Burned Out & Wishing for a More Rewarding Job? Consider These Options

If there’s one thing I know about happiness it’s this: what you do every day can fuel your happiness or detract from it. A rewarding job helps make life more enjoyable. Being able to adore your job, the folks you work with, and/or the environment day in and day out. Unfortunately, a job that’s full of stress, angst, and overwhelm can lead to feeling burned out. Especially when you’re just going through the motions for a paycheck without any hope on the horizon.

There are all kinds of things you can do. You can change your attitude and make the best of it. You can find something you enjoy about the day-to-day. Or, you can look for a career change. Especially if you’re wanting to do work that feels as if your contributing to society in a loving and generous way. If you’re interested in taking the plunge and diving into a more selfless line of work, then have a read through this list of potential jobs.

Teaching is a wonderful career path no matter your age.

Spending time molding young minds can be a rewarding job option if you enjoy working with children. A career crisis can be an opportunity ripe for going back to school. And parlaying life experience into bringing some passion to the classroom. If you don’t want to go back for a degree in education, being a teaching assistant or aide is an option as well.

Don’t forget using your talents with adults, too. Many universities hire adjunct professors. And you can also look to your local library and community centers as a way to share your talents and your passions. Teaching can be a path to re-inventing yourself when it comes to career satisfaction.

Don’t overlook how a job in public service can feel satisfying.

Society will always need people to keep everything going smoothly. The things we take for granted every day don’t just happen by themselves. There are a variety of jobs within each sector of public service. While you may believe you’re too old to fulfill that dream of being a police officer or fire fighter, don’t overlook the ways in which your current experiences can be parlayed into forms of public service. There are a variety of public health and administrative jobs in public service.

Becoming a caregiver is a rewarding job option.

Dedicating your days to other people is something very benevolent. Putting those with a handicapped living situation ahead of your own means you are a very special and loving person. Think of the things we have to do every single day – some of them aren’t great, huh? Now, imagine you were capable of even attempting them? Non-disabled people take for granted the lives they have. You could get in touch with a care home company and see if they have any care or Home Health Aide Jobs available. It can be gritty at times, but the feeling of making someone’s day that bit easier is enough of a reward in itself.

Though it isn’t a paid job, volunteering can be a worthwhile use of your talents.

If you are needing some relief from burnout, want to follow a passion, and find a way to give back to your community, look to volunteer opportunities. No, this wouldn’t be a replacement to your day job. Yet, volunteering allows you to connect with others that have a common goal. Something that can feel like it’s missing in many jobs. Remember that sometimes our exhaustion and burnout from work comes from a space of not feeling fulfilled or appreciated. So, even if you feel worn out by your job , a volunteering opportunity may be the unexpected answer to boosting your energy.

Volunteering is also a great way to keep yourself active as you enter retirement as it will keep you mentally engaged with the world around you.

Remember that whatever you do to pay the bills doesn’t have to be the only path to a rewarding life.

Take a leap of faith into a career change. Or find a path of being engaged in work that matters. Life is too short to just trudge from one hour to the next in work that isn’t fulfilling. And even if you can’t make a career change financially, look to ways that you can relieve the symptoms of burnout with out of the box opportunities. Because your happiness matters.