motivated to come to work. Add to it the stress level of my job has increased significantly over the past few years, and I dread coming to work most days. I enjoy the people I work with, for the most part (even the man-heating women's lib lady is tolerable), and I have a great boss, but it seems like we deal more and more with issues that results in me having to put in more hours and put up with more crap each day.

Problem is, I have a daughter that will be off to college next year, and a son off on a mission in a few years. So I'm heading into the high-dollar times with my kids, and switching careers isn't an easy process. My wife says I should just find a new job, but I hate having to go through the whole dog and pony show of interviewing. Plus, I've reached the point in my career where I can't just go out and easily find another job. Too bad I can't just go to the job store and get a new job. Finding another job is only half the issue - the real issue is that I'm growing tired and bored with what I do, not necessarily the company I work for (I'm a compliance officer for an energy company). I've spent my entire career in the energy industry, so it's all I've ever done.

But, I'm slowly coming to the realization that something needs to change because it's a real drag coming into work most weeks. It doesn't help that a 60-hr work week is now the norm, and the hour commute I have each way doesn't really help either.

Anyway, for those of you that have changed careers, how did you go about doing it? Any tips or pointers you can offer? TIA