Why are jobs so hard?

[Beat14]

Everyone wants to change the world, not themselves. Me included.

I've spent a fair amount of time labouring, and I hated it a lot, but I slowly became numb to it, which I hated even more. I want to strive to do more. So becoming numb like that sucks balls.

I think it's a problem with society. I didn't know what I wanted to do at 16, and now I don't know what I want to do realistically 5 years later. A friend said he always saw me doing something in music so I've gone that way.

Sorry I can't say I am able to offer you a way out of that, my only suggestion is maybe looking into setting up a business in something you like.

There was a scrawny guy who joined a table tennis society at uni, he got there realised he hated the atmosphere of the place, and so, decided to randomly join the Boxing society, which he then became the leader of because he enjoyed it so much. Not I, but a true story.

tl:dr Try something new? I guess.

 

[shootthebandit]

Any job is the same. Its a means to an end

I do aircraft maintenance for the airforce (as a civvie). Its quite a rewarding job fixing planes and im quite well paid for a 20 year old. The only problem is that i work 7:30-17:00 mon-thur and 7:30 - 12:30 fri so you have very little free time. Also ive had to move away for the job so the only friends around are the guys from work who all with a few exceptions have a wife and/or kids so none of them have time to socialise anymore and all airforce bases are in the middle of nowhere so you have to travel if you want a good night out

My plan is to stay where i am. It may take a while but you always meet new people. Once if got a bit more experience i plan to work in the middle east which is 100% tax free with no expendature. So i can save a load of money and when i finish working there i can buy a house and car somewhere sunny and live there

 

[The White Hunter]

Because there are very very very very very very very few jobs that are entertaining/awesome enough that people WANT to go to work and you (not you specifically, you is a general term here) are not going to be lucky/talented/whatever-enough to get one of those rare jobs. Unless you happen to be Adrian Peterson, in which case, "HI! I hope you can break the record this year!...can I have some Vikings tickets please?"

As to your actual question, I don't know if what I'm currently doing is what I want to do. I graduated from college with happy thoughts of becoming a graphic designer. It's been five years since I've been in college and that dream is very dead and buried as I am now working at US Bank as a Post Closing Specialist.

Do a spot of graphic design in your spare time my good man, I'm gradually trying to teach myself how to program in what little spare time I have so that one day I might be able to actually create something, now if only I had any kind of artistic skill with which I could make graphics.......

Edit Your avatar blinking never fails to make my eye twitch in it's direction.

OT: Because life just sucks that way, I know how you feel, I'm in the process of dropping out of a teaching course because it's just a horrible frustrating minefield of a job where everyone is secretly pissed off all the time no matter how much they smile.

Looking to try get into some IT stuff and teach myself some programming and what have you. No idea where to start though.

 

[Dectomax]

Join the military... you will never ***** about sitting at a computer pressing a few buttons again!

Serously though, work is what you make it. It's not the process you need to enjoy, it is the outcome! You can sit in any job that is minotonous or boring, as long as you are proud of what comes out the other end... and it is that which you should be focusing on when finding a job.

I love my job. I am in the RAF, and everything I do I know why I M doing it, how it fits the bigger picture and that I am doing for my country... it dsnt matter what I have done that day/week/year, I can be proud of what I have done.
Find a company you can really support, and take pride in what you can do for them, and that you are part of their team... and take joy in the benefits, like meeting colleagues.

As this good man says - The military is a very viable choice. I left school at 16 and signed up with the RM's and those were some of the best years of my life. ( So far atleast, I'm 21 ) and the best part is after spending 4 years with them, I not only have great references - but some of the side qualifications and leadership courses have given me a real edge in getting interviews.

However, it's not for everyone and some people figure that out the hard way ( I've seen a lot of guys who were all for it at the start and after the first tour, were handing in their notice to resign ).

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Anyway, ranting aside; how did you decide what you wanted to do with your life? Or are you in the same depressing boat as I am?

I'm 25 and still have no idea what I want to do with my life. At the moment I've spent over 2 years stocking shelves at a Target and before that I've had a nice smattering of other retail experience...but as for an actual career I have no idea what I want to do with myself. I can't say I dread going to work but I can say that at the moment I'm working poor.

...

Not that I haven't tried other things but I don't see any publisher buying my short story about a homeless man who randomly murders and poos on people...which...I can't seem to find...shit...

 

[Abomination]

I actually enjoy my job... I mean, I would rather be doing other things but I find the work engaging and challenging with very little routine about it. I work in logistics as the key contact person for our top clients which means I'm dealing with companies rather than the general public.

Strange thing is I never would have pictured myself in this industry but the job suits me very well, the pay is adequate with chances of promotion and raises based on performance.

I don't love it but I don't hate it and I know how much it sucks to be unemployed - I was for one and a half years. Took me 2 years to get my current position and the previous positions were "okay" but I had a nasty hour commute each way and petrol is damn expensive here. After moving closer working gives me contentment.

Probably not what the OP wanted to hear but not every job "sucks"... just a lot do. I think there's been a slow realization by employers that you tend to cut down on employee turnover if you actually make their work rewarding. Coming out a recession with a lot of talented people working jobs they are over-skilled for will result in those companies benefiting in the short term but as soon as better jobs open up those employees will jump ship... and better jobs are opening up. We are slowly crawling our way out of the recession and the best thing you can have right now is a good reference.

 

[Technocrat]

I decided I didn't like my job selling insurance policies over the telephone. So, I took an evening course for three months and became certified to teach English as a foreign language. Within a month of that, I was working in a school in South Korea, which was

a) a fantastic job
b) surprisingly easy to get into.

If you want a change of scenery, but don't want quite the same danger of death that the armed forces brings, then teaching abroad is AMAZING.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I would love to be a scientist, working on solar technology or cybernetic research. Or curing cancer.

The trouble is that while I've always excelled in science, I could never afford to go to an actual university with real labs, where the science actually happens, so I've pretty much been relegated to temping and customer service (both in person and in a call center) due to my Associates degree being good only for wiping my ass.

Helping people is nice and all but I'd rather be a nurse or a biologist than give people directions or explain why their shitty cell phone service is shitty and they still need to pay for it.

 

[GonvilleBromhead]

Even if your job sucks, keep at it. You can always apply for other jobs whilst your working, and having something current on the CV is always better than a big gap after university/after the previous job, alongside the obvious benefits of a good recent reference.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

There's the jobs you like that don't pay well at all (like Indie game development) and jobs that pay well but aren't very fun (nurse I appear to have soiled myself). Ultimately working with people you're friendly with makes the work days so much easier.

Game development is sort of like that to me, sometime the work can be a real slog and getting paid NOTHING can be a bit of a dampener on your respect and living in general. But working with my mates and being able to have a laugh and a chat makes everything so much more tolerable.

 

[s0p0g]

i'm a nurse, not among the best-payed jobs here in Germany (or anywhere else i guess ^^ ), but i effing LOVE it - even though you have to work on all days that end with -day, 3 shifts, holidays etc - doesn't matter

the way you sound you're just in the wrong branch of trade, i guess.
before training (dictionary said that's what it's called) i worked at a bread-factory, assembly-line-work (bills to pay and stuff, same old) - it payed much better. but it sucked sooo bad it's not even funny O.O

so yeah, i guess first and foremost jobs are there to pay your bills and earn your free time, but - if at all possible - try and get a job you LIKE, so you don't have to to drown your hard earned money in alcohol (as some of my acquaintances do, who hate their jobs)

 

[rob_simple]

The problem is that in our current society we're expected to know what we want to do by the age of 17. And if you don't know what you want to do with your life, well then by god you're going to have a bad time.

It's not necessarily that it's hard to find a job that you would like to do. There is tons of interesting work out there. The problem is finding a job that you want to do, and which you are qualified for, and which you can actually earn a living on.

See, if you don't have what you want to do figured out, then you'll never get the qualifications necessary to get the job you want, because you won't know that you want it far enough in advance. Hell, even if you have all the correct qualifications, it still takes tons of luck and hard work to get the job that you really want. Getting a job ends up becoming a full time job on its own.

You speak the truth, sir. All my high school days I had it drilled into me that I was worthless if I didn't go to university and earn a degree. So I ended up at university doing something I had absolutely no interest in and now I'm graduated with a degree...just like the thousands of other people who completed my course and are now vying for the few hundred jobs which are available/applicable to that degree.

In fact, I remember in my first year of uni, one of my lecturers --who was both cool and brutally honest-- said, 'none of you are going to get jobs when you leave university, purely because all the people who are graduating right now will start doing unpaid interning so they can take the jobs that will be available in four years.'

I am so god damn lucky that money isn't really something I have to worry about, which has afforded me the opportunity to try starting my own business selling my artwork, which seems promising so far, but I feel so fucking sorry for the people who've been completely fucked over by a society that raised them to believe one thing entirely, only to have them grow up and discover it's complete bullshit.

 

[barbzilla]

[sub]Quick backstory - had a job, was there for about five years, technology made me redundant, on benefits for about two years, just got a trial at a new place this week.
And I don't want to finish it. I just want to leave.[/sub]

Now, apologies for the misleading title - this job isn't difficult. It's very simple; the only thing stopping me from being superb from the start is relearning how to use the PC programs I haven't touched in two years, and the little nuances of the company.

But I just don't want to.​

What this job entails is essentially the same thing as I did in my previous one, but more of it, on older systems (still using paper copy for fuck's sake instead of being all electronic), and in the daytime!

No, what I meant to say in this thread was, why is it so difficult finding something that you actually want to spend the majority of your adult life doing, when you're not sleeping?

I've always felt that I'd much rather be poor and happy than well-off and dreading every day I go to work, but I fear that right now I'm about to find myself poor and dreading the workdays.

All I want, and it's ultimately a simple request, is a job where, on the way there, I feel like this;

... but as it stands I just have no idea what the hell that could be.

I'm not sure if it's a problem with me or just people in general, however. Personally, I feel that I could be interested in almost anything enough to not hate it, but just not fucking advertising. Please, somebody get me out of this!

=====

Anyway, ranting aside; how did you decide what you wanted to do with your life? Or are you in the same depressing boat as I am?

Welcome to your late 20s to 30s (at least that is where it hits most people). The good news is, you figured out one of life's little secrets early, the bad news is, you have no idea what to do with it. My suggestion: Start trying a bunch of hobbies until you find one you really like, then find a way to make money doing it (or something similar).

 

[trollnystan]

If I weren't depressed with a dash of agoraphobia, both of which which makes leaving the house and dealing with people pretty difficult at times, I could totally see myself doing the job I'm interning at now as a permanent thing. Not because working in a grocery shop - or supermarket for that matter - is my dream job, but because the people I'm working with are really nice and fun people.

That's my yardstick. Is the work boring but the people great? Keep job. Is the job super fun but the people assholes? Don't keep job. I can handle a boring job much better than awful people. As far as money is concerned... Well, at the moment my paycheck is paid by social services and Försäkringskassan (wiki-link), but again: rather have a job I like - and pays my bills with enough margin for food etc - than a job that pays me LOTS and I hate.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Well my current job (sales assistant in a retail job) used to be something I was content with (not my dream job and while at times it can be boring but I never hated it) until the store got a new manager. These days I just dread going into work especially when I'm alone with the manager and Sunday is now my favourite day because she never work on a Sunday.
Sure I am trying to hang in there but now the plan of being transfer to the new store doesn't seen to be a reality now (the new store are hiring new people and we are still kept in the dark if any one of us will be transfer or not).

Granted before getting that job, grudated in 3d modelling but finding a job related to that was impossible due to the many competitions and few companies out there.

 

[Leemaster777]

I've always felt that I'd much rather be poor and happy than well-off and dreading every day I go to work,

I know exactly what you mean. I've always felt the same way. To me, people put too much emphasis on getting a well-paying job. Now, obviously, having a job that enables you to pay your bills and live comfortably in IMPORTANT, but you know what else is important? Your overall quality of life. And you know what suffers alot if you absolutely detest what you're doing for 1/3 of your life? Yeah, that.

Right now, I work in a job that doesn't exactly have the best pay in the world. It's functional, but I could certainly be making more with alittle more training and education. But I'm happy there. I like who I work with, I more-or-less enjoy the job itself, and I'm able to get myself to work every day with a smile on my face, and keep that smile until I clock out every day.

By comparison, I worked for awhile at a job I hated. HATED. And it was a chore just to get myself up in the morning and get there. And I would never, ever go back there now that I'm gone.

I think my parents really helped shape my opinion on the matter. For alot of my childhood, they both worked jobs where they weren't happy. And I could tell, too. They were always miserable, even when they weren't at work.

So don't let anyone tell you that good pay is more important than enjoying what you do for a living. It took me awhile, but I eventually figured out what I want to do in life that'll let me live comfortably, AND something that I would enjoy doing.

 

[Angie7F]

I enjoy my job.
But I only enjoy it because everything surrounding it works just right.
I have a great relationship, cute dog, my mom is not crazy any more.
I cut off bitchy friends and now even if work sucks I dont get caught up in the drama.
I am there because I am there and it wont stress me out.

 

[Miyenne]

I was a store manager, and I hated it. I hated the customers, I hated my self absorbed employees, I hated working 12 hour days without breaks, even bathroom breaks because my employees didn't feel like coming to work and my company had a no firing policy (I know, wtf is that?).

So I quit.

I am probably the luckiest person alive though, because I could quit my job. I live with my twin @IndomitableSam and she works for the government at a shit job, but it pays well and she gets loads of benefits and vacation days and such so she tolerates it.

We also were very lucky to be raised to be smart about money. We have a beautiful townhouse that we rent and two fully paid off cars, and even though I dig into my savings every month to pay off all the bills we're still good. With inheritance (which I haven't yet touched for being off work for 7 months now) I could possibly not work at all for another year or two, but I'll find a job in a couple of months. She wants me to work part time, and that would pay all the bills and have us save some money too. Then I can continue to be a housewife (cleaning, cooking, shopping, Sam doesn't do anything as it's only fair since she works) and not worry about leaving the old cat alone all day.

I quit to write. I wrote a good book, if I do say so myself (the link's in my profile if anyone's interested). Going through it again now with more edits, but the few people who have bought it and given me feedback all say it's good. We were hoping I'd sell more books and be able to live off that (not rich or famous, just enough to get by) but so far no luck. I haven't even made back as much as what I paid the cover artist.

Jobs tend to suck, but you do them because you usually don't have another choice. Even trying to sit down and write all day is very difficult.

 

[WanderingFool]

Ever heard the phrase, "If you're doing what you love, you never work a day in your life."? Yeah, what that phrase actually means is that if you are doing what you love, you're not being paid to do it.

Im currantly working as a store clerk in a PA state store. Not glamorus, theres a lot of work that needs to be done, and when the holidays come around and everyone want booze, guess where im gonna be. But, one does what they can to get paid and to not fall behind on the bills, so I keep at it. Besides... it was still better than the last job I had...

 

[HardkorSB]

stuff

Assuming that you don't have a rich and influential family/friends (which is the case for most people), here's how you get your dream job:
You work as hard as you can, all the time.
Before you go to and after you get back from your day job, work on your dream. Don't go out with friends, don't play games, don't relax, don't enjoy your life, there's no time for that. You have to work hard all the time, otherwise you'll get old and die before you'll achieve anything.
Forget about eating and sleeping properly, you need to focus on working hard.
It will be depressing, stressful, exhausting, soul crushing, all that good stuff. It will also probably take a very long time and you'll want to kill yourself multiple times before you'll see any results.
Do you think all those millionaires and billionaires (and I'm talking about those who built their fortunes from scratch), professional athletes, leading scientists etc. take breaks and have fun? No, they don't have time for that. They're working as I'm typing this and as you're reading this. Everyday, all the time, that's why they're successful at what they do.

You want a job you love? Work for it.