I took up boxing.
No, seriously. I never again felt the overwhelming desire to punch a client because I spent all Saturday morning (and an hour on Tuesday and Thursday mornings) beating the tar out of a giant bag of sand. Trust me, this was saying a lot. I used to work for bankers
And when that wasn't enough, I changed jobs. I went into the corporate world after law school as part of a plan and I stuck to it. I worked for a while, paid off all of my debt, saved some money and got myself into a position where I was able to take a job I loved at about a third the pay without worrying about money. I don't say this to gloat, but to encourage those who hate their jobs to devise a plan.
Look for ways to develop the skills you will need to do what you want. Especially now. In a tough market, you can't just dive in without checking the water level. Make a plan. That might mean going back to school or taking seminar or continuing education courses in your field. It might mean talking to people who have the sort of job you really want to do to see how they got there. And if what you really want to do involves financial risk, like taking a pay cut to work for a non-profit or starting your own company, it means creating a financial plan, devising contingencies, and really mapping out what you need to do to be successful in your new field.
I can't guarantee you'll be successful, but if you don't come up with alternatives to staying in a job you hate, you're just going to find yourself stuck with that job you hate (or, in this economy, worse).
Rac (who as you probably can guess, is a big planner)
