People In These 5 Jobs Want To Quit More Than Anyone Else, Data Shows
Karola G | Pexels | Canva Pro It seems like pretty much most of us are in "take this job and shove it" mode these days, but have you ever wondered which jobs people want to quit most right now? A new survey has some insight, and it's both surprising and not surprising in the least.
When you want out of your job ASAP, it's not like you go on LinkedIn and start announcing it, right? You probably head to Google and start searching things like "how to change careers" or "how to leave my job as a…" Profit Engine dug into these kinds of search terms to see which professions are spending the most time Googling an exit plan from their current job or career, by analyzing which job titles were attached to terms like "burnout," "stress," "quit," "leaving," etc.
From their findings, they deduced which types of jobs have the highest dissatisfaction. There are a few surprises in the list, but the ones that are unexpected make a lot of sense given the state of our economy and working world.
The 5 jobs people want to quit most, according to data analysis:
1. Caregivers in healthcare
Caregivers describe the myriad support staff in healthcare, from the good people doing our blood draws to the assistants and custodial staff keeping facilities clean. In short, the ones doing hugely important and difficult work, and getting little of the recognition or respect that other healthcare professionals receive.
Profit Engine reports that "caregivers provide physically and emotionally demanding support to vulnerable populations, often for low pay and with minimal institutional backup," all while doing work with "repetitive physical strain, exposure to illness, and emotional exhaustion." No wonder they are the number-one career field looking for a way out.
2. Teachers
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You knew this one was coming, too. The number one driver of teachers being desperate for a new job? Good, old-fashioned burnout.
"Classroom educators juggle lesson planning, grading, parent communication, administrative tasks, and managing diverse student needs," the experts wrote. Add on the fact that most teachers are underpaid, have to work well beyond the usual 9-to-5 hours, and have constant administration drama to deal with, who can blame teachers for being fed up?
3. Nurses
Wow, what a shocker that years of being screamed at while working in years-long crisis conditions during a pandemic, and now having the resurgence of countless diseases thanks to vaccine hesitancy, would have nurses looking for a change in careers.
But as Profit Engine's experts point out, nurses' working conditions were already becoming untenable before 2020 rolled around. "Nurses work in high-pressure environments where mistakes can have serious consequences, staffing shortages create unsustainable patient loads, and shift work disrupts sleep and personal life," they said. "The pandemic amplified these pre-existing issues, and the data suggests recovery hasn't happened."
4. Doctors
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Yeah, it might be time for the healthcare field to yell "mayday," because even the healthcare workers making huge multi-six-figure salaries are calling it quits. On top of the other issues already discussed in the healthcare field, doctors are also increasingly finding themselves having to spend inordinate time going to war with insurance companies.
Just search it up on social media, and you'll find myriad videos of doctors spending hours haggling on the phone trying to get serious surgeries and treatments approved for patients, cajoling insurance workers who aren't even qualified to adjudicate health decisions. The system is broken beyond what most of us even realize, and not even the money is worth it anymore for a lot of the field's best and brightest.
5. Lawyers
Another highly paid field where people have had enough. As Profit Engine's experts explained, this is another field where burnout is over the top.
"Legal professionals work in adversarial environments with extreme hour requirements, particularly in corporate law," they wrote. "Burnout searches dominate the legal profession's quit intent, indicating that high salaries don't offset the lifestyle costs." Add in the increasing politicization of the law field since our new overlords took office, and a lot of lawyers have simply had it.
Corporate roles, from tech to recruiting, rounded out the top 10.
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The next five of the top 10 comprise fields that might be a bit unexpected but offer a glimpse into the economic woes and job-market issues we're all facing. Software engineers, accountants, project managers, and recruiters took the sixth, seventh, ninth, and 10th places. All are fields with punishing hours and have been subjected to enormous rounds of layoffs, and the lack of employment security has only been exacerbated by the advent of AI.
The job in eighth place, college professors, a job that barely exists in its previously well-paid, tenured form anymore, having been replaced by freelance adjunct positions that usually come with untenably low pay, and a student body that has become so devoted to letting AI do their coursework that the job has basically become nothing but detecting ChatGPT in essays.
Regardless, one thing unites all of these careers. "What stands out is how burnout dominates these searches rather than complaints about pay or career growth," Profit Engine CEO Jason Morris said. Sign of the times, of course. And it makes you wonder where things are going to go next.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
