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At what stage does happiness come first?

  • 03-07-2015 02:33PM
    #1
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 166,012 ✭✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    So long story short - I emigrated to the UK from Dublin early last year. I did so because the graduate jobs that I wanted weren't there. There were a few other things such as strife in the family home and a slight sports injury that I received prevented me from working the part-time job that I did have.

    I am on a graduate programme in the UK. As part of this programme, I have been moved to a regional city. I am alone and I feel isolated. I have been here 10 months already and I have to stay another 8 months. After that, it will be another 18 months in London. The total grad programme is 3 years long. I am completing a Masters currently as part of the programme but it is not in an industry I like or want to particularly stay in (HRM). It is the ONLY thing keeping me here.

    Recently I went home due to a family bereavement and could see that Dublin is hopping now. I miss my family very much and I see that the jobs situation in Dublin is getting better.

    Currently, the last 10 months of my life, I have been working. I have little love for the organisation that I work for, it is a means to an end. I have very little 'life' here but I am cracking on because of potential prospects after the programme. I will be going back to Dublin after the programme anyway - no question about that.

    Right now I am very close to packing it in and returning to Dublin. It may not be the right choice career-wise but I am NOT happy here. I feel like I'm writing off 3 years of my life for a masters.

    At what stage does happiness outweigh career/professional development? How would you react - what would you do?

    Thanks guys.


Comments

  • #2
    Mr. Incognito
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,798 ✭✭✭Mr. Incognito


    No one here can tell you the right decision for you- only you can


  • #3
    iusedtoknow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭iusedtoknow


    notreallyhappy wrote: »

    At what stage does happiness outweigh career/professional development? How would you react - what would you do?

    Thanks guys.

    It comes whenever your need for happiness outweighs anything else. Anyone can come and say to stick it out, long term benefits etc. However only you know if you can stick it out AND if you see a future in what you're doing.

    A couple of things though

    1) What will be the repercussions of leaving, will you need to pay anything back to the graduate scheme that you are on, or to the university that you are doing the masters in. Companies invest in people on the understanding they will get a return on this investment. Your contract should clarify this.

    2) Do you have anything in mind that you would prefer to do in Ireland. I've been away from Ireland for coming on 10 years, and while it's hopping now, it is also a country on the upswing from a recession, and as such there is higher competition for positions that are being offered. A friend works as a recruiter for a big firm, and for every position offered they could hire 80% of the applicants due to their experience or qualifications which makes some interview panels extremely difficult.

    What I'm saying OP is, weigh it up - if you can't feel like you can't stick it out, then don't do it to yourself - but make sure you have a solid plan in place for what comes after


  • #4
    stickyfinger
    Closed Accounts Posts: 37 ✭stickyfinger


    If I were in your position I would stay where you are and complete the graduate programme. After it you'll be in a much better position to get a job here or anywhere you like with the masters and 3 years of the graduate programme behind you. Perhaps you need to find more fun things to do where you are and to make more of an effort to meet other people, or else save up for holidays or for doing something you enjoy so you have something else besides work and the masters in your life? At the end of the day in most jobs you have to start at the bottom and put in the grunt work to get more opportunities later. At least once you have experience and more qualifications in the area you want to work in, you can then have a much better chance of going into the industry you want to work in after.

    The grass is often greener. Have a good think about it and ask yourself a few questions, just make sure it's not a case of rose tinted glasses about Ireland. How would being in Dublin make much of a difference? Could you get a job you prefer? Or is it just easier to be in a place where there are more people you know? It's up to you to decide what you think is best but even when in Dublin unless you have a network in it already, it's just as hard to build up a social network as it is anywhere else you might live. There is nothing wrong with either choice you make but as the other poster said make sure you have a plan if you do leave, and it's always easier to get a job when you have a job already.


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