Are You In The Right Job?

Big Nasty

This is not so much about whether you're happy in your job or how much you earn but more about is the job right for you? For example you might be earning big money as a partner in a law firm but would you be more content up to your elbows in oil and grease tinkering with a car?

In order to truly give your job 100% I feel that you have to be doing something you're passionate about, no matter what the renumeration. I'm sure many of us have felt like throwing the towel in and persuing our dream job but has anyone out there had the balls to do it?

oldyouth

My job was right for me in the past, no longer have ANY desire to keep it going. Told the boss last week I'm gone in a couple of months. Life is for the living. Haven't even researched the financial implications (which shouldn't be too bad) but I'm done

SEPT 23 1989

If you are in the right job it does not feel like a job

smash

MCMLXXV wrote: »

I'm sure many of us have felt like throwing the towel in and persuing are dream job but has anyone out there had the balls to do it?

I'd love to do that

Yakult

Don't know why you would do something that you have no passion for. Done it before and will not do it again. Would rather stay unemployed than waste my life doing something I don't even like.

Big Nasty

Yakult wrote: »

Don't know why you would do something that you have no passion for. Done it before and will not do it again. Would rather stay unemployed than waste my life doing something I don't even like.

Financial commitments?

summerskin

Yakult wrote: »

Don't know why you would do something that you have no passion for. Done it before and will not do it again. Would rather stay unemployed than waste my life doing something I don't even like.

So you'd rather be a drain on the state and drive taxes up for the rest of us than knuckle down and work for a living? What a wonderful person you must be.

Jobs aren't for pleasure, they are a means to an end. Hobbies are for pleasure.

Dubit10

I earn just a little over minimum wage but i love my job helping people who can't look after themselves. I also can go home and look myself in the mirror at the end of the day which means a lot as in a previous job i earned a hell of a lot more money but hated the position and people i worked with.

El Guapo!

I hate my job with a passion. There's nothing I hate more than what I do for a living. Everyday is torture and it's depressing me to come in to work everyday. It's utterly soul destroying and I'm on the verge of going postal.
Problem is, I can't afford to quit so I'm stuck here till I find something else.

Sleepy

Really? You can't fathom why someone would do something they didn't enjoy in order to provide for their family?

I never found a "passion" for something I could be employed in as a teenager so studied stuff I was good at in college and ended up doing it for a living. Even now, if I could go back and do it all again, I'm not sure that there's anything someone can get paid to do that I'd be passionate enough to pursue as a career...

My hope is that me doing this will enable my daughter to find her passions in life and pursue those rather than following my footsteps into the humdrum of a "normal" / "good" job...

foxyboxer

There's a test for this.

Imagine if you were guaranteed your salary every month but did not have to show up for your current job...

How would you fill your time?

If you're quite happy to continue on with your current job then you're in the right role.

If you'd rather tinker with a car engine then you're not.
If you'd rather stay in bed all day and watch Jeremy Kyle then your ideal role is on the dole.

Simple.

foxyboxer

As for not wanting to stay in a role you have no passion for, i'd use the analogy of a relationship with no passion.

Sure you get no satisfaction from it but the regular sex (salary) makes you stay in it regardless.

FortuneChip

foxyboxer wrote: »

There's a test for this.

Imagine if you were guaranteed your salary every month but did not have to show up for your current job...

How would you fill your time?

If you're quite happy to continue on with your current job then you're in the right role.

If you'd rather tinker with a car engine then you're not.
If you'd rather stay in bed all day and watch Jeremy Kyle then you're ideal role is on the dole.

Simple.

Please use SPOILERS!
It's not a test if you give us the answers

sbsquarepants

MCMLXXV wrote: »

In order to truly give your job 100% I feel that you have to be doing something you're passionate about, no matter what the renumeration. I'm sure many of us have felt like throwing the towel in and persuing our dream job but has anyone out there had the balls to do it?

This is wishfull thinking bullshít to be honest. There aren't too many people in Ireland who get to do something they are passionate about for a living. The vast majority end up doing something they can tolerate in order to pay their bills. In less fortunate countries it's probably something they can't even tolerate, but must do to survive.

Yakult wrote: »

Don't know why you would do something that you have no passion for. Done it before and will not do it again. Would rather stay unemployed than waste my life doing something I don't even like.

See above. You're living in cloud cuckoo land.

emzolita

No. I wanna be a baker/confectioner, it used to be a trade that you could learn, but nowadays, you need to have a degree in pastry arts to do it.
I'm good at it too, always have people asking me to make them cakes etc.
I'm a trained childcare worker and special needs assistant, but don't feel like this is the job for me, but don't have the money for a degree.

Yakult

summerskin wrote: »

So you'd rather be a drain on the state and drive taxes up for the rest of us than knuckle down and work for a living? What a wonderful person you must be.

Jobs aren't for pleasure, they are a means to an end. Hobbies are for pleasure.

Of course not, both are bad places to be.
I'd rather look/wait for a job I'd like to do and if I need support til I find one, then be it.

Jobs aren't for pleasure? Bollix to that. if you dont get pleasure from doing your job, whats the point?

krudler

Dean09 wrote: »

I hate my job with a passion. There's nothing I hate more than what I do for a living. Everyday is torture and it's depressing me to come in to work everyday. It's utterly soul destroying and I'm on the verge of going postal.
Problem is, I can't afford to quit so I'm stuck here till I find something else.

same, interviewed for somewhere else who only told me afterwards they had finished hiring for the moment and would let me know when they would be again, ffs :rolleyes: looking more and more likely going abroad is the way to go, have nothing keeping me here

summerskin

Yakult wrote: »

summerskin wrote: »

So you'd rather be a drain on the state and drive taxes up for the rest of us than knuckle down and work for a living? What a wonderful person you must be.

Jobs aren't for pleasure, they are a means to an end. Hobbies are for pleasure.

Of course not, both are bad places to be.
I'd rather look/wait for a job I'd like to do and if I need support til I find one, then be it.

I'm guessing you are under 25 and still live at home? Either that or a student.

Either way, get yourself a job and stop making the rest of us support your world of Warcraft subscription.

Most of the workforce don't enjoy their jobs, but do it to support families or themselves without being a useless leech. Work to live. We use our earnings to fund our hobbies and interests that make life worth living.

Grow up.

steve9859

foxyboxer wrote: »

There's a test for this.

If you'd rather stay in bed all day and watch Jeremy Kyle then your ideal role is on the dole.

Simple.

Except that if that is what you want to do, your dole is going to get taken away (and the sooner they get on with doing that, the better)

Sleepy

Yakult wrote:

Of course not, both are bad places to be.
I'd rather look/wait for a job I'd like to do and if I need support til I find one, then be it.

Jobs aren't for pleasure? Bollix to that. if you dont get pleasure from doing your job, whats the point?

You get to say you're not a parasite for a start.

gbee

I was passionate about photography, got some work in the early days and it just spoilt it for me so I got a series of jobs pumping gas, van assistant, forks driver, tyre fitter two counts at store manger and ended my working career as a 24hr breakdown service.

Used my redundancy to set up my own little business, in photography, but that has become work and it ain't giving a weekly like the others did ~ am looking for van driving job again ....

starbelgrade

summerskin wrote: »

Jobs aren't for pleasure, they are a means to an end. Hobbies are for pleasure.

I don't think it's as black & white as that. Employment certainly provides a means to an end, but in order to be happy in life and successful in your career, you need to gain a good modicum of pleasure or satisfaction from your work.

There are times when you will work at anything to put bread on the table, but long term, those type of jobs are unsustainable for your well being.

Big Nasty

sbsquarepants wrote: »

This is wishfull thinking bullshít to be honest. There aren't too many people in Ireland who get to do something they are passionate about for a living. The vast majority end up doing something they can tolerate in order to pay their bills. In less fortunate countries it's probably something they can't even tolerate, but must do to survive.

It's pretty depressing to think that most people are doing a job they can just about tollerate in order to cover the bills. There's something very wrong with our schooling / career guidance system so.

thebigbiffo

Love my job. Work on the commercial side of media for a relatively good wage. Problem? My boss is a c'unt and he's ruining my life.

Terrible that I'm actively considering leaving a job I'm excellent at, in a company I really like with colleagues I respect because I refuse to fawn all over some jumped up git with a bigger ego than Stalin - and the lack of f'ucking conscience to match. That's what I get for having too much pride to kiss ass like a pornstar. Feeling a lot like McNulty from The Wire recently.

/rant

foxyboxer

MCMLXXV wrote: »

It's pretty depressing to think that most people are doing a job they can just about tollerate in order to cover the bills. There's something very wrong with our schooling / career guidance system so.

Our education system does groom people to become employees and not (self) employers.

Yakult

summerskin wrote: »

I'm guessing you are under 25 and still live at home? Either that or a student.

Either way, get yourself a job and stop making the rest of us support your world of Warcraft subscription.

Most of the workforce don't enjoy their jobs, but do it to support families or themselves without being a useless leech. Work to live. We use our earnings to fund our hobbies and interests that make life worth living.

Grow up.

You don't even know me, so **** off with your stereotyping b/s!
Part-time job + student btw and don't play that game.

Theirs no wrong answer, if I want to work a job I have passion about or get enjoyment out of, who are you to tell me different?

Big Nasty

foxyboxer wrote: »

Our education system does groom people to become employees and not (self) employers.

Yeah but the point is you're sat down at 15/16 and made fill out CAO / CAS forms and there's a good chance you won't have a whole lot of interest in the choices you're making.

Wouldn't it be a whole lot better if you were sat down when you begin secondary and asked 'what do you want to do when you grow up'? I'm not saying an 11/12 year old can possibly know what they want to do with the rest of their life but there's a strong chance they will have already developed passions that they will persue for much of their life.

For example if the 11/12 year old answered 'I want to be a race car driver' they're obviously in to cars. Even though that would be a very difficult career to persue a good guidance counsellor would (IMO) advise that they take metalwork and woodwork as opposed to geography and French or whatever. They should also advise the child to look forward to getting a part time / summer job at the nearest karting track (karting is where many race drivers begin their careers). The kid is now persuing their current passion and has a much better chance of following their chosen or at least related career. By the time the kid hits 15/16 and it's CAO / CAS time they might realise that racing driving is a bit of a long shot but mechanical engineering or automotive design would enable them to work in an industry they are passionate about.

This is not what's happening in this country IMO. Instead it appears there's a lot of people out there doing jobs they don't relate to in order to cover the bills. Has to be more to life than that.

robbie_998

call center agent.

do i have to say anymore ? :mad:

But im keeping it. better than nothing but i do want something better.

cant bear to be unemployed and the max ive ever being unemployed for was 2 weeks and i never claimed anything.

Sleepy

MCMLXXV wrote: »

It's pretty depressing to think that most people are doing a job they can just about tollerate in order to cover the bills. There's something very wrong with our schooling / career guidance system so.

Yes and no. If we all got to do our dream job, who'd do the stuff society needs in order to function or an economy needs in order to grow?

Some lucky people get to do jobs they're passionate about. Usually, those who are talented enough or work hard enough (or more typically both in my experience). The rest of us need to do what we need to do to survive.

No one dreams of doing credit control, helpdesk support, financial system implementation, administration, auditing, etc. They all need to be done by someone though. Conversely, whilst so many people dream about being a TV presenter, model, actress, barrister, policeman, author, teacher, surf instructor, fireman, dolphin trainer, video game reviewer or (my own ideal) newspaper columnist we don't all get to be. Society couldn't function if all the people who wanted to do these things had our dream jobs.

Yakult wrote: »

You don't even know me, so **** off with your stereotyping b/s!
Part-time job + student btw and don't play that game.

Theirs no wrong answer, if I want to work a job I have passion about or get enjoyment out of, who are you to tell me different?

I'm guessing he/she's a representative of the group who'll be paying your dole if you believe you're entitled to sit on it waiting for your dream job to materialise.

Big Nasty

robbie_998 wrote: »

call center agent.

do i have to say anymore ? :mad:

But im keeping it. better than nothing but i do want something better.

cant bear to be unemployed and the max ive ever being unemployed for was 2 weeks and i never claimed anything.

Can I ask you how old you are Robbie? I know you're in to cars but what other passions do you have? What would you like to do for a living?

Big Nasty

Sleepy wrote: »

Yes and no. If we all got to do our dream job, who'd do the stuff society needs in order to function or an economy needs in order to grow?

As boring as it might sound to you or me there are people out there who WANT to be accountants.

Like the grease monkey example ones dream job does not have to be an actor or whatever, everyone has their own level, we're just for the most part in the wrong job as far as I can see.

summerskin

Yakult wrote: »

summerskin wrote: »

I'm guessing you are under 25 and still live at home? Either that or a student.

Either way, get yourself a job and stop making the rest of us support your world of Warcraft subscription.

Most of the workforce don't enjoy their jobs, but do it to support families or themselves without being a useless leech. Work to live. We use our earnings to fund our hobbies and interests that make life worth living.

Grow up.

You don't even know me, so **** off with your stereotyping b/s!
Part-time job + student btw and don't play that game.

Theirs no wrong answer, if I want to work a job I have passion about or get enjoyment out of, who are you to tell me different?

Looks like i was quite accurate. Can't wait until you have to enter the real world and get those ideals knocked out of you. We can't all be astronauts and rocks stars, son.

Some of us have to pay €25k+ a year in taxes to fund layabouts who want the world handed to them to fulfill their "passion".

Start contributing and realise that if everyone worked their dream job, society would collapse.

themadchef

God i love my job.

It comes before alot of things, and it eats into my time with my children. In fairness i had it before i had my kids and i will have it after they fúck off to college.... kinda helps to feed them too.

It keeps me sane, it keeps me focused, it keeps me passionate about life. The day you lose that kind of passion in our industry you hang up your apron, or you watch your business fold regardless.


So yeah, this is the right job for me, though i think i could have turned my hand to most things as im a fairly determined person.

robbie_998

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Can I ask you how old you are Robbie? I know you're in to cars but what other passions do you have? What would you like to do for a living?

on 20 man.

yes i do enjoy cars and driving - would be happy with a driving job but the expense of using my own car aswell for working it might not be worth it.

was considering the other day doing deliveries for a chipper or something but dunno if it wouldve being worth it fuel wise.

other interesets, working towards management/supervisor.

dont think i qulify to be a garda

i dunno. i wouldnt mind many things.

i just hate that in my current job i say the exact same lines atleast 100 tims a day. the exact same script !

but i'd rather do it than nothing

Bad Panda

I think I'm in the right job.

Took a year off a while ago and filled my days maintaining an interest/gaining aspirations in what I'm doing now.

Looking to expand my horizons over the next two years which I'm looking forward to. Aside from learning something new, I'll be very comfortable for the rest of my life.

The money side is very important to me too as it will enable me to live the life I want and the life I want for my family if I ever have one.

mysteries1984

themadchef wrote: »

God i love my job.

It comes before alot of things, and it eats into my time with my children. In fairness i had it before i had my kids and i will have it after they fúck off to college.... kinda helps to feed them too.

It keeps me sane, it keeps me focused, it keeps me passionate about life. The day you lose that kind of passion in our industry you hang up your apron, or you watch your business fold regardless.


So yeah, this is the right job for me, though i think i could have turned my hand to most things as im a fairly determined person.

Had to read that twice while thinking 'when is he going to tell us what job he's in?'

D'oh!

I have an office job. It pays the bills, not a lot else, but am I happy? For the time being, yes. It's varied enough so it doesn't feel like a desk job and I have a great office view (when your last job was in a windowless shed in an industrial estate, these things matter). My dream job is a few years away yet so for now I'm doing just fine where I am, luckily.

plys

When I hear the phrase 'Work to Live', I think of bohemian types who are less materialistic and more apathetic towards their employment/employer/career. :cool:

When I hear the phrase 'Live to Work', I think more of driven, motivated go-getters who sacrifice family and social life to spend time at work, or thinking about their job/career. :eek:

Both of the above are, in fact, polar extremes on a fairly wide spectrum. Most people fall between these two categories.

I personally fell into the job I'm in by pure chance, but I actually turned out to be quite good at it. I get paid reasonably well and, although I've had a few obstacles along the way, I have managed to build a fairly decent career for myself. I work 60+ hours a week (on salary, no overtime), and would have very little time for anything else eg hobbies etc.

Maybe this sounds a little like I live to work, but I believe I work to live.

IMHO anybody who works at their hobby, is bound to get a bit frustrated at times, and lose interest in said hobby too. There are very few jobs/careers which do not bring with them some sort of monotony/repetition/frustration. Even the artist selling out of a small studio in the Ring of Kerry has to deal with the occasional 'customer', and customers, as we know, can be notoriously unpleasant...

Big Nasty

robbie_998 wrote: »

on 20 man.

yes i do enjoy cars and driving - would be happy with a driving job but the expense of using my own car aswell for working it might not be worth it.

was considering the other day doing deliveries for a chipper or something but dunno if it wouldve being worth it fuel wise.

other interesets, working towards management/supervisor.

dont think i qulify to be a garda

i dunno. i wouldnt mind many things.

i just hate that in my current job i say the exact same lines atleast 100 tims a day. the exact same script !

but i'd rather do it than nothing

You seem very undecided dude and you're young enough to do whatever you want. It's one thing saying 'I wouldn't mind many things' but there has to be something out there you would really, really like to do, something that you are passionate about.

Rob67

My job is unbearably tedious, it also involves night shifts which makes it unbearably tedious and (seemingly) interminably long.

I would love to work in another area of the same industry but having no luck finding a position as they rarely come up and usually go to internal candidates.

Having said that, I have always done what was necessary to earn a wage and support my family, not what I would prefer to do.

Someday...

foxyboxer

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Yeah but the point is you're sat down at 15/16 and made fill out CAO / CAS forms and there's a good chance you won't have a whole lot of interest in the choices you're making.

Wouldn't it be a whole lot better if you were sat down when you begin secondary and asked 'what do you want to do when you grow up'? I'm not saying an 11/12 year old can possibly know what they want to do with the rest of their life but there's a strong chance they will have already developed passions that they will persue for much of their life.

For example if the 11/12 year old answered 'I want to be a race car driver' they're obviously in to cars. Even though that would be a very difficult career to persue a good guidance counsellor would (IMO) advise that they take metalwork and woodwork as opposed to geography and French or whatever. They should also advise the child to look forward to getting a part time / summer job at the nearest karting track (karting is where many race drivers begin their careers). The kid is now persuing their current passion and has a much better chance of following their chosen or at least related career. By the time the kid hits 15/16 and it's CAO / CAS time they might realise that racing driving is a bit of a long shot but mechanical engineering or automotive design would enable them to work in an industry they are passionate about.

This is not what's happening in this country IMO. Instead it appears there's a lot of people out there doing jobs they don't relate to in order to cover the bills. Has to be more to life than that.

Who hasn't said something along the lines of "If I had my time over I'd do x y z"

The point about the education system is that perhaps the educators themselves have asked themselves that same question and might suggest changes based on their own experiences.
Imagine leaving school with a basic grasp of Law, Tax, Finance and Politics. Schooled ignorance indeed.

IMO once a person can read, write and do arithmetic then they are 'educated'.

In an ideal world, secondary 'school' would be targeted towards specific field and entrance exams would consist of interviews with the students and parents in what they are interested in. Psychometric exams might take place to determine suitablility. So someone who is good at mathematics would spend 5 years working on projects and subjects geared towards honing those skills or someone who is good at languages would spend 5 years learning various languages.

Fat chance of that happening though.
I suggest this because I recall a friend in Secondary school who faced the post Junior Cert choice of French or German and Geography or Chemistry conundrum. Being good at languages his parents suggested the possibility of him doing both French and German instead of the compulsory Accountancy. However, as luck would have it the French and German classes were at the same time and the request could not be accomodated. What a surprise. He ended up having to do the Accountancy class along with everyone else.

Gummy Panda

I don't mind my job because of my work colleagues. They're alright otherwise the job would be shít

robbie_998

MCMLXXV wrote: »

You seem very undecided dude and you're young enough to do whatever you want. It's one thing saying 'I wouldn't mind many things' but there has to be something out there you would really, really like to do, something that you are passionate about.

I would like to do something driving - as a preference but theres not many driving jobs out there when you look at it.

as for payment - i'm already on min wage so whereever i end up i would be better off either way.

but i remember doing a thing in secondary school a few years ago where you filled out a form and it came back with your best preferred job based on your questions.

i got all the driving jobs like Taxi, limo, train, private, car dealer (sales), etc. so would be happy with them i guess.

just on some of them i am restricted due to age etc. like taxi, age and expense to get into it.

others id like would be accountant etc.

just cant be stuck in a dead end min wage job to be honest.

Friel

I was in a job that was more a stepping stone for something bigger, so at my age it was the right job. But then I got redeployed and now my job is sh*te. Definitely not where I want to be.

Chuck Stone

emzolita wrote: »

No. I wanna be a baker/confectioner, it used to be a trade that you could learn, but nowadays, you need to have a degree in pastry arts to do it.

Please tell me this is some kind of joke?

Big Nasty

robbie_998 wrote: »

I would like to do something driving - as a preference but theres not many driving jobs out there when you look at it.

as for payment - i'm already on min wage so whereever i end up i would be better off either way.

but i remember doing a thing in secondary school a few years ago where you filled out a form and it came back with your best preferred job based on your questions.

i got all the driving jobs like Taxi, limo, train, private, car dealer (sales), etc. so would be happy with them i guess.

just on some of them i am restricted due to age etc. like taxi, age and expense to get into it.

others id like would be accountant etc.

just cant be stuck in a dead end min wage job to be honest.

Car Sales Entry Level Position

Or would you be interested in apprentice mechanic?

robbie_998

[QUOTE=MCMLXXV;7745307[/QUOTE]

applied for that last week.

but nice find !

applying again wont do any harm

(just take it down so nobody else see's :pac: )

cassElliot

i want to be in the right job.. i'm the wrong side of my 20's now and doing a phd to get to where i want to work. i've been turned down for funding (thanks recession) and am surviving on fresh air at the minute. i have to work from home (cant afford bus fare) so have made no friends in the new college i'm in.

i do feel envious of my friends who have full time jobs, a good wage, even though they complain about how stressful their jobs are. its hard not to, i want a certain kind of job but i feel like the means i have to go through to get it are having serious negative effects on my life. everything will be delayed while i'm in college, owning my own home, getting engaged, the list goes on.


the grass is always greener i suppose.

Big Nasty

Do any of the people saying they are unhappy in their jobs know what they would actually like / love to be working at?

Would anyone be prepared to throw the towel in in your current job to go chase that profession?

How would doing this affect you financially?

Has anyone ever done it - how did it work out?

Sykk

Yakult wrote: »

Don't know why you would do something that you have no passion for. Done it before and will not do it again. Would rather stay unemployed than waste my life doing something I don't even like.

How ridiculous.

No one likes going to bloody work. If everyone had your attitude where would your precious dole and benefits come from...

wexie

foxyboxer wrote: »

In an ideal world, secondary 'school' would be targeted towards specific field and entrance exams would consist of interviews with the students and parents in what they are interested in. Psychometric exams might take place to determine suitablility. So someone who is good at mathematics would spend 5 years working on projects and subjects geared towards honing those skills or someone who is good at languages would spend 5 years learning various languages.

you're assuming here that 'being good at' equates 'wanting to do it' which is a pretty big leap of faith. I agree that in most cases to be good at something you need to have the drive and energy to become good at it but this isnt always the case.

I can't be the only one in a job they're good at but don't particularly like?

wexie

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Do any of the people saying they are unhappy in their jobs know what they would actually like / love to be working at? I've a few options that I'd go with if I got the chance.

Would anyone be prepared to throw the towel in in your current job to go chase that profession? If it was just myself....would have done it a long time ago, whoever once a wife and kids come along this is a pretty big (and terrifying) step to take.

How would doing this affect you financially? Financial ruin, which isn't really something I could put my family through. Guess I'll just end up being the weird older guy in college once the kids are off on their own

But, that's just me and the choices I make, don't by any means let that put anybody off chasing the dream. A friend of the family used to be a very well paid executive of a financial institutions (not in this country stop your ranting) and one day decided to pack it all in and is now happy as larry being a kindergarten teacher.

There are examples out there of people doing this succesfully.