Five Signs It's Time to Find a New Job

You can't afford to just suck it up and stay in a job that bores or frustrates you. Professional dissatisfaction is bound to seep into your personal life: You -- and your loved ones -- shouldn't be resigned to having you spend the majority of your time unhappy.

If any of the following scenarios ring true, it's time to make a change.

1. Friday Is Your Favorite Day

If all you can think of Monday morning is how many hours until Friday, quitting time, you've got a problem. You don't have to love every minute of every working day, nor every colleague all the time -- let's be real -- but if your overriding approach to the work week is dread, don't stay where you are, and spend all that time unhappy is unacceptable.

2. You're Bored

That will make you incredibly vulnerable. An unmotivated and lazy worker is the easiest to let go. And if you're forced out of a job where you have underachieved, it's going to be that much harder to impress future employers.

3. Stress Is Your Middle Name

Yes, every job comes with stress, but it's up to you to measure the magnitude of what your work takes out of you. If you feel incredible pressure throughout your time at work and then can't sleep because you're wound up so tightly, you need to rethink what you're doing to yourself. And if you're constantly in work mode, you're selling yourself short. Where's your life?

4. You're Underappreciated (and Overworked)

You deserve respect. It's that simple. If you have a boss that doesn't value your work, it's probably time to move on. But please don't play martyr and suffer through a work atmosphere that makes you feel "less than."

5. You Keep Saying, "If I Could Do It All Over, I Would Be a ...."

Don't sell out your dreams so fast. If you're constantly thinking about doing something else with your work life, you owe it to yourself to see if you can make a go of it. The career you start with is not necessarily the one you must end with. Going back to school is not a career plan. Scoping out a job or industry that truly interests you, and then researching what it will take to both start and succeed in that field is a career plan.

Don't Wait Till You Hit Breaking Point

The most important step is to take responsibility for your future. Whether you're the victim of a horrid boss, office politics, or lousy industry prospects is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is what you're going to do to change your situation. You also don't want to wait until you're pushed to your breaking point. No one can make good decisions when they're angry and under pressure. It's your job to make your career work for you.

What if it pays an arm and a leg rather than costs that?

The bucket or crap is full but the bucket of money will never be...

just a thought.

What if it pays an arm and a leg rather than costs that?

The bucket or crap is full but the bucket of money will never be...

just a thought.

not suggesting you quit your job tomorrow and go after your dream. Switching careers can take years of planning, both in terms of scoping out the new work and preparing for the financial changes the switch can entail. But it can be done.

Scope out other opportunities and because you're being proactive and thinking about your future, you have the luxury of networking and investigating over months or even years...