Let’s face it, most of our lives center around what we do for a living. It’s a sad fact, but we are all working a lot to keep up with inflation, and the cost of living continues to rise. Even those who work from home have their lives revolve around their work.

Your career or job is important because, unfortunately, we have bills to pay. That’s not to say money is everything, of course. The sad reality is that most people choose their careers based on how much money they can make. People use the phrase: “Money can’t buy happiness.” And while money might be able to solve most of our issues regarding finances, it doesn’t give us the true definition of happiness.

Maybe you are at a crossroads and are tired of your current job. Or you may be out of college or high school and ready to embark on the next chapter of your life. The question for both scenarios running through your head is likely, “How do I choose my career when I don’t know what I enjoy?”

Choosing A Career When You Feel Clueless

If you aren’t enjoying your career, there’s a good chance you may also feel miserable in other areas of your life. The problem is you feel stuck. You aren’t even sure what you want to do with the rest of your life, but you do know that it likely isn’t what you are doing now. Here are some practical tips to help you know how to move forward.

Identify What You Don’t Like About Your Current Job

It would be nice if we could reasonably quit our current job and figure things out as we go. Unfortunately, very few people have that type of financial freedom to be able to leave their current job and not look back.

First, try not to focus on what you want to do. Instead, think about what you don’t want to do. What about this current job makes you miserable? Is it the people? The commute time? The actual work?

List out the pros and cons of your career. Likely, money will fall into one of these columns. You may also decide that the work hours do not fit in with where you are in life. Think about the things you can and cannot control that make you hate waking up for work each day.

photo of a woman and two men working on their desktop computers in an office settingThink About Things You Like

You don’t enjoy your current job, but you don’t know what else to do. Take the cons you came up with and list other careers you think would be a better fit.

They don’t have to be things you would enjoy doing, but if you hate working the night shift, you’ll likely be able to cross many jobs off your list immediately.

Write out the jobs that you think you might like. You don’t have to find your dream job from this list, but seeing everything listed can help you think more clearly. To get you started, here’s an example of what your list might look like:

  • I love being able to sit at a desk and do work that way.
  • I really do not care to interact or do work for the public.
  • I’d prefer a job where I can work from home and set my own hours.
  • I would prefer to work in the non-profit sector.

Take It One Day At A Time

You’re miserable, and you hate what you are doing. It’s not easy, but take it one day at a time. You don’t want to rush into a decision just to end up in the same spot in a year or two. Take this time while you are employed to figure out the next steps that can help you ease your worries over your career.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to learn more about career counseling and how anxiety treatment can help you feel less miserable.