Do you like your job?

[Applerune 121]

16 minutes ago, Brian said:

 

Maybe it's just in my industry (software) but on calls I'd always hear American people saying they worked on stuff over the weekend, late last night etc. That kind of attitude towards work isn't healthy. It always seems like for a lot of them their job is their life. Taking time off etc is rare. It's annoying to work with that because the expectation to prioritize getting stuff done over your life outside of work is always there.

 

Doubtful it's just the industry. I've worked with all sorts of people and they always say this is the No. 1 thing that pisses them off about working w/ Americans. Thanks for elaborating

[Carolina 728]

3 hours ago, Kenny said:

Don't worry too much @Carolina, if you hate something now it doesn't mean you should/need to stick to it for the rest of your life. Like @Krystal and others have done you are more than capable of finding a new career path. If a job is making you miserable to a point that it is affecting your mental health I don't think that's a good thing & should consider either taking a break or stopping completely; the other side of it would be earnings like if you are in an investment bank working 15+ hours a day but earning 6 figures it would depend on what you value more health or earnings. I know alot of people that go into Investment Banking somewhere like Goldman for a couple of years then stop to do what they want after they've made a fair amount of money. 

 

My point is that you shouldn't worry about where you are now but have a plan of what you would like to do and where you want to be in X years time. I'm currently working but also doing a professional qualification on the side; which should open up more doors and opportunities should I wish to change careers in the future. 

 

Also it is true that if you find something you love doing it wouldn't feel like actual 'work' but that doesn't always work out for everyone. I'm sure others here have wanted to be professional sports/esports players or getting paid to travel and live an influencers lifestyle but not everyone is able to make that happen. I think you should just focus on what you would like to do & where you want to be and try to make it work.

 

I've been building my own finance company for 6+ years now but with the qualifications & learning on the side I have the opportunities to do things if I ever wanted to leave.  I've also been learning Spanish in my spare time for the ability to work abroad. I should also mention that I do think it's important to have multiple sources of income (investments/side hustles) so you don't always have to rely on your main source of income (working) if you ever wanted to change or try something out.

Love this! Yeah I’m not miserable where I am now. I’m compensated well, and I’m not expected to log on during nights or weekends like I had to during my last role! I don’t like or get excited at what I do, but it’s not something I dread.

As long as I get my tasks done during my hours, I can put the work stuff in the back of my mind until the next work day! I’m going to keep building my skill set with software development with this role and hopefully get other certifications as well that will make me more marketable in the future. But seriously good for you! You sound like you have a great handle on things and you’re building your resume up a ton! I just started buying stocks and investing recently. I’m still nooby to all of it, but will definitely put more and more of my income into the stock market! 

[Daniela 778]

im happy with my job and extremely happy with the firm i work for, love the organizational structure - flat hierarchies, lots of trust put into us and lots of room to bring in our own ideas. been there for 6 years, started when we had 40 employees and now we are 450+ pretty rare to have such a structure for a firm that size

[Carolina 728]

2 hours ago, Wise Counsel said:

@Carolina it's normal that in the beginning the type of work you do is not very satisfying. Wherever you are, you are usually starting at the bottom of the ladder and you have to endure hard work for a few years to get to a place that's more sustainable. If you are dedicated and continue to improve in what you do, you will see your pay increase substantially over time, so it will become more financially rewarding as well. As @Krystal mentioned, you also have to do some deep introspection in order to figure out what you want in your career and what makes you happy.

 

Personally, I would say that I'm very satisfied with where I'm at in my wealth management career, but I had to eat shit for a few years by working long hours, dealing with hard clients and tolerating a harsh work environment to get to where I am today. I would say that I still work many hours (this will probably never change), but I'm now part of a good team and the work conditions are much more favorable. Every day, I am building relationships with people who are very different one from the next, so I am constantly learning from others and growing as a person. I can most likely see myself working well into my 70s.

Agreed! I’m only 2 years into the industry right now so still figuring out exactly what I want to do! I’m in the software development field so I’m well compensated, but I feel like I’m not exactly doing the kind of work that excites me or is perfect aligned to what makes me happy. 
 

I’m definitely lucky to have my job, but will continually check in introspectively to make sure I’m not suffering through anything at the expense of my mental health just for a nice paycheck! 
 

I appreciated your input a ton! You and a bunch of others definitely are opening my eyes to what my career journey might look like down the line! It’s inspiring and very encouraging to see how many people are content and happy in their roles later in life. Hopefully you continue to have a smooth ride into retirement with a good team and working conditions 🙂 all the best 

[Carolina 728]

55 minutes ago, Applerune said:

 

I'm not saying you are, but most people are.

 

Learn to not let your work define you. This is hard for a lot of people. Most of our self-worth comes from the jobs and money we make. You will be infinitely happier if you realize that your job is like an arcade - some allot you the power to have more credit/coins than others - but the games are always the same, and available. How hard you work & what amount of luck that comes your way will decide how good of a time you have at the arcade. Some have a better time than others and, my friend, that's just life.

 

The work I do requires long hours, nights, weekends, missed holidays in some cases. I feel like I've never worked a day in my life. I became happier when I gave up the idea of work-life balance. IMO, it doesn't exist. 

 

The reason so many people are unhappy, apprehensive, and uneasy about their situations is because they don't know what type of life they want to live,  so they put an incredible amount of energy & focus on making as much money as possible because that'll always scratch their itch, no matter. While true, start with trying to define the kind of life you want to live and work towards that. For some people that's all the luxuries and anything you could want. For others it just means enough to be comfortable. Whatever it is - start there and I promise you'll be happier as you grow older.

Really interesting perspective! I think even though I’m fairly new in my industry, I’m guilty of letting my work define me! You’re probably one of the only people that I’ve heard say to give up on the idea of work life balance. It’s always been stressed to me that work life balance exists, and I’ve been struggling to try to find that balance so maybe you’re right!

 

For me, I like being compensated generously which is my main motivation for working in my industry! At the same time, I’d be ok with making enough to be comfortable if that meant I would be more aligned to where I want to be in life. I’m still figuring that out right now, but like how many people seem to have answered to this topic, I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually! You sound like a very wise and thoughtful person! Appreciate the reply to this. Definitely expanding my perspective on this whole topic around work 

[Homedawg 47]

Yes but I want better comp. 

[£Blogs 452]

Yes, absolutely love it. 

 

I left university not really sure what I wanted to do and went into a job in finance for a year and wasn't really enjoying it. So sacked it all off and went and did a Master's and changed careers completely. Been in the same job now for 4-5 years and could easily see myself staying for the next 20+. 

Edited April 9, 2021 by Blogs

[Krystal 420]

6 hours ago, Wise Counsel said:

@Carolina it's normal that in the beginning the type of work you do is not very satisfying. Wherever you are, you are usually starting at the bottom of the ladder and you have to endure hard work for a few years to get to a place that's more sustainable.

This statement holds very true for the path I took. I'm in love with my current job situation, but man, I was basically a "professional ass wiper" as my coworkers and I used to say and wiped literal shit and vomit off the walls for over a decade and got screamed at by people daily. Literally had a patient say "GET FURTHER IN MY ANUS" one time when I was cleaning her.  And then proceeded to tell me that I was terrible at my job.  But I knew it wasn't forever, and every time I would have a terrible shift, I would tell myself "Do. not. drop. out. of. school. again. Stay positive. Stay focused." And eventually I got there.  Was a struggle working full time & going to school part-time for 5 years (full-time during my senior year for the program) but I couldn't let myself give up. >.<

[thanatos0708 4]

On 4/8/2021 at 3:04 AM, Brian said:

Really comes down to who you're working with. Right now I'm pretty much working on my own and that's fine. The cultural differences when working with Americans can make it annoying.

Depending on the job, it is your life... I work in finance doing mergers and acquisitions, and I'm lucky to have a great WLB.. I work 60 hours at most.. My friends, who have the same job, have weeks where they are easily working 100+ hours a week. You hear stories of people dying from stress because t hey had to pull all-nighters for 2 or 3 days in a row or working 120 hours a week for multiple weeks in a row. To them, working 80 hours a week is great, and 60 is heaven... The hours are just as bad in the UK, Canada, and Australia too for these roles. People like to brag about it, but honestly, it's nothing to brag about... The pay for M&A is fantastic in the USA (not so much in the UK) but you have to sell your soul for it. After 2 years, you look sick and you look like you've aged faster than you should have...

Edited April 15, 2021 by thanatos0708

[Jebrim 99]

On 4/7/2021 at 3:05 PM, Carolina said:

I’m curious how many people genuinely enjoy the work that they do. Idk if it’s because I’m still “young” in my career (about 1-2 years out of college), but I still daydream about how nice it would be to be excited every morning to go to my job and do the work that I do. It’s crazy to me how much of our lives we will spend “working” and seems pretty dreadful if we don’t enjoy what we do.

 

I heard from some older and wiser friends that this just isn’t very realistic most of the time. The idea that you work to earn, and use the money to spend time doing activities you enjoy outside of work seems to be the prevalent thought for most people I discuss with.

 

Right now I don’t mind my job, but it definitely doesn’t excite me. I just work for the paycheck and to be financially secure. Do you work hard in a job you don’t necessarily love in order to play hard, or go out of your way to make sure you’re genuinely happy, content, and maybe even excited with your role even at the cost of less compensation? 
 

 

I love my job! 😄 

[Clark Kent 55]

Most days I do enjoy my job.