Job satisfaction?

Porkpie

Dear members,

I'm stuck in a Civil Service job that I find boring and unfulfilling. I'm at the bottom rung of the promotional ladder (promotion is really hard to get, and I don't even think I want it anyway). I've had this career for the past 8 years, I'm 27 now and feel stuck in a rut. My day consists of doing menial tasks and browsing webites such as this I've tried moving around sections but they've all been basically the same.

I'd love to make a break and do something else, but I don't know what to do. I don't have any major interests that I feel I could incorporate in to a possible career path.

It's a frustrating situation, on the one hand I feel like I have a secure pensionable job and wonder if I'd be foolish to take a risk and leave. Money is ok (30k approx). But then, if I don't try something else, I'll surely regret it later in life. I've even tried life coaching but didn't really find that it helped. I'm single, only commitment I have is a mortgage.

So my question is not so much what do you think I should do (although any opinions would be welcome), it's more this - what do people out there think of their jobs? I'm curious to know what fields of work tend to be more interesting/rewarding and how people got to where they are.

Cheers

Lola123

Hey op,
I empathise with your situation. I've been in the same line of work for 6 and a half years (banking) and it is in no way fulfilling.
I too am not sure what I'd rather do and would be apprehensive about packing it all in on a whim.
Is there any area of your job that you do like? Maybe you could use your experience in this area to move outside the civil service into somethin you might find a bit more challenging but you won't be totally starting from scrap. For example, a friend of mine hated his old job but as part of this job he did some data protection work which he did like. He has since left and taken a job as data protection officer and likes it a whole lot better.

dame

I don't think you'll find anyone anywhere who absolutely loves every aspect of their jobs and finds themselves fulfilled each and every day. Every job has it's pluses and negatives.

Your work doesn't have to be the thing that makes you feel fulfilled. Look up evening courses and see if there's something starting this autumn that you'd be interested in doing. Is there any charity locally that you could get involved in? Would you be interested in joining a drama group or some other community group?

Don't jack in the secure pensionable job until you have a clear vision of what else you'd like to do, and preferrably have the qualifications to get a foothold in a new career.

kim_eire

I am in the civil service too, and its soul destroying. im only in 3 years and it feels like a life time, i would love to leave as i hate it.

seamus

Porkpie wrote:

I'm stuck in a Civil Service job

Without sounding condescending to those in the civil service, I think this is half of the problem. Get the same job in a good private multinational and you may love it.

I have worked in State companies and former state companies in the past, and they're largely inhabited by people with a certain, "Don't care about my job or my career" mindset, which makes the environment horrible for everyone else.

Mr. Presentable

It's a trade off. The Service is reasonably paid, has good promotion prospects (despite what the OP says) through competitions (nobody is going to pop in one day and make you HEO), and is hard to get thrown out of. It's probably the last of the jobs for life. But it's drudgery.

My advice? Take as many of the paid courses etc as they will give you, if only to keep you entertained. Manage your flexi time hours so you don't have to work every day. Job share if you can afford it.

eclectichoney

Well tbh, without going off topic seamus, the public sector can be different to the civil service (and even within the civil service things vary greatly between different departments in terms of the job culture). OP I was in a similar position recently, and was worried I was gonna end up 'stuck' also, because the job was fine, it's just I wanted something more (hopefully I've figured it out lol) Maybe look at what you're interested in e.g. hobbies (what about photography, reading, music, film studies?? You would be surprised what you can incorporate into a career) or maybe even languages? Perhaps you may find a different environment completely, such as retail management, may yield greater job satisfaction?

It depends on your priorities, if you want a reasonably ok paid job with security you areprobably better off staying, if you value job satisfaction/enjoying what you do more, than you may decide to leave.

the_syco

Take a year out, travel to Oz, and try a few different jobs over there.

Best of all: you'll have your job waiting for you when you get home.

The year out option is support by most civil servant things. Also, a few of the civil service do swaps with other foreign civil service bodies: check it out.

someothername

it sounds to me like you are not being challanged enough mentally at all.
why not study at night and get a qualification that way? or investigate starting up a business of your own ?
to answer about ppl liking their own jobs...... i doubt you'll find many that are delighted with their career - suppose thats life eh?

leninbenjamin

the_syco wrote:

Take a year out, travel to Oz, and try a few different jobs over there.

was gonna say similar. time off and away from the usual routine will do no harm and might help make your mind up too as to what you want to do long term.

Marksie

kim_eire wrote:

I am in the civil service too, and its soul destroying. im only in 3 years and it feels like a life time, i would love to leave as i hate it.

Same here. Its because of poor management tbh in our case which has destroyed the morale of the whole place.

There are chances to take career breaks, so explore those.

Or, like myself, begin to make plans to leave and go into something more fulfilling. thaht means that the time you have letf goes more quickly as you know you are leaving

nipplenuts wrote:

has good promotion prospects (despite what the OP says) through competitions .

I had to laugh at that one, there hasn't been a promotion prospect from my grade in nearly 7 years.

Porkpie

Lola123 wrote:

Hey op,
I empathise with your situation. I've been in the same line of work for 6 and a half years (banking) and it is in no way fulfilling.

Is there any area of your job that you do like?

---

Sorry guys, am kinda new to this site, don't think I've got the hang of quoting members in my messages.

Lola123, I heard a lot of people working in banking say that their jobs suck.

I suppose some things that I like about the job are flexi time, no stress, security, 9-5 basically, Monday-Friday.

Cheers everyone, some great suggestions there. Was considering the career break aspect and moving abroad, but I did feel that it is just delaying my decision on whether to get out of the C Service. But trying my hand at different jobs abroad, eg. Oz does sound like a good idea.

Night course might be good option too, altough most of the courses that you are allowed to study are only boring ones that have to relate to your job, you can't just do tourism or something like that.

Marksie

Porkpie wrote:

Night course might be good option too, altough most of the courses that you are allowed to study are only boring ones that have to relate to your job, you can't just do tourism or something like that.

Is that if you want the cs to pay for them???

You can do any course you want to otherwise, your free time is your own. They dont quite own that much of your soul yet.

The_Conductor

Hi Porkpie,

I can empathise. The advice about enrolling on courses and getting hobbies outside of work is helpful. You can get yourself into a rut, irrespective of where you work, getting out of the rut again is difficult. Re: competitions- I know its difficult to get promotion- personally I think its a lot easier to apply as an external candidate altogether than try to get internal promotions, particularly as the unions have agreed that so many of the higher grade positions are ringfenced for non-serving civil servants (new starts). You could have a word with your HEO about taking on more responsibility- get a taste of what an EO does. If you show that your capable, totally aside from going for promotion your HEO might be able to argue a case for giving you an acting up allowance.

If you look at the back of the CPSU and PSEU magazines- there are sections where people in other departments are looking for transfers elsewhere- it might be an idea to explore a move to a different government department? The differences in how the different government departments are run are enormous!

Best wishes,

S.

Mr. Presentable

Marksie wrote:

I had to laugh at that one, there hasn't been a promotion prospect from my grade in nearly 7 years.

Do you mean your Grade or your Grade within your Dept? Unless you are an AP there are always competitions. Maybe you're stuck in an area with low turnover - Pensions Board?

Obviously, from your attitude to my post, our experiences differ.

Marksie

nipplenuts wrote:

Do you mean your Grade or your Grade within your Dept? Unless you are an AP there are always competitions. Maybe you're stuck in an area with low turnover - Pensions Board?

Obviously, from your attitude to my post, our experiences differ.

Scientific branch.

I guess they do differ

Porkpie

Marksie, I was talking about courses that C Service pay for. So I suppose that is another advantage to the job.

Smccarthy, cheers for the advice, I see what you mean, I might look into moving to another department firstly. See, I just see these guys in higher grades and just think there's no way I would even like their jobs. I just have no interest. Maybe I'm not even cut out for office work, the whole sitting at a desk all day thing is not very appealing.

I guess the key thing here is fear if I'm to be honest. I often thought I should just leave and try other jobs until I find one that I like. I suppose I'm just afraid that if I leave this job I'll regret it!

The_Conductor

nipplenuts wrote:

Do you mean your Grade or your Grade within your Dept? Unless you are an AP there are always competitions. Maybe you're stuck in an area with low turnover - Pensions Board?

Obviously, from your attitude to my post, our experiences differ.

Not necessarily- you could easily be a bog standard EO (or any other grade) in a Department and through union connivance with panels being extended- not qualify for internal competitions for quite a few years (beyond the 2 years grade probationary period). I was 5 years an EO before I qualified for any internal competitions in our offices....... (I was unlucky in that I just missed out on an internal competition which was held just before my 2 years were up- and then the panel which was formed was extended 6 times- and the Department are downsizing big time)......

It just depends......

FlutterinBantam

OP ...you say you are bored and unfulfilled. I would ask you one thing.

Have you sat down with your line supervisor and discussed any of this with them?
Have you made known your situation to your line manager?


(Ok thats two things)

Marksie

Porkpie wrote:

Marksie, I was talking about courses that C Service pay for. So I suppose that is another advantage to the job.

Thought so. still an extra qualification helps, use the system.

Porkpie wrote:

guess the key thing here is fear if I'm to be honest. I often thought I should just leave and try other jobs until I find one that I like. I suppose I'm just afraid that if I leave this job I'll regret it!

Career break!!

Two advantages :

1) your out for a period of up to 5 years.

2) when you return you are not necessarily in the same section you were before.

I thin tey ahve also relaxed the rule aboujt not being able to get a job in ireland if you were on a career break. Dont quote me on it, but i believe that its is now aws long as it does not conflict with the job you have already

The_Conductor

Fear of the unknown is there for everyone.
I know that you look at what your HEO or AP do, and think to yourself that there is no way that you would want their jobs. A lot of jobs are what you make them though. Of course there are role profiles and your section 16 manuals that specify what your job is and how you do it- but the vast majority of people operate outside these constraints. The jobs also evolve- for example- when I first joined the civil service I spent about 6 months examining EU legislation- all day, every day. I almost went criminally insane. But then other aspects of the job opened up- and I became involved in other work which was ongoing in the Division.

Re: courses that the CS will pay for- normally the CS will pay at least a contribution towards all courses- and fully pay for any courses that are work related. You could put together an argument that you would like to do a little camera work for your internal departmental magazine as a reason for doing a camera/photography course- who knows, maybe Personnel might accept this? There are opportunities there for study totally aside from CMOD and the IPA- though obviously these two get high profiles in the civil service. Explore your options- perhaps have a word with your immediate colleagues, you may be surprised at what your department might be willing to sponsor you to do!

The whole sitting at an office desk may not be all that appealling- but the other side of the coin is- how would you like to be out in a forest in the middle of a blizzard in the middle of February with a small group of colleagues and have to compile statistical information thats needed urgently? Or down a the docks at 9PM on a Saturday night helping an inspector with admin stuff? Or on a building site for months on end while an office complex is being completed? A deskjob can be very very appealing when you have experienced the other extremes! (I still shudder about being out in the blizzard on the Cooley Peninsula........) We all imagine the grass is greener on the other side- very often it quite simply isn't- its just a different type of grass.......

I don't think there is such a thing as an ideal job that anyone is going to love 100% of the time. Most of us are going to work to keep the bank manager happy- anything else is a bonus......

I'd seriously recommend sitting down with your HEO and exploring whether there are other parcels of work ongoing in the section that you might have the opportunity to become involved in. Sometimes even a simple change can make all the difference.

Porkpie wrote:

Marksie, I was talking about courses that C Service pay for. So I suppose that is another advantage to the job.

Smccarthy, cheers for the advice, I see what you mean, I might look into moving to another department firstly. See, I just see these guys in higher grades and just think there's no way I would even like their jobs. I just have no interest. Maybe I'm not even cut out for office work, the whole sitting at a desk all day thing is not very appealing.

I guess the key thing here is fear if I'm to be honest. I often thought I should just leave and try other jobs until I find one that I like. I suppose I'm just afraid that if I leave this job I'll regret it!

Sleepy

OP, I think most CS positions would kill me. I work with quite a few different departments and LA's on a consultancy basis and in general the work ethic is almost non existant in the public sector. It's unlikely to change as even though some BPR could radically change things, the end result would be large numbers of layoffs and the unions would shut the country down rather than see that happen.

It's a cushy number but if you're the kind of person who needs their work to stimulate them, it's a bad option. In the current climate job security is an over-rated reason to work for any organisation (says me in the same job since I left college, lol). If you're not happy, try and educate yourself out of the position by availing of any courses you can get them to pay for (particularly anything that gives you marketable skills, MCSE's etc.), either that or find a hobby. Most of the really happy CS's I know have hobbies outside their workplace that are their main focus in life, the job is just something to turn up to rather than a defining part of their lifestyle.

Porkpie

Marksie wrote:

Career break!!

Two advantages :

1) your out for a period of up to 5 years.

2) when you return you are not necessarily in the same section you were before.

I thin tey ahve also relaxed the rule aboujt not being able to get a job in ireland if you were on a career break. Dont quote me on it, but i believe that its is now aws long as it does not conflict with the job you have already

Marksie,

Have wondered about that a lot, whether I could take a career break, and just work at something else in this country. I know you're not really supposed to but if I thought I'd get away with it, I would. This would be preferable to moving abroad.

Quiff81 wrote:

why not study at night and get a qualification that way? or investigate starting up a business of your own ?

Will definitely look into that, cheers. Just have to find something I'm interested in. I do like languages, so maybe I could incorporate that

FlutterinBantam wrote:

OP ...you say you are bored and unfulfilled. I would ask you one thing.

Have you sat down with your line supervisor and discussed any of this with them?
Have you made known your situation to your line manager?


(Ok thats two things)

Good advice. Will do. Cheers guys, I hope I've got the hang of quoting people properly in my reply.

Poco Loco

Hi everyone,

This is sort of for you all I guess...didn't read all the posts but got the vibe that the majority of you are unhappy in your jobs, just like the OP. I work in Recruitment and have done for a few years now, I have done thousands of interviews and learned that a scary number of people are really not happy in their jobs. I would definitely definitely encourage you to try out other jobs. Take the risk. It WILL be worth it. Even if you don't like the next job, at least you can say you tried. And as you go along you learn the little bits and pieces of a job that you DO like. So for example I learned that I hate trying to hit targets but I quite like the admin side of things and I definitely like people involvement so that's the kind of job I'm in now. I am very lucky, I know I am. But it's so completely possible.

And you're only 27 - you're only a baby yet! You can totally mess around with jobs and careers over the next 5 years and still be very successful and happy.

We spend at least 8 hours of our day at work so that's........(I'm bad at maths, bear with me!) one third of our lives at work - wouldn't it be good if we were happy with one third of our lives? Seeing as the second one third is sleeping!

I hope this all made sense...
Oh and I hope that it doesn't sound too rose-tinted. Don't worry, there are days I wake up and think 'oh for f**k sake I have to go into that place again today!' but overall I am happy in my job and I so much admire people who strive to get a job they are happy in. This is your one and only life (well...depending on your religion!) so make it one that you are happy in.

Porkpie

Cheers Poco loco,

Definitely makes sense to me. You seem to know what you're talking about and I admire your positive outlook.

Smccarrick, you seem to have experience of the Civil Service, I can see where you're coming from. You know your stuff. Will have a word with someone here at work who can help.

Thanks guys, just have to put my thinking cap on now...

boardinwork

I sell advertising for a big newspaper and its class! Good salary and bonuses, loads of nights out bringing clients on the tear or being invited to events. Meet loads of people and its exciting line of business. I think anybody with a bit of social skills could do it.

Jigsaw

OP,

I feel your pain. I am in a similar civil service job and it is driving me mad. The mundanity of the job is just unbearable. I am 26 yrs old and I want to make a break into another career before I get any older. The prospects of promotion aren't great but I wouldn't even want it tbh. I look at my line manager and just know that I do not want to be involved in what he is doing. I am not that old just yet but I feel I have to act quickly because at some point in the future there are going to be other responsibilities like a family, mortgage etc and it won't be so easy to just take a notion and change careers.

I know what it is that I want to do but I am just stopped at every opportunity. I make direct applications and register with agencies etc but never get any success. No one seems willing to just give me a bloody chance. It gets very frustrating indeed.

But less about me........

I say keep looking for other jobs that you think you'll be happy in, and be prepared to accept a pay cut if necessary. Apply for plenty things and you're bound to get something sooner or later (it is that approach that I am taking). Keep the Civil Service job ticking over until you get what you want then get out of there like a shot.

You only live once and you have to do what makes you happy, but at the same time there's no sense in leaving your job prematurely and end up stocking shelves for €6 an hour or something whilst looking for the dream job.

summerwine

A few people have said it but take the year out!!!! I'm 28, went traveling for three months at the start of the year. First time traveller and it totally changed my way of thinking. I came back to my job with a whole new twist on life. Over the last 6 months i've become this optomistic person and started doing volunteer work. Now I'm getting paid there on my days off from my fulltime work and loving it! It could be a whole new area which I never knew exsisted and could easily fall into a new career direction.

What i found out is that, I got bogged down on the stress involved with living in Dublin. Work and worries about past and of coarse musnt forget about good old future. When I went travelling, I realised that all the above seems to go away and you just live for the moment. Something that I had not done for many years! It clears the mind and may direct you to your true calling!


Hope this helps!

hot fuss

I agree with Poco Loco.

So many people just resign themselves to working in a job where they're not fulfilled and not happy, saying that there's more to life than work etc...

The reality of the situation is that you spend the majority of your week working, so why oh why should you spend it doing something you don't like?!

OP, I've been there. Terrified of change, because you're settled in a 'comfortable' job, you've enough money, you're not under too much stress, and you enjoy your free time. I moved jobs, and am now very happy with my work life and honestly, it makes such a difference to the rest of the your life too. No more Sunday nights spent dreading going into work, no more dragging yourself out of bed to go into a job you hate.

Seriously though, you're 27. You are young enough to take a chance and do something you think you'll enjoy. Look at what hobbies you enjoy, what your interests are, and waht jobs you think you'd enjoy, and work towards that by investigating job opportunities or courses.

You're way too young to settle for anything, and at the end of the day, You're the only thing holding yourself back.

Think that in two years time you could have a qualification in an area you're interested in and be in a different job, OR, you could be in the same job you are now, and still hating it..

Pinker

First thing I'd like to say is well done, by posting this you've started the ball rolling, which sadly is more than most people do. Plus your still young enough which is an advantage, travel would certainly be one option especially now while you have no commitments ,other than your mortgage, that you have mentioned....on the other hand you might be better having a plan in place as to what you really want to do....

...Having been in a similiar situation myself I know how mind boggling it can be, I was in a job i despised so eventually after what felt like a eternity I left it, even though it paid very well, now I have two years of my degree done and am well on my way to a career I really want to be involved in,...Plus I get many of the financial benefits from the government of being a mature student (27) of which their are many, Maybe this is an area you should really consider...Going back, or in my case just going to college is so much more rewarding than doing some lousy soul destroying job, plus you get huge summer holidays!!...DCU, TCD, Maynooth and UCD all run some form of adult entry access courses contact them for more info,...A last piece of advice as regards education, some people get hung up on age, oh I'll be 99 when I qualify, well you'll be 99 one way or another you might as well be doing something you enjoy!...


Would it be an idea, to look at what you certainly wouldn't do, then cut it down to potential jobs that are left, obviously this would be just a rough guide to get you asking more questions and acquiring more info, a website worth looking at as a starting point is www.careermatters.ie ...or http://www.careerdirections.ie/

Then maybe talk to a career guidance counsellor either with the above site or elsewhere, alas there are very few good ones, but talk to one anyway and it might reveal that little bit more info, then you can make an informed decision, whether it be just a career change or a whole new education process, don't hold back just go for it, you'll never look back..

Porkpie

boardinwork wrote:

I sell advertising for a big newspaper and its class! Good salary and bonuses, loads of nights out bringing clients on the tear or being invited to events. Meet loads of people and its exciting line of business. I think anybody with a bit of social skills could do it.

I like the sound of this. I'm actually quite a sociable guy, more interested in people than stats, computers etc. Will def. consider a path towards advertising, it sounds interesting.

Jigsaw wrote:

I look at my line manager and just know that I do not want to be involved in what he is doing.

I feel the VERY same!

Jigsaw wrote:

I know what it is that I want to do but I am just stopped at every opportunity.

At least you know what you want to do. You should keep trying anyway

So it's either

1 Just make a break altogether and try a different job (risky, what about my old secure job!)
2 Stay and study a part time course (although after qualifying you have to stay in C Service for same length of time as course!)
3 Career break and travel then after that either come back to CS or choose no. 1
4 Full time study (but I'll have f*ck all money, I'm used to being reasonably well off)
5 Stay in CS but move to a different section (I've moved many times before, I don't know would it make much of a difference, probably would be still the same crappy work)
6 Stay as I am (and be depressed)

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm gonna choose out of 1-6 soon. Won't pick 6 I swear!

the_syco

Marksie wrote:

I thin tey ahve also relaxed the rule aboujt not being able to get a job in ireland if you were on a career break. Dont quote me on it, but i believe that its is now aws long as it does not conflict with the job you have already

I still say go elsewhere for the job. If not Oz, try New Zealand: they're meant to be looking for IT people. Or even try England. Basically somewhere completely different.

How Strange

OP, I was stuck in a sh*tty job with sh*tty longterm prospects and the thoughts of it made me go back to college at night. Now I have a job that I am very happy with and am so glad I put the time and money into going back to college. It was hard at the time but I am very glad now.

In one way, you are in a good position in the CS to explore opportunities. You are relatively well paid in comparision to the private sector. Believe me, I used to work in CS and I'll never get those pay increases in private industry ever. Being (relatively) well paid means you can get a loan and go back to college at night or you can find a day course and work job share. Or you can take a career break to study fulltime/travel.

All I would say is don't see yourself as being stuck. You can do anything you want but it may mean you will have to sacrifice your time and money (if you want to pay for a course so you're not beholden to the CS). Think of what you would most like to do and retrain or if you can't think of your 'dream job' then go to see a life coach. They will be able to do surveys on you to find out your strengths and weaknesses etc and will tell you what jobs you would be best suited to.

If you are thinking of retraining and travelling I would advise doing the travelling first by taking a career break. You never know, it might open your eyes to other opportunities. But it will also look better on your cv because as you are in the upper end of mid 20's, going to back to college and then fecking off around the world for a year could look irresponsible to prospective employers.

The worst thing you can think is that you are stuck in a rut with no escape.
Forget the secure job; it means f*ck all if you're spending each day feeling miserable. I also don't think there is such a thing as a 'dream job'. If you're lucky you will get a job that you are 70% happy with. Anything more is a bonus.

Good luck with it whatever you decide to do.

How Strange

OP, I was stuck in a sh*tty job with sh*tty longterm prospects and the thoughts of it made me go back to college at night. Now I have a job that I am very happy with and am so glad I put the time and money into going back to college. It was hard at the time but I am very glad now.

In one way, you are in a good position in the CS to explore opportunities. You are relatively well paid in comparision to the private sector. Believe me, I used to work in CS and I'll never get those pay increases in private industry ever. Being (relatively) well paid means you can get a loan and go back to college at night or you can find a day course and work job share. Or you can take a career break to study fulltime/travel.

All I would say is don't see yourself as being stuck. You can do anything you want but it may mean you will have to sacrifice your time and money (if you want to pay for a course so you're not beholden to the CS). Think of what you would most like to do and retrain or if you can't think of your 'dream job' then go to see a life coach. They will be able to do surveys on you to find out your strengths and weaknesses etc and will tell you what jobs you would be best suited to.

If you are thinking of retraining and travelling I would advise doing the travelling first by taking a career break. You never know, it might open your eyes to other opportunities. But it will also look better on your cv because as you are in the upper end of mid 20's, going to back to college and then fecking off around the world for a year could look irresponsible to prospective employers.

The worst thing you can think is that you are stuck in a rut with no escape.
Forget the secure job; it means f*ck all if you're spending each day feeling miserable. I also don't think there is such a thing as a 'dream job'. If you're lucky you will get a job that you are 70% happy with. Anything more is a bonus.

Good luck with it whatever you decide to do.

HardyEustace

Porkpie wrote:

Dear members,

I'm stuck in a Civil Service job that I find boring and unfulfilling. I'm at the bottom rung of the promotional ladder (promotion is really hard to get, and I don't even think I want it anyway). I've had this career for the past 8 years, I'm 27 now and feel stuck in a rut. My day consists of doing menial tasks and browsing webites such as this I've tried moving around sections but they've all been basically the same.

Cheers

if you are that unhappy leave, however everyone has elements of their job that they don't like. And not everyone is lucky enough to be in a job that is (on average according to a poll from two weeks ago) that pays 30% better than the private sector, with a fantastic pension plan and with job security that can't be matched.

Most jobs have elements that you have described, its up to you to be creative and assertive enough to find a way out of it, either by changing roles or yourself or changing jobs.

I'm sorry but it really annoys me when people whinge about their civil service jobs. If you worked in the "real world" of jobs you'd probably be trotting back to your job in double quick time.

if you stopped browsing the websites and got a bit more proactive maybe things would change for you....

Pinker

Yes but he wants to do something proactive, but wisely the OP has decided to get some info from people who may know more than he does....

As regards studying whilst working full-time this is very tough, but is definitely worth doing if its a suitable option, you say that if you go to college you'll have very little cash, its not that bad really, if you can get the grant its a huge help (e6,000 per annum), plus you be eligible for many other incentives the govt offers to entice adults back to education, in some cases this adds up to the equivalent of a good wage, plus you are only in college for a few hours a week so you can work part time without losing your benefits and lastly the academic year is only 8-9 months so you can work some/all of the summer( if you wish) and are entitled to your tax back as you are a student, you also get student discounts in many shops too,...and the best bit is this while you are getting an education, and working your way to decent, and more satisfying career....

Selling advertising can be a real pain in the ass and as a long term career???, it depends what floats your boat I guess,...