The Search - How to Rebound From a Wrong Career Choice - NYTimes.com WHAT if you're not happy in your job? Is it possible that you're in the wrong career entirely? This conundrum is all too common. The pressure to "be" something starts early in life. Many children move past wanting to be professional athletes, rock stars or astronauts, but then their parents, peers and teachers begin to exert influence - maybe before young people even know where their inclinations lie. "The way that people pick careers is incredibly primitive," said Nicholas Lore, founder of the Rockport Institute, a career coaching firm, and author of "The Pathfinder." It's no wonder, then, that so many people are dissatisfied with their jobs, he said. Consider the mother who helps persuade her son to become a lawyer, the father who urges his daughter to train to be a doctor or the student who picks a college major nearly at random because it's time to declare one, or because it may lead to a job with a high salary. In these cases, education may well lead to internships, first jobs and, soon, experience and decent money in careers that seem unstoppable. Except for one thing: The work doesn't feel like a true calling. Disillusionment can seep in quickly as a job plays out day to day. You may realize that your tasks don't mesh well with your personality or talents. Thus, a research scientist with a vivid imagination may have to focus on one particular area for years and may conclude that there is little room for creativity, Mr. Lore said. Or a doctor may consider the work to be overly repetitive, he said, or a lawyer may see no enjoyment in arguing and dealing with paperwork. Often, Mr. Lore said, people place too high a value on the external rewards of a job, like money, prestige and power. While these can be important, he said, a job's intrinsic nature - the types of tasks you do, the skills these require and the perceived meaning and value of your work - are more vital to a sense of fulfillment. Questioning your career choice is different from not being in the mood to work, finding your work difficult or not liking your boss or your co-workers. But it isn't always easy to tell the difference between disliking a job and disliking your work environment. "A lot of people who say that they hate what they do actually hate who they do it for," said Barbara Safani, owner of Career Solvers, a career management firm in New York. In that case, she said, they need to work on managing their relationships rather than changing careers. Unhappiness with your career choice goes to the root of your identity and your sense of authenticity, said Robert I. Sutton, a professor and organizational psychologist at Stanford. People whose careers aren't the right fit often feel like impostors, even if they are very skilled at their jobs, he said. Another symptom is constant annoyance with the demands being made of them, even though these are reasonable for the business they're in, he said. An additional warning sign is a feeling that their current work doesn't rank very high in their value system, he said. For example, some people are uncomfortable with the profit motive of the corporate world and would be happier in the nonprofit sector. "I'm not ready to say there's a true calling, but I think there's a better calling for many of us," he said. If you think a career change is in your future, he recommends saving diligently so you have some "take this job and shove it" money that allows you to make a switch. At some point, decide whether you're just going to put up with your current job or whether you're committed to change, Mr. Lore said. His firm conducts extensive testing on clients to determine their personality traits, natural talents and values. Some people are oriented toward the future and possibilities, so a career in marketing or advertising may be a good fit, he said, but a person who prefers dealing with the present and what's right in front of her may succeed as a chef. People with highly developed spatial awareness may do best as architects or engineers, while people who are more conceptual in their thinking may gravitate toward being psychologists or economists, Mr. Lore said. Most people assume that if they change careers, they'll have to start at the bottom of the ladder and accept a lot less money, he said. That is sometimes true, he observed, but people can often carry pieces of their former careers along with them and gain a higher salary and position as a result. If you do find a better career fit, don't expect it to be a panacea. Your new job won't always be fun-filled and satisfying. Beyond the money it provides, "I think it's safe to say that work is overrated," Professor Sutton said. Much of work is spent performing tedious activities that would not be at the top of your list if you had a choice, he said. Still, people who find a "better calling" will experience fewer of those moments - and will be happier knowing that what they do is compatible with who they are. E-mail: thesearch@nytimes.com.