I’m well paid and have lovely colleagues, but my job is dull, dull, dull
I am a researcher at a university (I studied psychology and research methods). I used to love my job but after a couple of years it became repetitive and there are no career development opportunities. I still produce the same quality of work but I’ve lost my motivation. I wouldn’t like to stay in the same job for ever, although the money is good and I love my colleagues.
I recently got a qualification in a more specialised area of psychology and I would love to get into that field as it’s varied and challenging, but I have no relevant experience. I think the difficult part is to find a job with a similar salary, as most of the suitable jobs out there are graduate positions.
On the other hand, I know that there are a large number of employees who are not happy with their job but, because it offers security and a decent income, they decide to stay and that this is quite a common phenomenon.
So, should I take the next step and find a more fulfilling job, hopefully relevant to my recently obtained qualification, even if the salary is lower? Or should I stay and accept the fact that work doesn’t need to be pleasant?
Jeremy says
You don’t say how old you are, but from the sound of it you’re still in your 20s or early 30s. Even now, the only factors that make your job tolerable are agreeable colleagues, a good salary and a sense of security. Important as they are, they really mustn’t deter you from seeking out a role that you would find inherently interesting.
It’s easy enough for me to stand on the sidelines and encourage you to take risks, but I’m pretty sure that’s what you need to do. I’m not even sure that the risks are that great, as the greater risk lies with the alternative: you opt for security and another year or two slip by. You’re less and less enamoured of your job – but find it harder and harder to summon up the energy and determination to do anything about it.
So, as with all undemanding and repetitive tasks, your standards start to slip. The chances are that others will notice, too. And to add to your unhappiness, that psychology qualification you so admirably acquired, but never put to use, becomes ever less current and so ever less valuable.
I’m pretty sure you’ve been through all this in your head many times. What I’m strongly advising you to do now is confront it openly and make a decision to change direction. To harden your resolve, tell at least one person of that decision and even put a deadline on it. Then go for it.
It’s not too late – and, unlike many others who are stuck in a similar situation, you’re lucky enough to know exactly the kind of work you’d rather to be doing. It won’t be easy and it won’t be quick and it’s true that you may well have to settle, at least initially, for a lower salary. But what you’ll gain in return will be beyond price.
Readers say
• Leave – money is nothing compared to job satisfaction. I just changed jobs and cut one fifth of my wage, but I’m much, much happier. Also, I’ve found that you adapt – when I was earning more I was wasting the extra income on stuff I didn’t really need. Now I’m more frugal but don’t really feel like I’m missing out on anything. nomenklatura44
• You took the extra course. Why, if you didn’t intend, or at least hope, that you’d use it? You want to move, you’ve picked up the “tools” to do so. Go and use them, and it’s highly likely that you’ll soon catch up any temporary loss of income. quonky
• Chuck your job. Thinking this way always ends in a resignation letter. So, if in a few years you may feel another need to change, fine. fizzdarling
• I had a well-paid office job in 1999. It made me ill and unhappy. I went on holiday – long walks in the Austrian countryside – and came back with the resolve and strength to hand in my notice. Fifteen years later, I am working in a different field and it took me 10 years to gain any sort of confidence. But, oh!, I am so much happier. nina1414
After 17 years as a Tefl teacher in Taiwan, what can I do now?
After 17 years in Taiwan as a Tefl teacher, I made the break. I could never face teaching again and need a complete change. As I spent so much time abroad I had little chance to try other careers and now, after a year, I can only come up with accountancy or perhaps catering. I do know that cooking professionally can be stressful, so I’m not even sure about that. I did enquire about being a gas engineer but I was told that finding full-time employment at the end of the £7,000 course was virtually impossible. Without a skill, and at my age, nobody will consider me.
Jeremy says
Instead of thinking of your 17 years in teaching as time wasted, turn them to your advantage. Instead of trying to think of conventional UK jobs and careers you might be suitable for, go searching for companies, educational establishments and import-export advisers, who might find someone with your knowledge and experience, exactly what they were looking for. I know it sounds unlikely, and there won’t be many of them, but you don’t need many.
Scour the internet for any UK-based organisations that have links with Taiwan. Presumably you have fluent Mandarin – and maybe other dialects. Join LinkedIn and other job-related websites. Compose an ad for yourself and resist the temptation to give it broad – and therefore unspecific – appeal. Make it almost absurdly personal. Then, given the interest shown recently in Asian education systems, and whether they place excessive pressure on students and undue emphasis on mathematics and science at the expense of creativity, write your own informed assessment of the differences between the UK’s approach and that of Taiwan – or, more broadly, China. In short, use the internet to start making a small name for yourself in your own specialised area.
Readers say
• If you speak and read Chinese you would be much sought-after for a firm exporting to those markets in a sales or consultancy role. Elainenz
• I was in a similar situation when I came back from some time abroad – Tefl paid so badly I started washing-up for a local catering company and it actually paid more. So I worked my way up, from event staff and then manager, and now work full-time, dealing with clients, sales, admin, logistics, staffing, website etc – but not doing the cooking. It is still a bit stressy at times, but rewarding, too. jewell79
• If you are interested in accounting, check out AAT and CIMA websites. Get qualified and it’s a decent salary. ID725569
• Mightn’t it be that you’re totally burnt out in Taiwan and could manage a year or two more in another region? Tefl teachers in the Middle East make an absolute packet. WinstonThatcher
• Is there some other way you could use your language skills? I’ve done some (admittedly unpaid) copy editing for English as a second language speakers.
If you have any universities or colleges near you, look into developing educational programmes rather than teaching them? Or perhaps back-office/admin work dealing with visas and such. Especially with so many ESL students coming in to the UK education system now. CatSilver
Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or reply personally.