I need to rant and get advice

So I hate my job. I mean I hate the way my job makes me feel 85% percent of the time. I am a child protective social worker. I help parents get their kids back after they have been removed due to abuse or neglect. Or help them not get them back if they dont get it together. In theory it is great because I help families and help kids when their parents are too messed up. But mostly I do paperwork. It drains the life out of me. I would much rather spend and hour getting yelled at by a drugged out parent than type about it in 3 different forms. I have been trying to switch positions for several months but it hasn't worked out. Not only does it bum me out, but it triggers my mental health.

To complicate things, it pays really well (compared to other social work jobs I can get without a master's degrees). I am the sole financial provider for my family. So just up and quitting is not a great option. I just spent a couple hours searching for jobs, but what I can qualify for outside of my current employer would pay about half of what I make, but I would probably qualify for government help trying to feed a family of 4 on that income. Being a welfare mamma is so tempting at times, but I like having a house, and food, and cars.

My options are to try and go on stress leave again. I just need to speak to my doctor honestly of how i feel and they take me off work a few months (happens every 2 years or so, but i just returned from my last trip to the psych ward less than a year ago). Quit and hope for something better. Or just keep going and quit bitching

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EuphoricTurtle · 41-45, M

Taking a job that pays HALF of what you earn right now is brutal no matter how much you make and obviously involves major life changes. However the extra money you make now does come at a cost, your mental health. I totally get what you said about liking having a house, and food and cars. And it's easy to quantify how much those things are worth.
How much is your mental health worth?
And taking that into consideration, how do those two salaries compare?

lost213 · 46-50, M

@EuphoricTurtle I agree.. money is nice to have. But not when it cost you your mental health. Which will eventually cost you your family.

MaliaAgain · 36-40, F

@EuphoricTurtle absolutely. I seriously decide to quit every two years after "this time it/I will be different" doesnt work out. I've done budgets to figure out what other positions I could demote to and still make a liveable wage, but those opportunities dont come up often. The only real splurge in our budget is the cable bill. We already have cheap cars, cheap phones, no going out or vacations. It's hardto downgrade even more. Basically I'm a few dollars above the poverty line. Enough to not qualify for any free stuff, but not enough to feel comfortable.

Dainbramadge · 56-60, M

I think the only advice I could render is to try to better the position you are in now.
Don't try to run away from the situation just try to change your mind set on it.
You have to keep the job because money is security.
Your family depends on that from you.

I know it sucks but some times you just have to take one for the team.

With that said, you need to find a more positive way to view your job.

I think a good example would be me. :-)

I build stuff out of metal. All kinds of things and I love every second of it for the most part.
I'm not getting rich but I can survive rather comfortably.
Now part of the job is repetitious. Some times the exact same thing for days and sometimes even weeks.
I have to make it fun or I will just quit because it is sucking the life out of me.
So I find ways to make it fun and more challenging.
I do this by going fast. I push myself to go faster every time I do the job.
It sounds simple but it keeps me interested and makes the repetition bearable.

MaliaAgain · 36-40, F

@Dainbramadge that's pretty much why I've been looking for transfers within the same job title. Even other departments that I might qualify for, but I have not been lucky yet. I guess that's why it's most a rant. I know something needs to change, and it's not going to be my management.

Selah ·

Tell your baby daddy to get a job. Youre doing too much.

MaliaAgain · 36-40, F

@Selah that is definitely an option but then I would have to be home full-time with the kids and that would seriously hinder my mental health. If we both go to work his whole minimum wage paycheck would be for child care

Gangstress · 41-45, F

This sucks and the reason why I didn't get into social care. The reality is far from what I would have hoped.

I think you need time off.

If honest. The ladt job i had I hated. I got to the point of a mental breakdown. My partner asked me to leave. Which I did.

Luckily two weeks after that I manged to get a job I loved and I have had respect that i would not get elsewhere. And for once I can say. I love my job.

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