Choosing between positive environment or hard-to-get experience

[SpiralOut]

Not really looking for advice here, mostly just looking for personal experience any of you may have with this. I am not prepared to make a decision on this just yet.

 

Basically I am in a position at work where I am on the verge of getting into the department I've been wanting for two years. I've been working there for one year. I work in a field where it's extremely difficult to get this type of position, even if you have experience. This is mostly because there aren't many openings. I have spoken to many experienced people in the field from different companies, so I know that I'm not just believing the worst of things. That's how it is.

 

I work for a company that is a sort of start-up place, you know, a job that is easy for most people to get so that's where many people have their first job until they are able to get hired elsewhere.

 

There's a reason for that. The atmosphere is stressful, disorganized. Sometimes things happen that aren't professional. I don't recommend anyone to work there and I feel embarassed about being there. I quite often feel stressed out due to the constant rule changes, some of which I don't even find out about until months later; certain people are so miserable that working around them is a misery. Yes I know any workplace will have that but I find this to be more extreme than any other place i've been.

 

sometimes I come home feeling drained and defeated. Or I'll be angry and begin job searching.

 

But then it's like, what's the point? I don't qualify for the types of jobs I want. If I have to start over at a new company, I'll have to play the waiting game all over again for my chance to get what I want. This might be okay if I were still 21, but I'm not. I am 28 years old. I want to accomplish my goals ASAP. After all the years I put into school and working crappy jobs, I am not willing to settle for a job that I dislike.

 

Staying where I am is the fastest way for me to reach my long-term goals. I have already started the cross-training in preparation to be the back-up person for when the main person is sick or on vacation. Supposedly I will be put there full-time eventually, or so I was told. Once I am put into my desired position full-time, my plan is to do at least 6 months of it and then apply elsewhere. But I don't know how much longer I need to wait for that to happen. It's that damn ambiguity of the place. In the meantime, it's killing me to work in this type of atmosphere.

 

So what do you think? No pain no gain? Suck it up, buttercup? I have to choose between a job I don't like at a better company, or a job I will like (but don't know when I'll actually start it...) at a company I can't stand.

Edited June 13, 2012 by SpiralOut

[Almond_Joy]

I have a similar experience.

 

My boss rose through the ranks in the company we work for very quickly. My goal is to have her job one day. She always tells me that I'm on the right track to get to the position with the company. She says I'm building the right rapport with the right people, I'm finishing the schooling required - that I just have to stick with it and the rest will fall into place.

 

But I see her working and she is MISERABLE. Mostly because of the particular site of the company we work at. I don't think it would be as bad if we were at another site, but the site we work at seems to attract the most under-qualified and immature people. I love what the company stands for but this site just doesn't exude the company vision on a day-to-day basis. It makes for a horrid place to work, and my boss is a walking testament to that. She's been with the company for 8 years, and in the 2 years she's been at this site she says she's never been so unhappy.

 

How long do you plan to stay in the new position, once you get it? Could you stay until you get the new position and use it as a springboard to get the same position somewhere else, possibly? Since you're so close to getting it I 'd recommend staying and getting it, if only as a springboard. You've put up with the crap this long to get there, it's no good to chuck the opportunity out of the window now. But I also recommend finding something equivalent somewhere else ASAP. That environment sounds toxic and it'll suck the life out of you if you stay.

[SpiralOut]

Hi, thanks for responding.

 

I plan to stay in the new position for 6 months. However I am now realizing that the amount of hours I would get in that department would be only like 3 hours a day, which is not enough to be worth it.

 

I am so fed up with my work environment I think it's time to go.

 

This is just me venting now. But this one woman hates me. I can just tell. Whenever I make a mistake, she literally yells at me. One time, it wasn't even my mistake. It was someone else's. I just get there in the morning, go to punch in, and she walks over to me and waves something in my face yelling "you did this wrong, blahblah" I had to tell her THAT WASN"T ME who did it. And she calmed down a little bit. But she never apologized for being so rude. We used to get along but don't anymore and I don't know what to do to get back on her good side, don't know if I even really care anymore. I found out last week that she hates her job and has threatened to quit but then doesn't. So I guess I am someone for her to take things out on. Actually I think she gets that way with other people too, if I overheard the gossip in the breakroom correctly.

 

I am becoming seriously angry with people in general there. There is one woman who is normally okay but sometimes assumes the worst about me asking me "what did you do that for??" and I have to explain my reasons so she understands I am not doing anything wrong. Oh my god. I should not have to constantly explain to people why I did this or not. And there's someone else who just gets mad no matter what I say or do. The only way to please her is to walk on eggshells and magically read her mind.

 

I must be giving off some aura of incompetence or maybe my attitude is just really obvious. I know that my attitude is becoming bad. I don't know how to stay uplifted though when I have to deal with so much crap.

 

I just remembered today how happy I felt when I was at another company during my work placement for college. The people there were so nice and it was very professional. It's the kind of place that's hard to get into, but if you stop by to visit and make lots of phone calls so they get to know you, they'll eventually give you an interview so long as they like you.

 

So I am promising myself right here and now that this weekend I will update my resume and print out some copies. On monday morning before work I will stop at that other company and talk to reception to see if they're hiring, and drop off my resume. So what if I don't get the position I want right now? I need to be around happy people. Right now I'm miserable, surrounded by other miserable people.

 

Oh yeah. And do you think it's pathetic that I am always surprised when people are nice to me? I've been going to doctor appointments and he is SO GENUINELY NICE to me that it shocked me at first. I couldn't believe it. And when I bought some flowers from the market, the lady was so kind to me that I was really surprised and touched by it. I want to be around that every day. I wish I was in a position to just quit right now but I can't until I have another job. I feel so weary.

Edited July 5, 2012 by SpiralOut

[GoodHubby]

Mind sharing some more info about where you work? The type of business would help.

 

When you say you want to achieve your goals now, what do you mean? What are your goals? How long term are they?

 

People yelling at you is never acceptable. What's your definition of yelling? My tolerance for someone raising their voice is pretty low, so yelling to me is different than for others. Knowing that I'm careful to make sure I don't accuse someone of something. Not saying that it's not happening for you.

[Almond_Joy]

Hi, thanks for responding.

 

I plan to stay in the new position for 6 months. However I am now realizing that the amount of hours I would get in that department would be only like 3 hours a day, which is not enough to be worth it.

 

I am so fed up with my work environment I think it's time to go.

 

This is just me venting now. But this one woman hates me. I can just tell. Whenever I make a mistake, she literally yells at me. One time, it wasn't even my mistake. It was someone else's. I just get there in the morning, go to punch in, and she walks over to me and waves something in my face yelling "you did this wrong, blahblah" I had to tell her THAT WASN"T ME who did it. And she calmed down a little bit. But she never apologized for being so rude. We used to get along but don't anymore and I don't know what to do to get back on her good side, don't know if I even really care anymore. I found out last week that she hates her job and has threatened to quit but then doesn't. So I guess I am someone for her to take things out on. Actually I think she gets that way with other people too, if I overheard the gossip in the breakroom correctly.

 

I am becoming seriously angry with people in general there. There is one woman who is normally okay but sometimes assumes the worst about me asking me "what did you do that for??" and I have to explain my reasons so she understands I am not doing anything wrong. Oh my god. I should not have to constantly explain to people why I did this or not. And there's someone else who just gets mad no matter what I say or do. The only way to please her is to walk on eggshells and magically read her mind.

 

I must be giving off some aura of incompetence or maybe my attitude is just really obvious. I know that my attitude is becoming bad. I don't know how to stay uplifted though when I have to deal with so much crap.

 

I just remembered today how happy I felt when I was at another company during my work placement for college. The people there were so nice and it was very professional. It's the kind of place that's hard to get into, but if you stop by to visit and make lots of phone calls so they get to know you, they'll eventually give you an interview so long as they like you.

 

So I am promising myself right here and now that this weekend I will update my resume and print out some copies. On monday morning before work I will stop at that other company and talk to reception to see if they're hiring, and drop off my resume. So what if I don't get the position I want right now? I need to be around happy people. Right now I'm miserable, surrounded by other miserable people.

 

Oh yeah. And do you think it's pathetic that I am always surprised when people are nice to me? I've been going to doctor appointments and he is SO GENUINELY NICE to me that it shocked me at first. I couldn't believe it. And when I bought some flowers from the market, the lady was so kind to me that I was really surprised and touched by it. I want to be around that every day. I wish I was in a position to just quit right now but I can't until I have another job. I feel so weary.

 

I think anyone who works in a large organization experiences this to some degree. Everyone feels like a cog in a machine, and the upper level of management are usually inaccessible and indifferent to the struggles of their low-level employees.

 

I'm not saying it can't be better somewhere else, I just think you'll get a dose of this cynicism you're seeing no matter where you go. I realize now that this is probably a huge reason why people often go into business for themselves.

 

If these people snapping your head off are not in a position to fire you or write you up or get you written up, it may not hurt to stand up for yourself and snap back a little. For instance the next time someone yells, cut them off and tell them that's not an acceptable way to talk to you, even if they're upset. You can also point out that they're making a habit of accusing you of wrongdoing with no evidence to support the belief....technically that could be grounds for a prejudice or discrimination of some sort. It's never good to imply legal force, but their abuse of you needs to stop.

 

Hope things are improving for you, and good luck.

[pink_sugar]

Hi OP, my husband is going through the same thing, almost. He is your age and finding it very difficult to get experience without experience. Catch 22, right? He's having to take a minimum wage job to make ends meet until he can find a job to get experience. We graduate in one year, so it's almost imperative he get some experience before graduating, or he'll face what a lot of other graduates face...more difficulties in finding a job with no experience. So even if he had to volunteer, it might even be more worth it than making minimum wage, because this job now will not help him get where he needs to go. And he's also faced with the age dilemma and wanting to be done with school and be in a stable decent paying job. You have to decide what's more important to you. Working in an environment that you like, but won't be a resume builder, or sucking it up somewhere that is stressful for experience temporarily? I told my husband at this rate, he needs to do just about anything for experience, even if it means volunteering. In the long run, it will be more beneficial and get him out of his current job and into a better one.