Need to change course, but to what?

I am a graphic designer for over 20 years and currently have a full time position at a small company doing design work. It's decent money, full-time, and I realize it's a rare thing for someone in my profession in this area to have a spot like this. However, I've been burning out hard. My boss is very hard to work for. He's fair for the most part but comes down very hard on everything. Long lectures, public reprimands (extremely humiliating), and I have had many more bad days than good in the past year. I love to write and paint but having to be creatively "on" all day at work leaves me so mentally drained I haven't written or even sketched anything in almost a year. And I hate that. I am dangerously depressed and stressed. Panic spirals I am fighting to hide at work. Wrestling with suffocating dread on my days off because I know I have to go back.

I need to find a new job, obviously, but I don't want to do any more art/design for work. It was a hard decision but I've given myself permission to leave this profession entirely. I need peace if I'm ever going to be able to enjoy writing or art ever again. I've put in an application at a retail/wholesale place I know from research is a good place to work and pays well, even to start. But I don't want to bank on just that one place.

So I guess my question is, other than trying to find a better graphic designer job, what are some other possibilities I should consider, given my design experience is going to be a non-factor? I don't know what to start looking for and I need actionable ideas.

Posted May 24, 2026, 2:59 AM UTC

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