Financial success vs happiness?

Yep, and as you know, most of us hate out jobs too. Currently a lead on a G4 and putting up with an incredibly toxic management company in Connecticut. Looking to get out of the industry over the next few years actually, which goes to what the OP is getting at.

Making good money but the time away from home is getting old fast. Wife and I have been saving like crazy for the day we say eff it! Time to write the next chapter

 

#firstworldproblems

 

Yes they are.

 

Hope I don't sound like some kind of know it all.. just some dude's opinion.

"I'm unhappy at my job" is a pretty strong statement. That means you weren't going for what you wanted to bring into this world for a while. You habitually suppressed your desires for 10+ years, you probably can't even really figure out what do you want to be doing at this point (DAMHIK). Going for what you want is just not what you do. So you resort to an "absence of pain" statement. It'll take some good effort and time to get out of this negative state and start looking at where do you want to make your next contribution.

Speaking of obligations, note the number one on the list of "regrets of the dying" goes something like "I wish I lived a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me". With #2 being "I wish I didn't work so much".

Your kid is going to pick this up from you. They do what you do not what you tell them to do.

You risk ending up in sexually depolarized relationship because a man that chose safety over finding and completing his mission is emasculated and uninteresting to the feminine.

Practicalities...

Read up on pivoting a career. Lots of articles and books, on linkedin and all over the place in general. Do more at your current line of business that you like, try a few new things on the side -- make some lateral moves. Be prepared to get surprised: if you work out what would you like to go for and actually try that "something else", you might end up quite disappointed and will have to try again a few more times before you find something that does work.

Same thing with finances, question your current lifestyle. What do you want to do with the money you're making? Sure your family might put up a fight but if you play it right and have a plan they just might be your best support.

Did you want to have an expensive lifestyle to begin with and thus chose a high paying career? If not why are you living a lifestyle that prevents you from being financially independent enough not to have to sweat over a career change, or retiring early?

One last point. It is actually dangerous to be entrenched in a career. Industries shake up, things happen. "Security" might be false. Not diversifying might make you worse off over the long term.

 

One more thing: find a mentor. Even better, have a think tank of trusted people you can tap into. It's incredible how far up one's ass their head could be without the culprit actually noticing. I'm sure if you think about your circle of connections and ask around you'll find people who can guide you.

 

Got a friend of mine in his late forties about to get his RN. After he retired from the military he owned a successful running shoe store for several years, his wife came from a money, too, but he was always stressed with the business side of running a business. He is a people person and loves helping people, will make a great nurse.

 

Well that explains it!
You're going thru withdrawal. I felt the same way every time I came back from Maui when I was still working.
Stick it out awhile longer and see if you can do anything to improve the issues that are giving you stress.
If you hate what you're doing that's a problem but if it's a matter of a bad work environment, well the environment can sometimes be fixed.
If it doesn't work out go back to Maui and get a job sailing with Trilogy.

 

I had a big story typed out... but you don't need all that.

Bottom line, you only get one go-round. Don't waste one second doing something you hate.

 

High earner and 20 years plus to retire is a bit of a non sequitur if you can live smartly and don't have lofty expectations. Notice those pesky italics. Being unhappy in the current is a bad investment for the future from a numbers standpoint -- remember there is a reason for amortization.

More data would help give you something more than casual advice:
age; current job/ksa's; engineering degree type/school; retirement planning; goals vs requirements; that kind of stuff. Or we can talk beer. Your call.

 

Happines over Dollars any day of the week now that I have seen the other side of life. YES I would like money, but a smile makes me happier

 

I don't know what hospital you're at or what pay scale they have set up, but I dated an RN for quite a while. She had just about 10 years experience, most of them as a cardiac nurse and several as a cath lab nurse. According to her, aside from getting an MSN and going into management or going full-out for a DNP, she was about as topped out as she could get pay-wise as an "actual", still-doing-direct-patient-contact nurse.

Anyway, not to get too far off the point, but basically - if your salary is anything like hers, an entry-level engineering job will not actually be that much of a pay cut. I don't know specifics of Mech Engineering but Software Engineers generally start out at about 60-80k.

The other thing I learned (about nursing, at least) from dating her - work environments vary drastically. Try a different unit or discipline. She did not like ER nursing; it was too hectic and at the same time too simple - "verify pulse, administer pain meds, repeat". Cardiac care was more of a challenge, without being simply "here's eight patients for just you, make sure at least six live through the night."

What part of the US are you?

 

See that's exactly the issue
you went somewhere...you gotta take a week off and stay home.
Will you get bored ?

How about for a month, if you stayed home and around town for a month, will you get bored ?

You have to re-discover your passion in your heart, whatever it is now...
and let it be the focus of your life.

 

Im in California. I am not maxed out, but am at the higher end of the scale. To give you an idea of the cut I am about double those figures you quoted for base pay. I know for sure I need to leave where I am at. One consequence of Obama Care has been a shift in Nursing Jobs and there are fewer of them and many temp positions. I am in a union environment and seniority is key to everything. Temp positions put me at risk of loosing seniority and I am not willing to risk that. I would like to search out different areas, I am having issues with the born on date of my experience.

 

My bet is: You won't like engineering.

 

When I really think what would make me happy; I would love to be a craftsman.

 

What you're going through is, I suspect, extremely common. In fact, everyone at some point or other in their working life goes through it.

I have been at various times, well-paid and miserable as well as happy and poor. Both have their good and bad points.
The question you need to answer for yourself is "what is more important?" Be honest and know that there really isn't a right or wrong answer, just true or false.

Another thing you need to understand is that sooner or later EVERYTHING becomes a job and every job will be miserable at some point. Sure, some jobs will be more satisfying and uplifting than frustrating and soul-crushing, but the balance is likely up to you and your perspective not your boss or co-workers or customers or whomever.

For example; as an ER nurse you may very well have the opportunity to save a life. I can't imagine a more satisfying work experience. Then again, the thought of having to change a bed pan would have me wanting to slit my wrists.
Perspective is everything.

Figure out what's more important to you, make a decision, and never look back.

 

http://www.careertest.net/

I am in the same boat. It's not the job, more the environment that is driving my dissatisfaction. I'm not a dynamic work environment guy, I like boundaries. The above link is helping me determine what I really want in a work environment, so I am starting a new path. First stop - my local Community College to speak with an adviser. Then to build a network at my current employer (big airplane manufacturing company, largest US exporter, etc.) so I don't lose my service time. If that doesn't work, then I leverage my external and social network (read: the WERA BBS) to find where I want to go.

Good luck, it's tough being mid forties and trying to figure out what you want to do when you grow up this late in the game.

 

http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=321684

 

Happiness. Don't waste another minute in a terrible job. You'll look back later and say, "Why did I put up with that BS for so long?"

 

With your engineering degree and medical experience I would think you could easily get into the medical equipment field. Either design, sales, or training.