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I ask this, because I wonder if I'm expecting too much out of a job/career. I guess I'm what most of you would consider entry-level. I have about eight years of work experience (five years admin type stuff pre-college grad; two and a half years entry-level management experience post-college grad) and a bachelor's degree from a top-25 school.
I took a job out of desperation about two and a half years ago. The wage wasn't the greatest, but it wasn't minimum wage either. I found the job to get old pretty quickly. I was mostly doing routine stuff (i.e. responding to customer emails, minor problem solving tasks, etc.) Basically nothing that really used my skills and intellect very much. I held the attitude that things would get better, so I continued to put my best foot forward. Shortly after, I was offered a local government position that I had applied to earlier. I told my employer about it, and they matched the offer, telling me that they were really impressed with my progress. I heavily considered leaving, but thought the private sector would offer more growth opportunities. So, I stayed with my current employer.
Fast forward two years. Nothing has evolved with the position and I begin to get frustrated with the monotony of completing redundant tasks. A position opens up with our client, so I decide to take a shot at it. What do ya know, I get the position offered to me. Through an unusual turn of events, the position gets dropped from one company and picked up by my company, who in turn, offers it to me (as I was the candidate originally chosen for the position) I was given a sizable raise with the new position. The learning curve was very small and I picked up on the new tasks very easily and quickly. Shortly thereafter, I started feeling stagnant again. This brings me to here and now.
Sorry for the long anecdote. The point here is that I'm not making bad money, depending on who you talk to (mid-40 range), BUT I feel like I'm underemployed in this position. I feel like I am so much more capable than what I'm currently responsible for. I want to use my brain instead of doing mindless, redundant work. I feel like my employer either doesn't care about me, or they just don't have confidence in me, or possibly they have nothing for me (but won't be straight with me).
Do you think I'm expecting too much here? Are most jobs that exist basically what I've described (mindless, redundant, non-intellectual, etc.)?
Now before you tell me I should start a business, believe me, I've thought about it. I just don't have a single clue as to where to begin with such a venture. I don't really have a mentor to guide me through it. But the idea of managing something, building an organization from the ground up...that kind of stuff really intrigues me. If it sheds any light onto my personality type, I'm really into sports management games and city building games.
So what do you guys think? Am I expecting too much out of your average post college job? Or are there better opportunities out there?
Some people will find meaningful employment and others will never find that job that trips their trigger. What's important is putting it in the right perspective. Your job is not your life. Your job pays for your life.
Some people will find meaningful employment and others will never find that job that trips their trigger. What's important is putting it in the right perspective. Your job is not your life. Your job pays for your life.
That's some very good insight, yellowsnow. Thank you.
Your job is not your life. Your job pays for your life.
Actually for many people this isn't true. If you work a standard 40 hr work week, then you have plenty of time to live your life, but in some fields you might work 60+ hrs a week either regularly or during crunch times that may last several months. If you get up at 7-8 am, go into work at 9am, and leave 10-12 hours later, are you really living your life? By the time you get home you are dog tired and maybe have 4 or 5 hrs left in the day to do anything before you start the cycle over again. In this case, your work IS your life. That's why if you're not truly happy with your job it can kill you little by little, day by day.
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To me a fulfilling job is one that you look forward to going to every morning,
you have plenty to do at work and are never sitting around bored,
and feel like you accomplished something when you leave at the end of the day. It's very unfortunate that many people will never experience that.
Don't give up hope, though. I felt like that for a few years in the late 80s
until I got a new boss, and it took until May 2009 to find it again. It's nice if that fulfilling job also pays well, but as long as it pays the bills that is less of a priority. There's no happiness in doing a job you hate that pays really well.
probably better than a job you hate that pays poorly, though.
One person's idea of fulfilling is another person's idea of Hades.
And no, you don't have to accept the 9-5 rat race as your destiny. If you want something else badly enough, go after it. Or, you can reframe, and look at your job as just something you do to pay the bills and fund your real life.
I absolutely loved what I did and while I was paid very well, it wasn''t based on money; I would have put in just as much of myself no matter how much I was paid . It was challenging, I learned new ways of doing things everday and the position was quite diversified so I never really did the same thing everday and it made a differene in the big picture. I felt a true passion for what I did.
Whenever I walked into the accounting and customer service departments it was like walking into a dark cloud watchhing these people repeatedly do the exact same thing over and over every single day like robots. I'd go insane doing that.
In college, my couselor and I had were disussing my future and based on the way I structured my degree coupled with the interships and experience he told me 'you could actual walk in somewhere an create your own position." And that is exactly what happened. I'd never had a job or job description that existed prior to my having it. And I was always looking for new opportunities to add to the position and take it out of my comfort zone. Strange how things work out.
A psychologist friend of mine always had a profound saying, "Find something you love to do, do it well and the money will follow." I think there is much truth in that statement.
1. A job you don't hate.
2. A job that has a work/life balance.
3. A job that pays well enough to provide a decent living.
4. A job that has job security.
5. A job that has advancement opportunities if you desire to move up.
Unfortunately, most jobs today are mind numbing jobs you dread going to everyday and don't provide any of the above but expect you to sell your soul to the company just for the privilege of working there.
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