# What is your job to you?



## sovereignb (Dec 6, 2018)

...curious to non cuntish opinions.

Do you see it as "ive gotta put food on the table and pay bills" or do you see it as a way to fund positive things like holidays or personal projects?

Do you have a passion for what you do and do you feel you should always be moving up (in terms of towards management etc)

I ask because being in my late 30s, I sometimes think I should he doing/earning "more" than what I am.  I think Ive been doing sideways moves for awhile now, although always gaining skills and management roles have never really appealed to me. Many of my new colleagues are much younger and I still don't know what I want to do long term with regards to employment. I do know I want to use the income to get into the property game, so I'm trying to keep that my focus.

I can imagine having kids (which I don't) would have a big impact.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 6, 2018)

I love my work, it’s brilliant. It’s doing something I have a passion for, I get very well looked after doing it and I’ve worked my way to a point where I’m reasonably high up the tree as it were.

But... it’s still just a job. A way to pay the bills and buy nice stuff. If I won the lottery tomorrow I’d never do another day of it without a seconds thought.


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## Sea Star (Dec 7, 2018)

It's a vocation for me which I also get paid for. And tbh if I didn't end up destitute I'd do most of it for nothing. Way back in the 1990s when i was an environmental activist I made serious plans to move into environmental management as a profession because that's all I wanted to do. Then years later after my plans had come to nothing I was just offered the job of environmental management out of the blue because one manager had heard that i was a bit passionate about the environment and nobody else wanted to do it. Now that I have 8 or 9 years solid experience at different aspects of the job I feel, finally, that I'm in a team doing proper environmental work and making important differences. 

The only reason i would leave is after many years of no pay rise I genuinely struggled to be able to survive. I'm not there yet and I hope in the next year or two I can make some changes to my lifestyle that means I won't need as much money as I currently earn, which will make things a lot easier for me and my partner.


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## spanglechick (Dec 7, 2018)

It’s what keeps the plates spinning, which gives it a critical importance which isn’t healthy.  

I think I’d enjoy it more if every aspect of my life didn’t depend on not fucking it up.


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## souljacker (Dec 7, 2018)

I generally enjoy my job and I find it interesting. It also pays well and stretches my mind in a good way. But as bees says up thread, if I won a lot of money tomorrow, I doubt I'd even have the decency to ring the boss. I'd be off to the Caribbean before you could say Pina colada.


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## bellaozzydog (Dec 7, 2018)

Everything and nothing

Pays well, is quite exotic so gives me a sense of “not being “run of the mill 9-5”

Ultimately when it goes wrong and I earn my money I get involved in life and death stuff which is rewarding

In reality on most jobs I can dial it in wherever I am. I enjoy the challenging jobs I need to put effort into but I accept that 1. I’m fucking lazy and 2. in reality i’m A fucking pawn like everyone else and no matter how high you think you fly some cunt behind a desk with no fucking idea you exist can just take it away. You can’t invest your own personal value in that

I’m 45 years old and have never banged an honest days work out

Try and positively effect those around you in particular those “below” you

I’m shitfaced so apologies for an overblown post


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## Tooter (Dec 7, 2018)

I enjoy doing events and gigs, travelled all over the world multiple times however after twenty years in the industry my body is starting to take the toll, im falling to bits I've been self employed and my own boss picking and choosing what I want to get involved with for most of my life...however, I don't have a pension, insurance, savings, a mortgage or a deposit for one despite working hard most of my life I'm not sure if I've benefitted from the industry or been chewed up and spat out   It just feels like I'm constantly treading water, will probably be like that till I hit I'll health.....god knows what I'll do then. Just glad I've managed to avoid the office


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## LeytonCatLady (Dec 7, 2018)

sovereignb said:


> ...curious to non cuntish opinions.
> 
> Do you see it as "ive gotta put food on the table and pay bills" or do you see it as a way to fund positive things like holidays or personal projects?
> 
> ...



This is a great topic.

sovereignb , I'd say the important thing is, are you happy; or at least not miserable? I think there's nothing wrong with wanting to just work for the income because you need it to buy both necessities and luxuries. As long as you give of your best effort when you're at work, you have no requirement to make it your life. Don't compare yourself to your colleagues, think about you.

I began busking last year, aged 30 (I'm only a year older than you and still consider myself quite young). I'm mad about music so I'd say what I'm doing now _is_ my passion, which I know most people aren't lucky enough to be able to make a living from; but before that I'd always worked in call centres and offices to pay the rent. I resigned in a bit of a hurry after a disagreement with management (kind of a last straw thing). Quitting a day job to play music seemed like a very drastic decision to others, and everyone was surprised but were pleased for me when it worked out. But I'd spent my whole life since I was 16 being sensible, doing a "proper" job and treating music as a "hobby". I'm not saying everyone should take that risk, only making the point that your day job doesn't have to be your passion as long as you take it seriously when you're there. In my case, I just no longer had any energy to give to it. I definitely wouldn't have fancied the responsibility of being a manager! 

I think you're doing fine. As long as your job doesn't make you miserable, that's what counts. And if you genuinely want to try other stuff you can, but don't follow a path that corporate society expects you to take, just for the hell of it.


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## twentythreedom (Dec 7, 2018)

What is this "job"of which you speak?


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## Jon-of-arc (Dec 7, 2018)

My job, as it is, is an entry into a field that I would love to be in.  I'm right at the bottom, working nights in a care home.  Just gone onto full-time, after doing a couple of months covering the other night staff when they had holiday.  I should be doing this for a few months, no more than a year, before I can hopefully move into what I actually want to do, which is work directly with clients on their recovery, which I think I'll really enjoy.  Because it's residential care for extended periods, the work we do and relationships we build with clients is much more in-depth than someone in the same field working a day programme might be able to achieve, which is what particularly appeals to me about specifically residential.  

Whilst I'm doing nights, I've also started a college course in counselling, which will help massively once I move onto days.  The nights give me ample time to do my work for this.  I also currently do 3 on, 4 off, which means I have from Sunday morning through to Thursday evening to do what I like.  Which feels like a lot of free time for what is actually a full time job..


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## Yu_Gi_Oh (Dec 7, 2018)

spanglechick said:


> It’s what keeps the plates spinning, which gives it a critical importance which isn’t healthy.
> 
> I think I’d enjoy it more if every aspect of my life didn’t depend on not fucking it up.



This is exactly how I feel. My job is prone to fucking up and I have to try very hard to hold it all together while knowing that if it does all go to shit it'll all have been for nothing. Right now I'm doing a job way above my level, and until I get my MA (next May) I can't jump ship because nowhere else would hire me to do what I do. I'm also going to rely heavily on good references from some people who are easily upset and growing disillusioned with our program.

I love teaching, and if there were no consequences, I'd be pretty happy. As it is, I have a ludicrous amount of responsibility, and no one here in China can manage me because they don't have a clue what I'm doing. 

I am well paid. But again, I'm paid to do a role I should never really have been given.


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## dessiato (Dec 7, 2018)

I love my job. I love being in the classroom knowing that I make a difference. I love the interaction with the students. 

I loathe the interminable paperwork. I recently worked out that each class will have 200 A4 sheets of forms to complete for this term.


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## Looby (Dec 7, 2018)

Currently, I like my jobs (casual worker so got a few) and they’re giving me good experience but they’re helping to pay the bills whilst I study. 

Because I’m casual, have no guarantee of hours and don’t work that much I’m not particularly emotionally invested with either job but I still want to do well.

The profession I’m currently training for is different. This is a lifelong ambition/vocation so there’s a lot of emotional investment there and a lot of fear and expectation too.

I’ll be on placement for 5 months next year so I’m about to find out if I can actually do it and if the 50k student debt was worth it.

No pressure then! 

Whilst I wouldn’t be working in such a pressured job if I didn’t need to work as I’m essentially very lazy, I can’t think of another unrelated field I’d rather work in so I guess that’s good.


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## High Voltage (Dec 7, 2018)

My job is me . . . there, I've said it

I gauge my worth, value, "position" (whatever that is), how I feel about myself, by how my job is perceived (it's importance and status) in the industry I work in

Fuck knows I'm not a very big fish in a small pond . . . I'm not

My most recent career turn has seen me plummet from my high water mark of a couple of years ago, back to a role I was doing 20 fucking years ago with a substantial drop in salary - I'm so embarrassed and ashamed by what's happened that I've no intention of updating my Linked In profile for all of my colleagues and peers to see how I've "fallen" and I'd not climbed that far up the slippery pole, but I was going in the (for me) right direction

Mrs Voltz still had faith in me, but she really doesn't understand the industry I'm in - I've always been a half seeing man in the land of the blind and as such I've been able to make the best of the opportunities that have come my way . . . but there are a fair few people in my industry with a LOT of sound technical knowledge that, because they work for the "big boys", can be carried, as they are, to all intents and purpose, non-productive - offering a technical support service that is, basically, given away as part of the service

I'm also 57 years of age and whilst, in my head at least, not over the hill, when you couple the fact that what people 10 and 20 years younger than me can do - there isn't a long list of people queueing up to give me a job or even opportunities to go for

But when it's going great - I love my industry / job


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## izz (Dec 7, 2018)

High Voltage said:


> My job is me . . . there, I've said it
> 
> I gauge my worth, value, "position" (whatever that is), how I feel about myself, by how my job is perceived (it's importance and status) in the industry I work in
> 
> ...


Of course I still have faith in you - whyever not ? You're still the same person regardless of the job you're in. You have breadth and depth of experience that many younger people simply don't and the fact that you're still able, at 57 to take up a technical role again is something not many 57 year old's could still do, they simply lose the ability to cope with the technical side so the fact you still have the smarts to do it is a great thing and you're not sitting at home moping which means you're pragmatic.

Your industry has changed dramatically throughout your working lifetime and I for one would be interested to know how many of your peers have moved away from it, or have had to move away.

Thus far most of your jobs have appeared out of the blue, you've had to go looking for work rarely. This speaks well of your ability and reputation but has had the downside that you're now expecting to be tapped on the shoulder and something offered to you. This is rarely people's experience of the working world so the fact that it hasn't happened in a year or so is really no surprise. I feel that if you could be a little more pragmatic still and looked for something related to your specific skillset rather than an exact fit, or maybe gained a qualification (showing you could put effort into it),that your chances would improve.


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## High Voltage (Dec 7, 2018)

I 'spose


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## kalidarkone (Dec 7, 2018)

I'm not in it for the money, which is just as well because I'm not quite on 20K despite working full time, 12 hrs shifts, nights.
I love my job. I did feel pressure to move on up the ranks ( for way more responsibility and not much more money) I did a year of a course but withdrew because at this time of my life things need to be really really simple - 3-4 shifts at work a week, seeing ma in London every 4- 6 weeks. Having a dance and some social life. Getting the house together so it can be sold. Supporting my son. Looking after my physical and mental health.
I get quite a few social needs met at work and really good holidays- can't afford to go anywhere. .....


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## Pickman's model (Dec 7, 2018)

happy enough with my job. management could do with improving, mind.


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## ElizabethofYork (Dec 7, 2018)

I have a badly paid job with no prospects, but I thoroughly enjoy being at work because I get on very well with my colleagues, and it's fun.  I have to work in order to pay the bills.  I feel very lucky that I enjoy work, especially as I've had jobs in the past which I absolutely hated, so I know how miserable that can be.


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## Badgers (Dec 7, 2018)

A waking nightmare


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## farmerbarleymow (Dec 7, 2018)

It's just a job and I have no attachment to my employer.  Like others, if I won the lottery I'd be out of there instantly.


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## Bahnhof Strasse (Dec 7, 2018)

High Voltage said:


> My job is me . . . there, I've said it
> 
> I gauge my worth, value, "position" (whatever that is), how I feel about myself, by how my job is perceived (it's importance and status) in the industry I work in
> 
> ...




I have just taken someone onto help me, he's 57. I saw his CV and the date he left school and worked out his age, then thought, why not? if he goes to 65 that's 8 years, how much can you expect from a member of staff? So it's not the end of the road for you High Voltage


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## Teaboy (Dec 7, 2018)

My current job is the best I've ever had in every respect.  Decent pay, decent company and I do have to genuinely engage brain so it keeps me occupied.  It is still though a means to an end.  It enables me to live the lifestyle I want to.  If I inherited a wedge tomorrow or won the lottery or something I'd be out of there the very next day.  I really don't understand people who work when they don't have to.


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## LeytonCatLady (Dec 7, 2018)

High Voltage said:


> I 'spose


Don't put yourself down mate. Shit happens, and it doesn't make you a failure.


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## marty21 (Dec 7, 2018)

Paid ok-ish, could get more if I went into management but can't be arsed with management fairly safe (Local Authority) which is a factor when you get into your 50s, pension and all that  But like most people, I'd give it up without a thought if my numbers came up


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Dec 7, 2018)

I've gone totally freelance this year. It's been kinda tough, taking more work away from home then I like, to much dead time, learning how to manage my diary and find clients. I'm poorer then I've been for years, but Im also happier. 2019 will have to be a bit different though if it's going to ultimately sustainable, but I fealt I had to try.


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## LeytonCatLady (Dec 7, 2018)

Teaboy said:


> I really don't understand people who work when they don't have to.



They must genuinely love their job. Must be nice.


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## nogojones (Dec 7, 2018)

farmerbarleymow said:


> It's just a job and I have no attachment to my employer.  Like others, if I won the lottery I'd be out of there instantly.


If you win the lottery go on the sick and rinse them for everything you can just on principle


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## sovereignb (Dec 7, 2018)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> I love my work, it’s brilliant. It’s doing something I have a passion for, I get very well looked after doing it and I’ve worked my way to a point where I’m reasonably high up the tree as it were.
> 
> But... it’s still just a job. A way to pay the bills and buy nice stuff. If I won the lottery tomorrow I’d never do another day of it without a seconds thought.


Sounds fucking perfect!


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## weltweit (Dec 7, 2018)

Having had a two year period without a paying job, I appreciate being in work for the ability not just to pay my way but also to enjoy some nice things as well. 

I enjoy my present job and it is doing what I trained for which is nice. I don't get a feeling of status from my role, some years ago, younger and in a more senior role I used to feel some of that but no more. A key positive of my current role, and it is significant, is that the people are very nice. This offsets the amount of stress you can get if working for wankers, which I have experience of in the past. 

My advancing years (54) are a concern because it gets harder to win a roles as your years advance, hopefully the present job will continue a while yet.


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## izz (Dec 7, 2018)

I hate the job, I hate the organisation and I hate who they're turning me into. Having said that, the effort it takes to get anything done has imbued me with immense tenacity. The flip side of this is I often pursue things that are simply impossible and give myself grief for not achieving them. 

Up until recently it was common to hear racist jokes and comments and there's a problem with bullying. It's toughening me up and I probably needed it but I dunno, I feel I've become less tolerant which I don't like. There's a grim satisfaction in getting through each week, in learning to deal with panic attacks and non-performing people, in producing something despite the personal cost.


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## LeytonCatLady (Dec 7, 2018)

izz said:


> Up until recently it was common to hear racist jokes and comments and there's a problem with bullying. It's toughening me up and I probably needed it but I dunno, I feel I've become less tolerant which I don't like.



You shouldn't have to be tolerant of bullying or racist jokes, that's not what you go to work for. As for toughening you up, you shouldn't need to put up with that in order to become stronger. Sorry to hear your organisation are a bunch of cunts.


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## sovereignb (Dec 7, 2018)

twentythreedom said:


> What is this "job"of which you speak?



A health care regulator investigating fitness to practice. It will do for now I guess...some interesting elements. But being desk bound bugs me a bit (luckily the team seem cool). Being out and about is something I miss about social work, but I will never go back to that field. I do desire being out and about or a job involving travel abroad, but imagine the latter is less glamourous than it sounds.
Money is ok but I cant lie, I somewhat resent earning the same as people 10 years younger.


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## ElizabethofYork (Dec 7, 2018)

izz said:


> I hate the job, I hate the organisation and I hate who they're turning me into. Having said that, the effort it takes to get anything done has imbued me with immense tenacity. The flip side of this is I often pursue things that are simply impossible and give myself grief for not achieving them.
> 
> Up until recently it was common to hear racist jokes and comments and there's a problem with bullying. It's toughening me up and I probably needed it but I dunno, I feel I've become less tolerant which I don't like. There's a grim satisfaction in getting through each week, in learning to deal with panic attacks and non-performing people, in producing something despite the personal cost.



That sounds extremely traumatic.


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## marshall (Dec 7, 2018)

I love what I do and it's treated me very well over the last 30 years. I don't do the lottery and I'm not in line to inherit a penny, but no worries, I have enough to last the rest of my lifetime and I'll happily continue doing what I do until Valhalla calls.


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## Enviro (Dec 7, 2018)

My job is too much to me, too much of my identity. I used to consider myself a creative person, but I find it very hard to find the energy for creative pursuits once the 9 - 5 grind is done for the day/ week.

It can be rewarding but is quite stressful.

It would be so much better if there was good/ clear leadership. It would also be better if I could be bothered to stay on top of developments/ technical methods/ various aspects of the work, but the company expects me to do this in my own time (lol).

I used to be more confident in my role but an incoming director tore my technical skills to shreds in my appraisal a couple of years ago and I've never really recovered from that. I was feeling a little burnt out prior to the catastrophic appraisal, now I _really_ struggle with motivation ...


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## Edie (Dec 7, 2018)

Love my job, love my patients, love my team. But _christ_ it’s hard work . Proper physically exhausting (of the being on your feet for 12 hours kind) and stressful. Often hilarious (nowt as funny as folk), can be heartbreaking, occasionally demoralising. Wouldn’t want to do anything else. Would do it even if I won the lottery.


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## Teaboy (Dec 7, 2018)

Badgers said:


> A wanking nightmare



No quiet spaces or locks on the toilet doors?


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## izz (Dec 7, 2018)

ElizabethofYork said:


> That sounds extremely traumatic.


It's not traumatic as much as wearing down.


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## Teaboy (Dec 7, 2018)

LeytonCatLady said:


> They must genuinely love their job. Must be nice.



Yes, but if people genuinely love it I'm not sure its a job, just a hobby / passion you get paid for.  Its the people who carry on working (when they don't need to) because they can't think of anything else to do which confuse me.  Seems like a lack of imagination to say the least.


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## weltweit (Dec 7, 2018)

I like my job, but as mentioned, if I won the lottery I would be outa there toute suite..


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## Bahnhof Strasse (Dec 7, 2018)

sovereignb said:


> A I do desire being out and about or a job involving travel abroad, but imagine the latter is less glamourous than it sounds.



I deal with frequent business travellers all day long; the glamour of travelling, especially in first or business class when going on holiday once or twice a year is one thing; being bumped off, downgraded, delayed, cancelled with no help etc. on a regular basis as a frequent business traveller, starts to wear a bit thin after a while. Plus an ex* of mine seems to go away every month, is always on Instagram #businesstrip, each to their own, I'd rather see my kids growing up though.




*her back also features on the shit tats thread.


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## extra dry (Dec 7, 2018)

Sometimes thobbing migraine with stress bowles like experence, or a day at the races when every horse wins


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## extra dry (Dec 7, 2018)

LeytonCatLady said:


> They must genuinely love their job. Must be nice.



Or thdy love the other people, the products or the company, high status yet weak or narrow minded individuals with little identity outside a name badge, or genuine bordom.


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## MickiQ (Dec 7, 2018)

I'm good at what I do and I enjoy doing it and whilst i believe I am worth what I am paid, I am under no doubts that there are lots of people who work far harder than me for a lot less.
The above are all side benefits though, at the end of the day I've worked because I have a family to support.
Like everyone else if it happened Camelot would free me of it all tomorrow.
I'm always a tad dubious about people who say their career comes first (unless it's something amazing like finding a cure for cancer).
The big American corporation I was employed by for 25 years always cut jobs in the US first since people are  so easy to fire there and every time I would find people on the internal forums posting about how they
had put their lives on hold for the company and now they regretted their loyalty and sacrifice.
I always found myself thinking Why you daft fuckers? there's 300,000 people work here do you expect anyone to give a shit about you?, no-one's final words are "I wish I'd spent more time in the office"


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## Cheesepig3 (Dec 7, 2018)

I quite enjoy my days but it's purely, only, entirely for the money. 

I get well paid but miss home (working away).

There aren't many jobs I'd not do. 


I'm looking for something near home that will keep a roof over us, don't care what it is. 

Maybe not hitman.


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## Kanda (Dec 7, 2018)

My job is a holiday and personal project.


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## Cheesepig3 (Dec 7, 2018)

Enviro said:


> My job is too much to me, too much of my identity. I used to consider myself a creative person, but I find it very hard to find the energy for creative pursuits once the 9 - 5 grind is done for the day/ week.
> 
> It can be rewarding but is quite stressful.
> 
> ...



9 to 5? Blimey,  I thought that went out in the 80s!


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## Sapphireblue (Dec 7, 2018)

i quite like my job and i'm very good at it. knowing that i'm faster and more efficient than co-workers (they are less senior / less experience tbf to them) is great when we're not too busy as i know i can give myself a bit of slack but when things are urgent or important i can put too much pressure on myself to get stuff done even quicker and take on all the difficult work as i fret the others won't do it right (am self-confessed perfectionist).

i mostly like my colleagues and the vibe of the company which is so important. i moved from a safe job with a much bigger company to then end up here and it's the best thing i ever did. also overtime is not expected / demanded unless unusual circumstances and then it's paid.

would still 100% quit immediately if i came into enough money though.


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## Enviro (Dec 7, 2018)

cheesepig said:


> 9 to 5? Blimey,  I thought that went out in the 80s!



The company I work for is like a think from the past (and not in a good way). That's supposed to be changing soon. We'll see...

It's 9 - 5.30 actually, and in my line of work I occasionally have to do site work at night and so on.


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## Supine (Dec 7, 2018)

I generally enjoy the technical aspects of my job. The pay rises and holidays are just a bonus. I have no interest in management so work for myself and avoid all the organisational bullshit.


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## weltweit (Dec 7, 2018)

MickiQ said:


> … no-one's final words are "I wish I'd spent more time in the office"


Indeed, nary a truer word spoken!


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## moomoo (Dec 7, 2018)

ElizabethofYork said:


> I have a badly paid job with no prospects, but I thoroughly enjoy being at work because I get on very well with my colleagues, and it's fun.  I have to work in order to pay the bills.  I feel very lucky that I enjoy work, especially as I've had jobs in the past which I absolutely hated, so I know how miserable that can be.



This. Also my job is very physical and I walk miles each day so it keeps me fit!


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## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 7, 2018)

sovereignb said:


> Sounds fucking perfect!


It has numerous downsides (insane hours, long periods away from home, physically brutal, self employed means no sick/holiday pay etc) but yeah, I’m very lucky to do it.


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## kalidarkone (Dec 7, 2018)

Edie said:


> Love my job,
> Would do it even if I won the lottery.



Same for me .


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## kropotkin (Dec 7, 2018)

I'm really profoundly lucky. I know that. I have a job that I enjoy, that I am engaged in and excited by. A job that pays well, with great colleagues and loads of interaction with people. It is stimulating, "responsible" and I get to meet a wide range of people and interact with them meaningfully.
If I won the lottery tomorrow I'd probably cut my hours to three days a week.


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## nadia (Dec 7, 2018)

I am reasonably paid, I only commute 15 minutes each way my holiday allowance is good. My job I could do with my eyes shut, but the management is awful arrogant and clueless and the company is broke so job security is a concern.


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## kebabking (Dec 7, 2018)

It's stimulating, it's interesting, it's challenging - some of it is tedious, some of the people are massive twats, and some of the challenges are akin to spinning gold thread from straw - it's also provided my family with a fantastic lifestyle and opportunities, as well as financial security.

I've also recently been forced to accept that my job also gives me a great deal of self worth and stokes my ego. I am, if perhaps not quite a 'player' in a great game - and one often unseen by most - then a spectator in the best seats. This was brought home when I was offered a job in a related, but supporting sector - the conditions were better, the pay was a 50%+ increase, but it wasn't a ringside seat...

I'm very fortunate, and very grateful.


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## strung out (Dec 8, 2018)

I work flexible hours to suit me, but generally 9-5. If you include closure days and bank holidays, I get more than 8 weeks holiday per year. I really like the people I work with, and although I manage 14 people, there's no pressure on me to be a twat of a boss to them. The work I do is meaningful (I work as a librarian in HE) and I'm good at it. I'd give it up tomorrow if I came into a windfall though, it's just what I do, not who I am.


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## sovereignb (Dec 8, 2018)

Teaboy said:


> My current job is the best I've ever had in every respect.  Decent pay, decent company and I do have to genuinely engage brain so it keeps me occupied.  It is still though a means to an end.  It enables me to live the lifestyle I want to.  If I inherited a wedge tomorrow or won the lottery or something I'd be out of there the very next day.  I really don't understand people who work when they don't have to.





marshall said:


> I love what I do and it's treated me very well over the last 30 years. I don't do the lottery and I'm not in line to inherit a penny, but no worries, I have enough to last the rest of my lifetime and I'll happily continue doing what I do until Valhalla calls.





Enviro said:


> My job is too much to me, too much of my identity. I used to consider myself a creative person, but I find it very hard to find the energy for creative pursuits once the 9 - 5 grind is done for the day/ week.
> 
> It can be rewarding but is quite stressful.
> 
> ...





Edie said:


> Love my job, love my patients, love my team. But _christ_ it’s hard work . Proper physically exhausting (of the being on your feet for 12 hours kind) and stressful. Often hilarious (nowt as funny as folk), can be heartbreaking, occasionally demoralising. Wouldn’t want to do anything else. Would do it even if I won the lottery.





weltweit said:


> I like my job, but as mentioned, if I won the lottery I would be outa there toute suite..





Kanda said:


> My job is a holiday and personal project.





Sapphireblue said:


> i quite like my job and i'm very good at it. knowing that i'm faster and more efficient than co-workers (they are less senior / less experience tbf to them) is great when we're not too busy as i know i can give myself a bit of slack but when things are urgent or important i can put too much pressure on myself to get stuff done even quicker and take on all the difficult work as i fret the others won't do it right (am self-confessed perfectionist).
> 
> i mostly like my colleagues and the vibe of the company which is so important. i moved from a safe job with a much bigger company to then end up here and it's the best thing i ever did. also overtime is not expected / demanded unless unusual circumstances and then it's paid.
> 
> would still 100% quit immediately if i came into enough money though.





moomoo said:


> This. Also my job is very physical and I walk miles each day so it keeps me fit!





beesonthewhatnow said:


> It has numerous downsides (insane hours, long periods away from home, physically brutal, self employed means no sick/holiday pay etc) but yeah, I’m very lucky to do it.





kropotkin said:


> I'm really profoundly lucky. I know that. I have a job that I enjoy, that I am engaged in and excited by. A job that pays well, with great colleagues and loads of interaction with people. It is stimulating, "responsible" and I get to meet a wide range of people and interact with them meaningfully.
> If I won the lottery tomorrow I'd probably cut my hours to three days a week.





nadia said:


> I am reasonably paid, I only commute 15 minutes each way my holiday allowance is good. My job I could do with my eyes shut, but the management is awful arrogant and clueless and the company is broke so job security is a concern.





kebabking said:


> It's stimulating, it's interesting, it's challenging - some of it is tedious, some of the people are massive twats, and some of the challenges are akin to spinning gold thread from straw - it's also provided my family with a fantastic lifestyle and opportunities, as well as financial security.
> 
> I've also recently been forced to accept that my job also gives me a great deal of self worth and stokes my ego. I am, if perhaps not quite a 'player' in a great game - and one often unseen by most - then a spectator in the best seats. This was brought home when I was offered a job in a related, but supporting sector - the conditions were better, the pay was a 50%+ increase, but it wasn't a ringside seat...
> 
> I'm very fortunate, and very grateful.



Im so curious to know what everyone does and would like everyone responding in this thread to say if they are comfortable doing so?


----------



## kropotkin (Dec 8, 2018)

I'm OK with it. I'm a hospital doctor.


----------



## High Voltage (Dec 8, 2018)

I work in print 

More specifically reprographics

Originally, by trade, I was a "time served" hot metal compositor working in newspapers. If I'd worked in London I would have been entitled to "wear a top hat and carry a sword" or some such industry wide held belief


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## Baronage-Phase (Dec 8, 2018)

I love my actual job. It's just the peripheral shit that interferes with it that I detest.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Dec 8, 2018)

sovereignb said:


> Im so curious to know what everyone does and would like everyone responding in this thread to say if they are comfortable doing so?


Live sound engineer


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## Biddlybee (Dec 8, 2018)

I like what I do, but don't love it. It's not what I set out to do. I can't progress or earn much more unless I want to go into management, and management isn't for me, nor is loads of money tbh (but a bit more would be good).

They're family friendly, flexible hours, it's a secure job and I'm good at it. But compared to my peers I think I'm doing a bit shit. Most people my age own their own homes and seem from the outside not to struggle financially.

I've always wanted to do something that mattered, that helped others. Have done in a voluntary capacity (frontline work) and that's when I've had the highest job satisfaction tbh. I've always worked in the charity sector, so yeh indirectly making a difference, but behind the scenes, where it could feel like you were working anywhere.

I'm struggling with telling my girls they can achieve anything and do whatever they want, if I haven't done the same.

But, I can't take a cut in our income at the moment, or retrain. So biding my time until both girls are at school, then proper re-evaluation and hope I'm not too past it, and that I vaguely have the skills and brain to do something about it.


----------



## Edie (Dec 8, 2018)

Biddlybee said:


> I like what I do, but don't love it. It's not what I set out to do. I can't progress or earn much more unless I want to go into management, and management isn't for me, nor is loads of money tbh (but a bit more would be good).
> 
> They're family friendly, flexible hours, it's a secure job and I'm good at it. But compared to my peers I think I'm doing a bit shit. Most people my age own their own homes and seem from the outside not to struggle financially.
> 
> ...


Yeah, not the right time just now mate but you’ll know when the right time is. And of course you’ll have the skills & brain, and whatever you do frontline they’ll be glad of you I’m sure!


----------



## sovereignb (Dec 8, 2018)

bellaozzydog said:


> Everything and nothing
> 
> Pays well, is quite exotic so gives me a sense of “not being “run of the mill 9-5”
> 
> ...



I need to meditate on that bit in bold. thank u

sounds interesting whatever u do?


----------



## sovereignb (Dec 8, 2018)

MickiQ said:


> I'm good at what I do and I enjoy doing it and whilst i believe I am worth what I am paid, I am under no doubts that there are lots of people who work far harder than me for a lot less.
> The above are all side benefits though, at the end of the day I've worked because I have a family to support.
> Like everyone else if it happened Camelot would free me of it all tomorrow.
> I'm always a tad dubious about people who say their career comes first (unless it's something amazing like finding a cure for cancer).
> ...



bit in bold...really?

And I really thought people knew that loyalty to any company is...redundant.


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## Chilli.s (Dec 8, 2018)

I hate work.

Work is overrated.

It gets in the way of all the other things I want to do. It has not always been this way, but needing to provide and getting older do put constraints on a job that are not felt early in a career.


----------



## moomoo (Dec 8, 2018)

sovereignb said:


> Im so curious to know what everyone does and would like everyone responding in this thread to say if they are comfortable doing so?



I work in stock control at Tesco. But I do a bit of everything. Except I’m not till trained. Baffles me why they don’t want me to have too much interaction with customers!


----------



## sovereignb (Dec 8, 2018)

kebabking said:


> It's stimulating, it's interesting, it's challenging - some of it is tedious, some of the people are massive twats, and some of the challenges are akin to spinning gold thread from straw - it's also provided my family with a fantastic lifestyle and opportunities, as well as financial security.
> 
> I've also recently been forced to accept that my job also gives me a great deal of self worth and stokes my ego. I am, if perhaps not quite a 'player' in a great game - and one often unseen by most - then a spectator in the best seats. This was brought home when I was offered a job in a related, but supporting sector - the conditions were better, the pay was a 50%+ increase, but it wasn't a ringside seat...
> 
> I'm very fortunate, and very grateful.


oh I wanna know!


----------



## kebabking (Dec 8, 2018)

sovereignb said:


> oh I wanna know!



Middle-ranking Army Officer. I work in a deployable NATO force HQ and spend a fair bit of time galavanting around eastern Europe.


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## sovereignb (Dec 8, 2018)

LeytonCatLady said:


> This is a great topic.
> 
> sovereignb , I'd say the important thing is, are you happy; or at least not miserable? I think there's nothing wrong with wanting to just work for the income because you need it to buy both necessities and luxuries. As long as you give of your best effort when you're at work, you have no requirement to make it your life. Don't compare yourself to your colleagues, think about you.
> 
> ...




Could not like this comment enough! However, im actually 38 so not sure why you thought I was 10 years younger!

I know what your saying...I guess its just unconditioning myself from societal expectations and to an extent, my upbringing/social circle.	   Im not miserable at my role at all and after yesterdays Xmas party I realise I have a nice set of people around me. When I did get miserable doing social work, I, like you, took the plunge to resign. I didn't know what was next and don't regret it for a second. I agree about following your passion, but that only works when you what that is...and I don't, yet.

I realise a few things im realising is that the grass isn't always greener. Whats green grass to you maybe manure to me...it really depends on the person. I also realise there are so many types of jobs out there, many we don't know even exist until we are exposed to it somehow. So people often asked when I wasn't working "what do you want to do" and I'm like "I don't really know...but ill know when I see it"...does that make sense?

I had a conversation with a guy on the way back from my Xmas party last night. He was drunk but we still engaged. He used to do ads on buses, then social work recruitment and now building sets on TV productions! I wish I established how he managed the transition into all (I got a jist of the last change) but it just goes to show that you never really how it could all work out. Id rather keep it exciting figuring it out than being scared to explore and feel stuck in something I hate. But how long can that go on for?


----------



## krink (Dec 8, 2018)

To me, my job is a way to get money primarily but for the last few months it has been helping me feel less isolated and lonely by being a source of human company. How sad!


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## sovereignb (Dec 8, 2018)

kebabking said:


> Middle-ranking Army Officer. I work in a deployable NATO force HQ and spend a fair bit of time galavanting around eastern Europe.



Ha! Just proves my point. I would never have thought from description.


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## Chester Copperpot (Dec 8, 2018)

I'm stuck in London as a single parent and partner in a small firm and I feel my job is trapping me in a rat race I don't want to be in or bring my son up in.

So on Wednesday I handed in my notice. I will sell my flat in the new year and move to the countryside. Scary as I have no job to go to but I'm lucky I have some equity in my flat which means I'll be ok in the very short term.

I feel like I've stepped off a cliff edge. Time to learn to fly!


----------



## weltweit (Dec 8, 2018)

Chester Copperpot Hope your move works out for you.


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## Sapphireblue (Dec 8, 2018)

i'm a software tester, which is basically using software that's new / changed and checking it works properly and it doesn't fuck up. also part business analyst, which is working out what it should do and having contact with customers to get their requirements. i also write help guides and do customer training.

i started as only a tester but in a small team you end up taking on the other stuff because generally testers are the only ones who properly understand how the system works and so you end up unofficially helping out with the other stuff. also no-one else is bothering to document anything! i'm lucky where i am as they've actually officially recognised the business analyst side which came with a pay rise.

testing is generally undervalued. developers often think testing is a bit of an easy job, and i'm like, if it's so easy to find bugs then why does the software you code have a trillion in it and you didn't spot them?

in a big company you'll have loads of test drones (often in india) working on really small bits of the software with no oversight of the whole thing and a test manager in charge being paid fuck-loads for not very much. i never wanted to be a manager, i wanted to do actual work.

also, good testers are shockingly rare. i've been involved in trying to hire people at a couple of companies and fuck me the muppets that applied. so i'm lucky that the people where i work appreciate that i'm unusually good at my job, probably because i've only worked on complex stuff and a lot of testers do not.

ok, possibly more than you'll ever want to know about testing...


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## ice-is-forming (Dec 8, 2018)

I love my job, I'd be doing it as a volunteer if I wasn't being paid. Every day blows my mind.

I also have to work, and will do until I'm around 70, so just as well really


----------



## LeytonCatLady (Dec 8, 2018)

sovereignb said:


> Could not like this comment enough! However, im actually 38 so not sure why you thought I was 10 years younger!
> 
> I know what your saying...I guess its just unconditioning myself from societal expectations and to an extent, my upbringing/social circle.	   Im not miserable at my role at all and after yesterdays Xmas party I realise I have a nice set of people around me. When I did get miserable doing social work, I, like you, took the plunge to resign. I didn't know what was next and don't regret it for a second. I agree about following your passion, but that only works when you what that is...and I don't, yet.



Reading my reply back, I'm not sure why I mistook your age either! Must have misread the 38 as 30.

I agree upbringing and knowing what you want to do is also a factor. In my case, it helped that I had a mum who didn't put pressure on us about schoolwork and the like. She always said she didn't mind if we passed or failed our GCSEs, as long as we'd done our best. This actually made me work harder, as I couldn't stand the idea of her pitying me if I did fail, and I got some fairly decent results. Mum's also like that with jobs.  She doesn't care if our jobs are glamorous, well-paid, exciting blah blah blah, as long as we can support ourselves when she's no longer here. And I think all four of her kids have put her mind at rest in that regard.

I always knew I wanted to play music for a living, but I also understood that I obviously wouldn't just turn 16 and become a singer, like you can become a receptionist or shop assistant. But I moved to London in order to maximise my chances. I worked in call centres/offices by day, played open mics by night and met other musicians. I was in a couple of local punk bands on and off, and we did get pub gigs, but never anything I could quit my day job for. Busking's different because you can work whenever you want and it's instant income. I'd considered doing that for a living ages before actually, but I'd mistakenly thought you had to buy a licence for every borough you wished to play in, which would have cost me a small fortune. It was only on further research that I found that only the London Boroughs of Camden and Hillingdon actually require this; anywhere else busking is classed as an unregulated activity on public land, although you'll always get rogue council officers trying to tell you otherwise. So that's how I became a professional musician, better late than never! 

I appreciate how lucky I am that I always knew what I wanted, and am now doing it, but to be honest those of us who found our passion are a minority. I think it's normal not to be sure of your desired path. There's tons of jobs out there and we don't even know what half of them are, so how's anyone meant to know what they want to be? I like what you said about keeping it exciting and figuring things out as you go.

Just keep on being happy and nice to others, which it sounds like you are.


----------



## Kanda (Dec 8, 2018)

Scuba Diving Instructor/Dive Center Manager/Equipment Technician/IT Support/ etc....


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## marshall (Dec 8, 2018)

I write brand narratives for multinationals.


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## MickiQ (Dec 8, 2018)

sovereignb said:


> bit in bold...really?
> 
> And I really thought people knew that loyalty to any company is...redundant.


Really, Big US companies (or at least the one I worked for which is/was one of the biggest) schedule redundancy rounds to hit quarterly financial targets, they dress it up in a load of bollocks about future business strategies or aligning to changiing market needs but it's just about getting the required  savings in by the end of of the financial quarter.
So the US always got hit first on the grounds that they can easily get rid of people in a couple of weeks (and since salaries were relatively high see savings straight away)
The UK despite being the most profitable region in EMEA was always next, it takes 45 days to make redundancies in the UK so any savings won't make the end of this quarter but you will get them by the end of next one.
Redundancies were much fewer and further between in Germany and France since both countries have much stronger employment protection laws than the UK, it can take up to a year to make someone redundant in France.
Many Americans working in corporate America really do seem to swallow this guff about putting the company first and living and breathing the culture despite the number of times said culture shat upon them.
The management ones are the worse, In 2014 I was involved in a big project that would have required me working all weekend, when the customer decided to pull it forward 6 weeks which would have conflicted with my eldest's wedding. I explained this to my manager and told him that I would go through it with whoever they found to replace me.
I was then called in by his manager a Yank who told me that the customer was specifically keen to have me on site that weekend. I explained that has the brides father it was kind of important I was there and if I wasn't I wouldn't be coming back to work the next week since the brides mother would have buried me in the garden.
He then spent an hour trying to persuade me otherwise making suggestions like can't your son walk his sister down the aisle or how about taking my phone and laptop with me?
I realised that he genuinely couldn't grasp that I wasn't prepared to put the company first and thought he could persuade me to do what he wanted, it was a surreal experience.


----------



## Guineveretoo (Dec 8, 2018)

I am unemployed at the moment, but when i was working I was a trade union official, and work was the centre of my life and was really important to me. I was paid a reasonable amount - enough to get out of debt (eventually!) - and I think I probably got as high as I could in the profession (I was a national officer) because I am crap at management.


----------



## sovereignb (Dec 9, 2018)

Chester Copperpot said:


> I'm stuck in London as a single parent and partner in a small firm and I feel my job is trapping me in a rat race I don't want to be in or bring my son up in.
> 
> So on Wednesday I handed in my notice. I will sell my flat in the new year and move to the countryside. Scary as I have no job to go to but I'm lucky I have some equity in my flat which means I'll be ok in the very short term.
> 
> I feel like I've stepped off a cliff edge. Time to learn to fly!


I truly wish u the best. Is being in the countryside something you've all wanted to do?


----------



## AnnO'Neemus (Dec 9, 2018)

I had an interesting and well-paid job that was also sort of my identity, but more recently have been doing random office jobs to pay the bills. I've done some short-term contracts/temping interspersed with some periods of unemployment/on benefits due to disability/illness. 

It's tough to go from being 'something' to being 'nothing' in so many ways, not just the greatly reduced financial circumstances, but also the lack of freedom (yes, you have all the time that you wished you had when working a busy job, but lack the money to go and visit friends in a different city or country, or even meet up for lunch). While the financial thing would be obvious, the impact of the change in status isn't as well-understood, I don't think, as well as the frustration of having so much freedom in theory but not so much in practical terms.

Over the past couple of decades, many friends and former colleagues have progressed in their careers, earned promotions and more money, whereas I seem to have moved sideways and also in-and-out of the workforce. Sometimes I doubt it's possible for me to get back to where I was, let alone make any career progress.

I feel like an underachiever who has lots of untapped potential who probably won't be given another chance to tap it. Without a job at the moment, I feel redundant, prematurely retired at a ridiculously young age (even though I've been asked twice in interviews about my attitude towards working with younger people, once in my thirties and again more recently in my forties).


----------



## Celyn (Dec 9, 2018)

cheesepig said:


> 9 to 5? Blimey,  I thought that went out in the 80s!


When was it ever "nine to five"?   I have never understood that thing. Possibly American. Here office work is nine to five thirty, or eight thirty till five thirty.


----------



## Celyn (Dec 9, 2018)

cheesepig said:


> 9 to 5? Blimey,  I thought that went out in the 80s!


 	 When was it ever "nine to five"?   I have never understood that thing. Possibly American. Here office work is nine to five thirty, or eight thirty till five thirty.

And I did wonder about that song or film about the supposed horrors of working nine to five.  Oh! the horror!  Yet  loads of people have to work very bad shifts. Usually the important people.


----------



## strung out (Dec 9, 2018)

Dolly didn't find 8.30 til 5.30 as snappy though.


----------



## Cheesepig3 (Dec 9, 2018)

kebabking said:


> Middle-ranking Army Officer. I work in a deployable NATO force HQ and spend a fair bit of time galavanting around eastern Europe.




You'll be amazed at how very, very few of your skills are remotely transferable or welcome in CivDiv.

Primarily the idea of all working on the same mission, taking responsibility,  looking after your lads... those things are at best novel, at worst alien to most civvy organisations.


I only did 10 years Regular,  7 Stab, so my transition wasn't such a shock.


If you need to work when you get out,and still need an ethos, there are elements of the Civil Service that won't feel too much of a culture shock. Apart from the pay cut.


----------



## kebabking (Dec 9, 2018)

cheesepig said:


> You'll be amazed at how very, very few of your skills are remotely transferable or welcome in CivDiv.
> 
> Primarily the idea of all working on the same mission, taking responsibility,  looking after your lads... those things are at best novel, at worst alien to most civvy organisations.
> 
> ...



This stuff does worry me - I'd be walking into an environment where everyone else has 20 years more experience than me. Much as anyone from civdiv would find the Army somewhat mystifying and incomprehensible, the same would doubtless be true for me walking into the private sector.

I think that I'd now only leave if I got a really shit job - bog roll and paperclips at MOD - location is important as well, my wife has a career, my kids are settled at school, our families are nearby, i'm simply not going to upsticks to APC Glasgow, or worse, go to London or the SE.

Fortunately there's a large CS establishment 40 minutes down the motorway - it's _interesting and worthwhile _work, and a knowledge of sandy languages is an advantage...


----------



## Cheesepig3 (Dec 9, 2018)

kebabking said:


> This stuff does worry me - I'd be walking into an environment where everyone else has 20 years more experience than me. Much as anyone from civdiv would find the Army somewhat mystifying and incomprehensible, the same would doubtless be true for me walking into the private sector.
> 
> I think that I'd now only leave if I got a really shit job - bog roll and paperclips at MOD - location is important as well, my wife has a career, my kids are settled at school, our families are nearby, i'm simply not going to upsticks to APC Glasgow, or worse, go to London or the SE.
> 
> Fortunately there's a large CS establishment 40 minutes down the motorway - it's _interesting and worthwhile _work, and a knowledge of sandy languages is an advantage...




Interesting,  worthwhile,  and 37 1/2 hour week.


Sweet.


Full of old buddies of mine, who had faint sartorial connections with billiards tables or wore the Silver Surfer on their hats.


----------



## pesh (Dec 9, 2018)

cheesepig said:


> You'll be amazed at how very, very few of your skills are remotely transferable or welcome in CivDiv.
> 
> Primarily the idea of all working on the same mission, taking responsibility,  looking after your lads... those things are at best novel, at worst alien to most civvy organisations.


if you can do all that with a sense of humour and half drunk theres always rock n roll touring.


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## wayward bob (Dec 9, 2018)

a theoretical construct :/


----------



## Cheesepig3 (Dec 9, 2018)

pesh said:


> if you can do all that with a sense of humour and half drunk theres always rock n roll touring.




Hey, kebabking, dunno about you but "half drunk and sense of humour" pretty much sums the Army up for me.


----------



## 8115 (Dec 9, 2018)

It's slowly killing me 

I work in an area that used to be public sector. In common with a lot of people in this area I think I find it quite frustrating and depressing sometimes.

Kind of half-way between puts food on the table and totally fulfils me.


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## A380 (Dec 10, 2018)

Reading some people on here I realise how lucky I’ve been. Had a vocation/career that was interesting , occasionally exciting, mostly worthwhile and, like kebabking , sometimes got me a seat very near some interesting things whilst paying for a comfortable life. Was able to retire ridiculously early, step down a couple of levels and work part time on something a bit different but still interesting and worthwhile and along side people 20 years younger which is quite invigorating, and with my pension means I’m taking home a fair bit more than I was  in my profession. I get to do a little bit of training  in my old world which is worthwhile for both my ego and bank balance.

Something will go wrong.


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## A380 (Dec 10, 2018)

kebabking said:


> This stuff does worry me - I'd be walking into an environment where everyone else has 20 years more experience than me. Much as anyone from civdiv would find the Army somewhat mystifying and incomprehensible, the same would doubtless be true for me walking into the private sector.
> 
> I think that I'd now only leave if I got a really shit job - bog roll and paperclips at MOD - location is important as well, my wife has a career, my kids are settled at school, our families are nearby, i'm simply not going to upsticks to APC Glasgow, or worse, go to London or the SE.
> 
> Fortunately there's a large CS establishment 40 minutes down the motorway - it's _interesting and worthwhile _work, and a knowledge of sandy languages is an advantage...


With a Lady’s college nearby?


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## tommers (Dec 10, 2018)

I do this job cos I used to have to leave my son at nursery and he'd be crying and hanging into me and begging me not to go. When my daughter arrived I decided that we needed more money cos that gives you choices and I could avoid having to do stuff like that.

So I joined an IT company. Entry level, became manager in about two or three years. Its alright, the company treat you well but my manager keeps telling me to "enhance my brand"  and I get handed endless shit that other people have created but that I need to clean up.

The quicker I can retire the better.


----------



## kebabking (Dec 10, 2018)

A380 said:


> With a Lady’s college nearby?



With me, the 13th Earl of Wimbourne just up the road - what can they have been thinking?


----------



## Tooter (Dec 10, 2018)

Retirement.....ahhh now I'm sure that would be nice.  That is definitely never going to happen in my lifetime.


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## Enviro (Dec 10, 2018)

Celyn said:


> When was it ever "nine to five"?   I have never understood that thing. Possibly American. Here office work is nine to five thirty, or eight thirty till five thirty.
> 
> And I did wonder about that song or film about the supposed horrors of working nine to five.  Oh! the horror!  Yet  loads of people have to work very bad shifts. Usually the important people.



Yeah, yeah it's 9 to 5.30 but it just doesn't have the same ring to it 

I'm an environmental consultant.


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## Cloo (Dec 14, 2018)

It pays for my life I guess, but it is something I enjoy and doesn't take over my life - I can keep in 9-5, work from home flexibly, take some hours off if I've worked longer ones (I don't have to work long hours to get my job done, but I might go to evening events for research in the course of my job). Now my kids are a bit older I'm starting to think more of thinking of a 'career' rather than just a job, as let's face it, I'm no more than half way through it. I'm going to be doing some line management for the next 6-9 months while my manager covers someone else's mat leave, so it's going to be an interesting time,


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## Epona (Dec 15, 2018)

I have done some interesting jobs in my time I suppose, but they have all been on "it's just a job" level and I wouldn't have been doing them if I hadn't needed the salary.


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## ice-is-forming (Dec 17, 2018)

I'll probably have to have an intervention  and be de-programed when I leave this organisation. It's a bit of a cult really, a good cult but a cult none the less. It's a huge international org that dates back over a century and it's ways of working are branded into your forehead with a hot iron. I love it and get to do and experience some extraordinary things, but it scares me to think that I'll be 'cast out' someday, the way we get funded by government contracts etc... Knowing me I'll self sabotage before this happens just so I can be in control of when it happens


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## sovereignb (Dec 19, 2018)

ice-is-forming said:


> I'll probably have to have an intervention  and be de-programed when I leave this organisation. It's a bit of a cult really, a good cult but a cult none the less. It's a huge international org that dates back over a century and it's ways of working are branded into your forehead with a hot iron. I love it and get to do and experience some extraordinary things, but it scares me to think that I'll be 'cast out' someday, the way we get funded by government contracts etc... Knowing me I'll self sabotage before this happens just so I can be in control of when it happens




Illuminati


----------



## ice-is-forming (Dec 19, 2018)

sovereignb said:


> Illuminati



Not quite but there may be some comparisons  Any way  my contract renewed yesterday  I was lucky! I started in a team of five and I'm the last one standing.


----------



## sovereignb (Jun 19, 2019)

bumping


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## bellaozzydog (Jun 20, 2019)

bellaozzydog said:


> Everything and nothing
> 
> Pays well, is quite exotic so gives me a sense of “not being “run of the mill 9-5”
> 
> ...



ETA not a stealth brag

As an update I just started a job. I arrived two months after it started, so it’s been running ok with out me.
I was stuck in a hotel away from the job for two weeks sorting out visas it ran ok without me

And I was ill and stuck in hospital for 7-10 days 

Out of six weeks I was only “working” for half of it

Not once did anyone ask me what I was doing or ask for anything. I counted some data and sent a little monthly statistical report up the chain. No response 

And i’m Now waiting to go to the airport for six weeks holiday.

When I did my handover my back to back laughed and said “it’s fucked innit, nothing matters”

The job is three years long my accommodation is a hotel “suite” on a beach on a private cove

Sounds ideal but I sit here thinking what did I do, can I justify my existence, why are they paying me. Is this the human condition, the need to be valued? 

Then I think fuck em it’s just a game take what you can and relax


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## Ming (Jun 20, 2019)

bellaozzydog said:


> ETA not a stealth brag
> 
> As an update I just started a job. I arrived two months after it started, so it’s been running ok with out me.
> I was stuck in a hotel away from the job for two weeks sorting out visas it ran ok without me
> ...


Same here. Pays the bills. Fucked up managers, stupid inappropriate admissions we can’t treat, doctors over ruled by non-clinical non-front line staff. But the pay’s good. I do help people definitely but if the ‘leadership team’ would fucking stay in their offices and not get in the way tertiary and forensic mental health would be in much better shape here.


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## Steel Icarus (Jun 20, 2019)

My job doesn't even pay the bills right now. I'm on a casual hours basis, 7.5 hours a week. 15% of my gross pay goes on bus fares 

So I'd _better _enjoy it, right? 

And I do. I love it. I get to help people every time I go to improve their CVs, get a better job or get on courses. Only wish I'd done this year's ago.


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## shakespearegirl (Jun 20, 2019)

I used to love my job as a Producer. Worked across all kinds of things, documentaries/advertising/corporate/design/music. For many many years it totally dominated my life due to travel/stupid working hours/friends mostly working in the same industry/my stupid sense of obligation and responsibility/ridiculous clients...

A couple of years of running an agency totally broke me and as I try to extract myself and recover mentally, I look back and think why the fuck did I give my job so much priority in my life.

So many of my peers are also reaching this conclusion.. it ain’t cool, it ain’t clever and it certainly isn’t helping society.

Fuck knows what I’ll do next but I’m pretty sure it won’t be in London or the UK and not in the creative industry.


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## kebabking (Jun 20, 2019)

i've moved on...

three jobs within one organisation - the same one - the 'main' job is hugely enjoyable, intellectually stimulating, and almost embarrassingly accommodating of family life, and the other two are fun, not overly taxing, getting-out-and-meeting-people jobs where the subject matter is something i'm interested in.

its much less 'ringside seat' than the last job, however enjoyable and stimulating it is, and that has taken some getting used to.


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## Clair De Lune (Jun 20, 2019)

I still love my job (yp counsellor)
It has brought me confidence, improved my self esteem and made me feel I am doing my bit to help young people in my community. It's sometimes very difficult, emotionally taxing, stressful and even traumatising but the rewards far outweigh the negatives. It has improved my overall view of humanity, it has inspired me to keep learning, changing and growing and has massively improved my mental health and view of myself. It helps me greatly to focus my attention on the needs of others, while at the same time it has increased my self compassion.


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## TheHoodedClaw (Jun 20, 2019)

I love my career-change job, which I just realised I've been doing for almost 6 years. (How the hell did that happen?) Third sector is very different from finance IT on the face of it - but as it turns out there's loads of transferable skills. Some of those skills I didn't even realise I had, to be honest. The learning curve in other aspects was vertiginous, and took me well outside my old comfort zone, but that's "personal growth" I guess.


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## nogojones (Jun 21, 2019)

Ming said:


> .... but if the ‘leadership team’ would fucking stay in their offices and not get in the way ...... would be in much better shape here.



I've found this is true for almost all jobs


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## hash tag (Jun 21, 2019)

My job to me is about helping people (which I enjoy). Its a real, proper job.
I spent many years shuffling paper and making profits for faceless people in financial services. When able, I started doing voluntary work helping people. Got offered redundancy
from financial services, took it with out having a clue where to turn. Got pointed in the direction of sheltered housing, which I knew nothing about. Worked as a temp for a year
to get some experience before going permanent. From there I swapped into a similar role, in a local authority. The majority of it is shift work, sometimes early days, sometimes
late evenings, weekends or regularly have to work nights and weekends. It's more directly helping people than sheltered which is fine. Pay not brilliant, especially with all
the cut backs over recent years. As with most, the management is not good, but they are miles away and only ever visit occasionally, during regular work hours.
A great career change and only third employer since leaving school a few years ago and hopefully, my last. During that time, was unemployed for a week or two while I searched
where to go after financial services. Shame I did not make the move earlier, but hey.


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## Artaxerxes (Jun 26, 2019)

Payday


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## May Kasahara (Jul 4, 2019)

I love my job, to a point that is sometimes unhealthy  Brilliant people, positive 'make it happen' ethos, doing good work - more specifically, I've been here five years and have (a) never been bored, and (b) been pushed and supported to use and develop my talents, to the point where I've got myself upgraded twice into new roles that I've created and written the job spec for.

It is a bit of a cult in some ways, a bit 'us against the world/no one understands us'  and definitely fucked up in lots of ways. But so am I, so that just makes it feel even more like home   

I've never had a job I really loved and flourished in before


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## ice-is-forming (Jul 4, 2019)

ice-is-forming said:


> I'll probably have to have an intervention  and be de-programed when I leave this organisation. It's a bit of a cult really, a good cult but a cult none the less. It's a huge international org that dates back over a century and it's ways of working are branded into your forehead with a hot iron. I love it and get to do and experience some extraordinary things, but it scares me to think that I'll be 'cast out' someday, the way we get funded by government contracts etc... Knowing me I'll self sabotage before this happens just so I can be in control of when it happens



And cast out I've been! and coping with it better than I imagined 

My contract ended July 1st, as the program I've worked on for six years was defunded by the government nationally. With no other positions available locally within that org at present. 

I start a new job tomorrow


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## Irwin Winton (Jul 4, 2019)

Clair De Lune said:


> I still love my job (yp counsellor)
> It has brought me confidence, improved my self esteem and made me feel I am doing my bit to help young people in my community. It's sometimes very difficult, emotionally taxing, stressful and even traumatising but the rewards far outweigh the negatives. It has improved my overall view of humanity, it has inspired me to keep learning, changing and growing and has massively improved my mental health and view of myself. It helps me greatly to focus my attention on the needs of others, while at the same time it has increased my self compassion.



I told my yp counselor I was gonna be a millionaire when I was older, Christ was I a deluded teen.


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## cupid_stunt (Jul 4, 2019)

Irwin Winton said:


> I told my yp counselor I was gonna be a millionaire when I was older, Christ was I a deluded teen.



Welcome to the boards, Del Boy.


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## Irwin Winton (Jul 4, 2019)

cupid_stunt said:


> Welcome to the boards, Del Boy.



She was ace


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## Clair De Lune (Jul 4, 2019)

Irwin Winton said:


> I told my yp counselor I was gonna be a millionaire when I was older, Christ was I a deluded teen.


These days it's more likely to be "I'm gonna be a famous youtuber"


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## sovereignb (Jul 11, 2019)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> I love my career-change job, which I just realised I've been doing for almost 6 years. (How the hell did that happen?) Third sector is very different from finance IT on the face of it - but as it turns out there's loads of transferable skills. Some of those skills I didn't even realise I had, to be honest. The learning curve in other aspects was vertiginous, and took me well outside my old comfort zone, but that's "personal growth" I guess.


did u fall into your career change or did you know what u wanted to do?


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## sovereignb (Jul 11, 2019)

ice-is-forming said:


> And cast out I've been! and coping with it better than I imagined
> 
> My contract ended July 1st, as the program I've worked on for six years was defunded by the government nationally. With no other positions available locally within that org at present.
> 
> I start a new job tomorrow


don't feel like a break first?


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## TheHoodedClaw (Jul 11, 2019)

sovereignb said:


> did u fall into your career change or did you know what u wanted to do?



Totally fell into it. I've never really planned ahead, to be honest


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## sovereignb (Jul 11, 2019)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> Totally fell into it. I've never really planned ahead, to be honest


love that attitude. hoping that happens to me.
worked out well that u enjoyed it!


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## ice-is-forming (Jul 18, 2019)

Omg! I got a dream job! The job I've been doing for the last month was just a 'bread and butter' job in youth residential.

I start next week on a community development team, designing programs for people with mental health and aod issues. So excited!


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