De-motivated...What to do?

I'm a qualified engineer but was unsuccessful in finding an engineering job after I qualified. I got a job in another discipline - stock broking, where I've trained and moved up the ranks. I have been stock broking for 6 months but I'm not sure if stock broking is for me and now lack motivation. As stock broking is all about commission you earn I am struggling and my salary is not equal to the long hours which I put in every week. What should I do?

I'm not surprised you're de-motivated in this financial market! You could always try getting back into Engineering. There are graduate jobs available overseas, if you're at all mobile. They are thin on the ground here, but perhaps you could apply for operator/technician jobs in an industrial situation and work your way back up into Engineering ranks over 3 or 4 years.

Another option would be graduate programmes. UK are still running some, as are Ireland (Vodafone may be about to launch one) - look for big company names. They like Engineers (scientific thinking) and the financial background will also help.

It may also help to do an interest and personality analysis to see what types of profession may suit you, and then, if you're up for some retraining, e.g. in management or accounting etc, you could do professional exams in an appropriate area. These can usually be done by distance learning and only take 1 or 2 years. At least you'd be on the road to a new career.

www.onlinecareermanager.com does the interest and personality psychometrics, and also provides interpretation from trained career consultants.