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Let's talk about jobs. Are you just working a day-to-day or have you found your calling?
Personally, I feel like I'm in between. I started off as a Manufacturing Engineer, and something just didn't feel right. I sort of fell backwards into Health and Safety, and I love the field, but it's yet another job where you've got to be the bad guy. My mission is to have people believe that I really care about their safety, not some arbitrary numbers.
How about you? What's your favorite part of your job? Least favorite?
I think I got absurdly lucky. My first job out of college and I love it. In house software dev and support for a building full of engineers, making small tools and ssrs reports for pulling data out in a readable fashion. I've had nothing but fun here so far. I haven't gotten to actually try a normal software dev job, but I feel like this is better because my customer is Steve down the hall and when I need to get user feedback I just go get it instead of sitting somewhere typing code all day that I won't ever get to see real people use because my portion is just a tiny function of a huge system or something. I had friends that went to work at ATT and shit, that sounds horrid to me.
My least favourite part is that I live like an hour away. But that can be fixed.
Well you definitely got lucky.
I'm at my, 6th, 7th job? but it's definitely similar to yours.
I went through small companies (literally 3 people) to one-man company with big ideas but in the end they were all con-man at worst or people that just were acting like they knew what they were doing but the reality was that they were just trying to get enough money to go by.
I accepted this last job in a no-profit regulatory agency in the betting industry and the IT team is basically 2 people plus me. I get to take all the decision on the frontend even if my true calling is the backend but with my experience I can easily cover both roles and something in the devops department.
The good part is that we build web-software used internally by our colleagues in the office or in the field (so mobile responsive for now, native mobile in the future). We don't have pushy managers or blatant 2 days deadline masked behind an "agile approach". We take feedback directly from the people who will use our product. Sometimes we get to tell them that the solution we designed is better than what they require for this and that reason, some other time we just decide that it's not worth to convince them and just do what they want.
It's not a stressing environment and I get to experiment with new-ish technologies (for me) like finally having the time to plan an Angular 5 application when in the previous company that was barely time to move from an AngularJS 1.4 to 1.6.
Also the time management is quite flexible. While not on paper, we don't have problem organizing ourself if someone need to work from home for a couple of days a week.
All in all is really a good place and I hope to be able to make it my job "till the pension" as I've had enough of startup email covered in hashtag and useless meeting to just boost morale.
The only bad part for me is that I miss the thrill of being on the "market" sometimes. Basically sometimes I'd like to make some product really shine but the colleagues remind me that in the end we don't have to compete with anyone so a more modest version is "good enough". I hate "good enough" but I know they're right and that "thrill" was ruining my private life and health so... you know :)
Oh and yeah, 1h - 1.5h of commute for me too.
That's so awesome! It is really nice to be able to get immediate (relative) feedback from customers. That's one of the things I liked about Manufacturing vs Design engineering.
That sounds like a tough commute. Any plans to move closer?
No hard plans becuase its just so much cheaper to live at home, but I would love to move closer once I save a bunch.
I feel like I have definitely found my calling. I am an informal educator at an Aquarium, which basically means I teach classes in an unstructured format on a wide variety of topics mostly of my choosing. The pay is pretty shitty, I'm never going to be rich. But I absolutely love my job, so as long as I can pay the bills I'm happy.
That sounds so cool! Do you teach all ages or mostly children?
What are your favorite aquarium- dwellers?
I've always been a big fan of sharks, but i work directly more with smaller animals like reptiles and amphibians. Eventually I'll get checked off and work with large reptiles and our mammals and birds.
I work with all ages, pre-k to college. It just depends upon what I've been assigned that day.
I'm a strange case in that I had my dream job and willingly gave it up, though I don't regret it. As a graduate research assistant, I got to realize my dream of conducting a search for extrasolar planets. I was a research assistant, but it was my project. I had always been fascinated by extrasolar planets and to work on an actual research project was a dream come true.
However, I had to decide whether to stay in academia and pursue a PhD, or to accept a good offer in the private sector as a software engineer. I chose the latter, for a variety of reasons. I now have a different kind of dream job. I work from home as a salaried employee, and can basically work how much I want, when I want. It certainly doesn't feel like my calling, like the Astronomy did, but you just can't get a better work/life balance than what I have now.
Those both sound awesome! Think you'll go back to astronomy someday? Or keep it as a hobby?
I've thought about that a lot. I don't think I'll go back into academia. I've laid out some general plans to build an observatory using a mix of private and public funds. The plan would be to have it open to the public on certain nights, and used for research on the others. However, due to other happenings in my life, these plans are still only on paper.
I'm one of the lucky ones who found my calling early on. Or maybe it found me.
I started playing the drums at 11 years old and did my first paying gig in high school. Then when I went to college I joined the school's radio station. I have been doing those two things ever since - full time as a radio guy, part time as a musician. In the radio world I'm an engineer and studio/operations manager, and in the past I have been a DJ and news announcer as well. I have worked for several nationally recognized radio stations and networks. The one I'm with now is also a leading podcast producer. It feels like I'm at or near the top of this industry, I'm respected by my colleagues and I mostly enjoy the work. I work with amazing journalists and get to meet musicians, movie stars, scientists, authors, etc. It's a really cool job and it's what I have wanted to do pretty much from the first day I walked into that radio station back in college.
The day job also allows me the flexibility to pursue that other thing I do, playing the drums, mostly jazz and funk. These days I'm gigging anywhere from two to ten times per month. I have a standing twice-a-month gig at a piano bar with a jazz trio, and a bunch of other creative projects that cycle in and out of the schedule, along with some weddings, private parties and the occasional recording session. I'm even producing an album next month - a first for me. The money from all these gigs isn't enough to pay the bills but it's a nice supplement to the day job. And it's tons of fun, with a never-ending supply of crazy experiences.
Does it feel good to be at the top, or stifling? Do you feel like you will have the room to grow (if you want)?
That sounds awesome. Producing an album sounds like a lot of work!
Not stifling at all these days! At times it's very challenging and stimulating. I'm working with some of the best producers and engineers around, and the nature of my job is such that I'm rarely doing the same thing for more than two or three days in a row. There are plenty of opportunities to pick up new skills and work on creative content. There have been periods when I have felt like I was just kind of spinning my wheels and not really getting anywhere, but that was usually attributable to having a lousy control freak manager who couldn't handle the concept of multi-tasking. Thankfully I got out of that situation recently and now I'm working for someone who understands how to make good use of my skill set.
As for the album - not quite as much work as it sounds. The composer is doing most of the leg work with arrangements and booking the musicians. I'm handling studio booking and some engineering, and serving as a critical listener when it comes time to pick the best takes and decide on final song selection. (And also playing some drums and percussion, of course.)
I've had literally about 50 jobs. Done just about everything that can be done without a college degree. Thought I'd die broke and full of hate for anyone that loved what they do.
Over the last decade, though, I've been working three jobs: part time at a book store, gigging in rock bands that actually pay well, and teaching guitar. It's a lot to juggle for sure but I genuinely love doing all three of those things. Couldn't be happier.
Sounds like you're living the dream! Awesome.
I've had 2 jobs so far. My first job, I worked for 3 years at the USDA in a lab as an aide doing research on plant viruses. I would have stayed there forever if they had let me, but they ran out of funding for the position and had to let me go. I still hurt when thinking about not being there anymore.
The job I have now is...not as desirable. My position title is "bioinformatics analyst", the work is called gene annotation. It's tedious, it's unrewarding, it's extremely part-time, it's computer work, and it pays less than I was getting before, despite this work being actual skilled labor.
I'm job hunting now for the kind of position I had before, working in a biological lab doing fun hands-on biotech stuff.
Oh that sounds so rough. I have gotten let go due to business conditions and it sucks. I even hated that job and I still get twinges of embarrassment when i think about it.
Good luck on your search! Are there a lot of jobs where you are?
I totally relate to the embarrassment, and generally avoid discussing career stuff with people close to me.
As for jobs where I am...my city is the biotech-startup failure capital lol. Look anywhere 40 miles outside of the city and there is potential work. Except those positions are now highly competitive because of influx of molecular/biotech grads >:c
What an excellent discussion! I have been pondering this very thing recently as I decide what I want the next half of my life to look like.
I did the college route, business degree, accounting graduate work, CPA license... and found the employers, employees and clients immoral and only focused on the next quarterly results. It turns out that I want to feel like I'm doing good work for others and the communiy/world at large. Huh, go figure.
Now, I have to decide if I want to try again (maybe govt or non-profit) or take a different path. Feeling too old and financially behind to do another round of college, but also want a job/career I can age with and still do at 65+. So, i ponder.
Found my calling and now need to work a little more to get where I want to be, I'm an Endorsed Enrolled nurse (diploma of nursing. In Australia) working in aged care nursing is definitely for me, I want to work in mental health but need to be a Registered nurse for that (bachelor's degree) so the plan is back to Uni once enrollment opens then the two year study / grad year will begin.
Worst part of my job is never knowing what to say to family members once their loved one passes. I hate that part
Wow! That is so nice. When you work in the mental health field, will you still want to work in aged care? (I assume that means working with the elderly?)
I can't imagine how hard it is to be around death that often. Most be emotionally draining sometimes. Do you form attachments with your patients? Do you ever have to be the one to tell family their loved one has died? Do you feel like I'm interrogating you? ;-)
Mental health nursing and General nursing are like night and day, if you don't keep the general skills up you can lose them. I was told "you're only a mental health nurse until you're a patient" lol so I might have to keep the general side up.
Being around death so much you become sort of numb to it, for most it's a relief they have let go because the last few weeks are utterly horrible. I have actually had to tell a family member their parent had passed and it's worse than you can imagine. I've cleaned people after they just passed and the cherry on it all was the day a lady died in my arms now that was rough.
lol not interrogating at all :) I'm very open (where I can) with my work because it's such a different thing, each day has something I've never done before so always learning is great
dammit missed a few things. aged care is working with the elderly, most of my residents are 80+ one is 106!
Oh and the stories some of them tell.. some are terrifying and others are so amazing it makes up for the nightmare fuel
106??? Wow! A woman?
I can only imagine. How many of them still have their mental faculties pretty much intact?
yep a lady, she is the oldest person I've cared for so far.
the last facility I was at was far more demanding care wise and mentally draining, the residents over there were all together, this new place has a secure dementia unit so a lot of the residents are actually still with it.
some do present better than they actually are so you do need to very aware
I used to be a day to day cube fiend until 3 years ago or so. I went into BI & Practice Consulting and Auditing and haven't looked back. Huge difference in lifestyle and satisfaction.
Went from working in a corp with 120,000+ people to a start up with 20. Went from feeling like a wage slave to finding a real pleasant zen. I found actual Ikigai, without having to suffer from 50+ hour work weeks. Being able to work 35 and live well off of it is a real positive point.
More money, more engagement, more self-improvement. Best part, WAY more respect from clients and people you collaborate with. Sometimes taking that iffy, risky jump pays off, and I'm both happy and lucky it did.
lkigai?
Ikigai = a reason for being/a reason to live/one's motivation
Good read:
https://medium.com/thrive-global/ikigai-the-japanese-secret-to-a-long-and-happy-life-might-just-help-you-live-a-more-fulfilling-9871d01992b7
Ikigai is a Japanese concept of finding your zen-center among your work. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikigai)
While I don't advocate for a Japanese-cultural approach to work, I do find the concept of ikigai to be important. It's something I enjoy, am passionate about, is in great demand in the market and is sufficiently lucrative for me to live comfortably.
A very rare balance.
That's great! Man, all you people with your lives figured out!
Were you scared to jump into a startup?
Very. I spent about 20 or so years working in super-large corporations, all of them 25,000 employees or larger. There's a very comfortable stability in being seated in a big corp (at least in a position that is not likely to be affected by downsizing), but a lot of big boxes like that are both slow moving and very sterile in their approach to their employees. Sure, corp-culture tries to combat it by trying to engage their employees, but all the engagement in the world falls flat if the corp isn't keeping its employees happy on a salary-to-workload approach.
They reached out to me to join them twice. I turned it down first time due to a lack of intestinal fortitude, I accepted the second time because they upped their offer and I was also very dissatisfied with Oracle at the time.
I should have joined the first time, but startups are always a iffy thing. ALWAYS sit and look at the startup before you join. Go to the office, look at the people more than listen to the line-tow by the bosses. Are the workers genuinely happy looking? Does the place look well organized? Can they clearly define their vision and expectations to you?
If so, you may be in for a damn fine adventure. I went from being 44 hours per week + weekend on call rotation to 35 hours per week and travel the world on client's dime.
Not a bad trade if you don't mind the travel.
I work in government but I'm in a department that's about digital transformation—essentially bringing government into the modern tech landscape. It's a slow, arduous, Sisyphean prospect but very rewarding and very satisfying when you finally get something out the door.
Where I work offers a lot of good opportunities for growth too. They picked me up as just a grunt field services desktop support worker and basically gave me control of the entire Operations department. I get to constantly analyze and experiment with new tech and software, write cases for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of it, and work with all kinds of companies that have been trying to break into our Canadian gov sphere, like Slack and GitHub.
I read the first sentence of your comment and thought "wow, that's a herculean task!" Sounds like we're on the same page. :-)
I'm so glad the are people like you, because a lot of the govt agencies I deal with are finally starting to come out with e-reporting, and it's amazing. A little buggy in some cases, but I'm glad they're getting things going.
Cool job!
Thanks! Yeah, I'd say that for everyone person who wishes gov would be more modern, there are five gov workers who wish that even harder. It's a lot of changing the system from the top down. We were very fortunate because we were able to hire our own C-level exec leader instead of having a stodgy old gov type one from the start, so we're protecting in keeping and enforcing our new ways.
Unfortunately, that's also the biggest barrier to getting gov to change quickly. Stodgy old leadership that is highly resistant to change they don't understand.
Crazy! I've been vetting EHS-based LMSs for months! Do you host content, too, i assume? What field is it for?
I can't explain enough how ridiculously spoiled I am at my job. Dream job and then some. Super lucky to have found their ad when I did.
Come on... spill! What is it?
Well the job itself is IT. But the company culture there is basically keep employees forever so gotta keep em happy. They do.
I guess my occupational path is a little...strange. Graduated in 2d art in the middle of being a domestic goddess with offspring. Got small part time jobs here and there like picture framing, shadowbox conservation and teaching workshops while offspring were small. Got a full time cubicle job working with records archives and digitization and a divorce at the same time. Returned to my parents house after launching offspring to help my parents age gracefully.
You could say I'm a professional minion? With art and writing on the side. Work goals in my future? I'm studying Korean to go and teach English there in a couple of years. I'm mostly enjoying it, but it's not exactly traditional! XD
You are killing it, mama! So your kids are all grown now? It sounds like you're an innate caretaker who also knows how to take time for your own well-being which is a rare and wonderful thing.
What's your medium? (Is that a thing? I don't really art) Also, what do you write?
Sounds like you are leading a super interesting life.
I work in watercolour and acrylics. Or just about anything that suits my fancy, really. I have been known to do large interactive pieces, printmaking, and various crafts.
I write poetry, speculative fiction and fantasy. And editing/giving feedback for friends.
My daughter and son are in the post high school stage of finding their own direction. I also call this free range life experiencing, so who knows what they'll end up doing? XD
As to interesting, it's hard to say? Everyone's posts sound really interesting to me! People in general are amazing and facinating, and your host skills are op!
I had my calling before I knew what it even was :)
I've always played around with computers, and my professional career bounced between systems admin & programmer several times before cloud computing became a thing and DevOps reared its misunderstood head. Now I do that for a quickly growing startup and I miss it when I'm on holiday :D
Wow! Now that sounds like a calling! Good on you for finding something you love!
In fact, you sound too happy. So what's your least favorite part of the job? ;-)
That's easy, the fact I have to do it in my non-native language.
The coding/documentation is all English, but I work for a Spanish company based out of Madrid. My Spanish is fluent, but it can still be mentally tiring having all casual conversations all day long in it. The work/life-style is more than worth it though.
Second least favourite thing would have to be that technical work (adding metrics, improving logging, etc) is not seen as important as adding features.
So I left university (CS) after two failed attempts at a first year. I didn't get on with it at all. However, I was fortunate to be considered by a company nearby despite the situation.
I now work at a fairly modern company on a greenfield project, building a web portal for cloud services.
I enjoy the work a lot. I get to go to work at the same time every day. I get to work on a single thing all day many days, and if I do have to context switch, it's because I'm working with colleagues. There's a big focus on team members complementing each other's strengths and weaknesses, meaning I'm not on my own – we all support each other. I'm socialising with colleagues, who have fairly similar interests and who I can speak with on a technical level. I get home, and I have no homework or essays to write, and I am earning money that allows me to afford some fun hobbies too.
The company makes a real effort to improve employee happiness: monthly (or even more frequently) social events, ability to work remotely sometimes, various benefits, taking feedback seriously.
All in all, I'm incredibly happy about my situation, compared to where I was two years ago. I'm grateful to the people who helped me succeed despite my falling off the normal academic path, and who supported me on the way.
I have a feeling that staying here indefinitely won't be possible, and probably won't be helping my career. However, given how well it's working, I don't want to leave any time soon.
You sound very happy! Is the work you're doing still in the CS field?
It is! It's not as academic a role as me and my ego expected to have after graduating university, but I do get to work on technically challenging things, and enjoy it immensely.
In fact, I have the same "problem" as someone who replied above: when I take holidays, I miss it. I've ended up not taking even a quarter of my holiday time this year so far, so I need to make sure to do that too.
Thanks for taking the time to reply to people here.
I manage a mental health and chemical dependence practice. Second job out of college relatively young for the position. At first I felt really cool in my career field, and while I certainly enjoy helping people I am also at a point where nothing new happens, I've seen and dealt with a majority of what can go wrong and there is no further opportuy for advancement in my position. Now I am just working day to day trying to find the courage to move on from what in all respects I consider to be a good job.
I'm sure that could get very draining!
What job would be even better for you?
I just accepted a job after graduating with a Math degree. I'll be doing Software Development at a fairly large company. It's one of the top 30 places to work according to Forbes so I'm optimistic. It's not a flashy job necessarily, but what's much more important to me is how the company treats employees.
Congrats on the job! Did you do a compsci minor?
Thanks! I actually started out in comp sci, but I wasn't too studious my first couple years so I didn't get accepted into the major. That was a huge kick in the butt, so I chose math which had lower gpa requirements and is another passion of mine and worked on bringing my gpa up to what employers are happy with. Thankfully things worked out such that I graduated on time too.
Lirtep, just wanted you to know that this topic and comments gave me some helpful motivation to apply for a new position, the first time I've done so in a while.
Thanks for the idea and your effort, I enjoyed and benefited from it!
Wow! Great to know! Good luck on your application.
I work in cybersec for a hospital. I'm pretty satisfied with it, but it's too formal for me. Would be nice to have something less formal.
What do you mean by formal? Like start/ end times or the actual work?
Dress code, formalities, strict requirements on college educated staff, etc.
Great question OP!
I'm now in a career that I believe to be my calling. I'm a registered massage therapist. I love it! I may not always be an RMT, but it's definitely on the right path to where I'm headed. Maybe Osteopathy. We'll see.
It took me some time and life experiences to get to this point though, as I'm now in my mid 30's and just recently began my career.
I love the freedom of being able to set my own hours and be in control of my career. I love getting to know my patients well, not just a hi/bye, but really knowing how they're doing.
Its hard on the body, and it can fluctuate as far as patients/week so that's stressful. And I don't like the feeling of not being able to help some people!
So cool. My husband's back is always bothering him and I try to get him to a massage therapist, but he "never has time." We've done couples massages before, but he hasn't gone alone.
I'm glad you love it! I'm sure being the best part of some people's day is fun!
I work at a few different places, one of which is a spa, and my favourite thing about working there is doing couples massages. So sweet to see them both so relaxed, and when they look over at the other to see how they're doing. I love it :)
I could see how it may be intimidating to be vulnerable on a table with a stranger, so anything to lower the barriers to entry can help. I'm male, so I find that can be especially intimidating for people. Good luck getting him to go!
I'm sure it is! I selected no preference on the gender question when I signed up as a member at the spa I go to. I was immediately paired up with a male therapist. It made me wonder if it's more difficult for men to get clients!
From my experience I think it is harder for men to get clients. I'm coming up on my first full year as an RMT, and I'm still trying to build up, whereas females who graduated with me are fully booked, and were so within a few months.
I'm definitely busy enough to pay bills and pay down student loans though, so I'm staying positive :)
A fellow student here, worked before. I liked programming that much, that I started studying, so I can get better in many aspects, especially programming of course, but also learning new stuff, as I struggled a bit with getting into new topics while programming.
Hope y'all find your way :)
Oops, I may have worded that poorly. I graduated about 5 years ago. Worked as a Mfg Engineer, then started working in EHS. :-)
Programming is so fascinating to me, but i only have a general knowledge about it. What is your dream job in programming?
Well now I'm absolutely confused.
Is this the correct comment chain? Did I reply to the wrong comment? Or did I understood your question wrong?
Edit: guess I got your question wrong. Was confused from another answer. Was not that active on any platform ever.
Anyway I'm not quite sure where to go, I'd filter out frontend and databases to be broad, but backend is a huge topic, and unfortunately I find most of the stuff interesting on its own. I want to code another game, doing multiple projects in different aspects and so on. Hope I find something I get hooked on, or I'll get a jack of all trades but a master of none shrugging shoulders.
Currently getting an eye on architecture and planning huge systems, as it's really draining my brainpower, and that's what got me hooked to programming at the beginning :)