Love is a little strong, but I fundamentally like what I do, even if I don’t always enjoy it.
I neither love nor hate my job. It’s okay, it’s something I can tolerate doing for most of my week. When it comes down to it, though, I find I hit a wall because, at the end of the day, I just can’t bring myself to really care. Like when the data becomes available for something I’m working on every week, I’m interested enough to get on it and update my reports and all that. But we are working with a consulting group and one guy who has already moved onto a different portion of the job still checks on the data because he’s genuinely interested to see how it’s unfolding. He just loves it. I see that kind of passion and find myself lacking.
I would love to find something that fulfills me and meets my creative needs and all that. I just have no idea what that is and, with me in my early 30’s, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll likely never find it. Oh well, I guess if it really was as fun as I’d like it to be, they wouldn’t pay me to do it.
I picked my job (teaching) very carefully over a long stretch of time. The place I’m working at now is slowly killing that through politics and stupid administration.
I hate my job. I made a mistake joining my current brokerage firm. I will either find a behind the scenes job or leave the company.
I certainly wasn’t planning on doing tech support for a financial software company when I was a kid (I wanted to be an astronaut), but through a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck I’ve made my way into this profession and I like it a lot.
I’ve got close to my ideal job(s), as an exhibition curator, ornithologist, and writer. While there can be some frustrations, it’s hard to come up with something more interesting. And I’ve known I wanted to be a biologist since I was five.
I love what I do. I feel like it’s what I was meant to do with my life. However, I really rather hate my job–my boss is a high-maintenance micro-managing hypocritical asshole who treats us like incompetent morons. And the only other vet within an hour’s drive is no better, so my choices are to put up with his asinine behavior or not do the work I love. I split the difference by working a day or two a week.
I love my job. I always knew I would teach–there was no “want” about it, every game I played as a child was a variation on “school”–but exactly what I would teach was up in the air. Where I ended up–teaching an AP English class that focuses on Argumentation and Rhetoric instead of Lit, an AP Economics class, and coaching a competitive Academic Team that lets me learn a whole new category of trivia from scratch each year–Jesus Christ, I couldn’t sit down and design a life I like better.
It’s actually frustrating a bit because there are all these other things I’m sorta interested in, but none as much as the life I’ve got. So I don’t see how I’ll ever get around to them, because I am not giving this up and there’s no more room.
Love it. I always knew (well from 18-19 ish) that I wanted to do something physics related with minimal office time, so ended up in the oil and gas industry logging oil wells.
I drive a mouse most of the time now but still remain fascinated with the challanges and applications. The industry has its fair proportion of arseholes, selfserving political tossers and idiots, although that is their problem not mine and more than offset by some very good people.
I’ve only had one job in my life I actually liked. I had about two I tolerated and the rest I’ve hated. And I have a degree and such, I’ve just never found any job that is a good match.
I really enjoy what I do as a software developer in the pharmaceutical industry. Even though a new drug takes an average of 14 years to make it through the pipeline, there exists a very thin connection between the work I do and a new drug helping someone. Considering the number of years I have been at it, there are new drugs out there that had data from their very beginnings captured in systems I designed.
But it isn’t my favorite job ever.
That honor goes to my work as a machinist. I worked for a few years as a mechanical technician, making cool things out of aluminum, steel, Plexiglass, Lexan, and other materials. I used lathes and milling machines on a daily basis, and loved every minute of it.
The boss would come by and say “Hey boys, why not make a widget that looks like this and that and has a hole here and a thingamajig there. That will allow us to distribute the powder better.” and we would go and make it.
Sadly, the field was dominated by older men who had twenty years experience and would accept mediocre wages, as a result of a diminishing industry. The future just didn’t look good.
Writing software for big pharma is a close second, though.
I’m an ER nurse.
Some days suck for reasons that every job shares; like coworkers out with the flu.
Some days suck for reasons that are unique; ‘fuckin’ restrain you kids asshole.’
But I love being a nurse, 13 years and I’ve never looked back.
I like being a nurse, alhough I came to it late (almost 30 by the time I graduated) and have to admit that my liberal arts background makes me an odd fit with my co workers. I have been an RN for 11 years. I am facinated by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. I like a lot about the field. I have found the work fascinating and gratifying. I work in a specialty unit unlike any other in my region and have roughly 9 years experience in dementia care.
I loathe my current employment situation. I have been severely injured by patients twice in the last 2 years. I get hit, scratched, spit at, etc on a nearly daily basis. Our unit is falling apart on several levels. Thngs are changing, there is little to no communication from management, and there is poor staff morale. Within a few years our unit will either disappear or be swallowed into an existing long term care centre, and what makes us special will disappear. If I have enough seniority to remain on, it will be so watered down that I won’t want to be there. So I am currently trying to figure out my next move, and taking a part time job to open up some new avenues.
So I voted other. I like my job, and even my job description. I just hate the day to day performance of my duties.
Most jobs would be a lot more enjoyable if you didn’t have to work for narcissistic, self-important assholes.
Thanks everyone for your input thus far, keep it coming.
[QUOTE =KinkiNipponTourist;12647929]
Incref, if you’ve been in this business for 5 years, what does she really have to teach you? QUOTE]
I was in the sales side for most of those five years, which I actually really enjoyed but is not a great place to be in the current financial market. Working as a sales agent is a world away from daily admin, which is once again another world away from property management which I’ve just started. You need solid grounding in all three fields as well general business management and strong accounting skills to open a successful agency.
Currently a Peace Corps volunteer teacher. I couldn’t do it forever, but I love it.
I love my job like a hooker loves her Johns.
I voted “something else”.
I teach and generally like it a lot, but this quarter has been a bitch - actually, two bitches.
I have two students who come rarely to class, or come late - they do no homework and I have had to do lots of extra help with them in class.
As the adage goes, “no good deed goes unpunished”, these two women (in different classes) are now claiming I have been “snippy” with them and not helped them learn.
Mind you, I have spent more time with them than any of the other students, but they have shown no interest in learning and only now, finals week, are making huge noises and actually calling the heads of the departments to complain about me.
Luckily, the department heads know these students and are not shocked to hear them complain - it seems it is a pattern with them in other classes as well.
Still - it will show up on my record, it is not true and it kind of hurts my feelings to be accused of something that I feel is unwarranted.
Years ago I was a teacher and had “teacher burnout” and I just hope this isn’t the start of it again…but I have to remember the other 95% of my classes who give me good reviews and compliment me outside of class - even after they are no longer my students. This too shall pass.
It occurs to me that this might have been too cryptic. Just wanted to be clear I meant restrain your kids while the vehicle is in motion. If your 2 y/o has learned to unbuckle their carrier and you don’t get around to fixing the problem before you roll your SUV, well, dying toddlers make my day suck, and I will call you an asshole on an anonymous message board.
I’m a Knowledge Management Specialist. Yeah, I don’t know either.
I don’t love the work, it’s certainly not my calling or anything, but the people I work with are nice, the work is interesting, and that’s enough for me.