I'm doomed

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It seems no matter what job I get into, I get burnt out within months.

I got a master's degree in special education. But once I got a job as a special education teacher, I've found I can't handle it. For one, I cannot handle teenagers. I just can't do it. Second, I ended up so bogged down in never ending paperwork: IEPs, progress reports. More forms than a lame DBZ joke. It's basically doing the jobs of two people: the classroom teacher and the case manager. And I just can't do it! I got so caught up in trying to keep on top of all the case manager crap that I neglect my teaching and students are behind, and I still can't stay on top of any of it. I just know I can't do this for another year. I'm out.

And this is what has happened at every job I've ever had. I couldn't handle working at a call center for obvious reasons. In healthcare I was overworked and underpaid. The only kinds of jobs I could ever get have all been high turnover because nobody wants them and there is no competition for.

But there's nowhere else I can go either. I do not have the option of falling back on family. I can't move in with family like everyone else in my situation does, and I don't have anyone that will help me financially. This is why I've been cyclically homeless for over a decade. So I have no option but to keep accepting the worse jobs. And I can't even work a second job because I'm too burnt out to even start searching for one.

I just can't keep going like this. I exhaust myself working to the point that I have no energy left to do anything but spend the rest of my time laying in bed. But I have no other option. It's a cycle I can never escape. This is not living.

Maybe you are doing too much work.

I was so good at answering the phone at work that I basically did all the work for a group of four people!
And other departments would send tough customers my way.

Maybe you need to pay more attention to the long time workers, if there are any, to better gauge the amount of work you need to do versus the amount of work management asks you to do.

Fortunately I saved a lot and retired early!
Which is really easy if you work too much.
Now I get to find ways to spend it!

That just isn't possible anymore.

A lot of young people like Millennials in their 30's and 40's have retired.I know its not possible for everyone but there are numerous examples of people in their 30's retiring on the internet today.You have to make a decent income like a 6 figure income to do it in many cases but it is possible for some.I know its prolly not possible for you but many young people my age have retired.its called the FIRE movement.

Hi Nightwing,

I just replied to your post in another thread.

Have you considered stepping away from teaching?
I don't know what the local requirements are there but how about lawn maintenance?
Strimming edges and mowing lawns is much lower stress than dealing with other people. Pay is reasonable and capital outlay on equipment isn't that high. Pick up some local gigs and then when you do a good job people refer you to their friends. In my area there many people who just CBF mowing their own lawn. You also mentioned Colorado so perhaps snow shoveling during the winter could also be an option?

I honestly don't think that would change much. I've come to the realization that I'm not capable of maintaining a full-time work week indefinitely.