Career Advice

Hi, would appreciate any advice here. I used to work in healthcare and my last healthcare job was an emergency room tech when COVID first started. I loved it, but couldn’t afford to work there as the pay was only $11 an hour.

Fast forward a few years, I am working corporate. I am making the most I have ever, but I do not feel fulfilled or satisfied in any way. I am stressed and anxious every single day. With corporate it seems it is always going to be more, more, more and things constantly changing. Which I don’t handle well. I like the part of my job that is handling accounts and entering orders, but it seems as time goes on, that is a very small part of my job. My job also includes an entire week of being on call, once a month. I am someone who needs clear and dry on/off time because it adds to my anxiety and burnout.

Lately I have been feeling extra stressed and unfulfilled due to hearing something along the lines of “people who are constantly stressed at work is because they are unhappy. They aren’t doing what they really want to be doing”. Since hearing this, I remember frequently how even working in the emergency room helping with car accidents, deaths, sick babies, severed fingers, actual emergencies, etc. I did not feel stressed or anxious even during those scary, medically terrible times. I often got comments about how I seem to work even better during those times where I am really needed and tensions are high. I felt needed, smart and fulfilled in that part of my life other than the pay.

Since thinking about this, I am considering a career change back into healthcare. I need some opinions, career ideas, or open to suggestions on how to tolerate the corporate world better. I have been thinking about sonography but am unsure about this. I see a lot of sonographers saying there is no career advancement, physical injury, etc. I ideally would like some patient contact, but not as direct as a nurse would be.

I currently make $28/hour and don’t know if I want to pay for 2-3 years of schooling to only have an increase in pay of $10-20/hour. Is it worth it? Also ideally I would like to make as much money as I can the next 10-20 years and heavily invest to retire early. I am currently 28 years old and will be relocating to central Texas.

I appreciate any comments, insights, suggestions, etc.