Hi. I’m just testing out the boards. I was curious about something, and just had to ask you all a few questions. I can only hope this hasn’t been asked before.
How many of you think of your job as ‘just a job’ and how many of you see it as a calling? Was this a conscious choice? That is, did you want a job to love or was this not important to you at the time?
With the knowledge you have now, do you think you would have been happier with something else? If so, why?
Now, imagine this: you don’t have to work at all. What would you find yourself doing?
I love my job, and I do believe it’s a calling. I do historical research, particularly into the history of local buildings. It involves something I love doing, and I get immense personal satisfaction from it.
It’s thanks to the knowledge gained from jobs I didn’t love, that I have the enjoyment I have today.
If I didn’t have to work at all? I’d still be writing up historical articles. I’m doomed, I tells ya. It’s my fate.
I love my job. I’m a radio announcer and producer. This is the job I always wanted to have, since I was 13. I got my first job in 1974. I did a lot of other things in the following years, but I happened into this position totally by a stroke of luck, and I could have a job for life at the stations where I work. Radio is what I know how to do, and I like it immensely. Yes, it was a conscious choice. As soon as my voice changed, people said, “hey, you should work in radio!” and at the time, I was fascinated by the prospect. I made friends with DJs and hung out at stations watching them until I learned the trade.
I’ve done enough of other things to know that I wouldn’t rather do any of them again, if I don’t have to. Don’t want to lift heavy things, get all dirty, deal with the public, deal with odious managers, risen to their level of incompetence, who couldn’t find their asses with both hands… now I work with professionals (mostly). It’s a lot better, I gotta tell ya. I would not have been happier doing anything else.
If I didn’t have to work, I’d start my own production facility and do what I do now, anyway.
I like my job. It’s exactly the sort of thing I would do if I didn’t get paid for it (in fact, I have done aspects of it without getting paid for it–not at this position, but as a volunteer).
I don’t love it, and I have had jobs that I both liked more and hated more, at the same time. Challenging but stressful, great job/bad boss, that kind of thing. This one is perfect.
I love my job. I hate some of my working conditions (people, travel, stupid company policys etc)
But overall I gotta tell you I have the best job in the company.
I basically like my job. I like the fact that it’s physically draining – in other words, I don’t need to work out because the work itself is a work out. I like the fact that I can be creative to an extent and “play” with my tools like a little kid in a sandbox. And I’m a sucker for gratuitous praise as in “Oooh, that’s beautiful! You do such nice work!”
What I don’t like? No real intellectual stimulation from either what I’m actually doing or, for the most part, from my coworkers. Some aspects of the industry itself. The feeling, sometimes, that I’m a human robot.
But hey, I’ve been doing this for over 15 years, so the good’s gotta outweigh the bad
I love my job - it was very much my choice to do this. I’m a reference librarian and for me, the people contact is the key part of the job. I switched careers a few years ago from a field where I was miserable - hated the idea of going in, was physically ill every morning before I left the apartment, spent the weekend wishing for some sort of accident that, while it wouldn’t kill me, would leave me with a broken leg or something so I wouldn’t have to go in on Monday.
If I didn’t have to work - I think I’d still end up doing something in libraries. Not full time, but either part time paid or as a volunteer.
I absolutely love my job. I sometimes check the degree on the wall to make sure there wasn’t some mistake made, and that I am just dreaming that I passed the bar exam. My job is intellectually stimulating, challenging, demanding of my time and energy and personally satisfying. I wouldn’t trade it for any other career or job in the world.
I had a career counselor tell me that she didn’t understand why I had chosen this career based on my personality testing. She told me that I should go into the fields of social work, acting or writing. But I get to do all of those things in my chosen career. The courtroom is my stage, I write lots of briefs and I help empower the powerless and facilitate positive change for my clients. Why, I have it all! So, for any of you still deciding what and where you are going in your work path (except you peanuthead ), listen to your own heart and mind.
I even volunteer my time in the type of work I do beyond the regular work hours.
Downside? I will still be paying off my student loans when I am 110 years old. :eek:
What will I do if I ever retire? I will write and paint.
For me, what ParentalAdvisory said. I don’t hate my job - my current one’s way better than the ones I’ve had so far - but I don’t love it either. I’m basically doing it for the money, it’s certainly not my ‘calling’.
Actually I long ago realised that it doesn’t matter how much I love to do something, it would automatically become crap if I had to do it to earn my keep. (oh no, boss, do I have to spend another afternoon playing Civilization?!)
If I had all the money in the world I would spend all my time reading textbooks and papers on maths, science (mainly physics) and philosophy, trying to understand as much as I could, and hopefully one day become the next Einstein . But I’m really glad that I’m jobbing as an accounts clerk and I’m not in academia… because then I would absolutely loathe studying!
I have yet to meet anyone in my line of work for whom it’s a calling. Or at least, if that’s the impression they give, I assume they’re lying .
For the most part, I like what I do. I operate a radio console.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to convince my bosses that they really need a better news operation, and that I’m the right person for that job. Then I’ll have a job I really love.
I’ve had a varied work history that includes fruit picking, kayak manufacturing, boat building, lumber distribution, fish processing, construction surveying, engineering, construction management and blasting.
Two years ago my small business/hobby of fiberglass custom modifications and boat restoration took off when I started to rent a facility in the heart of the boat business location in my area.
Why do I love it?
creativity
2, I’m really good at it.
customer appreciation
employee relationship
Nobody telling me what to do.
The money is pretty damn good.
Ever notice from my posting history that I get up really early. I’m so excited by the challenges of the upcoming day that I can’t sleep past 4 a.m.
Still, if I won the lottery, I’d probably quit. Go figure.
I love my job. Actually, I love the organization I work for and what they do and I’m happy to be a small part of it. I wish I’d known about this organization 25 years ago when I first entered the work force.
Everyday I see my coworkers make small but measurable progress in improving the lives of physically, emotionally, and cognitively challenged children. I LOVE being a small part of their support staff. I especially enjoy the interaction with the kids and their families.
It’s a cool place to be everyday and I plan to retire from there is 20 odd years.
I have two jobs. The one that pays the bills–programming–I don’t hate but I certainly don’t like either. I have a great boss, I get along with my coworkers, and even better, I work part time and telecommute, so the setup is perfect. I’d quit it in a heartbeat if I won the lottery.
My second job is writing, though my professional credits are not numerous. I’m really working hard to get my books published so I can eventually make a livable wage as a writer (that’s my hope, anyway). Writing is something I’d do even if I won the lottery.
There are other jobs I think I’d like: computer researcher for a private investigator and voice actor being two, but I’m not particularly interested in pursuing them.
I dislike working, period. I am a cube-dwelling-bean-counter by day. My current job is just fine; no screaming assholes or intolerable working conditions, and my duties aren’t taxing. I don’t have to work overtime so I am home early enough every day to spend time with my family. That’s more important to me than being the most diligent cube-serf in my sector.
Sometimes I think it’s sad not to be doing what I love as my job, but not too much really because nothing I want to do even remotely resembles work, anyway. So, since I must work, having a job that pays well and doesn’t suck is good enough for me.
I play in a band, writing and singing all the songs, which gives me the creative fulfillment I need, so I don’t sweat not having that in my job.
I love what I do but I don’t always like the situations I am in. I am a Consultant Business/Systems Analyst. I work on making business “systems” more efficient. Usually that includes computers and information flow throughout the company but it often requires analysing all types of people’s jobs and finding out how to make them more efficient. I have worked for a number of Big Name companies and they are all different in terms of personality. I have adored some and deplored others but it is always an adventure. Most of my day depends on solving some type of logical problem and I am usually quite good at it. It is usually intellectually challenging and people tend to respect me as a go-to expert soon after I establish myself at any given company. That part is pretty satisfying. Sometimes I think I want to get out but I soon realize that it is my hobby too. I often find myself at Barnes & Noble reading books semi-related to my field for no other reason than I want to. Family members often make fun of me for “studying” all the time but I read computer manuals and business analysis books like some people watch TV. I have found that when I get dissatisfied at a given job, I can just arrange to move to another company and all is well again for a while. I thrive on change and chaos and don’t like stability so this job is a pretty good fit for me.
. But I’m really glad that I’m jobbing as an accounts clerk and I’m not in academia… because then I would absolutely loathe studying!