See if it's possible to do something else within your company that will engage you more. Speak to the Higher Ups about using your untapped skills.

Seek out vocational counseling to assess your transferable skills. Many Government employment services do that for low or no cost.

If you are drawn toward another field, start doing some volunteer work within it. It's the best way I know to make an easy transition. I was a real estate agent who volunteered on a sex information hotline and rose within the volunteer organization, eventually doing alternative schooling (much less time) to become credentialed in counseling.

Making a complete career change, as in a new role in a new industry, takes 6-12 months or more. You may not have to take a lower income, but the biggest issue I see for you is how much time can you put into the work it takes to successfully make a career change. If you continue working full-time, you still need to devote 15-20 hours a week on the transition.

Have you looked at all the material inTBD's Career Change Workshop? That will give you a good idea of the work involved.

http://www.tbd.com/content/article/basic_article.article:::work_ccw_stage0

Also, if you could tell us more about your profession, industry, etc., we might be able to give you more specific recommendations

If you are really interested in returning to school, do a search for scholarships. There are all types available.

You might find that you are eligible for one or more funding sources.

There are funds available for higher education for all different types of individual reasons. i.e. left handed people

Check with the schools in your area. There may be funds available or special rates for coursework hours.

Perhaps you need to look at this posting to discover one of your major issues. You gave no details about what you presently do or what you might like to do. It is very difficult to make changes unless you can articulate two things: From what? To what?

Many skills are transferrable. I have had 3 careers that on the surface appear miles apart: I have been a licensed therapist/administrator, I have owned a big ticket retail store and now I own real estate for rental. All have the same core skills: Talking to other people, making plans for change and dealing with resistance. Before I was any of those things, I was a professional actor.

Those skills are all transferrable into everything else I have done ... including being a husband and father! When all else fails and you want to do the right thing, make a script and play it until you feel it and believe it. And acting was probably the major factor when I decided to write for publication. Everything was so real that publishers bought it all.

Now, what skills do you possess? What can you do with them? What additional education or training do you need to put them to use? It is not possible to go outside your innate personality. You are what you are. But it is possible to realign the parts to do many things within your nature.

Start seeking ... but don't give up your day job in the meantime. And do remember, if work were fun, they would charge you to get in.