Mechanical Engineer wanting to transition to a new industry after burnout
I'm a 28F Mechanical Engineer who has been working full time for the past 6 years in Power Generation, and I'm hitting my breaking point. I feel like the only solution for me is to transition to another career entirely and would love some advice on how to do that.
For some context: I was a "gifted child" with very strict parents whose only focus for me my entire childhood was getting good grades, getting into a good college, and getting a good job. I've been studying hard and working hard since I was 12 years old. I went to college 2 years early at the age of 16. Every single after school activity I ever did was an effort to "boost my resume". I had 5 internships in 3 years before graduating. I have never once stopped thinking about productivity and achievement.
When I graduated with my bachelor's I landed an awesome entry level job with Burns & McDonnell and thought I had it made, but quickly realized that because of my upbringing, I was entering the workforce already nearly burnt out and exhausted from constantly learning and constantly working hard without break. This only got worse with my full-time job... People weren't kidding when they said the first few years of being an engineer is like drinking through a firehose with all the new information. It didn't help that the culture in my department discouraged teamwork and encouraged us to never bother anyone with questions, so I felt entirely on my own while navigating the overwhelm of learning everything about this job I'd never done before. I was crying in the bathroom almost every day at this job.
Two and a half years in, my appendix burst. The doctors told me it was likely due to stress causing inflammation in my organs. The 6 weeks of medical leave I took gave me the time and space to relax for the first time in my life, and I realized how unsustainable this path is. I ended up quitting and taking a year off work to focus on myself, healing my body, and figuring out how to do this without it literally killing me.
After a year not working, I ran out of my savings, and decided to apply for jobs again, and now I'm at Kiewit. I thought things would be better here because the culture is so different and so supportive. Everyone is always available to help and answer questions, and I never feel like I have to figure things out alone. I haven't cried at all at this job, so that's a win right! But... I still feel like I have no capacity left for the constant learning. My brain is so tired. Every single day something brand new is thrown at me and I have to start from ground zero again learning all the ins and outs of the procedures. It leaves me no room to work on my hobbies at home (I love reading and writing and making art but my brain can't process anything after everything it has to do at work), and it makes it harder for me to socialize too because I'm just so exhausted by the end of the day. This work is taking my life away from me. I can't do it anymore. I just can't.
So... I've determined what I need is a (practically) mindless job that I can autopilot. Data entry, document control, and scheduling/admin are some things that come to mind. I also saw another Reddit post someone shared of transitioning from engineering to radiology because it's still high paying but not so mentally taxing, but that would require more schooling first. I just can't handle learning new things all the time. I want to learn my job and then repeat the same thing every day without any change. Does anyone have any recommendations on other types of jobs that fit that, that I could easily transition to from Power Generation Mechanical Engineering, without too much of a pay cut? Or are there any other engineering industries that aren't so intense like this?