However, being in the same situation less than 6 months ago, albeit without the children, I can honestly say that I was fed up with the “Be happy you have a job” advice. If I had a nickel for everyone who advised me to be happy with a job I didn’t like, I wouldn’t have had to worry about a job anymore because I’d be independently wealthy.

Anyways, my opinion still stands, don’t be happy that you have a job you don’t like. Figure out what you want and go for it. Your family will appreciate you more for it.

And again, I apologize for the abrasive nature of my reply to you Funny ABout Money.

I can’t count the number of times I considered simply quitting and taking my chances with long-term unemployment. The layoff that came as a result of the economic crash finally forced me to make that decision…but not until I was eligible for Social Security. With no source of income to cover the basic bills, walking away from a tedious job to take on more satisfying but much lower-paid work was out of the question.

Kevin is sick of the work. He wants to quit his job because he’s bored with what he’s doing. That’s not really a great reason to step off a cliff. He has a family to support. Neither setting up a furniture shop in the basement nor trying to make a living farming “a few acres” is likely to do that. Rather than blithely following his bliss, he’d be far better off to keep the day job and try the farming or the furniture gig on the side, to see whether it will fly. At the very least, he should get himself a paid apprenticeship or entry-level job in his dream occupations — say, a job at Thos. Moser? At least then he’d earn a little to help keep food on the table.

If following your bliss entails leaping off a precipice, be sure there’s a safety net at the bottom…

If everyone was satisfied with where they were we would have no progress. What if abraham lincoln decided that slaves should be thankful they have a roof over their head? What if the fathers of our country decided to just be thankful for the land under their feet? I know a career is trivial compared to those things but the point is don’t settle for anything. Go get what you want. You will be a better man, husband, and father for it rather than pretending you are satisfied.

My tax adviser once remarked, when I was going through a similar hand-wringing phase, “A shi**ty job is better than no job.” She was right.

One question that I haven’t seen is what does your family think about this? It’s great that they are a major consideration in your decision, but I think talking to them about your options is really important.

On a related note. If you do move on to a different profession, do you have enough drive to persevere? Many people mentioned doing something on the side. I think this is a fantastic idea. The whole idea of try before you buy?

You mentioned that you think you’d be interested in doing financial planning. Perhaps you can start this on the side and see how much you enjoy it. It sounds like your current work is flexible enough that you’d have time to invest in yourself and learn the ropes. If you find that you’re passionate about it and it gives you the ability to make ends meet for your family, then perhaps you can revisit leaving your current job at that point.

Whatever you decide, best of luck!

Most people I know really need a regular paycheck (or think they do) and don’t think outside the box when it comes to consulting work. What they don’t realize is that they can earn double or more and work half as much if they go the consulting route. But they’re scared and need the security of the paycheck I think.

I also think it’s really helpful if you do have some generalist skills, so if you can pick up a couple of jobs as a controller like I have, it really expands your options for what you can do. I find with the recession (although I haven’t noticed a recession myself), lots of companies don’t want to hire permanent replacements but the work still needs to get done.

In your position (and mine), I’d keep working the job while trying to figure out how to support your family another way, or save up enough support it with investments. I’m like you, I enjoy working on stuff, so I’m seriously considering saving up for some real estate. I hope to do the work to fix up houses and then keep them as rentals. I plan to pay them off as fast as possible with the day job, and then use them to eventually give up the day job.

In the mean time, pursue some of your other interests! If possible do so with your wife, it would be best if you could get her involved in some way too! That way you can tackle some of your hobbies together, like working on houses.

My blog is small, and I really don’t make much money from it, but it’s a great escape from my 9 to 5 job…

I hate to sounds like everybody else but I would stay where you are and continue side projects (remembering to include your wife if possible)…

I do think that it would be easier to look for another job while your child is young, because mine are 9 and 6, and they have developed a sense of identity with our house and the city we live in…