do you ever feel this way about work?

[Thump553]

It's been that way in the past for me. Now I'm self employed and after several years of struggling and flopping around I have found a niche that I really enjoy. It's not the most lucrative but I'm doing well enough, better than I ever did as an employee in fact. I now look forward to work and spend quite a lot more time at it than I did as a wage slave.

When your older relatives tell you find a job you enjoy, listen. It's really true.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

The point is, if you enjoy what you do, you won't see it so much as "work".

What you would normally enjoy + unrealistic deadlines = f*ck it.

 

[Red Squirrel]

What you would normally enjoy + unrealistic deadlines = f*ck it.

This, and nobody enjoyes doing ANYTHING for 40+ hours a week, and having to get up early to go do it.

I enjoy playing with servers, coding and stuff like that, but yet I could not stand IT and wanted out. It does not help that the IT manager there was a total asshole but it made me realize it's probably like that everywhere even if it's not an asshole IT manager running things. Everybody wants everything NOW and there's constant pressure.

Doing something you like, and doing that at a job is two different things. Thankfully at my curent job we don't get stringed along in all the politics so that's a big bonus.

 

[brianmanahan]

i know of some places around here that pay developers hourly... today would feel better if i was making several hundred $ instead of doing this all for free.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

i know of some places around here that pay developers hourly... today would feel better if i was making several hundred $ instead of doing this all for free.

Well, that is one advantage I have now at least -- any hour I bill the client is an hour I get paid. So I made a nice chunk of extra change the last two days.

 

[purbeast0]

This, and nobody enjoyes doing ANYTHING for 40+ hours a week, and having to get up early to go do it.

I enjoy playing with servers, coding and stuff like that, but yet I could not stand IT and wanted out. It does not help that the IT manager there was a total asshole but it made me realize it's probably like that everywhere even if it's not an asshole IT manager running things. Everybody wants everything NOW and there's constant pressure.

Doing something you like, and doing that at a job is two different things. Thankfully at my curent job we don't get stringed along in all the politics so that's a big bonus.

i disagree with this. i am a software dev and do that 40 hours a week, and there are times when i come home and code more on my own projects. been doing it almost 10 years now and to be honest, i like it more now than i did when i first started. probably because i know i'm good at it now and i understand the whole process a lot more, and know that if there is something i don't know how to do, i can figure it out.

 

[brianmanahan]

i disagree with this. i am a software dev and do that 40 hours a week, and there are times when i come home and code more on my own projects. been doing it almost 10 years now and to be honest, i like it more now than i did when i first started. probably because i know i'm good at it now and i understand the whole process a lot more, and know that if there is something i don't know how to do, i can figure it out.

i used to be the same way - did a pretty big side project per year. and if i had any mental energy left i would love to work on a couple of side projects now. but my job drains my brain and all i have the energy to do is play tf2 and post on atot

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Pretty much a daily occurence that I pick out where I would get in an "accident." On the way too work. I love my job so much that some days I actually have it cross my mind to look for a semi to drive under.

Scary, but I'm doing everything I can to get out now. Here you all are bitching about IT and i'm trying to get in lol...

Healthcare middle management is fucking awful just in case anyone was wondering.

 

[Ackmed]

Oh you had to sit behind your air conditioned desk, eat good food, and sleep in a nice bed that is your own. Oh someone had to work 70 hours in a week, boohoo.

Work 7 days a week, in this heat. Doing squad rushes from 300 meters out on a range all day, shooting a few thousand rounds a day, wearing full gear. Tell me more about how bad your day was.

I'm just messing with you. But everything is relative, remember that.

 

[Murloc]

Oh you had to sit behind your air conditioned desk, eat good food, and sleep in a nice bed that is your own. Oh someone had to work 70 hours in a week, boohoo.

Work 7 days a week, in this heat. Doing squad rushes from 300 meters out on a range all day, shooting a few thousand rounds a day, wearing full gear. Tell me more about how bad your day was.

I'm just messing with you. But everything is relative, remember that.

okay but going in the military you know beforehand that they will push you a lot during training to make sure you can cope with the real scenarios, and everyone has heard about life in the trenches during WW1 or seen movies.
Same for construction workers, every kid sees them.

People finding themselves in a shitty work environment or being subject to mobbing didn't really plan on it.

Imho it's not a problem of how hard or mentally stressing a job really is, but it's a question of whether the single person is getting burnt out or not.
Some people may be less able to cope than others in a certain situation but be fine in another, or simply be stronger than average all around, but each situation should be looked at as a single case.
Comfort doesn't equal happiness, I don't think neolithic men were all unhappy because they didn't have a cushy office job and their own bed.

 

[mistercrabby]

*pats poor wittle head*

Keep on being an entitled wuss. I'm sure your managers find it amusing.

Position yourself for better, or suck it up.

 

[KentState]

i used to until i was put in charge of a group of people, despite me assertion that i did not want to have such a position

Happened to me too. I took a new job to give up having direct reports but with a small cut in pay. I wanted to get back into being an individual contributor and actually working a project and not going to meetings and delegating tasks and reviewing work. Turns out the boss I got was horrible, fired three months in and I got half the team. Worst part is that the entire team was new and inherited a lot of broken systems and a pissed off client. Now I find myself working a bunch more, with direct report responsibilities and less pay.

 

[gorcorps]

I like my job. Well, most days.

 

[Rage187]

I realized I've been on call 80% of my weekends and 100% of my holidays for 7 years. And I guaruntee I get a call every Saturday and Sunday. And something major, that I have no control over will go down when I'm out with my family.

Let's just meet somewhere and have a head on collision.

 

[Kaido]

This, and nobody enjoyes doing ANYTHING for 40+ hours a week, and having to get up early to go do it.

Actually, I like waking up early (4am, because I feel awesome instead of sluggish like I do if I sleep in) and I like doing my job for 40, 50, or 60 hours a week :biggrin:

The 70+ hour weeks can get a little long, but I never get sick of computer stuff, so it works for me. I usually only get bothered if I have to be up past midnight fixing stuff, especially on weekends, but thankfully that's fairly rare these days.

 

[brianmanahan]

*pats poor wittle head*

Keep on being an entitled wuss. I'm sure your managers find it amusing.

Position yourself for better, or suck it up.

entitled - i do not think it means what you think it means

 

[brianmanahan]

Now I find myself working a bunch more, with direct report responsibilities and less pay.

ha, that sounds familiar

 

[Kaido]

Doing something you like, and doing that at a job is two different things. Thankfully at my curent job we don't get stringed along in all the politics so that's a big bonus.

That's very true. I think a lot of people take hobbies to the next level as jobs, and end up getting sick of them because the fun was doing it as a hobby, and having to do it for a job took the fun out of the equation.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

No, but sometimes when I feel or do something particularly stupid or pathetic, I hope that it's due to an undiscovered brain tumor.

 

[I Saw OJ]

Not drive into traffic but I do think that I would rather just stay home and be with me family on almost a daily basis.

 

[Humpy]

I ride my bicycle to a job I like. I pull wheelies on the way if I need a little extra enjoyment but usually I'm satisfied enough by whistling that old "King of The Road" song all the way there.

 

[rudeguy]

I've been there.

My last job got to be pure torture. I hated it but I stayed because I was afraid of not being able to find a new job. One day I decided half way through my shift that I was done. I was so happy walking out of there.

I was planning on having some time off, getting some certs done and then getting a new job. I barely had a week before my phone rang and I was offered my current job. I only got that call because people knew I wasn't working.

So don't torture yourself. There are good jobs out there that are not torture.

 

[brianmanahan]

but usually I'm satisfied enough by whistling that old "King of The Road" song all the way there.

roger miller, aww yeah

 

[SampSon]

...

Only way to really get away from the work thing is to either win the lotto or run your own business, or get a job where you make over 100k then you just work for a fraction of the years you normally would have to. Though TBH, if I did win the lotto, I'd probably keep working, and put that money towards something to make more money, I still like to know that I earned my money.

...

Making at least 100K isn't even remotely close to getting you away from "the work thing" or significantly shortening your earning years. I'm not sure how old you are or what your expectations are for lifestyle, but living is generally really expensive and isn't going to get cheaper. Typical average american (median living) retirement will cost at least 1 million. You have to consider the amount of annual income you want to replace in retirement. I don't think retiring to make the equivalent of minimum wage is a good way to live.

While you're out there earning you also have to live and you will also want to spend when you're living. Just living is going to eat up most of your income and your lifestyle is almost always commensurate with your income. I've heard many people say "No, I'm going to live way below my means, save all my money and then retire early!" I suppose there have been those whom have done that but I don't think its very realistic. The more common situation is that the person making that assertion has never actually earned decent money and hasn't experienced any real level of living.

Owning your own business is most likely the FURTHEST thing from getting away from working. Running your own business requires about twice as much work as just being an employee for quite a long time. That is also assuming you're in the right industry and successful enough to eventually have the business 'run itself'.

Work as a function of earning to live is part of our society. The best bet is to try to get some perspective and keep your head right. Otherwise you'll probably end up not liking anything, work or non work.

 

[Red Squirrel]

100k per year is quite a lot of cash, when nearly half of it can go straight to investments. Of course you have to live within your means. Too many people think because they make 100k they have to buy a 1+ million dollar house.

As for running a business the thing is because it's your own gig you can run it the way you want. If you do things right it will run itself. In the corporate world you are often not allowed to do custom coding/measures and you are not in charge of processes, so automating stuff and making things easier and more profitable is harder. When it's your own business you can do what you want, and work the hours you want. Me personally, I would probably work from 10am and up, no earlier. If the business got big I'd then hire people to handle the early morning stuff, while I handle the day/night stuff. With where I work, lot of tech related stuff is considered a conflict of interest though. I'd love to get into web hosting or something similar. It's a cut throat business but it's fairly easy once you have everything setup especially if you get big enough to own your own data centre and have staff to do tech support and what not.

I also heard stories of people making phone apps/games making millions. I suppose that's rare but it happens. Candy Crush and Farmville for example make millions. The guys who coded those are set for life even if the games die off. Takes a lot of hard work and is risky because the game/app may not take off but if it does, then you just won the lotto.

I realize working is part of life, but what I'm trying to say is, it really sucks that it's that way, imagine if you could spend more time with family and friends and enjoy life instead of spending it working for somebody else. Of course that is a dream land, but I'm just saying, it would be nice. 100's of years ago that's probably how it was. People owned farms and what not and lived for themselves. Grow your own food, make your own things, etc. People ran their own businesses instead of mega corporations owning everything. It was a lot of hard work but it was a simpler time too and more rewarding. Not to mention healthier. I can't speak for myself because I like my job and it's stress free, but there are lot of people out there who are stressed to the point of it affecting their health, and it's considered normal these days. Some people work crazy hours and don't even have time to eat half the time.