I like my job. It’s not exciting, but it’s usually pretty stress-free. I don’t have to take it home with me. I’ve been doing my job long enough that I can do everything with my eyes closed. For what I do, it pays well. My hours are somewhat flexible, meaning that if I’m done with everything that needs to get done, I can go home. I’m salaried, so I’m paid even if I leave early. I’m left pretty much on my own. I have my own little office with my own little kitchen and bathroom. The rest of the full-time employees work out of another location. So I enjoy the quiet, alone time in my “apartment”.
I’m not doing my dream job. I would love to work with animals. I wanted to be a vet when I was a kid. I watch all of the vet and zoo shows on Animal Planet. I would love to work in one of those beautiful zoos. Maybe after I retire (if that ever happens) I’ll be able to do something like that.
My job is boring and repetitive and sometimes stressful (quotas can be hard to meet,) but it pays the bills and gives me time off or time to think. That’s good enough for me.
I mostly hate my job but I like my boss… I get paid pretty well and the hours are generally flexible. Recently they’ve allowed people to work from home one or two days per week. I have employees now and it’s “interesting” trying to understand their career objectives. I don’t know if I’m just cynical or I’ve completely given up or what, but it seems like the sacrifices I’d need to make in order to progress further in my career are ones that I’m not prepared to take.
I like taking care of patients, even (maybe especially) my patients, convicted felons all. It’s still rewarding to spend time with (most of) them.
But delivering health care in the modern medical system that is US health care (even in the public sector where I am) has become tedious and frustrating in the extreme.
I got my MD when I was 25, I’m now 61. 36 years of it, with usually one 2 week break a year, and a few 3-5 day vacations thrown in. Otherwise, work 5 days a week, calls on the weekends. And now with EMR and the internet, I can and do work from home on weekends for the bureaucracy and to make the next workday less crazy and better for patients.
In the old days, you could expect a sabbatical year every decade or so, to refresh, retrain, recharge. Not anymore.
I enjoy it but I’m lucky that I’m older, invested well, and can survive without it. Take out the word “need” and make it more a case of “want” and any job can be fun. I get a great physical workout, my weight and health are much better, and I have met some people interesting in both good and bad ways. I have a feeling I am going to do stuff like this until I die — not working just doesn’t seem to be in my nature. But if its here or elsewhere I hope to keep the same rule I’ve had the last few years; any time I go three days in a row when I don’t want to go to work I’ll put in my two weeks notice. I wish I had done more of that when I was half my current age.
My job is literally something I used to do for free as hobby!
I volunteered with several animal related charities for many years. I was a volunteer coordinator for the last 6 years for a small organization. Last year, the manager of our local wildlife rescue offered me a job with their organization as full time paid volunteer coordinator. I barely make minimum wage, but considering the last number of years I was doing it for free, I’m ok with that. It definitely has it’s challenges, but I do love it.
Starting to hate it. I’m getting old and my job calls for many hours on my feet and lots of lifting. It pays fairly well for my skill set, in this area. I work a lot of overtime so financially I’m doing OK. The hardest part is that I have a lot of ideas to make things easier and more efficient but I’m seen as the nutty old guy and things continue as they always have. People here are comfortable in their rut and not interested in making things smoother and easier. They think they are cutting edge. We have adopted a lot of new technology but there is a lot of old school baked into the crust.
I don’t consider that I have a job. Instead I have a “family” of sorts. I worked a full 2080-hour year through 2016, but then things went kind of toes-up for “personal reasons”. In 2017 I worked about 600 hours, and last year not quite 150. Mostly now all I do is consolidate the monthly status report for my task order (which ends on 20 April this year). So far this year I’ve worked nearly 20 hours. (The Company hasn’t reduced my hourly rate by a single cent.) I’m going over to the local corporate office tomorrow to pick up my very nice Company-logo bearing five-year award (a sweet cold weather jacket).
In April, 2017, when I told my program manager that I couldn’t face the long distance walking any longer I fully expected to hear, “Well, it’s been good working with you. 'Bye.” Instead he told me to go home and the Company would get back to me.
The next day the corporate HR people called me at home and told me the way the Company wanted to proceed. That involved applying to the Department of Labor for Family Medical Leave Act protection, and applying to the Company-paid short term disability insurance for as long as it would last, at which time I was told to apply for the long term disability that I have paid for since 1982. Most of that got done successfully.
The most important thing was the HR manager telling me, “You’re not going anywhere. We’re yours, and you are ours.” I still get kind of emotional just thinking about that conversation.
Since that day I’ve been a “part time on-call” employee. But I’m still an employee.
If you have an employer I hope you have one as outstanding as my corporate “family”.
My job is okay. I’d rather not be doing it, sure. But I don’t hate it. I’m too tired to hate it. The people I work with have their quirks, as do I, but no one’s too annoying.
I used to hate it when I was younger. Then I was laid off for six years. That taught me to hang on like grim death to any permanent position, and damn the inner turmoil. You can’t eat or pay bills with inner turmoil.
The hilarious thing is now the company is setting up automatic downloading of invoices, so soon they may not be needing me anymore. I’ve been assured that I will not be let go, but we all know how much that’s worth when the bottom line is the thing that counts.
Maybe they’d let me stay on as a waitress. Now there’s a job I’d hate.
Is retirement feasible for you in the near future? As I start slowly creeping up on eligible retirement age myself I find myself more and more thinking it is probably better if I pull the plug at the earliest opportunity while mobility et al is still there. But then I’m supremely indifferent to my job. I don’t hate it, I’m competent at it and it would be easy enough for me to keep going for awhile and rack up a larger nest egg. But I sure wouldn’t miss it if I could walk tomorrow.
I can imagine folks like you that do enjoy some aspects of their work might feel some regret 6 months down the road once they’ve had time to decompress a bit.
I used to love my job - it involved a lot of problem solving and it was a rare day that I didn’t learn something new. But the industry has changed. I retire in 18 months so I can stick it out that long. Otherwise I’d find something else.
Well, my days may be numbered. I had a big email fight with the assistant dean today. She said I didn’t communicate with her; I said she didn’t understand what I do and mismanaged the program. My contract review process starts Monday. So this is not good timing.
I have feelers out to some former coworkers. If I get canned I should have a soft landing.
Your thoughts mirror mine in many ways. I actually hope to step down from the administrative nonsense, which really eats up my serenity in about a year, and come back as a consultant, doing primarily patient care plus advising to the medical director (I am the most senior MD in the system, served as acting medical director twice, and am about the only source of institutional memory about what has gone before, and how that worked out). I’d take about 4-6 months off, then come back to work 50-60% time, collect my pension, and make more than I make now. My current medical insurance will be continued, and paid for by my accrued unused sick time for about 20 years so I don’t have to wait until 65.
that’ll free me up to travel with the Mrs. and relax, plus continue to do the part I actually still enjoy. And really play up the role of wise elder physician in front of the young whippersnappers!
Pretty much same age, turning 60 this year. Of course a different segment of the industry.
I may be a minority though. My experience is not tedious and I am a bit excited about the potential in our changing healthcare systems. We are more aware of population health than ever. We are better at working together as teams coordinating care in the service of best patient outcomes.
No question some days are exhausting and sometimes the balance gets out of whack with too much consideration to the business of the business (in contrast to the sense of providing a good that makes the job fun and satisfying). But most of the time I’m having fun doing what I do. Including my administrative/“leadership” bits.
I envy you. Trying to drag my system forward into the modern era is daunting. It’s a MAJOR government bureaucracy whose budget equals that of the state University system, and dealing with said bureaucracy is so byzantine and exhausting. And the irrational “one size fits all” rules for managing all employees makes it tough to recruit and keep health care providers. Getting new or additional resources is often dependent on the state legislature, which is opposed on principle to spending more money on anything, but especially inmates.
You don’t want to start comparing “MAJOR government bureaucracies”! There is only 1 bigger than mine.
I can stand the bureaucratic aspects by simply caring less and lowing my standards (Amazing - isn’t it, how no matter how much you drop your standards, you can always lower them more!)
The problem I’m having is the people I deal with - the public and their representatives. It just gets really old having people lie to you all the time, and intentionally cause you excessive effort. Q - does it cause you any issues dealing w/ inmates all day, and not bringing that mindset to bear when dealing w/ “civilians” - friends and family?
For example - a major part of my job involves trying to get specific information from people who either don’t want to provide it, lie, are incompetent, or don’t care. Really gets old having people flat out lie to you day after day, year after year. After doing that for 8 straight hours, it fucks with my head such that I have a hard time conversing and interacting w/ people who just aren’t paying attention, give vague answers, answer something other than the question asked, etc. You expect that sort of thing all the time in normal conversations. But after 8 hours of trying to pry info from uncooperative folk, I find myself less tolerant in social situations.
I find myself thinking: “FUCK! I have to deal with this sort of shit in my JOB, I shouldn’t have to deal with it from my friends/family!” Fortunately, I don’t take it out on my wife or dog, so so long as I don’t leave my house, I’m fine! :rolleyes:
I really expected a Come To Jesus meeting today, but nothing happened. The assistant dean and dean said bupkis to me all day. Not sure what that means. I guess I get to stew about it all weekend.
