I need to vent. I feel deeply unfulfilled in my role (I am burnt out) and feel stuck/hopeless.
I work in tech – make good money, have good work life balance. However, I find my work meaningless/I’m not passionate about it and my most recent project had really toxic clients.
The rational part of me tries to justify why I should be happy/grateful (most people aren’t passionate about their corporate jobs, I am honestly grateful I have good pay and WLB, and having a job in general in this economy).
The other part of me feels like my job is eating away at me and I can’t see myself doing this for another 20-30 years. I started job hunting in my field but I’m skeptical a different company would change how I feel about having a meaningless tech job. I also think if I find a job that is more meaningful I’d be likely sacrificing pay or WLB, but ideally (and I know unfortunately it’s not that realistic) I would be able to have good pay, WLB, and meaningful work.
I have my passion on the side (volunteering, hobbies, friends, activism) and for a long time I thought I could do a job just to pay the bills while pursuing my passions and enjoying my life. My passions and hobbies aren’t very capitalistic/wouldn’t generate the same level of income.
Overall, I can’t shake this feeling that my day job is eating away at my soul. Does anyone have words of wisdom or advice? Thanks for reading my rant.