When It's Time to Move On (or at least take a break)

When I was younger I had a bad habit of job hopping. Usually around the six-month mark I'd had enough and could just drop everything and leave since I didn't have any financial responsibility. Fast forward to today, and I'm still sitting at my 8-to-5 after more than three years. Not because it's my dream job, but because I have obligations that require real money. Yay, I've grown up.

But then there is the issue of my career. Real estate, that I loved so much.

Notice that it's in past tense?

Yeah.

I've been doing real estate for a little over a year and at first it  was such a fun challenge! Now... Not so much. There are several things that have me thinking I should step back from it for just a little while.

That feeling of dread
Whenever my broker's number pops up on my phone I get to thinking "What now? I don't even wanna know..." Usually it's not anything bad, and I already know this. But I just don't even want real estate to cross my path some days, which is a far cry from just a few months ago when that was all I wanted to do.

Avoidance/Procrastination
My cousin gave me one of his friends' info saying that he had "loads of money" and wanted to buy another house. One of my dad's coworkers contacted me about selling his house and helping them find another one. I've gotten a few emails from potential clients... But I haven't gotten back with either of them. It's a little bit out of fear (my first couple of dealings with clients were not the smoothest), a little out of frustration. I just don't want to do it, and since it's not a must... Well, let's just say if they are still there when/if I'm ready to work again, wonderful. If not, oh well.

Negative effect on my wallet
Real estate is one of those fields where you really should already be sitting on a nice little chunk of change before you get started. (I wish someone had told me that before I got into it!) There are so many fees and dues, plus advertising costs, gas for shuttling buyers to houses... It adds up quickly. And in a slow market like the one we are experiencing, it can leave you in the hole. If I'm shelling out $2500+ a year but only bringing in a little over $1500 in what may be my only sale, what is the point? Last year I was in the hole by waaaay more than I could actually afford. This year, I don't know if it's worth it.

All of this--coupled with the fact that I don't really know what direction I want to go with the real estate and knowing that if the writing takes off I'll leave real estate behind for good--makes me realize that maybe I need to step back, reevaluate the situation and then decide what to do once I have a clear head.

When do you know that it's time to step away from a job? Have you stayed in a position that you'd come to loathe simply because of your financial obligations? Or have you been able to break free into a career that you love?