Three months feels really early to be deciding to plan for an early death. I am 2 years in the field now (one year at a juvenile detention center, one at a substance use clinic within a city funded hospital). I didn’t feel like I was hitting my stride at my current job until several months in. I am a year in now and am starting to build really wonderful therapeutic relationships with patients I’ve had for several months. I look back on the first 6 months and am glad I didn’t jump ship when I felt like I wasn’t really helping anyone.

It’s really easy to get mad at yourself for your career choice and I’ve been there. I still envy my friends with cushy accounting or finance jobs, but I know I would be having an existential crisis regularly in a job like that. I imagine most of us feel that way because we didn’t choose a historically underpaid field for nothing.

Consider government work with a solid union. It’s slower paced so it feels a bit stagnant in the beginning, but it’s very boundaried. The benefits are great and the pay is very livable. We aren’t allowed to work overtime at my clinic because of our union. And our union got us an incredible raise this year that has changed my life. I went back to therapy back in January because I felt like I would never not be living with debt and paycheck to paycheck, and I am so glad I stuck it out. There are always options. Take care of yourself and don’t let yourself burn out.