Confused5433 Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I would like to know if you are were you wanted to in your career and if so, is it as satisfying as you had expected or more/less. Please share what you do and how you got there. If you hate your job, then share were you would like to be and what you are doing right now. Personally, I have a constant feeling that Im not were I should be. I choose the wrong major and will be going back to school to start a new career and life. Right now Im just waiting working day by day and doing all I can to keep moving forward. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 i love my job and i worked hard to find a job that was: the right fit for me and my skills, paid what i thought was appropriate for the 'selling' of my time [because that is actually was u are doing, exchanging your time for money] and most importantly, i wanted to work with people that 'get it'. i have a great boss and my co-workers are all around the same age as i am. i get to use my creative writing side and have flexible hours and tons of benefits. so, i am extremely happy with my job. that being said, it is not one that is truly valuable to society, it doesn't impact lives directly and those are the IMPORTANT jobs [nurses, doctors, teachers, child educators - THOSE ARE THE IMPORTANT JOBS]. and its normal to want to change careers as you change and grow as a person. the days of staying in one job are over - and thank goodness for that. i have a special friend that has reached the top of where she can do in her profession and she is extremely talented and smart and can do anything she sets her mind to. in fact, there is a possiblity we will be living together soon and i hope that is the case as i would get the opportunity to once again watch her grow and challenge herself in new ways once again. being able to accept offers that allow people to passionately chase their dreams is what teamwork, partnership and love is all about. to all those who are thinking about changing life paths, think about what it is you truly want to do and trust in those who support you for who u r. Link to post Share on other sites
Curmudgeon Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 When I was growing up in the 40s and 50s there were four things most little boys wanted to grow up and become -- cowboy, soldier, policeman or fireman. I've been three of the four. When I left law enforcement I went to work for a state department to become a public policy expert in a particular field. Shortly after I started work I received an assignment from the woman who tracked all bills, assigned out those that were pertinent and kept the department's office of legislation running. I was to analyze a bill that could impact my policy area. Never having done a bill analysis before I called her, asked a bunch of questions then analyzed the bill. I guess I did a pretty good job because before I knew it I was a full-time state legislative, political and public policy analyst which was NOT at all what I had in mind. It requires me to not just do the analyses but to also write bills, testify before policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature and "work" the bills behind the scenes. I found myself fully involved in the political process and arena and that's where I've been for the past 15 years. Worse, I'm the manager of a legislative office for a department. As much as I actually dislike politics and politicians I'm very good at what I do, politically sensitive and very capable of writing law. It could be worse. As for the woman who dragged me into this field kicking and screaming, I finally figured out a way to punish her for it. Five years later I married her and that was 10 years ago! I retire in three years and it's been a good run! No complaints! Link to post Share on other sites
freakygal78 Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I can totally understand being in a certain field and trying your darndest to get out of it but it is like pushing the proverbial up a hill with a stick! I just turned 29 and although ppl ARE late bloomers sometimes - I have been working in administration for 11 years now and although I have completed a psychology degree in that time, I have not been able to get gainful employment in the field. I always shoot myself in the foot because some of the admin jobs pay a lot better than a 'starter' position in my field of study! I really have to go do some post-grad study to get a foot in the door but supporting myself and doing part time or full time study would be so much of a challenge - I don't know - ppl say if you want something bad enough, you'll do anything necessary to get it but life can be tough sometimes. All I know is that I don't want to be a desk bunny forever - I don't find it stimulating enough. An aging secretary is not an attractive thing... Link to post Share on other sites
bklk1227 Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Curmudgeon - great story and a fairly interesting sounding career path you went down. Freakygal - I know that feeling - there's what you love doing and paying the bills. So my story - My wife and I were in college when she became pregnant with our first daughter SURPRISE:rolleyes: Since I was already in a promising role in the shipping dept at a good company, we decided I would focus on my career and she would finish school. Well I rose from a shipping clerk to a Management position in under 4 years - looked like I had some talent... Financial demands increased... so effort at work neded to as well... I left that job to help a startup business in the same field(the exciting world of fine jewelery and watches). Was in operations management for another 2 years and felt the pinch of unemployment. Decided to take my skill and love for operations management and apply it to a different industry - Financial Services. Within 3 years I was at the Director level in a finance dpet of a Market Data company(think cable TV for investors). Through the beauty of acquisition I found myself looking for work again... and somehow... someway... I am a senior manager in the Finance Dept. of a PR firm. Successful? It would seem... Happy? not by a long shot... This is the worst job I have ever had. The worst culture to work in, and quite honestly it has taken its toll on my and my family. Hard to walk away from 6-figures though I am now looking to return to Operations and very actively searching. My advice - do not take a job... CHOOSE a job, like you CHOOSE your friends. I will choose my next job VERY VERY carefully. B Link to post Share on other sites
blind_otter Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I can totally understand being in a certain field and trying your darndest to get out of it but it is like pushing the proverbial up a hill with a stick! I just turned 29 and although ppl ARE late bloomers sometimes - I have been working in administration for 11 years now and although I have completed a psychology degree in that time, I have not been able to get gainful employment in the field. I always shoot myself in the foot because some of the admin jobs pay a lot better than a 'starter' position in my field of study! I really have to go do some post-grad study to get a foot in the door but supporting myself and doing part time or full time study would be so much of a challenge - I don't know - ppl say if you want something bad enough, you'll do anything necessary to get it but life can be tough sometimes. All I know is that I don't want to be a desk bunny forever - I don't find it stimulating enough. An aging secretary is not an attractive thing... I totally know where you are coming from. I have a psych degree but I have historically had only office jobs because the pay is better than entry-level psych positions. It's kind of a necessity to have a graduate degree, but going back to school while having to support yourself is tough! Link to post Share on other sites
justpassingthrough Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 It's kind of a necessity to have a graduate degree, but going back to school while having to support yourself is tough! True, true. Besides, a graduate degree sort of forces you to decide what you want to be when you grow up. And that's the position I'm in. My children are just about ready to leave the nest (yesssssss!) and I am trying to decide what I want the future me to look like and whether that includes grad school or not. Decisions.... Link to post Share on other sites
hotgurl Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I like my field but not my job. It is not mentally engaging enough for me and I work to fast. I end up killing time half of the week. And unfortunatly my field doesn't pay what it used to so I am stuck trying to figure out my next step. Link to post Share on other sites
freakygal78 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I just missed out on a $55K job as a PA today. This is about $10K more than entry level psych jobs would start at (in australia)....of course if you don't have a partner to 'support' you thru further studies, then yes, it is hard to decide to 'grow up'. We are all just trying to get our bread and butter for the week and at some point be in the situation where we can buy our own homes regardless of job satisfaction. Link to post Share on other sites
Woggle Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I deal with the normal crap that is at every job but for the most part I like it. The only thing I don't like is the fact that I could probably do a better job running this place than the people who actually do run it. They create so many problems and waste so much money doing dumb things and guess who they call to fix things. Link to post Share on other sites
MotherGooze Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I like my job...It's not what I dreamed of to do, but I enjoy it, and my coworkers are brilliant. I hope to get promoted in a year or so; a,d maybe earn a little bity more, because that's the only bad thing about my job... the paycheck. Link to post Share on other sites
RocketMan2 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I deal with the normal crap that is at every job but for the most part I like it. The only thing I don't like is the fact that I could probably do a better job running this place than the people who actually do run it. They create so many problems and waste so much money doing dumb things and guess who they call to fix things. Exactly! Although my job is my first full time one, i think its pretty decent. The pay and conditions are pretty good, but the job itself is just soul crushingly boring. I could do with some advice on this one actually... Im planning a trip to America to visit my friend and stop with him for a few weeks/months and go sight seeing. So obviously id be needing like 2 months off work. Money isnt an issue as i've got no ties or responsibilities, so once ive saved a bit up im off! What are people's opinions on what i should do? If im gonna ask my boss for the time off, how should i ask for it? As i dont really enjoy my job, should i use this as an opportunity for change? I'm not sure why i've even got this job, its just on the same subject as my degree, which i only did because i couldnt be bothered to think of anything interesting (chose the easy option). My ex dumping me recently has kinda kicked me up the ass to get my life sorted out, its boring and im stuck in a rut. I wont say im going nowhere because i'm expecting decent yearly rises, but when its just so BORING and anti social. But maybe im just letting the feeling of loss from my ex dumping me cloud my judgement :s Confusion!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
RealTruth Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I would like to know if you are were you wanted to in your career and if so, is it as satisfying as you had expected or more/less. Personally, I have a constant feeling that Im not were I should be. I choose the wrong major and will be going back to school to start a new career and life. Right now Im just waiting working day by day and doing all I can to keep moving forward. If you're not very good at what you do - always passed up for promotions, get average peformance evals - then definitely time for a career change. If you're too good at your profession then it becomes boring and unchallenging - solution - find a large company that you are interested in their product/service and then you'll be able to get into a different area/department eventually that peaks your interest. If you simply cannot stand going to work each day first make sure it's simply not that particular company/environment before investing more money in another degree because sometimes it's just the type of people a certain industry/company attracts that will make you miserable. Link to post Share on other sites
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