My dream job is actually a nightmare: Tips for feeling satisfied in your career

By Gabby J.

I remember the first time I was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Back then, I thought I wanted to be an author. While I still love writing, I scoff when I think about my childhood dream of being a novelist. First of all, I can barely write one article on time, let alone an entire novel. That being said, I shall have you know that scoffing at my childhood dreams stems more from confusion rather than cynicism.

My next dream that I tackled was becoming a graphic designer. (This one I did happen to follow through on.) From the moment I set foot in an advanced placement art class in high school, I knew I loved artwork. With that, I got good grades, got into a four-year university, studied art and design and got my bachelor’s degree. Two years post-graduation and somehow I’ve been plopped into the start of my career.

Lately, I find myself repeating that phrase, “Remember when you wanted what you had now.”

Among my childhood dreams of being the next Judy Bloom, I truly glamorized the idea of being a young woman in her twenties, living on her own, working as a designer and bossing up in her career. I can proudly say I finally have what I always wanted.

Even still, I can sheepishly stand before you today and say: I am so damn miserable. Between the deadline stress, the trademarked monetization of my creativity and the undesirable client questions and behaviors, I very well may be losing my mind. So, now what?

You may be having the same experience with your job or career. So here is my advice:

You have two options. You can either change your perspective, or change the path you’re on. Both options are going to have their obstacles and take a rather long amount of time to set into motion.

Changing your mindset

Before you jump ship from your job field completely, you’ll want to ask yourself a few questions (and don’t forget to grab a pen and paper to write it down and get it all out):

Are you losing interest in your entire career? Or are you just sick of the same old problems and routines of this specific company?
Would you hate your position as much if your boss was someone else?
Do you feel that you are still able to learn new things in your job?
Have you asked for the things you wanted? (I.e., raises, benefits, assignments, days off, etc.)
Have you reached the goals you’ve set for yourself in this position? Have you set new goals and achieved those as well? It’s important to avoid feeling like you’re running out of things to accomplish.
Have you set up your workspace to become a functional and comfortable place for you? Make it fun! You spend 40+ hours a week there.
Have you changed everything that is in your control?
Does the impact of your position fulfill you?
Are you just getting into the habit of complaining or are you truly ready for a change?

Once you mull it over and journal your answers, review them and come to a conclusion whether you are tired of this specific work environment or if this career is ultimately unsustainable for you. If most of those questions yield generally positive answers, it’s possible you may just be experiencing burn out.

If you’re feeling burnt out at your job, I recommend taking a trip and finding ways to escape and unwind from your job when you are away from the office. Committing to self-care and rest once burnt out may be the jolt you need to begin appreciating your work again.

Changing the path you’re on

If you have decided that you’re experiencing feelings more intense than burn out and you come to the conclusion that you are set on this decision, know it is just that — a big, big decision. I do not mean to discourage you in any way. In the season of change, it’s important to have plenty of three finite resources known as passion, time and money. Like drilling for precious oil (which, for the record, I do not support), you have to drill incredibly deep within yourself to strike balance and utilize the trifecta of life-changing resources you are in search of.

For some people, a career change may result in transferring departments, or companies. It might be as simple as adding a section to their portfolio which can be done in a matter of weeks, or even days. For others, a career path change may be a lot more of a complex process to achieve. Oftentimes, a change in career paths may include going back to school.

From this point, it helps to map out the process through research, asking people within the profession how they got there and thinking about what you want out of the experience. If it all sounds worth it and the workload seems sustainable, you should absolutely go for what you want to do. If you feel that maybe the change could throw you off of an already rather successful path and you’re a bit uneasy about it, perhaps you should consider other ways to get involved within that career before committing to a bigger change.

Header photo by Mikhail Nilov / Pexels