Love the job. The hours and stress can be tough though. A lot of 14-15 hour days. 10 years ago, it didn't phase me. Now I'm in my 40's, it takes me a couple weeks to recover sometimes.
I would say that my work fell into the sweet spot described in this video, until last year when I felt that poor organisational decisions were ultimately going to forever get in the way of continued growth. So now I'm back off to uni. Going to take a year to get away, do another degree in a different field and a different city then see where I want to go next to connect with that sense of purpose again.
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"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"
I think N Americans tend to be obsessed with loving their job/wife/house/car/health more than Europeans which, ironically leaves them feeling far more dissatisfied with it all.
I never thought any part of my life was likely to rise much above bearable, always thought that life would be a long tough slog, as a consequence the crappy parts didn't seem so bad, divorce illness etc and the good bits seemed like a wonderful gift.
I love what I do, always have, even when it meant graveyard shifts at 15 bucks an hour dealing with stoned group home kids, now find myself earning good money owning a house and generally so effing lucky and blessed I have to pinch myself, none of it planned in any way.
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I love my job. It's been my goal and passion since I was ~14 years old. Sure, work is work (because you're forced to be there x hours a week, like Sliver said), but even if this wasn't work I'd still be doing it. In fact, sometimes in my spare time I choose to work for free.
Granted, it was just a master's degree and doesn't take a spectacular amount of talent/risk/chance like an athlete/musician. You need some means to accomplish that.. Or a crapload of luck.
An environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered.
I specialize in something that many in my field shun as it's seen as not sexy and glam. While I'm not in love with it, the hours are shorter and the pay is typically better than the sexy and glam roles.
Is this how I drew up my life as a 16 year old? No. But it affords my family a comfortable life, and I've come to realize that I needed to tilt my work life balance firmly back towards life. Those glam careers meant spending 100+ hours a week on work and I grew tired of it.
I think Mike Rowe's rather well thought out post on "Following your passions" from two years ago is worth repeating for this thread.
Quote:
Like all bad advice, “Follow Your Passion” is routinely dispensed as though it’s wisdom were both incontrovertible and equally applicable to all. It’s not. Just because you’re passionate about something doesn’t mean you won’t suck at it. And just because you’re determined to improve doesn’t mean that you will. Does that mean you shouldn’t pursue a thing you’re passionate about?” Of course not. The question is, for how long, and to what end?
Quote:
When I was 16, I wanted to follow in my grandfathers footsteps. I wanted to be a tradesman. I wanted to build things, and fix things, and make things with my own two hands. This was my passion, and I followed it for years. I took all the shop classes at school, and did all I could to absorb the knowledge and skill that came so easily to my granddad. Unfortunately, the handy gene skipped over me, and I became frustrated. But I remained determined to do whatever it took to become a tradesman.
One day, I brought home a sconce from woodshop that looked like a paramecium, and after a heavy sigh, my grandfather told me the truth. He explained that my life would be a lot more satisfying and productive if I got myself a different kind of toolbox. This was almost certainly the best advice I’ve ever received, but at the time, it was crushing. It felt contradictory to everything I knew about persistence, and the importance of “staying the course.” It felt like quitting. But here’s the “dirty truth,” Stephen. “Staying the course” only makes sense if you’re headed in a sensible direction. Because passion and persistence - while most often associated with success - are also essential ingredients of futility.
I despise my job, they treat us like slaves. No basic respect at all. I could write a 20 page essay on how much my job sucks. Short story one manager threatened to attack me with a club, one shoved me and the other nearly killed me with toxic fumes and then later denied it. I'm giving my two weeks notice and going to do landscaping because f that abusive harassment I don't need it anymore.
Constantly do the company favors, constantly give them my spare time and show up for shifts on call when it's not an on call job and the moment I need a second to organize my life or the moment I have any crisis they won't give me 5 minutes to make a phone call.
I despise my job, they treat us like slaves. No basic respect at all. I could write a 20 page essay on how much my job sucks. Short story one manager threatened to attack me with a club, one shoved me and the other nearly killed me with toxic fumes and then later denied it. I'm giving my two weeks notice and going to do landscaping because f that abusive harassment I don't need it anymore.
Constantly do the company favors, constantly give them my spare time and show up for shifts on call when it's not an on call job and the moment I need a second to organize my life or the moment I have any crisis they won't give me 5 minutes to make a phone call.
Sorry to hear that. I hope you find a better job where they respect you and you enjoy it.
1. I think it's BS that you can’t love your job, or that if you love your job your priorities are off. Whether it's related to money or not, I think accomplishing things gives people a sense of purpose, and if they are the right things often gives a sense of personal satisfaction. Liking what you do for money does not mean you don’t love your family or don’t have hobbies. Hell most of my hobbies that I would do regardless of my career I can write off because they happen to be related to what I do for money anyway.
2. It’s very true that money gives you opportunity to take risks with a career. That has always been the case and always will be. That’s why for those of us without the $, you have to use the one thing you have….your youth. Risk big when you’re young because that’s the time of your life when you can afford to fail. You have no money, so you don’t miss it. You don’t have a family, so there’s nobody to support. If you’re not taking at least a few chances that scare you in your 20s, chances are you’re going to regret a few things later on in life.
3. Everyone of us has general skill-sets that they are good at and that makes them happy…whether it be leadership, creativity, organization, analytics etc. I think the problem becomes when people set their sights on a very narrow target, and forget about all the other related fields that allow them to have a fulfilling career. I think this is especially prudent when you've been banging your head against the same door for years without forward motion. There are plenty of fulfilling careers out there that allow you to use the core skills you have, but with a different outcome. You may not become an architect, but you realize you're more suited to interior design anyway. You may not become a dancer on Broadway, but you realize that you can still be a part of it by working on the production side. You may not become a police officer, but you can still be happy as a park ranger. Etc etc.
Dream big. Risk while you're young. Pivot as you get older.
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It's very rare that it was the actual work that I've disliked. It's usually more the people that end up being the problem.
So true, I'd rather shovel sh*t for a living with good people than have a cozy job with a bunch of a-holes.
I enjoy my job, the people I work with and my way of thinking is aligned with the company I work for , I feel lucky that for that.
Is it what I dreamed of doing when I was younger - no, but it's something I've developed a passion for, who knows if I was working with different people or a company that I didn't like then maybe things would be different. I think people make all the difference in the world.
So true about the coworkers, I think its why I'm so happy now having gone from Business/Sales to IT, 6 years in the difference in the two worlds is amazing.
I just got so tired of all the sales guy stuff, the small talk, fake smiles, way too many meetings and people trying to feel important to justify their position, bad bosses, bad cowokers..
Now I'm surrounded by tech geeks like myself, I get challenged at work every day dealing with stuff I'm so interested in that it doesn't feel much like work to me. I'm also a guy who became hooked on learning at a young age thanks to my dad, and to this day I love getting those aha moments when I'm working with the mainframe and be lucky enough to be surrounded by lots of people that I get along with great.
I don't know why its this way, maybe less ego in IT people, no one is in suits, holding meetings about useless nonsense.. Either way I'm very happy.
__________________ Allskonar fyrir Aumingja!!
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I think coming from a wealthier background you're always going to have this stigma attached to you and people will have presumptive notions about who you are, you can't control that no matter how hard you work - people choose to see what they want to. But what you can control is who you are and what you want to be defined as, and if you know you work extremely hard and devote yourself to the betterment of others, thats all that matters. You shouldn't have to answer to anyone just because you grew up in a situation you literally had no choice over.
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Would like to have a job!
