I appreciate you sharing your story, man. I relate to jobs feeling stale after a certain point. I had a great engineering job for 3 years before oil prices started going down, but it was a blessing in disguise for me to lose that gig. There was no opportunity for growth and I had gotten to the point where I was just staring at the computer screen all day. Now I'm not at that point in my current job, but I could definitely see myself getting there in time. Definitely something to think about, but I see the benefits of the first choice pretty clearly.
Had a long post that I lost because I'm an idiot. Basically: I felt similar to this a few years ago The main thing that helped was having a more fulfilling life outside of work; for a few years all I did was work and drink (a lot) and eat out and watch movies. It felt like my life was lacking something because it was. Still occasionally dream of dropping everything and opening a margarita joint in Hawaii, but not seriously. I don't really want to endure all that would take.
Actually, you're about a 3rd through your life, the average life expectancy for men in the USA is like 76. Quarter life would be 19
Pretty much all I do outside of work is watch TV or go to movies and eat out, so definitely feel you there. I spent a year near Orlando when I was growing up and it's just always been a place that I've envisioned working, in whatever capacity. I've outgrown the thought for the most part, but it's always been in the back of my mind.
Traveling internationally for work isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'm on a project 8,000 miles from home now. I'm there for two weeks straight and back in the US for a week. I've been doing that for the past 8 months. It definitely gets old.
Keep the job for now - pray about the calling - if its truly a calling the opportunities will come to you. In the meantime, find ways to volunteer on the weekends or at night. You may find that it satisfies your need to serve. Many churches need volunteers with their kids ministries. Last, I have to say that I wish I had a better grasp on my finances at your age than I did. Start chunking 15% away NOW. Enjoy life with your fiancé NOW (before kids) and avoid going in to debt - don't use credit cards for emergencies..instead save about 6months worth of expenses and put that into something like a money market account with a debit card that you can use for emergencies. That way if something comes up (medical emergency, job loss, etc) you'll have something to fall back on for a while so you don't go into debt. Good luck with life - enjoy it.
It helps to be thoughtful and considerate about your "rut" and recognize the grass isn't always greener, as many have pointed out. That said, it definitively gets harder and harder to get out of that "rut" feeling as you get older. Especially in your case, as you will be married soon, and then kids will come, and therefor you will have different responsibilities. I definitely agree with the comment to "diversify" your life outside of work. But after doing that, if you still feel the urge, you are much much better off to act on it now than later. And I know nothing about your relationship, but if your driven to live a different life, and your fiancee isn't... well, that's something to think about...
You should get in touch with bobmarley. He does overseas work for his church I believe. He's in Kenya I think right now.
Save money to increase your bank account and get some security, then take a chance on doing something you love. If it doesn't work out, at least you tried.
Well... you're so young the good news is you can do whatever you decide and it probably won't be bad. I mean you can always work later, work now (and save for later), or work now and do what feels fulfilling on the side. There's no right/wrong answer, and honestly just thinking about stuff like this at your age is way ahead of other 25 y/o's that don't have a fiancé/job.... I think the main obstacle is having a serious conversation with your future wife and then going from there. It's a lot easier to make a decision like this now than later, say like in 10 years... (but you know that ) Good luck.
Consider yourself lucky to be 25, OP. You could be on Medicare. I was having an absolutely great time at 25. Can I trade with you? ;-)-
I'm envious that you're making good money at 25. Try to take long vacations and find common hobbies you can share with the fiance. Fight for your time or try to get an assignment in Europe. Backtracking across the continent for a month could be as low as 2.5k per person after you land. You'd be surprised at the number who do it
