Would taking a temporary lower-paying job to escape burnout completely derail my marketing career?
Howdy everyone! Looking for some advice on something I've been stewing on for the last couple months and feel completely paralyzed on making a decision. I would really appreciate some advice!
I started under a year ago working in digital marketing/customer success for a company that manages a large portfolio of clients. On paper, it’s a good career path and decent pay, but I’m fully confident the biggest source of my stress/anxiety is customer success/account management itself. My first job out of college was in an agency role where I burned out hard after 4 years. I worked in paid media marketing previous to my current role, and that was a cake walk for different reasons.
A couple months back I absorbed 35+ accounts just before I finished onboarding. No ramp up, just immediately absorbed due to coworkers quitting. I was spiraling far more then. Things have slowly gotten slightly more manageable but I'm not sure I can bear the constant meetings, nonstop context switching, customer expectations all day long, and I'm frequently taking work home just to get caught up for tomorrow's meetings. I feel mentally exhausted trying to keep up with everyone while also feeling guilty that I can’t dedicate the level of attention/support to clients that they probably deserve. To be very honest I feel like I've been a different person around friends and family. When I spend time in my hobbies, or with friends and family it is very hard to be present since I'm constantly anxious about the next day. Major case of imposter syndrome.
I still very much enjoy marketing strategy, campaigns, analytics, optimization, etc. What I hate is the agency/client-services side of it. Long term, I think I’d much rather be in-house somewhere focused on one brand/company instead of constantly juggling dozens of external clients.
Right now I feel like I have 3 possible paths:
- Stay where I am, tough it out, and continue applying for jobs.
Part of me thinks this gets easier with time as I learn the platform/products better and eventually “coast” more. But I’m also so mentally drained after work that it’s hard to consistently job search or even feel like myself anymore. Long term I know CS isn't for me.
- Leave and take a far lower-paying leasing/hospitality role temporarily. (\~38% lower or \~50% with bonuses)
I have an opportunity for a leasing consultant position that would certainly be much less mentally overwhelming. The thought is it might give me breathing room to recover mentally and focus on finding a better long-term marketing role. Financially it would be very tight/a bit in the red if commissions aren't consistent (worst case I could move back in with family but I'd like to avoid that if possible. Love my fam but don't want to burden if I can help it). I’m mostly terrified this would hurt my career trajectory or make future employers question why I left marketing for something else for 6-12 months (or longer if the job market stays rough). If I even add it to my resume, which I probably wouldn't if it's a short time (less than 12 months).
- Commit to the leasing/property management path.
The company seems to genuinely value me and has very obviously hinted they realistically see me growing quickly. There could eventually be opportunities in property management, corporate roles, maybe even marketing for the company. Part of me wonders if I’d actually be happier in a more people-oriented/hospitality environment. But it’s a major pay cut and feels like stepping backward career-wise with a lot of uncertainty. But the option is there if I end up enjoying it.
This mostly boils down to:
- is quitting for a less stress role the right choice? Too dangerous?
- How damaging would a temporary pivot out of marketing actually look? What if it takes me over a year and I still haven't found anything?
- Am I being overdramatic? I realize this post comes across like I'm looking for validation.. and I suppose I am so maybe I need a reality check.
- Has anyone else left a high-stress client-facing role and been happier for it?
Would really appreciate advice from people who’ve been through something similar. I'm tired of constantly being on the fence!