If you found it more difficult than usual to return to work after this year's summer vacation, you may be ready for a career change. 

To help you decide if it's time to quit your job, here are a few questions courtesy of William Arruda, co-author of Bullet-Proof Your Career: 

• Do you count the days until Friday, starting on Monday morning? 
• Is spending time at the coffee machine your favorite part of your job? 
• Does your boss forget your name or what you do from time to time? 
• Do you sit at your desk hoping for a fire drill? 
• And more seriously: Are you using what makes you unique and special at your job?

For most unhappy employees, the reason is fear - fear they can't afford to quit, fear of failure, or even fear of success.

Bill Treasurer, author of Right Risk: Ten Powerful Principles for Taking Giant Leaps With Your Life, left a six-figure job with a top management consulting firm to start his own company. 

He says many people "play it safe, thinking the devil you know is better than the one you don't." He recommends "Learn to live outside your comfort zone and in the Courage Zone where your skills are sure to grow in relation to your willingness to take career risks."

But before you march into your boss's office and announce "I quit," there may be other options. If you enjoyed your job at one time, you may be able to boost your job satisfaction without leaving your current employer. 

For example, one reason people decide to change jobs is because they are no longer challenged. The job they loved at one time has become boring. Instead of moving, why not ask if you can take on new challenges or move to another position in your current workplace? 

If compensation is the main issue, consider asking for a raise or additional benefits after researching salaries for similar positions in your industry. Most employers know it is costly to replace good employees, and will do what they can to keep them. 

If you are not able to find a solution with your current employer, then it may be time for a change. Assuming you work an average of 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, for 50 years, you will spend 100,000 hours at work. You deserve to spend your time doing something rewarding and meaningful. 

Marky Stein, author of Fearless Career Change: The Fast Track to Success in a New Field recommends "quit your job when a 'higher calling' beckons you, like: higher pay, higher creativity, higher self-esteem, higher integrity, higher satisfaction, higher ethics and higher intellectual stimulation. Whenever more joy in your work steps up to lead you, follow it." 

Sisters Tag and Catherine Goulet are the Dream Career Experts. In 1999 they founded FabJob.com, the leading publisher of guides on how to break into a dream career, which has been visited by 50 million people. They have been featured in media from ABC to Oprah.com and Woman's Day to the Wall Street Journal online, and their career advice appears on the career pages at AOL, CNN, and MSN. They are authors of Dream Careers and other career books. Visit www.FabJob.com to discover how to break into your dream career.