Feel Like You’re at a Dead End Job? Try These Solutions

If your job doesn’t offer you the room for advancement you need, it’s probably time to make a change. Changing jobs is always risky, but building new skills and improving your education is always a worthwhile investment. Before you quit, make a plan for better employment.

Go Back to School

If you didn’t get the chance to finish high school, it’s time to go back and lay that foundation for a better life. You can take sample GED tests online to prepare for the real test in-person. For those who get test anxiety, be aware that there are options, such as having the test read to you to help you think through the question. Building up your education beyond high school is also critical. For those who don’t have access to college classes, a short course in bookkeeping improves your marketability and can help you manage your finances in the future.

Change Careers

You can start the career change process at your current job. Look for training in soft skills, such as emotional intelligence. If you have a personality conflict with someone in your life, take a hard look at the relationship to see what you could have done differently, and work from that perspective. If fear is getting in the way of your job search, create an intimidation list to see what scares you, and get to work on those skills. Your current job can be better if you apply emotional intelligence, so improve what you have now and plan for better in the future.

Build a Better Job Where You Are

If you’re bored on the job, ask for more work. It’s important at this point that you not get too picky. A tedious task can turn into a great project if nobody else wants to do it. You can turn it into a puzzle. If there is an unpleasant task that really needs to be addressed on a regular basis that nobody else wants to deal with, take it over. Remove that burden from your co-workers and serve as a problem solver. The next time a big problem comes up, you may be the person contacted to fix the issue. You may even gain access to more training. The chance to get paid to learn is a bonus.

We all will likely spend a large chunk of our lives working. Being resentful because you’re bored for several hours a day is hard on your brain and your body. Learn new things and build new skills right where you are so that you’re ready for that new job when the opportunity comes up.

Read this next: 3 Tips for Those Looking at Giving Something Back to the World