I quit my last job at the non-profit. It was the right decision. Honestly, I was really looking for an easy job—delivering car parts or something similar. Not diminishing those jobs at all, just compared to what I've dealt with in the past decade, it appealed to me from a "stress" perspective.
But that's not what happened. First, let me say how awful the job-searching experience is. Just terrible. Very few companies even acknowledge receipt of your interest, and it's hard to tell if a job is still active. Not fun is an understatement.
This experience was a little different. I applied to the State Department of Energy to run its Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Weatherization Assistance Program. The state has a process of certifying your qualifications to ensure you meet the minimum and then scheduling interviews with qualified candidates. I was invited to an interview and felt it went really well. The BIL WAP is a short-term (five-year) federal grant program that is in every way except funding source the same as the existing Annual WAP program. BIL only brought additional funds.
In any event, I was hired for that position and it has been a good fit. There is only low-level stress, and working for the state limits how many hours you can work each week (37.5). While the pay is a tad low, the benefits are really good, and I'm enjoying the mission-centered work of providing weatherization to low-income residents.
Win-Win.
