My advice (which I'm sure some others will disagree with) is this:<p>Don't look to your job for any kind of fulfillment or satisfaction, unless your job is your own company and you're doing something you're passionate about. Otherwise, be a complete mercenary and treat your job as nothing more than a way to keep the rent paid, the lights on, and food on the table. Then find ways to achieve fulfillment or whatever it is you're looking for, outside of work.<p>Maybe that means volunteering at a soup kitchen, maybe it means working on a startup as a side project, or maybe it means playing video games every hour you're not at work. Whatever, it's up to you. The point is, take control of finding whatever meaning it is you want to find in life, and don't let it be all commingled with your job.<p>Ultimately you may decide you don't even want a "normal job" at all. Maybe you will decide to freelance. Maybe you're meant to be an entrepreneur and run some kind of business, or possibly multiple businesses. Maybe you want to go all Tim Ferris "four hour work week" and move to Thailand or something. One thing that will help you maintain maximum flexibility is to avoid things like a mortgage payment, car payment, etc. If you already have those things then you'll have to deal with them, but if you don't, consider <i>not</i> buying a new car, or a house, etc. until you have things figured out. It'll be easier to up and move, or make other dramatic changes without those encumbrances.<p>Some people will say to choose startups over a big MNC, but I find that startups can be worse in many ways (again, unless it's <i>your own</i> startup). Work hours may be more demanding, there may be more stress, etc... OTOH, if you accept my position about being very mercenary towards work, you can often find a boring position at a stodgy large company, where you can "punch the clock" for pretty much exactly 40 hours a week, do relatively boring / undemanding work, get paid a decent salary, and - most importantly - reserve as much of your energy (mental, psychic, spiritual, or whatever you want to call it) for your own initiatives outside of work.