Most experts will tell you that if you do something you enjoy, the better you will be at it and the less it will feel like work, which will encourage you to continue doing your best at it.

If you are currently in an occupation that you loathe, chances are, you won't want to spend the rest of your working career doing it, as both your mental health and your physical performance will suffer because you'll just be going through the motions, which will likely lead to you faltering in your work, which will probably lead to your dismissal, so it is advisable for you to find an occupation that you will truly enjoy doing for the next 30-40 years of your life.

The key to finding your perfect occupation is finding out what your interests are. To do that, you should examine your hobbies, what you do in your spare time, what you like to do for fun, etc. Talking with friends could help you find out what you are really passionate about.

You should also take advantage of informational interviews, or interviews with people who are already in the field you are interested working in, to see what this field is all about and what you need to do to be able to enter this field as an occupation. Plus, that person who you interview could become a good network contact in the future as well.

Once you find out what you are really passionate about, you should do some research, online and/or at your local library, to determine what fields of study would encompass that activity. You also should determine what courses you would need to take to obtain a degree in those fields of study and see if you are still passionate about that field.

Of course, it would probably be prudent of you to choose a career that is lucrative and that will be around for a long time. Such careers as data-entry clerks are being phased out, being replaced by technological means and automated systems to complete those tasks, so it wouldn't make much sense for you to pursue a career in an occupation like that that might not exist ten years from now. Careers such as computer technology and information services are careers that will likely be around for the foreseeable future and would be ones you might consider if you are interested in computers, information, and technology.

Once you decide what career you want to pursue and verifying there is a market for it, you need to determine what universities offer degrees in that field and what courses you need to take to obtain that degree. You should also determine how long it will take you to complete that degree, based on how many credit hours you can take a semester. You likely won't be able to take a full-time student's schedule (usually 12+ credit hours) because of the other responsibilities in your life, so you shouldn't expect to obtain your degree tomorrow; it will take time, perseverance, dedication, and patience in order to obtain that degree, but in the end, it will all be worth it since you will have a higher degree, which can lead to higher salaries in your field, and thereby, a better lifestyle for you.