be living like this, it blows my mind sometimes.
Lastly, management can really suck. I’ve been doing it for 10 years now and I still don’t like it. Constantly telling people bad news, firing people, laying people off, having to deny promotions, and relaying decisions that weren’t even up to me is utterly soul crushing. I found running a smaller team easier than running a huge org. But even that is hard…
I would suggest having your income paid into one account, not your regular bills & spending account, and then at the start of each month pay yourself $x, and see how long it lasts. ‘x’ could be he salary you’d receive in a low paid but low stress position. It sounds like there are some costs you just can’t change that easily in the short term, and the exercise pay just give you a new level of gratitude for the big dollars you’re on.
I get it though, at a smaller scale, I gave up a $200k (Australian dollars) role as I was miserable and burnt out. I spent the last year travelling, time with family and going on cycling trips. Yes, there were some good times and I definitely needed a break. But now I’m running out of cash and back to looking for a well paid job in the current market. There’s not a great deal out there, all my job search time and energy is of course unpaid, there’s a great deal of uncertainty as to what I’ll find, when I’ll receive an offer and if I’ll ever get a role as well paid! So it’s not easy, but on the type of salary you’re on, I’d do google “fat fire” and create a budget, an investment plan. And a retirement plan!! Good luck.
Serious??? People don’t have jobs and are far worse off… take your investments and go live somewhere cheaper
1.25 million and no savings? I make 90k a year and I have savings and own my home. You need to decide if you want a simple happy life or have the fancy house and private school.
If it were me, I’d downgrade my house and cars. Then id work for another year or two with the plan to pay off my mortgage on my smaller house, put money aside for my kids future schooling and get a strong base on my retirement. You should be able to save a large sum in a couple years if you live like us mortals. Then go get a job that you enjoy and be happy. Many of us are very happy and only making 100-200k a year.
Not having passion for something you spend so much of your time doing will suck the life out of you and that has to carry over to your mental health and to your wife and children. It can’t not. What kind of role model do
you want to be for your kids? Would you want them to feel so little passion for what they do in life and to feel so stuck? A change must be made and deep down it sounds like you know it. Have a sit-down with yourself and then your wife to let her know how unhappy you are. Then together come up with an alternative plan for a lifestyle where you can save AND have passion for what you do at a lower income level. You don’t have to feel alone in it.
Not having savings at your level of income feels irresponsible to me and it feels you are living above your means even if you were to stay in your job. You may need a serious dial down in spending AND in your lifestyle. How freeing that could be for you if you have the courage to do this, and while knowing you are truly role modeling responsible behavior and sometimes change and hard choices. At the end of the day your family loves YOU and I bet they just want you to be happy even if you earn less money. you can all be in the adventure of what’s next together.
It’s not about you! Nothing stays the same forever. You don’t quit now. You begin to scale back over the next 4 years. Save every penny you can. Begin thinking about what you want life to look like in your 50s. Most people don’t like their jobs and don’t even clear 6 figures. If I were you I would get up every day and be grateful for everything you have now. In a split second it could all change and you will never see it coming. Try to make your life about serving others not you.
I don’t have a lot to add to what other said under here, but :
– Start saving, investing even. I don’t want to be mean but not having savings which such an earning is quite mad. What’s done is done, but try to adjust your spendings to be able to save (and invest, because just keeping your money on a bank account makes it loose a bunch of value over time). My parents don’t earn much but still have quite some money saved, compared to what they earn. That’s completely achievable and you should try, maybe contact an accountant or a personal finance expert to help you to manage your capital. Your bank can also help you to invest some money accordingly to the risk you’re willing to take, and your projects in life.
– I think being happy in life is very important. If you love your wife and your kids, that’s already a big thing to rely on. But of course, work is a very important part of our life. So yeah, if you can go elsewhere without losing too much and still being able to pay for school and other important things, then it might be a good idea.
There’s no way I would quit my job making over a million a year. But I’m an accountant, most accountants aren’t fulfilled at their job.
“Not that much savings” – why? Do you have a financial planner? Can you make adjustments to your lifestyle to save more? Is your wife sympathetic to your position, is she willing to support you making less? Do your kids think they are going to spend $100k per year each at some elite private college? Talk to you financial planner about how long it will take to save money for an exit strategy and think about what you would do instead. Figure out salaries in what you would rather do.
I wouldn’t quit yet but if I were you in a position of authority, I would set boundaries on my job and start some passion projects to deal with the burnout/midlife crisis.
Live as if you only made 250k for 1 or 2 years. Then decide.
Stay at your job, scale back on your expenses, and figure out how to retire early! Thats a ridiculous amount of money.
It’s laughable that you have no savings at 1.25M per year.
Just start changing the lifestyle now regardless of what you do with your jobs. Your kids will be better off anyway.
Downsize without quitting so you can retire in like 10 years. Here I was feeling bad for struggling to save much on 100k 💀
You first need to talk this out with the family, at least those old enough to understand. Come clean. ‘I don’t really like my work, I find it very stressful and it affects my mental health now. It pays for a lot of amazing stuff, but I’m not sure we can keep going like this’. Then hear them out. It’s possible just being transparent and open about it will help at least a little. And maybe they don’t really care about the trappings (they may find trying to fit into a very niche social milieu stressful too), which will make things easier.
You’re not supposed to have passion for your job, you’re supposed to have passion for your passion and work at what you’re good at. Don’t quit your job, start saving up and retire early
> The big issue is I am paid very well. I make over $1.25 million per year in total comp and as I result, my lifestyle has adjusted accordingly. I have a huge mortgage, kids in private school and not that much in savings.
What a massive mistake you’ve made. You essentially created your own golden handcuffs. To make 1.25m a year and not be able to save is absolutely beyond idiotic. You could have been making so much more essentially free money with investments. Even just basic ETFs returned some 25%+ this past year. Imagine if you had placed any of it into NVDA over all this time.
You should have downsized your life from the start, so your savings could instead be investments that make you money hand over fist for doing nothing except having more and more money, and leaving the job would have never been an issue to begin with once it started to really suck.
You should not leave this job now. It’s too late. Try therapy instead for coping and for your family, and try downsizing while keeping the job. Idiot.
I have no sympathy for this situation, I’m sorry lol. Place two pieces of bread against your face and tell everyone who the idiot sandwich is. Donkey
This post makes me sad. I would do anything to make 1.5 million a year… even if it’s stressful. I have unbearable stress from my current job and I don’t even make 6 figures.
Give me your job. 🙁
I swear to god. The people who make the most money have never heard of counseling, having hobbies, going to the doctors to see if there’s any issues regarding mental or physical health.
Suck it the fuck up, and look into the following mentioned above
If you make 7 figures and at 46 have no savings, I’m not sure what to say other than you’ve fucked up royally. I can’t fathom making that much and not have the slightest clue of how to manage my own finances.
To put things in perspective, between my wife and I, we make a little over 200k. We have 30k in emergency funds and plan to have over a million in savings by the time we are 60. We are 29 rn, with a baby in the way, a modest but nice home (nicer than most of my peers), two stable cars, we go on vacations, eat out when we want, buy what we want when we want within reason, etc.
If I made 5 times the amount I did now, I can’t imagine being concerned about money in the slightest. What the fuck are you spending all of your money on?
Anyways, if you are miserable my advice as a person who cares about your well-being would be to quit your job, obviously. The issue is that you haven’t laid the ground work to be able to do that, take a loss in pay, and continue to live a life somewhat similar to the one you have now.
In all seriousness, looking at this practically, without considerably downsizing your lifestyle, I don’t see how this plays out in your favor. I can’t see you making near the amount you do now without taking another job of similar stress and/or lack of fulfillment.
I mean you are 46. Ideally with your salary you could have retired early…like way early. But it doesn’t seem like that’s in the cards for you. I think you have to decide what your happiness is worth to you. At this point you’ve done very well for providing for your family. Is that enough for your life? Plenty of people accept that they will work the majority of their life unhappy and unfulfilled so that they can do the things they want to do and provide for their family in the way they want.
Start by talking to a financial advisor to get a true picture of your finances. You’ve clearly chosen to live right at or slightly beyond your means and those choices are now coming back to bite you. Do not do ANYTHING until you and your wife are very, very, CRYSTAL clear on your financial outlook.
Then and only then can you start thinking about finding a new role.