I Hate My Job -- Now What?

Wise Bread articles that help you cope with a job you hate and find one you love.

You hate your job, but what can you do about it? First, assess your situation to determine what your next step should be. Learn how to survive at a job you hate, how to get out without hurting your career, and what you can do to not hate your next job. Use these links to jump ahead to any section.

• Assessing Your Situation
• Making Changes at Work
  
• Getting Out of the Job
• Finding a Job that Makes You Happy

If you recently lost your job, take a look at Wise Bread's collection of tips and resources for the recently laid off.

Assessing Your Situation

10 Important Signs Your Job Might Be Worth Staying At
Think you hate your job? Before you jump ship, see if your current job has the qualities that makes it worth staying at. Your situation may be better than you thought. By Sarah Winfrey

10 Important Signs That Your Job Sucks
You're miserable at work, but do you hate it enough to leave? Here are 10 ways to tell if your job really sucks -- and how you can fix it. By Troy Hadley

The Three F Rule Can Lead You to Happiness
The Three F Rule is a simple formula that keeps you sane and makes sure your working life doesn't go off the rails. If you don't want to hate your job, make sure you have at least two of these: fun, fame, and fortune. By Paul Michael

Do What You Love: Idealistic Nonsense Or Good Advice?
Get some advice from Gary Vaynerchuk on why everyone needs to do what they love. By WC Porter

Can you afford to follow your dreams? Can you afford NOT to?
When you hate your job, maybe it's time for a change. Maybe it's time to follow your dreams, instead -- but the prospect of such a major change can be intimindating. Sarah Winfrey and commenters discuss the pursuit of dreams and risks it involves. By Sarah Winfrey

Great Job With Average Pay vs. Sucky Job With Fantastic Pay
So, what's better? Would you rather stick with a job you hate for the money or do something you love that barely pays the bills? Paul Michael and readers weigh the pros and cons of each side. By Paul Michael

Making Changes at Work

How to Survive (and Thrive!) in a Job You Hate
Sometimes, leaving a job you hate may not be an option. However, there are ways to survive and thrive in jobs you don't like. Here are 9 secrets to making that hated job easier. By Sarah Winfrey

How to Get What You Want at Work
Even if you hate your job, you can still try to improve your work situation by having a meeting with your boss. Here are some tips on how to turn the meeting to your advantage and get what you want at work. By Sarah Winfrey

14 Behaviors & Attitudes That Can Drive Workplace Success
If you hate your job because you don't seem to be getting anywhere, changing how you behave at work and re-evaluating your attitude towards the job might do the trick. Here are some ways to achieve workplace success. By Julie Rains

Why a Lousy Job Can Lead to a Bright Future
Hating your job doesn't mean you shouldn't try to excel at it. In fact, doing well at a lousy job can help your prospects in future employment opportunities. By Julie Rains

How You Can Change Your Life in Just 45 Minutes a Day
You might hate your job, but there is still that hour in the middle of the day that's all yours (usually). Those 45 minutes every day can be the time you need to make some major changes in your life. By Jonathan Bender

Getting Out of the Job

20 Signs That a Pink Slip is Coming
So you hate your job and you'd rather not have anything to do with it. Still, that's no excuse to let a pink slip catch you by surprise. Answer these questions to see if it's time to start the job search in earnest. By Paul Michael

Walking Away (From a Job That's Going Away) on Your Own Terms
Even if you hate your job, you should still look after your interests before walking away. Here is a plan to exit a bad work situation without burning yourself. By Julie Rains

How to Get Laid Off
Hate your job but don't want to quit on your own? Being laid off is a better option, but it can be difficult if you've been doing everything right. Here are some ways to get out of a job you hate without destroying your career. By Paul Michael

10 Steps to Quitting Your Job
If you prefer a more direct approach to leaving a job you hate, this thread by forum member RickLee can help. Here are 10 steps to walking out the corporate door.

Can You Buy Your Way Out of the Rat Race?
What are the chances that you leave a job you hate, get a new job, then find that you hate your new job, too? Theoretically, you can exit the rat race altogether if you have enough capital saved or invested to live off of. The reality, however, is not so simple; it's actually really hard to buy your way out. So what can you do instead? By Philip Brewer

On Choosing Temporary Freedom
If you had the option to switch back and forth between freedom and a regular job, you might not hate your job quite so much. Here's an introduction on the concept of temporary freedom and how you can work it into your life. By Philip Brewer

Is Honesty Always the Best Policy?
If you're leaving a job you hate for something better, it's definitely time to celebrate. But if you're too enthusiastic, that might turn off your ex-coworkers/-bosses and burn some bridges you'd rather keep intact. Ask yourself these three questions to help you figure out how best to break it to your colleagues. By Sarah Winfrey

Finding a Job that Makes You Happy

Avoiding Grass-is-Always-Greener Syndrome
It's easy to imagine that working anywhere else would be better than at the job you hate now. However, if you really want to be happy at the next job, you need to identify your pet peeves and make sure they're not waiting for you at the new job, too. Here's how. By Philip Brewer

Find Your Passion
You can lower the odds of hating your next job by following your passion, but what if you don't know what your passion is?  Here are some ways to find what it is that you would love to do. By Philip Brewer

Find Work Worth Doing
Simply doing work that you feel is worth the energy you put in can go a long way towards being happy, whether at your job or in your daily life. Start by making the distinction between work and a job. By Philip Brewer

For Love or Money: Must It Be One or the Other?
In further examining the intricacies of love and money, here are some concepts that further deepen the debate. By Nora Dunn

The First Step to Finding Your Dream Job
You've left the job that you hate; now, it's time to find one that you'll love. The first step to finding your dream job is to define what it is. Define your dream job by taking these steps. By Xin Lu

Location Independent Career Basics
If you hated your job because of its location, you can eliminate the issue by working at home -- or anywhere you want. A location independent career gives you the freedom to work where you want to. Here's what you need to know about location independent careers. By Nora Dunn

How Bibliophiles and Film Fanatics Can Find Success
If you've hated all the jobs you've had, it may be time to look at non-traditional avenues of income: writing reviews. Here is how book lovers and movie fanatics can make money off their hobbies. By Charissa Arsaoui

Could Online Teaching Be For You?
Not sure what you want to do after you've left the job you hate? Why not teach classes online? See if online teaching should be the next step in your career. By Margaret Garcia-Couoh