u/Perfectionistrunner

Hi all! Wanting to seek advice on the clinical exercise physiologist field. Can anyone share how they got into their career and how they make it work financially? I know this field will not lead to $$$ and I'm okay with that as long as I can pay my bills and whatnot. A little background about me: former track athlete who's been working in corporate for the past 5 years.

Corporate is draining my soul and I've been searching for different career paths that doesn't have me strapped to a corporate office 40+ hours a week. Always had an inkling to anatomy/physiology but studying a medical related field just isn't in the cards for me. I hold a B.S. in psychology and have internship experience with a PT clinic and with an orthopedic surgeon. I know most physiologists work with individuals with chronic diseases- I'm not opposed to that and I feel like that can also lead to fulfilling work. However, because of my background, I would prefer to work with athletes or some type of athletic population. I am based in the US for context.

I feel selfish posting on this subreddit again but I just don’t have a solid community or someone I can go to that can at lease seek to understand.

Going through an episode most likely caused by burnout from multiple sources in my life. I’m an athlete so I’ve had to scale back my workouts a bit to adjust but at this point, just taking the rest of the week off from the gym might be best. At work currently and I feel light headed and cross eyed despite keeping up with my nutrition and water intake. I’ve been on my current meds for a while now and haven’t missed a beat with them so I know it’s not medication withdrawal.

My manager has been ghosting me any time I reach out for something not super work related (very long story but just not a good working environment) and hasn’t responded to my request of working a half day today. My office branch manager (different from my direct manager) wants me to put my health first but I can’t take off without approval from the higher ups for timesheets sakes. I just feel like I’m in a twilight zone and I can’t focus on anything. I already struggle with keeping a job long term (I know a lot of us do) and FLMA/Short term leave is not possible with my current role for other reasons.

How do you all focus during times like these?

I just joined this subreddit so apologies if this topic has been discussed before. How do you all manage to stay at a job long-term? Especially in this economy, I am grateful and fortunate to have a job. But I’m now realizing my pattern that after a while, I burn out and struggle with impulsively quitting. I did that back in 2024 with a *very* stable job and that decision ultimately fucked up my finances.

Friends think I’m overreacting and need to get a grip. That I need to separate my emotional self. I agree but also just feel like my brain can’t separate the two which makes me beat myself up even more. I will try to see if I can get accommodations approved but I also live in an “at will” state and never have a clue what upper management thinks or is planning even with being one of the few employees that works so closely with them.

I guess I’m just scared and can’t calm myself down to function in the office.