I posted this in the career advice subreddit but seem to be getting no response so I figured I would try here. I genuinely would love to not work… But as I'm sure everyone in this sub knows it's not really usually possible. I also volunteer a lot, write letters, do mutual aid, and write letters protest and do everything I can to make a change… Or I did until my burnout got so severe.
Anyways my original post it below.
I'm currently an expert in my field and head of my department for my very small company. I've been in this field for over a decade. I like a lot of the work but the job itself is stressful. More than my career itself is stressful and these days has a higher amount of burnout, is all of the corporations I've worked for seem totally disfunctional and won't listen to reason until something falls apart. I'm exhausted.
I think it's getting close to a time for a change. I've realized this was probably coming for a long time now so bought a house and tried to pay it off at lighting speed so that when I change careers I will be able to worry less about money. I make very good money and leaving the security of this field is going to be hard but my work (and therefore my life) feels meaningless and I have to do something that matters more. I just don't know what.
At this point I've met with career coaches, academic advisors, and therapists and still don't have a clear picture of where I want to even begin exploring or how to do that. I had one career coach who told me that until I dealt with the burnout I was not ready for career coaching.
I wonder if I'm at a point where I need to take a sabbatical but that seems so risky to me and I am terrified. I do sort of think I'm at that point… But how do I do that and not risk going broke?