Does anyone have a career they truly enjoy?

or are we as humans meant to submit to our 8 hours/day to the grueling drudge of stale mediocrity?

is it really true that you should "just be lucky you have any job" or that "most people don't like what they do, so just find something you don't like the least and do that", or "you're not supposed to love your job, you're just supposed to be okay with it"... sorry but am i delusional to think that this mindset is just made out for people who don't care about about what they do as long as they're getting a paycheck, and food on the table? am i / are we (cuz i hope im not alone here) just complaining in vein? do i have to put a disclaimer before anytime i talk about jobs/careers/goals/professional life with "i know nothing is ideal, but.."? can we take the whole concept of enjoying what one does for a living and remove it entirely from the arena of luxury and first world problems, and place it at the center of our conversations from a spiritual/meaningful/living life perspective? am i really that crazy, delusional, egotistic, solipsistic, imaginative, head in the clouds, absurd to want to do something more, something bigger, something fulfilling - in my career life- not just personal life? does that mean i want to "have my cake and eat it too" just because i want to be happy in my professional life in addition to personal life? am i asking for too much? does the fact that there are starving kids in africa and amazon tribes in the rain forest completely void out the legitimacy of the longing, the desire, the dream that any of us 1st world people have, to be fulfilled in our professional lives? could it just be that hunting for wildlife in a cold jungle at night is actually 100 times more satisfying and fulfilling than sitting in a cubicle, sifting through spreadsheets and data, making someone who they'll never even say more than several words to's wallet fatter?

fuckin cmon

I work to survive, you anal slut

lol come on dude start looking for a better job TODAY you're obviously miserable. Use your imagination and don't give up - believe me you can do better - even a shitty job can be ok if your colleagues are ok

And STOP listening to whoever is giving you the 'advice' of basically 'take your punishment and be grateful'

  On 10/30/2015 at 11:20 PM, Lane Visitor said:

or are we as humans meant to submit to our 8 hours/day to the grueling drudge of stale mediocrity?

 

is it really true that you should "just be lucky you have any job" or that "most people don't like what they do, so just find something you don't like the least and do that", or "you're not supposed to love your job, you're just supposed to be okay with it"... sorry but am i delusional to think that this mindset is just made out for drones who don't care about anything except a paycheck, food on the table? am i / are we (cuz i hope im not alone here) just complaining in vein? do i have to put a disclaimer before anytime i talk about jobs/careers/goals/professional life with "i know nothing is ideal, but.."? can we take the whole concept of enjoying what one does for a living and remove it entirely from the arena of luxury and first world problems, and place it at the center of our conversations from a spiritual/meaningful/living life perspective? am i really that crazy, delusional, egotistic, solipsistic, imaginative, head in the clouds, absurd to want to do something more, something bigger, something fulfilling - in my career life- not just personal life? does that mean i want to "have my cake and eat it too" just because i want to be happy in my professional life in addition to personal life? am i asking for too much? does the fact that there are starving kids in africa and amazon tribes in the rain forest completely void out the legitimacy of the longing, the desire, the dream that any of us 1st world people have, to be fulfilled in our professional lives? could it just be that hunting for wildlife in a cold jungle at night is actually 100 times more satisfying and fulfilling than sitting in a cubicle, sifting through spreadsheets and data, making someone who they'll never even say more than several words to's wallet fatter?

 

fuckin cmon

there's ticks and leaches out there in the jungle and savanahs. Experience wise for your brain though, it would probably bring satisfaction to some part of the humon psyche. Just going for a walk in nature is proven to improve people's sense of well being, so maybe something more immersive. hrmm. Nwae, i'm programmed to watmm from the couch now, i don't know if this slug creature could be up for your survivalist tip, so it's back to work five nights a week to my non-career path job for the pay that keeps a roof over my head and half wasted food stuffs chilled in the fridge.

  On 10/30/2015 at 11:24 PM, Schlitze said:

I work to survive, you anal slut

And you dont EVER feel like complaining about it? :D

This wasnt in any way meant to be condescending to anyone who is ok with working typical jobs to survive.. i more than look up to and honor the factory workers, fast food workers, and gardeners who grind it out and never complain about it. Youre a better man than i.

  On 10/30/2015 at 11:25 PM, hoggy said:

lol come on dude start looking for a better job TODAY you're obviously miserable. Use your imagination and don't give up - believe me you can do better - even a shitty job can be ok if your colleagues are ok

Youre 100% right. I am looking for something new right now. It just sometimes seems like you can get stuck in a loop. Im thinking about trying to take an interest in something completely new that id never expect to be interested in... Throw myself a curve ball.

Working all these "random marketing jobs" while i focus on my music on the side has kind of taken a toll on me. I almost would rather do construction work or work at a fast food place than run in this fake cubicle rat race any longer

Yes, I do.

I had a job once.

#Neveragain

The answer is no.

Anyone replies claiming the opposite are lying.

  On 10/30/2015 at 11:39 PM, jsmcpn said:

Yes, I do.

  On 10/30/2015 at 11:40 PM, StephenG said:

I had a job once.

 

#Neveragain

oOPS, wrong jealousy meme!

THEY DIDN'T HAVE MONEY IN THE STONE AGE

  On 10/30/2015 at 11:46 PM, Friendly Foil said:

THEY DIDN'T HAVE MONEY IN THE STONE AGE

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/15/1126175/-Photo-History-of-Money-Stone-Age-to-Roman-Republic

  On 10/30/2015 at 11:28 PM, hoggy said:

And STOP listening to whoever is giving you the 'advice' of basically 'take your punishment and be grateful'

i appreciate that encouragement man, truly.

"find where your niche is / and you'll get all the riches"

no i think for me the best mantra you can't have it all but you can be happy. (especially with people who make music or art - it's hard as hell to be a successful musician, even with talent, financially and critically. in fact, quoting the show Extras: you can work hard and be respected for your craft or very famous but neither realistically; very, very few can be both)

like i can't afford to live in the neighborhoods i want to. i can't afford a house i like that isn't coupled with a crazy commute. likewise if i move out to country or somewhere i can really afford, i can't have the job i have now. it's a give or take thing.

i changed jobs recently, left a state worker position as a librarian to be a land surveryor. it was about a year and half ago, specifically to be happier and have more opportunity. i wanted a kid too and to buy a house and there was no way i could do that at my other job. the offset? i can't take off time like i used. i make more but i also have to work overtime. but i like what i do a lot, and i feel like i have a plan for the future - live in austin, buy then rent a house and hopefully move out to where i love - west texas or new mexico, 20 years from now or so. who knows. i've got options.

living in the us kinda sucks because we don't get all the perks of capitalism nor the perks of socialism but the worst of both - it'd be easier for me if i had rich parents or quit my job and took out student loans and lived off welfare. you can't simply work hard and get a middle-class life as a trade-off. sucks but hey, adapt and overcome.

No.

if my thing was TLDR - be opitimitic, make goals, make compromises. figure out your life priorities and make them happen. you'll have to sacrifice

  On 10/30/2015 at 11:53 PM, joshuatx said:

"find where your niche is / and you'll get all the riches"

 

 

no i think for me the best mantra you can't have it all but you can be happy. (especially with people who make music or art - it's hard as hell to be a successful musician, even with talent, financially and critically. in fact, quoting the show Extras: you can work hard and be respected for your craft or very famous but neither realistically; very, very few can be both)

 

like i can't afford to live in the neighborhoods i want to. i can't afford a house i like that isn't coupled with a crazy commute. likewise if i move out to country or somewhere i can really afford, i can't have the job i have now. it's a give or take thing.

 

i changed jobs recently, left a state worker position as a librarian to be a land surveryor. it was about a year and half ago, specifically to be happier and have more opportunity. i wanted a kid too and to buy a house and there was no way i could do that at my other job. the offset? i can't take off time like i used. i make more but i also have to work overtime. but i like what i do a lot, and i feel like i have a plan for the future - live in austin, buy then rent a house and hopefully move out to where i love - west texas or new mexico, 20 years from now or so. who knows. i've got options.

 

living in the us kinda sucks because we don't get all the perks of capitalism nor the perks of socialism but the worst of both - it'd be easier for me if i had rich parents or quit my job and took out student loans and lived off welfare. you can't simply work hard and get a middle-class life as a trade-off. sucks but hey, adapt and overcome.

Thanks for sharing for sharing your story.. some great insight there for sure. i hear you about the unemployment income thing.. i actually was laid off with half my company the beginning of the year and took welfare for a good 4 months while i tried to build my business of a production studio. not a great idea to start a business on no savings and welfare checks- especially a music-industry business startup in a non-music city like phoenix haha. had a good few months of operation until people started flaking out with no shows and low-on-cash scenarios in the middle of projects. thats when i gave in and got a regular job again

but yeah, you're right, its all about adapting and overcoming.

a land surveyor actually sounds really fun and adventurous.. do you get to be outside a lot of the time?

I pretty much hate my job tbh, I don't think you're alone.

career (verb)

he saw the runaway pram careering down the hill:

rush, hurtle, streak, shoot, race,bolt, dash, speed, run, gallop, stampede, cannon, careen, whizz, buzz,zoom, flash, blast, charge, hare, fly, wing, pelt, scurry, scud, go like the wind; informal belt, scoot, scorch, tear, skedaddle, zap, zip, whip, burn rubber, go like a bat out of hell; Brit. informal bomb, bucket, shift; N. Amer.informal hightail, clip, boogie.

tldr:

  On 10/31/2015 at 12:08 AM, StephenG said:

I pretty much hate my job tbh, I don't think you're alone.

What do you do?

I'm the Plant Supervisor/Floor Manager (whatever you want to call it lol) at a manufacturing plant.

It's repetitive and dirty and not rewarding aside from the financials. Structure is flat so there is nowhere to go and it's an industry with very little in the way of innovation or change, so not a lot happening to put on my resume, if you know what I mean. I'm not learning anything or using my education. 99% of my job is coaching employees on things that should be common sense, huge language barriers in my industry which gets frustrating quick, etc.

I shouldn't complain I guess, as I'm lucky to have a job. But there is a lot to be said for being happy with the work you're doing and going home with a sense of accomplishment which I don't have and that's depressing.

I figure I'd take a rather large paycut if I could get a job where I felt happy and accomplished at the end of my day... I don't know, I have no right to complain I guess.

  On 10/30/2015 at 11:39 PM, jsmcpn said:

Yes, I do.

What do you do, sir?

  On 10/31/2015 at 12:25 AM, StephenG said:

 

 

I figure I'd take a rather large paycut if I could get a job where I felt happy and accomplished at the end of my day... I don't know, I have no right to complain I guess.

I feel you. But see, I think you do have a right to complain. Just because there are people without jobs and third world countries without running water, you should still be able to comfortably voice your discontent and jadedness and sadness with your current career circumstances. You shouldn't feel bad expressing that imo. Sometimes I feel like we live in a culture where expressing not being happy is retorted with "just be fuckin lucky you have a job asshole", and im sick of that. thats the most bitter, callous, loser attitude one can have about life. "jaded, unhappy, could feel better? too bad, buddy. such is life. you and everyone's uncle. get used to it." fuuuuck that.

Humans always seem to have a case of "oh yeah, look at MY battlescars... or.. look what THAT guy went through!"

In fact, next time i hear the third world country thing from someone, I'm going to buy that person a plane ticket to Haiti, and mail them a flyer for joining the Peacecorps. If you're so concerned with people that have no running water, go on a mission and devote your life to helping those people's conditions. In fact, I'd look up to you wholly if you did so, and you'd inspire me to be a more thoughtful, humble person. No? Oh you already have a life over here and things going on? Okay, then shutup about other people's circumstances and let me express my discontent with my job then. lol