Do you really like your job?

[Person24]

I thought it would be interesting to hear about people's past and present careers. Do you really like your job? What type of factors did you look at when deciding whether a job or career was right for you? If you made a career change or several of them why did you make the switch?

 

[Miss Sparkly]

For the most part I do enjoy my job. It wasn't a purposeful career move on my part but rather a twist of fate. My old boss called the other bank where I worked at by accident instead of one of her branches (the numbers are one digit off). Somehow we got to chatting on the phone and she asked if I was interested in interviewing for a position that she had open. I said that I was (as I was looking anyway) and poof, my current job! I feel into banking as a college student and never truly decided that it was right for me. Now that I have a good idea of what I excel at I know that any kind of audit work is a very strong point and will begin a job hunt for a better salary/vacation options once the economy picks back up (or I might be able to negotiate at that point with my current position as I really don't want to leave). One of my favorite past jobs was working for McDonalds in the small town that I grew up in. The entire crew was a blast to work with and we got to know customers by name and order. I feel eternally grateful to have such a wonderful working experience as a HS/college student especially in a fast food environment.

 

[zoebartlett]

I thought it would be interesting to hear about people's past and present careers. Do you really like your job? What type of factors did you look at when deciding whether a job or career was right for you? If you made a career change or several of them why did you make the switch?

I love my job, but there are definitely certain aspects about it that I don't like. There's a lot of pressure and accountability, and it can be overwhelming at times.

I used to work in children's publishing, and while there were a lot of perks in my department, I realized after a little over two years that I wasn't cut out for working in a business setting. I had learned a lot about a very interesting field, but I wanted a change. I wanted to work with kids who were reading our books, not be one of the people making the books themselves. I love to curl up with a good book and I wanted to encourage children to do the same thing and help instill a love for reading. I wanted to be around kids' colorful, imaginative artwork hanging on bulletin boards throughout a school. I wanted to sit on the floor and play games with children. I wanted to work in a more welcoming and relaxing environment, not be surrounded by stuffy offices and cubicles all day.

I began to look into education, and I thought of going back for my M. Ed. I shadowed a few reading specialists and observed a few elementary classrooms before applying to a program. I went to school full time and I worked part time. I LOVED it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Not all the experiences I had were great, and some were more challenging than others, but I knew I had made the right decision to switch fields and careers. Plus, I'm not going to lie -- having several days off every year, plus vacation weeks and summer break was REALLY appealing.

 

[PositivelyPeanut]

I don't really love my job, but I love how it fits into my life and the freedom it allows me. The pay is good, the hours work for me, I have plenty vacation days and time off, and I believe in the company. I used to obsessively think about whether or not I was selling out by doing something I was good at but didn't really love. I'm at peace with that now for the reasons above. I am going back to school though, so I'm also exploring a switch someday for a (related) field I like better. But I would be torn about leaving, so who knows. Not very helpful, am I?

 

[FrekeChild]

I like certain aspects of my job. I like my employer a lot, she's really interested in us and trying to make sure we're happy and feel treated well. BUT she is also a drama queen whose whole life is work, so she often incites a bit of drama at work, since she has no outside social life. What is interesting is that most of my coworkers hate her. At this point I wish they'd all quit!

As for the job itself, it could be a lot worse. The part I don't like is that I'm the reception person. I'm the person at the front desk because I know more than everyone else. And because I'm at the front desk where your typical "receptionist" sits, clients assume A. I'm not doing anything important B. that I'm just a receptionist and C. that I'm an idiot. I really don't appreciate getting put down by people who walk in and want to talk to someone else who is in another area of the office because they think I don't know what I'm talking about. Which is hilarious because I've been there longer than all but a couple of people and I know just about everything from start to finish about the whole process. So I find it highly entertaining when they will ask to talk to ___ and then ____ says, "Oh you actually need to talk to Liz, I know nothing about that." Especially after they've just treated me like I'm an idiot.

I won't be doing this forever, but it's fine for now, my boss is great, and my favorite part is how accommodating and caring my boss is. We get to get away without dealing with childcare because she's going to let me work part time from home and pretty much make my own schedule once the baby gets here!

 

[Lanie]

I LOVE my job. Absolutely love it.

I worked in marketing at a communications company when I got out of college. It was fun getting dressed up and being in an office setting and hobnobbing with exciting, different adults (there's a reason I'm saying adults). I was paid pretty well and it was just okay. I didn't feel like I was contributing anything to society. If I died, and I was at the pearly gates, I couldn't say that I had done much with my life except worked my tail off for the CEO and the Board of Directors.

I became a teacher and 10 years later I'm so glad I switched. I get paid like crap, but I love going in to work everyday. I seriously do. It's so stressful at times, and I feel like I can't get enough in during the day. I'm forced to eat my lunch with a bunch of 14 year olds, and I have to eat it in 25 minutes. I only get set bathroom breaks between classes. I can't just take a long lunch to run errands or run to the pharmacy or to a doc appointment. But oh my goodness, I just love my job! Summers and breaks are great too!

I teach my kids not only SPanish, but how to have morals, how to form good habits, how to deal with tough social situations. And I keep up with my students who have moved on and graduated, and I just love when they tell me about how they used something that I taught them.

 

[diamondringlover]

I hate my job I cant wait to retire....I cant leave it though, I have been there for 14 years, I make decent money, I work from home in my PJ's and I get 6 weeks of vacation a year....I am trying to hold on for 12 years so I can retire.....that is if my sanity doesnt leave first....

 

[packrat]

Depends what day you ask me. If we're running pretty close to on time and I'm not getting screamed at by patients b/c Dr is in the ER, then yeah, it's not bad. Dr. is pretty lenient and understanding. However..she abhors conflict, so even when it came to light that the office manager who has worked there for 20 years doesn't understand her job and lost the office tens of thousands of dollars..nothing happened. There's a lot of backstabbing and gossiping in the office. I emailed Freke one day that it is amazing how 3 people can stand around gossiping for twenty minutes, not working or lifting a finger--and the whole time they're complaining about another coworker who took a minute to check her email or phone messages. If I could get out of there I would but not many places are so workable for hours.

The woman I work w/up front on my day there is fun tho, even thru all the drama, and I know she talks about me when I'm not there..she has my same sense of humor and is goofy like me.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I really like my job, but happiness at my job is directly correlated with what client I'm assigned to.

I work for an advertising agency, however I'm a marketing analyst, so I don't do any of the creative work. I analyze the campaigns and find out what is working and what isn't so that our clients can optimize what they are doing. I love working around all the creative people, even though I'm a dork, and I like the company, my salary and the benefits.

Currently, I absolutely love my client and the team I work with. I feel extremely lucky to be on (what I feel is) the best team at our agency--in fact, I'm a little sad about leaving everybody for a few months when I go on maternity leave next year.

The biggest issue is that I could be pulled off this account and moved to another account at any time. And some accounts are much more challening--very, very long hours, demanding clients--and if I had to be on an account like that, I would hate it. So for now I'm very happy and counting my blessings, but I don't like the uneasy feeling that things could change at any time.

 

[labellavita81]

I love my job. Everything about it to be honest. My boss is amazing, the office is fun and social, I work with a great team and the acutal job is different every day.

 

[PinkTower]

Yes, I love my job. I teach. The pay is average, the time off is excellent, the children are really great. Teaching is a good fit for a parent who wants to be at home when the children are home.

 

[packrat]

My very first job was working in the laundry at the packing house. I was 16 when I started and I worked there 5 years. It was dirty some of the time, and so fast paced during shift changes that the time flew by. Had a tv, phone, refrigerator, microwave, worked my myself 95% of the time. Got to visit w/the workers, some of them used to help me on their breaks w/my homework. The ones I knew real well I played tricks on, and some of them I knew the sound of their stride well enough that I could sit on the floor behind the counter sorting gloves or reading and toss their uniform up to them w/out looking to see who it was. Ended up w/a horrible manager. Too bad b/c the job wasn't anything to write home about but it was fun.

I had another job that I enjoyed but had a mean boss and boss's wife..I called the boss Oscar (as in The Grouch) and his wife Satan..as in pure evil. Left there and now someone else owns it and I guess is pretty dang good to his employees. Figures.

When I left that job I went to work for a psychiatrist/osteopath and that was an incredible job. Loved it so much. But reimbursement sucks here so he moved out of state.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I mostly like what I do, but right now I'm not too keen on who I am doing it with (rather toxic work environment...)

 

[bright ice]

I love my job. I am a nurse practitioner in a family practice clinic with 5 doctors. I have my own nurse and we get along great, can manage my own schedule, have 4 weeks a year off for vacation, make good money. Best of all, I make a difference in others lives.

 

[lliang_chi]

I can honestly say I do like my job. I made an industry change about 1.5 yrs ago.

I used to work in Finance. Which in the early 2000s was a *flashy* industry and I was young and eager and liked impressing people by saying I work in Finance. I started as a customer support rep for a software company. I got bored of that job in about 9 months, and started a MS degree in Computer Science so I could transition to the development side. I did transition to the dev side and really liked it. I did project management for the same company and worked with a lot of really talented developers. I did a really great job but I also had a toxic work environment (as in the management side). Because of that I had no career prospects so I left. I worked in the non-profit industry for 9 months and left it, was not a good fit, to go back to FInance. I worked doing database programming for a research shop next, then I got laid off and did quality assurance for a trading house. By then I've been in Finance for 7 years and was SICK of all the egos and attitudes.

I scored my current job, operations for a web service created by a data company, and left the Finance field. I'm so glad I did. I finally like my job. Am I making the world a better place. Not really. Am I super excited to go to work in the morning (e.g. can't wait to get to work today), not really. Do I hate my job? No way. I guess it depends on the person. I don't see my job or career as the definition of who I am, it's an attribute of my life, but it doesn't define my life. (if that makes any sense).

So am I happy? Yes! Do I love my job? Eh, not really. Do I love my career? I would say I'm happy with my career. I feel like I'm progressing- moving forward and getting ahead. I feel like I'm making my life more interesting. Do I feel like I'm changing the world? Not really. Do I need that? Not really.

 

[stargurl78]

I hate my job I cant wait to retire....I cant leave it though, I have been there for 14 years, I make decent money, I work from home in my PJ's and I get 6 weeks of vacation a year....I am trying to hold on for 12 years so I can retire.....that is if my sanity doesnt leave first....

This makes me sad I seriously think you need to find something else rather than spending another 12 years of your life at this place being miserable. I mean, I know work isn't everything but we do spend a hell of a lot of time at our jobs. We can't all LOVE our jobs, but if you really hate it that much, I think you should really consider looking elsewhere.

I really like my job but I guess I wouldn't say I love it. I worked at a government auditing agency for one year after college and I would come home in tears because I hated it so much. Another co-worker told me she felt the same way and she missed her job working at a university, which she lost because she had to move when her husband relocated. So I started looking at university jobs to see what was out there and stumbled upon an accounting position in the research division at the university that I graduated from (and in the department that I was a student assistant in while I was in college). I was so happy when I got offered the position but I was scared that I would hate it just as much. Five years later I've gotten 2 promotions and have just applied for a management position. I make less money than I would be making at my last job but I'll never regret leaving there, I am MUCH happier now. I don't know if its what I'll be doing forever but that's ok with me.

 

[tuffyluvr]

I do like my job. I do outside sales in the transportation/logistics industry. I work for a great company and I believe in what I'm selling. I like the people I work with, my boss' have our best interests at heart and the pay is good with very nice incentives for meeting our goals. I am thrilled to have a good job--I truly feel fortunate, but it's not exactly a dream job. I'm not in love with working from 8-6 mon-fri, plus a half day most Saturdays. Our terminal is moving freight every day of the year except thanksgiving, Xmas day, new yrs day and 4th of July, so I don't get a lot of days off and I only get a week of vacation until I hit the 3 yr mark--although my bosses help us out with a little more "under the table"

Before I found my current job, I took all the prerequisites for nursing school, and I still think about nursing. My classes are good for 7 years, so I may choose to do that down the road. I know I would feel much more fulfilled if I was helping people.

I worked for a boutique PR agency in the fashion industry for 5 years after college. I really loved that job but the pay was crap and I got no benefits. It was so much fun, creative, fast-paced, the perks were fantastic, and my boss was awesome--we had an absolute blast every day. Going to work was never a drag, but the paychecks were less than amazing. Ultimately I needed more financial security and benefits.

 

[iheartscience]

I do, actually! It's interesting and challenging and there's a lot of room for growth, which is important to me because I tend to master my job duties quickly and need more to do or I get bored. I also like that the work I do is fairly solitary, so I'm relying on myself vs. relying on others. I can certainly do well in a team environment (and have at jobs in the past), but it's also really nice that the work I'm judged on is my work alone. Plus the benefits are great-free graduate classes at a top notch university is hard to beat!

 

[Dancing Fire]

yes i love my job. i am a stay at home do nothing husband mooching off my wife for the last 15 yrs....

 

[mikeskinny22]

For the most part I do enjoy my job.

 

[4ever]

Right now? No.

I used to like it but at the moment it is very stressful. My co-worker (and partner in crime) left to go traveling 3 months ago and since then I have been doing her job as well as mine because sales are so bad right now we are on skeleton staff. No, they are not paying me more to do 2 peoples jobs. No, I don't get paid well for my job in the first place.
Everything is stressed because we are struggling to pay contractors and I get to be the middle man between my boss (who holds the purse strings) and pissed off contractors who's accounts are overdue and customers who I can't get their stuff repaired within a reasonable timeframe because the contractor wont take any more work till they get paid. Yay.
It is a family business so they all turn a blind eye if members of the family always make personal appointments during work hours, take sh*t loads of extra holiday, work part time and get paid for full time and take any stock they want out of the shops for themselves.

A couple of weeks ago I had a breakdown and major panic attack at work because the work load was too much and I was dropping all the balls, getting yelled at by a customer on the phone (because my boss told him 2 days for a reapir that I would have (rightly) told him 1.5 weeks for) and he now needed it back to the other side of the country urgently, and my Boss, the person ment to be there to help me, just decided to come in 3 hours late (because she's family, so she can). Urrrh!

 

[rosetta]

Right now, I'm studying for yet another exam so i hate my job at this moment.

It pays ok, but won't start paying really well until I've finished training.

Both my husband and I do our jobs as it pays well, and occasionally, a patient will make it worthwhile. But there are a lot of beaurocratic hoops to jump through and some days, I want to quit. But we both know that no other job is going to make both of us six figure salaries and I have a diamond habit. Lol. So I'm sticking to it.

So no, I don't REALLY like it, but I do like it on some days when I have good news for a patient.

 

[missy]

I do love my job but like many of you it does depend on the day. I find it challenging most days and I love that aspect of it since I get bored rather easily and need challenge to keep me interested and happy. I enjoy interacting with my patients and the other health care professionals that work in this multidisciplinary setting with me. I enjoy my autonomy as I basically set my hours and take off when I want to -though I do not get paid for vacation (or get any benefits) as I am an independent consultant.

It is difficult though now in planning my time off as I am being booked over 8 months in advance and if I don't give them that much notice the support staff has a lot of extra work to do in rescheduling patients. And there is just no place to put them as I am the only person there that does what I do. I do not care for dealing with the clinic director as he can be unreasonable and biased at times however I have little to do with him and in general am not bothered by him.

I love the freedom that comes with my job and when I go home for the day I have no job related work to do.
I do not love the uncertainty that comes with my field as I just don't know what the future holds since medicare/medicaid cuts are on the way and the clinic I work for is not for profit solely relying on these insurances.

I still feel passionate about what I do at work and this keeps me satisfied with my career choice.

 

[missy]

Right now, I'm studying for yet another exam so i hate my job at this moment.

It pays ok, but won't start paying really well until I've finished training.

Both my husband and I do our jobs as it pays well, and occasionally, a patient will make it worthwhile. But there are a lot of beaurocratic hoops to jump through and some days, I want to quit. But we both know that no other job is going to make both of us six figure salaries and I have a diamond habit. Lol. So I'm sticking to it.

So no, I don't REALLY like it, but I do like it on some days when I have good news for a patient.

Hang in there Rosetta- it's all worth it in the end. I know it's tough going when you are still right in the middle of your education/clinical training but you are almost there and it will be so worth it when you finally finish!!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I am recently unemployed, but I loved my previous job. I worked as a bankruptcy paralegal for 7 years. I worked under one attorney in a group and we are still on good terms. I was that attorney's only staff member and so I did practically everything in the office - meeting with clients, answering the phone, preparing paperwork, dealing with the U.S. Department of Justice - everything! I worked anywhere from 35-40 hours a week and the attorney was flexible with time off.

I don't know what direction I'm heading in now. There are literally no paralegal openings in my area and I'm not willing to relocate my family. I have an interview tomorrow for an office manager position that looks promising though. For me being unemployed is frustrating, degrading, stressful and demeaning. For the time being I'm staying home with my two children and DH has picked up a side job but we can't do this forever

 

[vc10um]

I certainly love the flexbility of my job! I love that in two weeks, I have to work 80 hours, sometime Monday-Saturday, with no more than 13.5 hours on any given day. And I think I'm more than fairly compensated for the job I do.

Some days I dread going to work. Some days I come in super-motivated and get a ton done. Some days I actually really ENJOY what I do. And some days I think it would be more enjoyable to saw my arm off with a spoon. But isn't that life? I would say on most days, I am at least satisfied with my career, and I intend to continue in my position for many years. Though my opportunities for advancement are about to run out...at least for the moment I'm happy to stay where I am and probably will do so for about the next decade. Then we'll see how technology changes things at my office...those advancement opportunities may open back up down the line.

 

[ladypirate]

If you had asked me a few months ago, I would have said I hated it. Now, however, I love my job! I recently made a career switch and went back to school as well as working in the field I am studying to go into and I absolutely love it. It's a lot of work and much of it is physical but I couldn't be more thrilled with my choice.

 

[rubybeth]

I truly and honestly love my job. I work in administration for a public library system. There are days when it's the last place I want to be, but I think that would be the case with anything. I have a flexible schedule (I usually come in between 7:00 and 7:30 and then leave at 3:30 or 4:00), a 5 minute 'commute' (live 6 blocks away), and my job maximizes all of my strengths, since I get to be creative and have a firm structure in place. I'm in charge of programming and grant funding.

I started working for the library at a branch when I was 17, worked here for 5 years, and then left for what I thought was my 'dream job' as an editor. I hated being an editor, so I came back and worked my way up for a few years before deciding to go back for my masters of library science. Before going back to school, I did the math. I knew how much school was going to cost, how much I'd need to borrow in student loans, and how much of a starting salary I'd need after graduating in order to pay back my debt in a reasonable amount of time. I knew the job market was crap, and it's gotten worse, but I also had 7 years of experience under my belt at that point in time. It worked out in the best possible way; my organization underwent a massive restructure just as I was graduating, and I got one of the newly created positions, with a much higher starting salary that my minimum requirement. I've been doing it for 2 years now, and just got my 2nd raise.

 

[Deia]

I like my job. There are serious ups and downs sometimes but I guess that's what you get for working in Investment Banking. I work as an EA/Project Assistant to our CAO and I am happy if I manage to get out of the office by 6PM (I come in at around 8.15am for an 8.30 start). Usually I am staying til 6.30pm and last week stayed til 9pm. That was fun. It's a hectic job but there can be good rewards too, and I would never make the kind of money I make as an EA in any other industry. I'd LOVE to work in a more creative industry but unfortunatly the pay just isn't there.

 

[Porridge]

I love my job. I work in consulting for one of the big firms. It's fun, the people are amazing, I love that it changes, I have the option to work in any area that interests me and if I don't like it I can try something else - I can spend some time in finance, then public service, then take time building houses in Haiti, then back to MNC's... I love traveling (I may not like it so much after a few years though), the pay is good and has the potential to get very good, it's challenging and interesting, I get to train in the areas that interest me...yeah I pretty much am just loving it. It satisfies my rather flaky tendencies. The hours can be very long though. It's definitely a demanding career.

I originally followed my family into healthcare (physiotherapy). It is a great career and a lovely job, but it just did not suit me at all. I spent two years planning the change, and I put a lot of work into finding out what I liked and being honest about what I wanted. I had a lot of problems separating what I *wanted* to do from what I felt I *should* do. But it all worked out in the end.

My advice would be to take your time with it. Make sure it's a whole career change you want, and not just a role change or a job change. Find out what you want and what you're good at before looking at careers, because I guarantee there are careers out there you've never even heard of. Talk to EVERYONE about their careers. Personality tests and career tests were of some help to me, mainly because they ask the kinds of questions that force you to be honest with yourself and make you think. I definitely recommend the book What Color Is My Parachute.

Good luck and don't panic. Remember your next move doesn't have to be the exact perfect right one. You can try again.