Hey, I'm 25F and I'm a mechanical engineer working on designing airplane parts.
I make very good money (though in a VHCOL), unlimited PTO, free coffee and meals but at the end of the day, I'm sick and tired of the office, I'm also very sick of the silicon valley tech culture and I'm especially sick of the hierarchy: to get my design ideas through I have to pass them through a man first because people will NOT listen to me. As soon as my ideas go through the senior engineer who is a dude, they're praised to heaven and back... But the male dominated and ultra competitive environment is the worst part of my field. I've been at my current role for under a year, I have only 2 years of experience so I can probably last a few more years, but I cannot see myself working like this into my 30s and 40s.
I recently took a weekend trip to a smaller city to visit a friend and really enjoyed the slow pace of life there. I can't tell if I want a career change: maybe a future pivot into science teaching, or just a new job in the same field, or convince my boss to let me work full-time remotely, but I cannot stay here and be stressed or my fiance and future children will be affected. Problem is, I'd probably have to take a pay-cut in some form or take years of additional training and I don't even have ideas for what would be a better fit for me. Every career assessment I've taken has pointed squarely at engineering, science, architecture, and teaching since I am genuinely interested in research, solving problems, and collaborating with people.
Wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation or can share what they swapped to.