Does anyone love their job?

The Aspirations Coach

Hi,

I've been doing a lot of research on careers and it is estimated that we spend on average 50,000 hours working in our lives. I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that when you get to the end of those 50,000 hours you'd like to look back and say 'I really enjoyed that!' as opposed to 'Finally that's over, now I can start my life!'.

It got me to thinking about how many of us are actually in a career that we love. Are you? If you are, did you know what you wanted to do and actively seek it out or was it just chance? I'd love to hear your stories!

Thanks,

Paula

bigneacy

I am! I came upon it by accident, was in a different job - bored all day and me and the boss agreed I could be better used elsewhere in the company. Got promoted, bump in pay, bump in responsibilities.

Don't get me wrong - i'd love to be travelling the world with an endless supply of cash. But failing that - I like my job - its challenging enough to keep me interested, I have free-reign, and I know i'm talented at it.

I don't dread monday mornings.

mickman

ditto !

work in IT, very challenging and look forward to monday mornings to solving new problems (unless im hungover of course)

murphmm

I like some aspects of my job and dislike others. I guess that work is not only about the job but it's about the stimulation, challenge and interaction with co-workers some good and some not so good. I think all employers in Ireland make a huge mistake of not making any effort to make the workplace more fun while still ensuring that the work gets done. Anyway that's been my experience of my 22 year career so far!

The Aspirations Coach

Bigneacy and mickman, that's great that you enjoy what you do! A good question to ask yourself is 'If I won the lotto, would I still do this work?'

Murphmm- I would agree that the majority of Irish employers don't have 'fun' as a core value! There are some though that do facilitate employees having time out for fun and to be creative, get inspired and use their imagination! Do you have any ideas that you'd like to see implemented in your workplace? Would you consider approaching your employer with your ideas?

Chessala

I only just started my first real full-time job about 2 months ago but so far I love it! Not necessarily due to what I am doing (though I have fun with that too most of the time) but also because my company just ROCKS. They care for their employees, we get free time in the office to play about, have lots of fun events and everyone is just great. Really, while it certainly would be great to have more responsibility one day, right now I couldn't imagine being in a better place ^_^

If I'd win the lottery I'd DEFINITELY stay. Who wants to sit at home all day and do nothing? I did that while I was unemployed =/

murphmm

Hi,

I'd say it's something that needs to be encouraged rather than organised, i.e. we will have 'fun' between 3-5 on a Friday. I think fun and creativity are linked. As for approaching the top managers I think I'd be wasting my time.

For what it's worth if I won big on the Lotto you wouldn't see me for dust

The Aspirations Coach

Chessala- that's great! So you got a job you love in the middle of a recession? What do you think secured it for you? Were you really passionate about the job at the interview stage?

Murphmm- would you consider looking for something else that you would enjoy more?

Chessala

Well something I think definitely helped is that it was a job for my mothertongue and I only immigrated a year ago. And yes, definitely passionate. Some may say it's not worth it as it is a customer support role but I love helping people and it lets me work with computer games, something I have wanted to do for a long time.

I'm looking forward to working in that job for a long while =D

fret_wimp2

I think that people expect that they should love their jobs, and they feel there is something wrong when they dont.

Im in IT, and I dont hate it, but there are many things id preferr to be doing. Unfortunately circumstances do get in the way, bills have to be paid and so i think as long as you are not unhappy in your job you will be ok. you will make the best of it.

The world is a complicated place, more pressure than we've ever had to deal with in previous generations placed on people on a daily basis. if you can handle the pressure thrust on you and you dont hate what you do, then your ok.

if you absolutely love what you do then your super lucky! Apologies if that all sounds a little pesemistic!

Stheno

The Aspirations Coach wrote: »

Bigneacy and mickman, that's great that you enjoy what you do! A good question to ask yourself is 'If I won the lotto, would I still do this work?'

My answer would be yes, I love my job, the sector I work in, the opportunities, the people I work with... everything basically have not one single negative to list about my job.

Work in IT, fell into it by accident, and have built up my career over the years to the point now where I truly enjoy my role. There's some stuff that I have to do (like reporting) that's dull and has to be done, but overall, it's great.

The Aspirations Coach

Am I right in seeing that everyone who has posted saying they love their job works in IT?

Chessala

Well...more or less...if you can call Customer Service for a Computer Game Company IT?

srsly78

Great fun working in finance (writing software for traders). Governments shower us with money and we blow it all on hookers+coke.

edit: Actually... I'm in work on a saturday with massive hangover so right NOW I'm not actually loving it that much -.-

Dun

I work in IT - software development - and I can't stand it. Soul-destroying. I reckon it's the luck of the draw. I've absolutely no interest in it anymore, and it's all down to this company.

Irish_Elect_Eng

My job is very close to being a perfect fit for me.

My work impacts the lives of others and that gets me up in the mornings.

I get to work in the field of engineering in which I trained, with a great team, with good management and for a company that seems to care for its workers and promotes based on merit.

The only improvements that I need to make are all personal development rather than with the company or role.

fat__tony

Yes I do!

But Im in Toronto and I don't think ill ever find a job Ill enjoy in Ireland.

Majority of Irish employers = total pricks

I work as a green building consultant, used to be a building services design engineer. I don't miss it one bit.

Sobanek

50000 hours?
5.7 years? You got your calculations wrong I think
50 hours = 2.1 days approx.
500 hours = 21 days approx
5000 hours = 210 days
50000 hours = 2100 days

let x = 365
2100 / x = y
2100 / 365 = 5,75 years approx.

Lyn256

I love my job too! I'm only on a part time contract (mostly by choice) but when I work I love it.
After 15 years in sales and burnt out, I trained as a trainer and do some contract sales/customer care training. Really really enjoy it, I know that I love it coz I would do it for free!! Also, am home with 2 very small kids (under 3 yrs) so when I go to work, its a wonderful change.
So far this year, I've worked about 150 hours. Am not working for the next 6/8 weeks and will hopefully work about 120 hours between Sept and Dec.
Hope to work more in this area when my kids are older but can def say I love it!

freeze4real

srsly78 wrote: »

Great fun working in finance (writing software for traders). Governments shower us with money and we blow it all on hookers+coke.

edit: Actually... I'm in work on a saturday with massive hangover so right NOW I'm not actually loving it that much -.-

what software have you wriiten for traders.

Is it forex traders or stock brokers.

Yahew

I think my job - which is self-employed contracting in IT - is good intellectual work, and I would do it as a hobby, or do more of my own ideas, were I rich enough. I have produced my own software, as it stands. However I would also take more time off were I rich enough. There is a world to be seen.

That said most people are going to reply in the positive, maybe there is a bit of face saving here. I notice very few people in normal life, on twitter, or in facebook massively enthused on a monday morning, or at the end of their holidays, or at the end of Christmas. January is reviled. On the other hand Friday gets good reviews, as does long weekends, vacations, and Christmas.

Some exceptions: I know a guy who is a caddie. And he hates Christmas, a forced two weeks off. Get him on a golf course and he is happy. At home, he is bored. I know a gardener who exists to garden.

I dont think most office work compares to any of that. Maybe because it is outdoor stuff.

Sarah Bear

love my job! im a trainee hairdresser in my final year. get on so well with all the staff and the owners/managers.

Chiorino

I honestly really enjoy my job. It doesen't pay well at all and I'm currently on a three day week but I enjoy the work and the company of the people I work with.

mandrake04

I love my job too.. every day is different.

I get to fix really cool stuff... get paid very well, my car and fuel paid for, Amex account, plenty of travel (international & national), opportunity to live & work in other countries if I choose. (ie sposnorship, work visa etc)

At the same time helping people not so fortunate.

guitarzero

I find it fascinating that people are happy in very mediocre jobs such as IT and other grid like office jobs. I dont mean it in a bad way, I find it curious that people can get up at ungodly hours, spend most their waking hours doing the same thing over and over and over and they are happy. Just another part of humamity I'll never come to understand.

thebman

guitarzero wrote: »

I find it fascinating that people are happy in very mediocre jobs such as IT and other grid like office jobs. I dont mean it in a bad way, I find it curious that people can get up at ungodly hours, spend most their waking hours doing the same thing over and over and over and they are happy. Just another part of humamity I'll never come to understand.

If your in IT, it isn't the same thing everyday at least in programming. There are constant new projects and upskilling.

The only thing that stays the same and that I dislike about work is meetings. Most of the time they never achieve their goals and are an excuse for higher management to vent about something before everything goes back to the way it was because management had no vision for change but just wanted to rant. They expect employee's to suggest changes but when you do they are shot down or ignored even when everyone agrees they are good ideas because nobody wishes to move the idea forward and as the junior person, people get angry when you push them to change because your younger.

The only other thing that frustrates me is people not knowing what they are doing that work along side me and having to fix their work constantly especially as during the time I fix their work, they are usually talking themselves up to management.

So really, I love my core job function, I just dislike the crap that goes with it but most of the time, I've been able to walk into work with a smile on my face and focus on the thing I enjoy rather than lettings the things I dislike bog me down. Sometimes they force themselves in your face though.

mickman

guitarzero wrote: »

I find it fascinating that people are happy in very mediocre jobs such as IT and other grid like office jobs. I dont mean it in a bad way, I find it curious that people can get up at ungodly hours, spend most their waking hours doing the same thing over and over and over and they are happy. Just another part of humamity I'll never come to understand.

this is a very stupid condescending comment from someone who knows nothing about IT.

dont comment on other peoples careers if you dont work in them yourself

careca11

I don't really mind my actual job (plus its permanent "well for now" )
,
but I fechin hate this company , its run on the (its who you know, not what you know )mantra if you want to succeed , full of beaurecratic wanchors who have not got a notion what they are doing and getting massive money+expenses for it ,

this ship is sinking and they just cannot see it

dvcireland

fat__tony wrote: »

Yes I do!

But Im in Toronto and I don't think ill ever find a job Ill enjoy in Ireland.

Majority of Irish employers = total pricks

I work as a green building consultant, used to be a building services design engineer. I don't miss it one bit.

Majority of Irish employers = total pricks - would most these employers be working in the field of Building Services Engineering? if so, I can understand your comments.

guitarzero

mickman wrote: »

this is a very stupid condescending comment from someone who knows nothing about IT.

dont comment on other peoples careers if you dont work in them yourself

Its a very good comment actually. I know 2 people who work in IT, "same shít, different day". Have a good day.

coola

guitarzero wrote: »

Its a very good comment actually. I know 2 people who work in IT, "same shít, different day". Have a good day.

thats their opinion, most people who work in IT (including myself) would say that IT is anything but same stuff every day. its constantly changing , always evolving and a very exciting challenge for anyone who is ambitions

let me guess, you are "between " jobs at present ?

ongarboy

guitarzero wrote: »

I find it fascinating that people are happy in very mediocre jobs such as IT and other grid like office jobs. I dont mean it in a bad way, I find it curious that people can get up at ungodly hours, spend most their waking hours doing the same thing over and over and over and they are happy. Just another part of humamity I'll never come to understand.

I think the comment says more about the poster's lack of understanding on what makes a job satisfying. It's not the job or industry itself that dictates work happiness, it's a person/worker's interest in it and environment they are in. Like some of the IT workers who have posted on this thread have said, they may love their jobs because of the variety, motivation, mental stimulation, sense of ownership and sense of making a difference, getting on with those they work with or for and countless other reasons. Having all these in one job is rare and I envy those who can say yes to most or all of these points.

Just because IT or "office jobs" sounds boring to one poster, working in the "glamorous and exciting" industries such as fashion/music/film etc might be chronically depressing and stressful for others because of the pressures heaped upon them, tyrants/bullies for bosses etc.

Yahew

It is more interesting intellectually than most office work,for sure. Most work.

i still say my caddy friend is happier though.

srsly78

guitarzero wrote: »

I find it fascinating that people are happy in very mediocre jobs such as IT and other grid like office jobs. I dont mean it in a bad way, I find it curious that people can get up at ungodly hours, spend most their waking hours doing the same thing over and over and over and they are happy. Just another part of humamity I'll never come to understand.

I'm self-employed and mostly work from home. IT is a pretty broad categorisation, not all IT jobs are menial. My current job is sweet, in the past I've had some lousy stressful IT jobs tho.

thebman

guitarzero wrote: »

Its a very good comment actually. I know 2 people who work in IT, "same shít, different day". Have a good day.

Sound like they are falling behind or have found a niche they can sit in for the rest of their lives and are content to do so.

Same sh*t, different day does not apply to most IT jobs. Do they work in a helpdesk by any chance?

allibastor

i had a job i loved. worked in construction for years and really enjoyed it. had moved up the ladder very fast and was good at what i did. enjoyed the banter with the lads on site and working outside. was in the professional side of things but still really enjoyed it.

now i am in a job i hate. had to go back to collage to retrain in business and got a job. its a graduate role even though i am 27. and beleive me it is a graduate role in every sense of the word. no responsibility, no projects to work on. the only reason i am still here is to get the valuable "experiance" that companies look for. i genuinly know i can do the job in the office of anyone here, thats not an empty boast because if they go on holiday i am asked to replace them and do so very easily. but when i asked if i could get a full time job i was told " we only will accept applicants with 5+ years experiance" they dont even look at my skill set.

i think it is an overlying problem with this country. eveything has to be able to be justified into little boxes for people if you are to be accpeted. banks have little boxes you need to meet to get a loan, the dole office have little boxes you need to meet to get dole, everywhere has these.

if a company looks more into the skills and aptitude of a person rather than years spent doing the same job, i mean if someone does a job for 10+ years they either loved their job loads or were not able to make the next big step.

anyway rant over, i am delighted to hear that people still love going to work, but as asked before if i won the lotto i would retire from my job and set up a company.

thanks

coola

thebman wrote: »

Sound like they are falling behind or have found a niche they can sit in for the rest of their lives and are content to do so.

Same sh*t, different day does not apply to most IT jobs. Do they work in a helpdesk by any chance?

agreed - people that genuinely love IT will continue to upskill and learn. IT is a career heavily linked to lifelong learning. Its very nieve for the poster to assume that all IT positions are the same and everyone hates it

jackiebaron

Sobanek wrote: »

50000 hours?
5.7 years? You got your calculations wrong I think
50 hours = 2.1 days approx.
500 hours = 21 days approx
5000 hours = 210 days
50000 hours = 2100 days

let x = 365
2100 / x = y
2100 / 365 = 5,75 years approx.

Sobanek, nobody works 24/7, FFS
You work generally 8 hours a day and 5 days a week so 40 hours = 7 days NOT 1.8 days or whatever.
50 hours is more than a week in work time not 2.1 days!!

jackiebaron

allibastor wrote: »

i had a job i loved. worked in construction for years and really enjoyed it. had moved up the ladder very fast and was good at what i did. enjoyed the banter with the lads on site and working outside. was in the professional side of things but still really enjoyed it.

now i am in a job i hate. had to go back to collage to retrain in business and got a job. its a graduate role even though i am 27. and beleive me it is a graduate role in every sense of the word. no responsibility, no projects to work on. the only reason i am still here is to get the valuable "experiance" that companies look for. i genuinly know i can do the job in the office of anyone here, thats not an empty boast because if they go on holiday i am asked to replace them and do so very easily. but when i asked if i could get a full time job i was told " we only will accept applicants with 5+ years experiance" they dont even look at my skill set.

i think it is an overlying problem with this country. eveything has to be able to be justified into little boxes for people if you are to be accpeted. banks have little boxes you need to meet to get a loan, the dole office have little boxes you need to meet to get dole, everywhere has these.

if a company looks more into the skills and aptitude of a person rather than years spent doing the same job, i mean if someone does a job for 10+ years they either loved their job loads or were not able to make the next big step.

anyway rant over, i am delighted to hear that people still love going to work, but as asked before if i won the lotto i would retire from my job and set up a company.

thanks

ali, I'm sick of my job too. want to set up the company together?

fat__tony

dvcireland wrote: »

Majority of Irish employers = total pricks - would most these employers be working in the field of Building Services Engineering? if so, I can understand your comments.

Thats what I meant.

But I think in the broad scheme of things, a lot of Irish employers these days are using the reccession as an excuse to treat employee's like slaves.

allibastor

jackiebaron wrote: »

ali, I'm sick of my job too. want to set up the company together?

hey if you have any capital i am looking into turing an old church in limerick into a nightclub. just the finding of capital is the problem. i am up to 25 euro!

bigneacy

The Aspirations Coach wrote: »

Am I right in seeing that everyone who has posted saying they love their job works in IT?

No - Advertising Industry.

And to answer the other question about if I won the lotto. Not a hope would I stay about - far too many ambitions elsewhere.

bigneacy

Sobanek wrote: »

50000 hours?
5.7 years? You got your calculations wrong I think
50 hours = 2.1 days approx.
500 hours = 21 days approx
5000 hours = 210 days
50000 hours = 2100 days

let x = 365
2100 / x = y
2100 / 365 = 5,75 years approx.

jackiebaron wrote: »

Sobanek, nobody works 24/7, FFS
You work generally 8 hours a day and 5 days a week so 40 hours = 7 days NOT 1.8 days or whatever.
50 hours is more than a week in work time not 2.1 days!!

40 Hours a week, 48 working weeks a year = 1920 hours per year.

Just over 26 years...

Assuming you begin work or college at 18 or 19, it takes you 8 or 9 years to finish your course or climb the ladder, or get in a position you like - and you retire happily, and of your own accord at around 54 or 55. Thats 50,000 hours.

Corvo

I guess I'm in the unusual situation where I don't know if I love my job. Only really got into the nitty gritty of it one year ago (Commercial Insurance) and it has its really interesting moments, and of course its utterly boring ones.

Agree with another poster who said that meetings get you nowhere. Management can be so dim-witted sometimes.

I worked very hard to get into this job though, so I guess even if I don't love it, I appreciate it.

Asry

I think I like my job? Maybe not love it. It's in the dreaded IT, and while it is very "same ****, different day" like an earlier poster said, the people I work with are all dorks too and they're great to be around! Plus the craic is great when things get particularly bad.

While it's not an amazing job by any means, paywise, and it's not what I really want to do at all, I'd been looking for a job for a year and that year was so horrible! Talk about no self esteem. So I'm very very glad I have it.

coup1917

Glad to hear as the thread progressed that there are others out there not overjoyed with their job...

My job i suppose is okay.... been with the same company over 10 years.....first mistake...

I went the route of starting work with basic third level qualifications and managed to get promoted once. Have been sitting too comfortably ever since and it is monotonous work. Am really only starting to improve my qualifications recently but there aren't a lot of permanent postions out there.

I started an online business a couple of years back which was tipping away nicely. I have tried my hand at a couple of part time careers over the years so I know I have much more ability than this job.

From my experience it doesn't work in your favour to stay in a position long term. People view you as 'institutionalised' . My goal is to work at a career that provides you with a drive and satisfaction.

I hate the idea of 'clock in/clock out' same crap for the next 30 years..:eek:

Stheno

coup1917 wrote: »

. Have been sitting too comfortably ever since and it is monotonous work. Am really only starting to improve my qualifications recently but there aren't a lot of permanent postions out there.


From my experience it doesn't work in your favour to stay in a position long term. People view you as 'institutionalised' . My goal is to work at a career that provides you with a drive and satisfaction.

Definitely look at upskilling, I really strongly believe that every job you have you should add to your skills.

Also agree with not staying in the same role for two long.

thebman

Stheno wrote: »

Definitely look at upskilling, I really strongly believe that every job you have you should add to your skills.

Also agree with not staying in the same role for two long.

True but I'd also add to try to move up not sideways :P