How to avoid it, cure/treat it, and recognize it? What causes it? I'm working a new high paying and high stress job while going to grad school full time and managing a part time business. I feel like I've checked out though and nothing really matters. Maybe it's because the 500K I have now and the cash flow allows me to retire now if I go back to my old house or down size like I plan to anyway. Maybe I've just been doing this too long. Maybe it's because I am still dealing with the same crap and I need a change. Or maybe I'm just in a funk and it will pass. I mean, I get to work from home, and make a lot of money with good benefits. Though the downsides are stress, constant technical problems from all corners of the building, and general politics.
But the allure of the 150K salary was too much to pass up. If I retire 2 years from now at 35, 5 years earlier than originally planned, I can hold my head high and should have about 950K or more NW between investment gains and savings. I'm trying to hold out for two more years because of the extra money and where it puts me or would put me; this job allows me to save two years of savings for each year I work it, so two years will give me four years worth of savings. Once I have 900k+ I probably REALLY won't give a crap.
That said I'm more keen, as other posters have posted, on dealing with people now than technical work. Yes it has its own stresses, but man I have zero interest in technical stuff anymore. Been there, done that, all I see now are the negatives of it. YOU'RE the person accountable to deliver, not the PM's, BA's and the hordes of other support personnel. A lot of these roles merely make stuff up for you to do, like where I work now, we have 5 PM's to every technical resource!! Even your manager is really not the one on the hook.Yes, he or she has to explain to the organization if it doesn't get delivered, but they will just blame it on you more than likely, because at the end of the day, YOU are the one that has to do the actual work! Mostly people and process is what interests me now. Plus as management, especially senior management (working way up to it) you have decision making authority.
In any case, I'm trying to hang on two more years and then maybe go into a more full time management role (I'm a lead now with a few direct reports). Not sure I will make it though. Part of me wants to go into management now even if it means a pay cut. I don't know if I'm just bored with what I'm doing and stressed from the BS that is involved not to mention the myriad of things that can go wrong on the job. I'm conflicted. I would have liked to do 7 more years of high income work to add to my nest egg, but I'm wondering if I should take a bull shit job after this or sooner and do something I don't dread? Like recruiting for example. Corporate recruiters in my area make about 60-70K a year. With a paid off house and rental properties as well as cash in the bank, I could bank most of that income and still live like a King. I dunno, I'm thinking out loud.
The allure of IT when I was making 35K a year was the high income. I have it, have had it for a while now, and saved the money and used it to make more money now. But if I found something I enjoyed that paid good, I'd go do it. Like recruiting (not agency but corporate). I'd still be able to save money and can let my investments compound. Maybe work longer than 7 more years who knows. Maybe change careers again after that. I mean, people change careers every 7 years they say right? I find absolutely no purpose or reason for what I do at work other than getting money to invest. I'm not trying to find my purpose in life or anything, but I just don't care about what I do for some reason. What I do care about is a job where I am not tired after coming home and don't dread going in the next day. I guess high paying jobs are high paying for a reason, eh...
All I know is that I'm tired of what I'm doing now. Or is it that I'm tired of working? I guess I'd have to change jobs to see. At the same time, I'm not sure I'm ready to retire right now and sleep in for the next 50 years while I spend my days fishing. Surely there is a happy medium or some solution. Part time work, is meh. I'm thinking something else, career change perhaps. Or going from hands on into management period.
Burnout
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jacob
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Re: Burnout
As far as I know... which isn't much because not much has been written on the subject of burnout (it's kinda taboo) ... burnout can come about in two ways:
1) When it's analogous to a crisis of faith in a religious person. Suddenly the entire perspective or framework one has previously seen one's job as providing falls apart. Once questioning the mantra becomes the primary focus instead of blindly believing in it, it becomes hard to motivate oneself to put any effort into sticking with it.
2) Provided one survives that, the second problem is reaching a state of been there done that ... for far too long. One day one wakes up are realizes "I've done everything there is to do in this business. What's the point of repeating myself? I should start doing something else". Once this becomes the primary mantra, again it becomes hard to motivative oneself to stick with it.
Additionally, it also seems ... based on psych readings, etc. ... that burnout mostly happens to those who burn their candle the brightest. IOW achievers are way more susceptible to burnout than the average person.
I do not think there's a general solution. Burnout is an inherent risk to achievers. You might be able to outrun it if it's specific to a particular job or career. It is much harder to outrun if it's specific to something more general, such as reaching a higher networth score.
Changing for the sake of changing is going to be an increasingly shorter-lived fix if the problem is more fundamental than e.g. a bad boss or an annoying coworker.
The macrorisk is that you can burnout to such a degree in one area that it makes it hard to desire to even try something else... because a "that'll probably suck too" attitude has developed.
1) When it's analogous to a crisis of faith in a religious person. Suddenly the entire perspective or framework one has previously seen one's job as providing falls apart. Once questioning the mantra becomes the primary focus instead of blindly believing in it, it becomes hard to motivate oneself to put any effort into sticking with it.
2) Provided one survives that, the second problem is reaching a state of been there done that ... for far too long. One day one wakes up are realizes "I've done everything there is to do in this business. What's the point of repeating myself? I should start doing something else". Once this becomes the primary mantra, again it becomes hard to motivative oneself to stick with it.
Additionally, it also seems ... based on psych readings, etc. ... that burnout mostly happens to those who burn their candle the brightest. IOW achievers are way more susceptible to burnout than the average person.
I do not think there's a general solution. Burnout is an inherent risk to achievers. You might be able to outrun it if it's specific to a particular job or career. It is much harder to outrun if it's specific to something more general, such as reaching a higher networth score.
Changing for the sake of changing is going to be an increasingly shorter-lived fix if the problem is more fundamental than e.g. a bad boss or an annoying coworker.
The macrorisk is that you can burnout to such a degree in one area that it makes it hard to desire to even try something else... because a "that'll probably suck too" attitude has developed.
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SimpleLife
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Re: Burnout
Crap...I think I might be so burnt out that I think everything sucks. That last paragraph really stood out. I've been looking at recruiting/HR since it is not a lot of after hours work, limited responsibility and people oriented rather than programming oriented. The stress is lower and the pay shows it, but it's still a damn good way to make an upper middle class living if you are a DINK (double income, no kids). But I can't help to think what aspects of THAT job suck. People who flake, people who are unprepared, etc. While these things are frustrating, they are menial problems compared to what a typical IT engineer deals with.
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EdithKeeler
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Re: Burnout
I can speak a little about burnout--I spent about 6 years working 60 hours a week and thinking what I was doing was oh, so important, and expecting the big career payoff as a result. I was also older than you--age 42 to 48.
What I got instead of the corner office was a major case of exhaustion and stress and burnout that turned into physical health problems and depression, which I'm still trying to work through, three years later. I was actually hospitalized, and I'm not exaggerating when I say I spent the first 4 days just sleeping, because I was so sleep deprived!
There was a good piece in Scientific American Mind about burnout in December or January. I don't see it free online.
There are a lot of articles about burnout... but none very helpful, in my opinion. However, I will tell you, from personal experience, that it's very important to take care of yourself physically and mentally. That means working reasonable hours, cutting back on things when you can, saying no when people are putting too much on you, truly taking your vacation days, etc. I can tell you that after spending pretty much my entire life focused on my job, the next promotion, etc. that it left me, when it came crashing down, questioning who I am as a person. I still haven't figured it out, and I still go to work every day and hate it. So I don't think I'm cured!
I think, again, from personal experience, that burnout is hard to recognize when you're in it. It's good that you're asking the question now, and I would say the best way to know for sure if it's burnout or just a passing phase is to take a couple weeks off. Really off. If you come back refreshed and ready to go, you probably just needed a vacation. If you come back dreading it, or still feeling you don't care about anything, you may need to evaluate further, with the help of a professional.
What I got instead of the corner office was a major case of exhaustion and stress and burnout that turned into physical health problems and depression, which I'm still trying to work through, three years later. I was actually hospitalized, and I'm not exaggerating when I say I spent the first 4 days just sleeping, because I was so sleep deprived!
There was a good piece in Scientific American Mind about burnout in December or January. I don't see it free online.
There are a lot of articles about burnout... but none very helpful, in my opinion. However, I will tell you, from personal experience, that it's very important to take care of yourself physically and mentally. That means working reasonable hours, cutting back on things when you can, saying no when people are putting too much on you, truly taking your vacation days, etc. I can tell you that after spending pretty much my entire life focused on my job, the next promotion, etc. that it left me, when it came crashing down, questioning who I am as a person. I still haven't figured it out, and I still go to work every day and hate it. So I don't think I'm cured!
I think, again, from personal experience, that burnout is hard to recognize when you're in it. It's good that you're asking the question now, and I would say the best way to know for sure if it's burnout or just a passing phase is to take a couple weeks off. Really off. If you come back refreshed and ready to go, you probably just needed a vacation. If you come back dreading it, or still feeling you don't care about anything, you may need to evaluate further, with the help of a professional.
Re: Burnout
Certain things you said stood out.SimpleLife wrote:I'm working a new high paying and high stress job while going to grad school full time and managing a part time business.
But the allure of the 150K salary was too much to pass up.
That said I'm more keen, as other posters have posted, on dealing with people now than technical work. Yes it has its own stresses, but man I have zero interest in technical stuff anymore.
I'm not trying to find my purpose in life or anything, but I just don't care about what I do for some reason.
#1 Maybe you are doing too much all at once right now? Can you dial anything back?
#2-#3 There's that saying, "if you marry for money you will earn every penny." I think it's true in jobs as well. If you have zero interest in or active dislike for the main part of your job (technical work), it's gonna more or less suck no matter how much you make. Know this and power through if you choose or try to make a change.
#4 I believe we all need and should look for purpose in life. Seeing as how you spend 9-5 (or more) at work, it has the power to greatly impact your general attitude. Mindfully combat this and/or cultivate another source of purpose.
Re: Burnout
I've experienced both of Jacob's burnout types. Seems legit.
In any case, I think it's important to distinguish between burnout and exhaustion. They share some of the same symptoms but have different causes and prescriptions.
Mental exhaustion comes from feeling overwhelmed from too much going on. Your brain can only handle so much activity and eventually you zone out. The effects are generally temporary and can be mitigated by taking a long break and learning to balance your mental workload in a sustainable way.
Burnout is more profound. It's when the exact same thing that used to give you joy now has lost its effectiveness. Think of your job as a drug that gives you a high when you feel like you've accomplished something. At first, it feels great. But over time your body adjusts, and the same reward just isn't there (Jacob's type 2 burnout). Many people adjust to this by simply checking out and focusing on non-work rewards. But high achievers are like addicts and increase the dosage. Eventually they either give up or overdose (Type 1 burnout). Burnout is hard to fix. Something on the order of career rehab may be in order.
With management responsibilities and technical responsibilities and full-time college and a side business and relationships and everything else in life I suspect you have at least some level of exhaustion. I don't doubt burnout is in the mix as well, but it may help to categorize the two. What activities would you still find fulfilling if the other ones were taken off the table?
In any case, I think it's important to distinguish between burnout and exhaustion. They share some of the same symptoms but have different causes and prescriptions.
Mental exhaustion comes from feeling overwhelmed from too much going on. Your brain can only handle so much activity and eventually you zone out. The effects are generally temporary and can be mitigated by taking a long break and learning to balance your mental workload in a sustainable way.
Burnout is more profound. It's when the exact same thing that used to give you joy now has lost its effectiveness. Think of your job as a drug that gives you a high when you feel like you've accomplished something. At first, it feels great. But over time your body adjusts, and the same reward just isn't there (Jacob's type 2 burnout). Many people adjust to this by simply checking out and focusing on non-work rewards. But high achievers are like addicts and increase the dosage. Eventually they either give up or overdose (Type 1 burnout). Burnout is hard to fix. Something on the order of career rehab may be in order.
With management responsibilities and technical responsibilities and full-time college and a side business and relationships and everything else in life I suspect you have at least some level of exhaustion. I don't doubt burnout is in the mix as well, but it may help to categorize the two. What activities would you still find fulfilling if the other ones were taken off the table?
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jacob
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Re: Burnout
Good distinction between burnout and exhaustion. Especially because I found most writings dealing with exhaustion instead of burnout. Exhaustion can certainly be fixed with more sleep, exercise, vacations, dialing back, ... burnout is more of a terminal psychological condition.
Exhaustion: You've been praying too much to the gods of work. Take a break!
Burnout: You've lost faith in the gods of work. Find another religion? Become an atheist? Stop questioning before it's too late?
Exhaustion: You've been praying too much to the gods of work. Take a break!
Burnout: You've lost faith in the gods of work. Find another religion? Become an atheist? Stop questioning before it's too late?
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SimpleLife
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Re: Burnout
Excellent points. This may be surprising, but I actually don't think I would enjoy any of my old activities. I just started grad school a month ago. I've had the side business for 2 years though I'm growing.Tyler9000 wrote:I've experienced both of Jacob's burnout types. Seems legit.
In any case, I think it's important to distinguish between burnout and exhaustion. They share some of the same symptoms but have different causes and prescriptions.
Mental exhaustion comes from feeling overwhelmed from too much going on. Your brain can only handle so much activity and eventually you zone out. The effects are generally temporary and can be mitigated by taking a long break and learning to balance your mental workload in a sustainable way.
Burnout is more profound. It's when the exact same thing that used to give you joy now has lost its effectiveness. Think of your job as a drug that gives you a high when you feel like you've accomplished something. At first, it feels great. But over time your body adjusts, and the same reward just isn't there (Jacob's type 2 burnout). Many people adjust to this by simply checking out and focusing on non-work rewards. But high achievers are like addicts and increase the dosage. Eventually they either give up or overdose (Type 1 burnout). Burnout is hard to fix. Something on the order of career rehab may be in order.
With management responsibilities and technical responsibilities and full-time college and a side business and relationships and everything else in life I suspect you have at least some level of exhaustion. I don't doubt burnout is in the mix as well, but it may help to categorize the two. What activities would you still find fulfilling if the other ones were taken off the table?
The activity I seem to enjoy the most as of late, is getting higher and higher paychecks then using that money to make more money. It's like a competition with myself. I have a ridiculous number of IT certs compared to most in my industry. I'm constantly trying to learn new skills. What I enjoy, is being the guy in a meeting with other technical leads who are banging their head against the wall for what seems like a difficult problem for them, and pulling the solution out of my sleeve like it's nothing.
It's the competitive drive in me. The more I succeed, the more I want that reward, that feeling, that drug. It causes me to keep pushing so I can keep getting that reward, and that salary validation. I wonder if part of it is a coping mechanism, it's my way of validating that I was right that time "20 years ago", that I did make it and all those who told me I would never amount to anything were wrong and I'm doing better than all of them combined.
I think before I "retire" I really need to find a way to to detach from this. Even when I think about actually getting out of IT I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. I start picturing telling people that I may be XYZ now, but I USED to be an IT professional. It's the society we live in. Where people judge you by your career, salary, house, car and clothes. "What do you mean you DON'T have a boat???"
I think I have a book about this, something to the effect of you're OK as you are.
Re: Burnout
Your harshest critic is always the one looking at you in the mirror. In my experience after leaving a high-toned job, when you walk into a party with a smile and a six-pack of beer, you're not the ex-IT guy or the hotshot engineer with a big salary or the loser who couldn't cut it. You're the cool guy who brought beer. What you project to others in life outside of the work jungle is far more about self-confidence than credentials.SimpleLife wrote: I think before I "retire" I really need to find a way to to detach from this. Even when I think about actually getting out of IT I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. I start picturing telling people that I may be XYZ now, but I USED to be an IT professional. It's the society we live in. Where people judge you by your career, salary, house, car and clothes. "What do you mean you DON'T have a boat???"
Re: Burnout
Simple life ,
You sound like me. I went from working 60 hrs per week, running a biz part time, and doing grad school. I am pretty sure I was burned out as well. I got paid well, but just had a higher tolerance for pain I think than most, so I was able to endure a bit longer than I probably should have.
I am a money guy, I liked the money aspect of the job like you and that's about it.
I graduated, sold my business for a nice profit and I am essentially on a sabbatical, traveling, working out, and I have one other way of making money in an irregular, but profitable way.
I can just tell you I don't miss it at all. I don't miss the commute. I don't miss the BS, office politics, or any of it. I love fitness and working out. I love having my entire day to myself. I love traveling.
If possible, maybe take a month off, do what you want to do and see how you feel and if you want to go back. For me, barring some job that is paying FU money, I don't think I could be wooed to come back and even then not for very long.
You sound like me. I went from working 60 hrs per week, running a biz part time, and doing grad school. I am pretty sure I was burned out as well. I got paid well, but just had a higher tolerance for pain I think than most, so I was able to endure a bit longer than I probably should have.
I am a money guy, I liked the money aspect of the job like you and that's about it.
I graduated, sold my business for a nice profit and I am essentially on a sabbatical, traveling, working out, and I have one other way of making money in an irregular, but profitable way.
I can just tell you I don't miss it at all. I don't miss the commute. I don't miss the BS, office politics, or any of it. I love fitness and working out. I love having my entire day to myself. I love traveling.
If possible, maybe take a month off, do what you want to do and see how you feel and if you want to go back. For me, barring some job that is paying FU money, I don't think I could be wooed to come back and even then not for very long.
Re: Burnout
Right now I feel like I'm dealing with a crisis of faith sort of burnout.
I've lost all belief in not just the gods of work, but also in the gods of my chosen profession. I've seen through the smoke and mirrors and I truly believe that I am working as part of the problem and not the solution right now. I no longer think that there are moral merits to what I do, and every day I see examples that confirm this.
I want to get out, but I don't know where to go or what to do. Furthermore, I have a lot of debt that I need to pay off (and perhaps sacrifice more years in this high-paying position as a result). It really is a jarring experience for me because I've spent so many years of my life focused on this one goal/job/profession that I feel like part of my identity is falling apart.
What has helped is an idea I read in Your Money or Your Life: work and paid employment are separate things, though they can intertwine. Paid employment is something you get paid to do. Work is whatever you do that's aligned with your purpose in life. I entered this job mixing the two and that's been a source of pain. Recognizing that paid employment is just that has helped me to see there's other opportunities out there if a paycheck is what I'm concerned about. It'll probably be healthier for me in the long run to just make a change.
I've lost all belief in not just the gods of work, but also in the gods of my chosen profession. I've seen through the smoke and mirrors and I truly believe that I am working as part of the problem and not the solution right now. I no longer think that there are moral merits to what I do, and every day I see examples that confirm this.
I want to get out, but I don't know where to go or what to do. Furthermore, I have a lot of debt that I need to pay off (and perhaps sacrifice more years in this high-paying position as a result). It really is a jarring experience for me because I've spent so many years of my life focused on this one goal/job/profession that I feel like part of my identity is falling apart.
What has helped is an idea I read in Your Money or Your Life: work and paid employment are separate things, though they can intertwine. Paid employment is something you get paid to do. Work is whatever you do that's aligned with your purpose in life. I entered this job mixing the two and that's been a source of pain. Recognizing that paid employment is just that has helped me to see there's other opportunities out there if a paycheck is what I'm concerned about. It'll probably be healthier for me in the long run to just make a change.
Last edited by bradley on Thu Nov 19, 2015 6:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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SimpleLife
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Re: Burnout
Sounds like burnout of career to me. Only way to know for sure is to take some time off, heal and then change to something else. You can even try changing to a different role in your profession, just to make sure that you are burnt out on the whole thing. If that doesn't fix it, then it's probably time to leave. If changing careers doesn't fix it, at least for a few years, then you should probably change again.
I will tell you that pretty much any IT job description I read looks awful to me. Except maybe IT manager, but to get my foot back into the door with that, I'm looking at 80K a year, a 70K a year paycut. I look at recruiter jobs and all I can think is I would LOVE to do that compared to what I'm doing now. Alas, it's tough to give up the money. It makes the OMY syndrome so much worse. But I think I'm going to keep applying over the next few months and try to get a 100K a year management gig. I can work my way back up, and that's more than an acceptable income for my living and savings goals. Although I was shooting for 1 mil for retirement, I will be close in 2 years anyways, within a couple hundred thousand. At that point, I will feel comfortable that I have enough buffer to pull the plug. Doing my MBA right now so I have that as a fall back option.
I will tell you that pretty much any IT job description I read looks awful to me. Except maybe IT manager, but to get my foot back into the door with that, I'm looking at 80K a year, a 70K a year paycut. I look at recruiter jobs and all I can think is I would LOVE to do that compared to what I'm doing now. Alas, it's tough to give up the money. It makes the OMY syndrome so much worse. But I think I'm going to keep applying over the next few months and try to get a 100K a year management gig. I can work my way back up, and that's more than an acceptable income for my living and savings goals. Although I was shooting for 1 mil for retirement, I will be close in 2 years anyways, within a couple hundred thousand. At that point, I will feel comfortable that I have enough buffer to pull the plug. Doing my MBA right now so I have that as a fall back option.
Re: Burnout
Just to share a burnout experience. I was the high achieving type. Ended up in the law like many. Just got to the big dollar after more than 10 years in a big legal office. Relatively low net worth for quitting, as I pissed most of it away, but I did. I just couldn't really continue. Brain fog. Depression, I would say. I was like a stressed animal walking around in circles in a zoo year after year after year.
I seriously seriously needed some time to heal from the whole thing. Two years later I can contemplate doing some similar work, part time, just for some fun cash, but for the longest time that would not have been possible. Work nightmares.
I say I can contemplate it - doing it, well, we shall see.
I wouldn't recommend waiting that long if things are bad. It can seem impossible to get out, but that's normally (not in OP's case) due to debt and ego. Clear the debt, and work around the ego - at least that's what I had to do.
I seriously seriously needed some time to heal from the whole thing. Two years later I can contemplate doing some similar work, part time, just for some fun cash, but for the longest time that would not have been possible. Work nightmares.
I say I can contemplate it - doing it, well, we shall see.
I wouldn't recommend waiting that long if things are bad. It can seem impossible to get out, but that's normally (not in OP's case) due to debt and ego. Clear the debt, and work around the ego - at least that's what I had to do.
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SimpleLife
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Re: Burnout
I see people from many professions getting burned out eventually. It seems the unconscious competence and familiarity with the bad wears everyone down, regardless of industry.
Re: Burnout
Yes. And sometimes it doesn't wear you down over time. Sometimes all it takes is a paradigm shift in the wrong direction, and it hits you all at once. Your energy is just gone.SimpleLife wrote:I see people from many professions getting burned out eventually. It seems the unconscious competence and familiarity with the bad wears everyone down, regardless of industry.
This is what my burnout looked like, and what I did to address it.
Re: Burnout
This is a good thread. I'm completely burnt out from work. I just don't give a shit. I also work as a project manager and I've worked as a technical resource but I hate both roles equally. On top of that I reckon I have 5 years to go before I will be able to FIRE.
I need to review everyone's comments on how to handle it but my initial though is just get through the next year and try and structure it so that I can bludge as much as possible.
I need to review everyone's comments on how to handle it but my initial though is just get through the next year and try and structure it so that I can bludge as much as possible.
Re: Burnout
@steveo73, I recommend reading GandK's link right above your post. This year has seen me reaching burnout status a bit and I feel its only going to get worse as I get closer to being done here unless I actively disengage from it. Reading that helped a lot. Previously I had lamented how much time I felt I was wasting doing work I didn't care about and that doesn't even matter at the end of the day. I don't write software anymore, but I do work in software maintenance and so the same sand castle metaphor works for my career too. I had never thought of it that way but I had the same general feeling about it after going through several software iterations.
Shifting perspective to realize that this work is my ticket to a great life makes it much easier. It makes me care about my work for a different reason altogether - the pursuit of freedom. In fact, since reading what she wrote I have engaged my work at 2013-2014 levels again (when I got this position and was excited for it).
I also try to envision my career as happening in compressed time ; as in each day I spend here gives me the same amount of "career time" as every 2.5 weeks for my coworkers. That sort of envisioning of career-time compressing is very motivating for me.
Shifting perspective to realize that this work is my ticket to a great life makes it much easier. It makes me care about my work for a different reason altogether - the pursuit of freedom. In fact, since reading what she wrote I have engaged my work at 2013-2014 levels again (when I got this position and was excited for it).
I also try to envision my career as happening in compressed time ; as in each day I spend here gives me the same amount of "career time" as every 2.5 weeks for my coworkers. That sort of envisioning of career-time compressing is very motivating for me.
Re: Burnout
Cmonkey - I just read your post but I read GandK's post I think yesterday.
Yes - I have to simply suck it up at work and realize that it is my ticket to a good life. I like your idea of career time. That might make it easier to handle as well.
Yes - I have to simply suck it up at work and realize that it is my ticket to a good life. I like your idea of career time. That might make it easier to handle as well.
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SimpleLife
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Re: Burnout
steveo73 wrote:This is a good thread. I'm completely burnt out from work. I just don't give a shit. I also work as a project manager and I've worked as a technical resource but I hate both roles equally. On top of that I reckon I have 5 years to go before I will be able to FIRE.
I need to review everyone's comments on how to handle it but my initial though is just get through the next year and try and structure it so that I can bludge as much as possible.
Can you make it work for you? Read the Art of Not Working at Work. As burned out as I am, and as much as I despise some of the people I work for/with, I have a job where I am paid a GREAT salary, with awesome benefits, working from home. I save twice what I was before with this job, counting the reduced insurance expenses, pay bump, and reduced commuting costs. Plus it's easier to stomach than going to an office. And, it's also very flexible for me. Today I worked extra remote from my hot spot while I got an important chore done.
For every year I work here, I shave two years off my FIRE plan. I still figure I will go another six years to get while the getting is good, but this will just be that much extra buffer. At the end of the day, I don't care if the admin assistant is now my "boss". I still make twice what he does...and that's what counts.
Re: Burnout
SimpleLife - I think I will have to make it work. I like a lot of things about my work. I like a lot of the people that I work with and I like the work. At the same time there is so much shit that I hate. I think though I just have to keep going.
I'd love to though get a retrenchment but I don't think that is going to happen.
I'd love to though get a retrenchment but I don't think that is going to happen.