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As you may have learned by now, expectations don't always live up to reality. And, as a recent post on r/AskReddit shows, that can be true even when you embark on what you believed to be the best career in the world.
Created by user u/American-pickle, it asked people, "Did you ever obtain your 'dream job' to realize it wasn't actually what you wanted—why did it not live up to expectations?"
Immediately, zookeepers, flight attendants, and many other professionals started replying, explaining how the day-to-day realities such as long hours, monotony, and workload have disappointed them.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I dreamt about working in Veterinary Medicine my whole life. When I finally did, I ended up traumatized. It wasn't the blood, the abuse, or even the euthanasia. It was how we just didn't talk about it. Bad day? Don't talk about it. Got hurt? Don't talk about it. Rude pet parent? Don't talk about it. Burnt out? Don't talk about it. I felt so alone in situations where having support was essential.
Wilhelm1313 2 years ago
I was actually looking to see if someone would put being a vet. I can't imagine being the person that puts down people's pets everyday while the family cries around you
RafCo (he/him/ele) 2 years ago
I posted this elsewhere, but veterinarians in the United States have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession. Even higher than pediatric oncologists. Something worth remembering if you feel the need to yell at your vet.
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🧶𝔹𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕂𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣🪡 2 years ago
I wanted to be a vet as a kid. I still have the little book I made in 2nd grade with my drawings of me treating a cat with a broken leg. Then as I got older I realized that it would be much less time spent with cute animals and much more time spent with animals as they lay dying, broken, or hurt beyond saving. As someone who has a great deal of love for animals, I couldn't stomach the thought of doing that for a living. Maybe being a rural vet would be different though - the one that came to give shots and medicines to my grandparents horses always seemed to be in good spirits!
Lydia McIntosh 2 years ago
My best friend is a vet and love sher job. I feel this experience may be due largely to the office they're in. Like any job environment is a huge factor.
Titian 2 years ago
I always assumed that the euthanasia was the worst part, but when I shared that with my vet, she said, no...at least she worked in an area where people generally took good care of their pets. Putting them down was not nearly as bad as the areas where neglect and abuse were common. That was unbearable.
SnowboundGem 2 years ago
I think talking about it is much needed here. I think pushing all those feelings away causes so much stress and sadness. It's not ok to feel alone.
Antoinette Maldari 2 years ago
I worked as a receptionist/tech for a vet for 15 years. There was A LOT of cuddling but also, A LOT of cleaning. But the worst part, (aside from euthansia an seeing obvious abused animals) were the OWNERS. They played on our hearts strings when they said they could not afford treatment/meds. Like, what am I supposed to do? We did have room for the (unfortunately, all too common) abandoned critters, but, we were not a shelter or worked on donations. So many dead/dying animals were left in a box or tied to the front door in the middle of the night. This is never a good thing to come into work to. One time, a full grown Doberman was left, tied to the front door, frozen stiff, in a standing position. The A**h**e owners didn't leave enough slack on the leash for the poor baby to lay or even sit, no box or blanket. Some people really need a license to be a pet owner, not the other way around!
Dogcat vet (retired) 2 years ago
A big stress while I was full time was having to work within a 'budget' a lot of the time so you couldn't do the best possible for the pet. Now you can set up referrals for MRIs and Cat Scans and such but they are not inexpensive. But being able to put a pet to sleep that is suffering is a lot better than having to watch it die a painful death when they don't know whats going on and why things are changing.
We managed to get in touch with u/American-pickle and they agreed to tell us more about their now-viral question and the discussion behind it.
"Before posting I was reflecting on how many times I changed majors in college — always feeling like I couldn't figure out what direction to take my career in as it seemed like too major of a decision for someone fresh out of high school and 18 years of age to make," the Redditor told Bored Panda.
"I thought it was quite funny, my career has nothing to do with anything I decided to study, but I find it quite enjoyable. I thought it was ironic that I stumbled into a profession I never once before considered, while thinking about others who are dead set on a career choice from a young age, only to end up miserable in a situation completely unlike they imagined."
RELATED:
#2
All throughout childhood and college I wanted to be a zookeeper.
When I was finally offered the internship though, it took me less than a week to realize I couldn't stomach it.
It's a lot less "playing with and training cute animals" and a lot more "cleaning up the vilest messes and being bombarded with the absolute worst smells on planet earth" than I imagined.
Corrsfan 2 years ago
That the "playing with cute animals" expectation was retained through college, i.e. into adulthood, is surprising. Did this person never visit a zoo and even just chat with the people who worked there?
Bryn 2 years ago
exactly. Even I knew as a young child, working with animals involved lots of disgusting stuff. Was this person every around animals?
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Kira Okah 2 years ago (edited)
Oh, yes, not for the faint of heart, I did it for a while...erm, three years plus two years training. Dirt, poop, smells, animal death, heavy cleaning, chopping up whole rabbits/rats/horses for the animal's dinner. I knew what I was getting into though, it's a volatile and competitive industry, volunteers are cheaper than paid staff, and volunteers were plentiful.
Corvus 2 years ago
Same with veterinarians - there's always a bunch of freshmen that drop out early because it wasn't the way they imagined it to be (too filthy, too smelly, etc.).
Mason Kronol 2 years ago
Veterinarians and vet techs are so underpaid and under appreciated. Have a cat with health issues gave me a new appreciation for them. Wonderful people with big hearts. I could never do what they do and I love animals.
Load More Replies... 🧶𝔹𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕂𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣🪡 2 years ago
They're also grossly underpaid due to the fact that so many people are competing for the same job. My friend worked at the Pittsburgh Zoo and also said the working conditions are also insane - that zoo actually lost it's AZA accreditation because the elephant enclosures were too small and the handlers insisted upon working with them by hand instead of following the AZA recommendations to remain as low contact with the elephants as possible due to the dangers and risks involved for the handlers (*elephants, while beautiful and often very sweet, can become very aggressive and due to their size they can easily kill or trample someone, especially in a small, enclosed space).
Mason Kronol 2 years ago
We won't visit the Pittsburgh Zoo again. I was appalled at some of the conditions the animals were in and the elephant area was disgusting. I'm still on the fence with zoos because the conservation and education aspects can be great. But there are also too many exhibits that seem to be just for the entertainment of humans, not to help an endangered species or enlightenment. That being said, the Cleveland zoo elephant area is amazing and they seem happy and have a lot of room to roam and enrichments.
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RafCo (he/him/ele) 2 years ago
When I was in high school, there was a circus that would set up on one of our fields every year during the late spring. Each year I would sign up as part of the crew to do things like clean up elephant poop. It did mean two free tickets to the circus, and I got to spend time with the animals, so it was worth it to me. Also they payed $5/hour which was well above minimum wage at the time.
Mason Kronol 2 years ago
My last job I was grossly underpaid. My coworker and I joked that we would make more money shoveling elephant poop. She is still there making $10 an hour after 10 years. I'm going to work at the zoo for +$15 an hour. I'm ok with shoveling animal poo. I don't ever want to change a baby or adult diaper or answer to a boss that is not willing or able to do my job.
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Rosa Carone-Prendergast 2 years ago
A person who wants to work in a zoo would already know this. This person is pretty dumb to think it would have been a wonderful job. I'd do it in a minute but I know that 90% of the time I'd be cleaning up animal sh*t and making gross meals for some of the animals that consists of bugs! lol
u/American-pickle said that most replies "were similar in that ambition of their employees is not something businesses nurture and grow."
"I feel from reading most responses, if these people had better leadership within their companies, that they would feel more fulfilled. When people feel fulfilled it can only bring the business more productivity. [The thread] shows how disconnected we are from how to achieve real and long-term results."
#3
Yes I wanted to be a freelance graphic designer because I heard you work for yourself. Turns out you can have 18 a hole bosses at once.
Blue Mar 2 years ago
I'm graphic designer and is very stressful job, I decided to quit after 10 years.
Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
To me, the majority of the stress was caused by clients who refused to defer to my expertise. Sir, why did you hire me if you could have done it yourself?
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Paulsible deniability 2 years ago
For me, it was the endless changes/edits. Some projects would have over 40 revisions because the Project Managers didn't have their sh*t together from the start.
DesireeEllen 2 years ago
I got the commercial art degree, and mostly ended up putting together ads for the auto classifieds and the phone book. Ugly, bad composition, clip art ads. After getting laid off for the 4th time because budget cuts always start in the art dept. I'd had enough.
Patrick Smith 2 years ago
I loved graphic design in high school, went to college for Graphic Communication but never finished, then started a career in law enforcement nearly 20 years ago. I now make more than I would have a as a graphic designer, despite it being my passion. I tried a few times over the years to start a virtual design studio but it's such a competitive space and I learned the hard way that even something you love doing can such the joy out of you once you do it for a living, maybe even more so than a mundane career (not that mine is, but its repetitive) does. After nearly a year and a half of running a side hustle doing full time design work for a clothing brand I started, I was finally able to sit down and design again and it feel fun. I'll retire from my current profession, but I no longer have regret for not pursuing my dream. Sometimes, its just not worth it.
Kate Jones 2 years ago
Graphic design/webdesign is always on every top 10 list of best pay so I went to school for it. I started my own business in my junior year, thinking I was ahead of the game. By the time I graduated I realized I wasn't going to be able to do this as a career. I was miserable. It's less about creating unique webdesigns and graphics than it is trying to talk people out of bad decisions. You hired me because you like my designs, so let me do something that works for you. Listen to me when I tell you something isn't going to work for you long term. I'm not sure why you'd hire me if you don't want anything like my style. Then constantly negotiating getting paid because 'this is easy so you shouldn't charge me' even when my prices are listed. Having to create work that I wasn't proud of and didn't even want to put in my portfolio. I ended up burned out and now I don't even do it for fun and to just be creative. People literally stomped it out of me.
Bored Templar 2 years ago
I'm a graphic designer but don't work as such. It's not a respected career. People don't understand you're the expert
The Redditor thinks that so many people form wrong impressions of the job market because our culture likes perpetuating myths.
"Nobody hears about a person who fails miserably at their job and then sets themselves up to follow in that path. These unrealistic standards of how they view their future career set them up to never feel fulfilled. Perhaps that's why I love what I do — I never thought about how great I would be at it during my teen or college years. I get to accept the position for what it is and not what I imagined it to be.
"Don't let your career run your life," the author of the post added. "Take your PTO. When your time comes, no one will be reading your performance reviews at your funeral."
#4
I always wanted to be a flight attendant. Then I actually was one. No thanks ever again but for a few years it was fun, then it just became a series of indistinguishable hotel rooms and it wasn't worth putting up with the passengers anymore
2x4b523p 2 years ago
I had a few friends who became flight attendands. While they hammer into you that you are there for the passanger safety first and foremost, 90% of the time you are just a travelling waitress. Except your customers are tired, irritated and don’t tip. None of my friends lasted more than three years.
Lisa Lisa 2 years ago
I read that as "your customers are TIED! lol instea od "tired".
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Zephyr343 2 years ago
My cousin is a FA and she loves the travel part. She knew what she was getting in to though.
Monday 2 years ago
That's they key. If you know exactly what you're going to have to put up with in order to get the perk you want then it's a great job imo.
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Tuesday's child 2 years ago
I've always had a lot of respect for flight addendances. There job looks really hard. Especially all the rude passengers
tracy black 2 years ago
almost makes me glad i was too short ( at the time early 80's) to do i was heartbroken to learn i was too short at the time im still short but i think they may have changed requirements im not sure though
kitteh floof lover 2 years ago
when i fly, i always take the flight attendants a box of chocolates as a thank you to them for all they do, and have to put up with. it always puts a smile on their faces!
Mason Kronol 2 years ago
I wanted to be a flight attendant until I was 12 and realized I hated heights and flying. Now that all the passengers are a&&h0les I am ok with my irrational fears.
Tim Douglass 2 years ago
Two of my cousins were flight attendants. Did it from first job out of H.S. to retirement. I guess they liked it.
Marley Nachi 2 years ago
they're really picky about how you look, if you don't have conventional hair pulled back, make up and are the right hight, they won't hire you either
ohjojo (you/your's) 2 years ago
What used to be glamorous and exciting is now just inconveniently dealing with a bunch of a******s
#5
Never really enjoyed driving but always wanted to learn to fly. Dropped 10k on a pilots license and found out flying was just driving with up and down added. Weird was how quickly a childhood dream turned to meh.
Anyone-for-tea? 2 years ago
Coming from a military career, and knowing fast-jet pilots, it always surprises me how these bus drivers are so glamorised and revered!
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Mama Penguin 2 years ago (edited)
Maybe I'm the odd one here. I notice many comments seem to look down on commercial pilots especially compared to fighter jet pilots. I get it. Fighter jets are sleek and sexy and commercial planes are often crowded and filled with annoying people. But I happen to think many people seem to take commercial flights for granted now. Commercial pilots are not just autopilot button pushers. They still have a buttload of procedures and planning to make even before they step onto the cockpit hence the pre-flight briefings. And yes, autopilot is being used but they still have to be alert at all times especially when an unexpected external factor happens. Some airlines make flying experience less than desireable but I still think flying itself is kind of thrilling. You're zipping through the sky at 30,000+ feet while eating, sleeping, and watching movies. Commercial planes make many things possible and not just for flying people to places. Am I romanticizing it? Maybe. But I am grateful for it.
Zitronella 2 years ago
That's exactly the point. Pilot training is long and difficult, the demands are high, you have to be mentally and physically able to fly and, at best, be a hero who saves the plane in an emergency situation. And despite all that, the flight from A to B remains day in and day out...boring for me. In the end you remain a sky bus driver
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Panda Kicki 2 years ago
I had a friend who spent a lot of time and money to be a helicopter pilot. Only to find jobs are few and start your own service wasnt a economic option, esp after the heavy loans for the training. And when he didnt get flight hours ge soon lost that license.
RafCo (he/him/ele) 2 years ago
I took helicopter lessons (only 2 lessons and just for fun) from a guy who flew for a hospital. He was an air ambulance pilot. He said, it's super hard to maintain enough hours to keep your insurance, and you need the insurance to fly for the hospital, so he did lessons just to keep his insurance. He was working tons of hours and didn't make a whole lot of money. But most of the time he was basically just "on call"
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Beeps 2 years ago
I was on a flight recently sitting towards the front of the plane, when I noticed one of the pilots coming out of the cockpit and going into the loo nearest to it. I mean, of course, when you think about it, that’s absolutely logical, where else would possibly be able to go? But to me that was somehow a massive realisation of how awful a job that is when you still have to share the same terrible plane toilet that is used by everybody else. I also can’t get over the fact that in decades of travelling on planes this had never occurred to me before.
EmbersAreOut 2 years ago
My uncle flew f-16's, and he always said that he would never fly a commercial plane after he retired. it would just be too boring.
RafCo (he/him/ele) 2 years ago
I started taking flight lessons in my 30s, because I thought it would be fun. It was AWESOME!!. But too expensive for me to continue. I did a couple helicopter lessons for S&Gs, and that was also amazing. I came to realize the expense of trying to rent enough time in a cockpit was just too high, and so I wouldn't be able to do it often enough to ever be safe on my own.
hardrad2009 2 years ago
It’s heavily dependent of the type of the aircraft, company and seniority.
Load More Replies... #6
I got to work on 3d models in a large game studio.
Turns out I hate working in an office setting, I can't stand office culture, and they don't pay living wages for new employees.
Now I get to help sick and injured people while living in a small mountain town, making enough money to buy a house and travel when I want.
Blue Mar 2 years ago
Yes, designer job sucks! Happy that you found your place to be. I also hated office culture in agency... Everyone so individual but mostly the same copy-paste people.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
Not a designer, but a little introverted and hate commuting. My husband started his own business, so I run his office, from home. No commute, no irritating coworkers, no office politics or gossip, and I can work in my pajamas, for a boss I love. Literally. Stress free. Heaven.
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I just work here 2 years ago
So curious what the job helping sick and injured people is. Wish this person would have clarified.
Johnny 2 years ago
I have a friend that became a graphic designer, she was super excited to get her first job at a gaming company, but spending 6 months making 3D models of various tennis rackets for a tennis game was enough to suck away that excitement. She said she didn't even know there were that many different tennis racket manufacturers, but they kept sending her new ones to model.
Kate Jones 2 years ago
Yes office culture drives me crazy, too. I'd do anything to find something new that I don't have to be on phones, or grip-n-grin, smile at people who are actively insulting me, be told we have to work in the office even though our jobs are fully able to be done remotely. I have nothing holding me where I am. I really need to start looking.
Anyone-for-tea? 2 years ago
Working in games is my dream job! I’m hoping it will be remote though, so I won’t have to contend with an office.
#7
Being a professor. The academe is full of know-it-alls and stuffy experts with attitude problems. Hard to work when it feels like you're walking on eggshells every time you approach a senior faculty member. Plus, they exploit the living hell out of the younger faculty members, saying that this is for experience when it is clearly just running tasks that they don't want to do.
Jcusack 2 years ago
Don't forget about the Royal Rumble's for Grant money!
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censorshipsucks 2 years ago
having done this as well I could deal with arrogant academics because I'd just cut them down to size with the same kind of condescension they dished out. What was much more tricky was hypersensitive students that can get you fired for using the wrong tone of voice.
M T 2 years ago
Postdoc here. First book I was given to read from a more senior postdoc in another lab but same dept was 54 Rules of Power. When that's given to you with a note "read and take notes", you know the workplace is going to be hell.
Pippi Kiku 2 years ago
It's also very lonely. Yes, a lot of people around, profs and students, but really no opportunity for true coworker/team work so making any kind of work friends almost impossible. So you must have friends - that is if you want friends :-) - outside of work to make it even remotely worth doing.
ί𝔫ＣίŦᵃт𝐔𝐬 2 years ago
I had that at my community College! We really cared about our students and worked together as a sub department in really creative ways. Bear job ever if I made more than $13k/year!
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Michael Largey 2 years ago
Teaching the students well is not important. Getting articles published in journals and obtaining research grant's are. In fact, being known for being effective in the classroom can be a career barrier.
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Miss Kitty 2 years ago
I work as a student coordinator for international students at a university in a non-English speaking country. The biggest a**holes are definitely the profs: not respecting university rules or employees that are lower in rank and cannot speak proper English.
Kitty 🥀 2 years ago
Oh my god, and with everything going on right now. There are too many admins so the college is always short on funds, the board/admin focus too much on sports and not enough on actual—you know—academia, the boards have been taking over more and more of the decisions that shouldn’t be theirs to make, and don’t even get me started on the De Santis b******t that’s spreading to other states. I’m at my wit’s end. Public libraries were almost better than this clusterfuck.
Linda Riebel 2 years ago
"exploit the living hell out of the younger faculty members" is administration's cursed work.
Guinevere89 2 years ago
Run from academia. Run far and fast. Best decision I ever made after 10 years. And I was successful. I can't imagine what others go through!
#8
Doctor.
Currently working 7am-7pm 6 days a week for months at a time. 4 weeks of vacation a year. I am getting paid about $12 per hour when you do the math out.
That is residency. I wanted to help people but this field takes advantage of that and the hospital CEOs and decreasing insurance reimbursement takes advantage of that.
I chose to do diagnostic radiology because this internal medicine lifestyle and workload is just ridiculous.
Tamra 2 years ago
I don't know how it is in other countries, but here in the US there is such a ridiculous culture of over-working healthcare professionals, such as doctors and nurses. How does it make any sense to put these people through long hours and brutal shifts when they're responsible for people's health? Makes no sense.
Bumblebee 2 years ago
It's not just a culture though. It's also the fact the Healthcare is essential and wildly understaffed. As much as we want to preserve our own health, it's not a good feeling know that a hospital will shut down for the night due to understaffing if you don't work overtime. It's harder than people think to just day no to that
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🧶𝔹𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕂𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣🪡 2 years ago
Doctors, nurses, EMTs, and basically any healthcare jobs in the US are insane. How in the hell do we expect them to work 24-48 hours at a time and be responsible for a human life when we wouldn't even let a bus driver operate a vehicle if they hadn't slept in that long?!
Beth 2 years ago
Just a note: bus drivers are also responsible for lives.
Load More Replies... Beeps 2 years ago
Yep, I work in the private mental health sector. The other day I got contacted by a head hunter who said they had various locum positions available. I had heard about people minting it in whilst doing locum work, so I figured “why not work the odd weekend for some easy cash?” Well, when I spoke to the headhunter on the phone, he asked me what my NHS pay grade was. I haven’t worked within the NHS since I first trained many years ago, so I looked it up: it turns out the highest NHS grade pays less than half my hourly wage! That was the end of me looking for locum work.
Qadgop the Mercotan 2 years ago
I just retired 9 months ago after over 4 decades in medicine (physician, family medicine). Caring for patients was hard but worth it. Dealing with the ever growing bureaucracy and watching business managers take control of how practices were run was much worse. Production, production, bill the worried well for whatever insurance would cover. The salary wasn't worth doing that. Then Covid came. At times I thought either the stress or the virus would kill me and was almost disappointed it didn't. 28 months into the pandemic I finally retired. Free at last, free at last!
Agfox 2 years ago
Australian medical residents work around 70 hours a week for $62.12 per hour - equivalent to around $US41.60
RafCo (he/him/ele) 2 years ago
That's too many hours to be safe in my opinion. I want my doctor to have gotten at least 8 hours of sleep. Less likely to make a mistake that way
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Id row 2 years ago
But is this really new knowledge for that profession? I'm not in medicine and I - and everyone else - know how awful the hours and pay are when you're an intern and resident. It's like when I hear teachers complain about the low pay. Everyone knows about the low pay. You had to know about it before you even went to school for it.
The Deez 2 years ago
I work as a receptionist at a direct primary care medical clinic (aka concierge medicine). We don't file insurance and operate on a membership model - the monthly fee gets you unlimited office visits and direct access to the doctor via text or phone call. The docs I work for are a married couple who worked in corporate medicine after they graduated residency and decided they had had enough of the treadmill, so they opened this clinic model so that they could have an actual relationship with their patients, not be required to cram 25 patients into a day and only get to spend 5 minutes with each one.
Alicia M 2 years ago
I dated a guy for a long time (high school and pre med) and our relationship didn't survive his medical school and residency. Really nice guy. We had a lot in common but I was young and didn't want a relationship with someone who never had time for me and had to frequently cancel plans at the last minute. I respect anyone who becomes a doctor but it's not easy and hard on relationships.
Zitronella 2 years ago
Being a doctor is one of the most stressful but also one of the best jobs. Unfortunately, there are many bad doctors who have never realized - surprise - that they are dealing with people first and foremost. Appropriately accompanying someone in an extreme situation is what most people fail at.
#9
My first job out of college was as a forestry field tech. Turns out camping is way less fun when you worked 10 hours, don't have cell service, are on a random flat spot you found, and there's no one to talk to. Now make that 8 days in a row, your only water is in jugs in the work truck, and you're covered in grime and wearing the same clothes for the entire time.
Now I get to stay in a cabin during field season. Having running water, a bed, and four friendly people on the crew is a godsend. I am so much happier just having company and running water, "adventure" be damned.
Ranger Kanootsen 2 years ago
This one is the closest one to my current job (park ranger). I still do quite a bit of forest field tech these days, and I enjoy it a lot! I however have a small hut rather than a tent, and I do have cell service hence my online presence. I love having no one to talk to because people don't tend to like me very much and the feeling is mutual!
Mary Baker 2 years ago
I also wanted to be a forest ranger. And then I discovered at university that I am allergic to pine trees.
#10
Sort of. I got close to it. Close enough to see what that life would actually be like. And it sucked. It turns out, I don’t like working on celebrities. They’re kind of annoying clients. It’s not fun and glamorous. It’s unnecessarily stressful. And I don’t want to be a famous stylist or famous anything. It makes people weird. Mark Ruffalo is only normal because he hasn’t figured out he’s famous yet.
I still enjoy doing hair. And I still like people, for the most part. So I went with a more low key path. I’m very happy with my choices. Sometimes on the way to your dream job, you have to make adjustments.
Chrissie Anit 2 years ago
I'm not sure if I should be glad that Mark Ruffalo seems to still be a nice guy, or if I should be sad that he will eventually become annoying as well. ;o)
ChickyChicky 2 years ago
I knew someone who worked with Mark Ruffalo's kids. Said he was just a normal dad. Nice guy.
ShaZam Beaubien 2 years ago
Now all I can think about is Mark Ruffalo .... hmmmmmmm Mark Ruffalo
Id row 2 years ago
I don't know why anyone would aspire to be a servant to a celebrity. They are just people with more money than you and more people recognize them. That's it. They are not better than you.
Luna W. 2 years ago
I wouldn't call a hair stylist a servant...but I get what you mean.
Load More Replies... Kate Jones 2 years ago
It's funny because you hear from a lot of people that some of the bigger celebs are actually the kindest. It's these wanna be influencer, barely B listers who are the biggest headaches. I have a celebrity friend who has been in a few bigger things, and was the star of an ensemble show once. But he never made it huge or anything. But he gossips about the worst people to work with and it's always some crystal-loving, arty-farty actor/actress who can't come out of their trailer because their personal psychic told them they shouldn't. Or he told me once about an actress that collapsed on the floor and was inconsolable because everyone's auras were green. I mean.. every minute on a set is time and money. And while you don't care because you get to sit in your trailer, the crew are on their feet for 17 hours and want to go home. Causing delays is a big no-no. Especially for these types of reasons.
Kate Jones 2 years ago
Just adding that, for what it's worth, the nicest actor he said he's ever worked with in 35 years was John Travolta. Apparently just the salt of the earth. It was just after his son died and he was trying to cheer up his wife Kelly and she really loved the show my friend was on, so he invited the main cast members over to surprise her at a nice dinner so she could fangirl out with them. My friend said he was the nicest guy he's literally ever met.
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Tim Gearing 2 years ago
I was making chit chat with my local hairdresser who was telling me that she just had her second shoulder surgery. Who would have thought?
#11
Healthcare.
It's one of the most soul crushing jobs out there.
A kid in the pediatric intensive care unit with severe injuries while his parents tell conflicting stories on how he got injured.
Knowing and seeing what "teratogenic" is.
Children getting severe infections and getting declared brain dead and then you have to tell the parents that their kid is now just a living meat bag.
Pay is good at least.
🧶𝔹𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕂𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣🪡 2 years ago
My dad was a pediatric nurse when I was a kid. I remember coming up to the floor he worked on and getting to play on the arcade machines in the day room with some of the kids who were able to leave their beds. It always seemed like an awesome job to me...until the day my dad had to quarantine in the hospital (procedure at the time) because he'd gotten hit in the eye with a pediatric HIV patient's blood. As a kid I barely knew anything about HIV and then to realize that it could affect kids like me and that my own father was now possibly infected, it was incredibly depressing. Thankfully my dad wound up not becoming infected but he had to take a lot of pills as a preventative measure for a period of time and he never really recaptured his love of the job after that. He switched careers not long after.
Ashley Greer 2 years ago
I’m a pediatric nurse and I wouldn’t put it that way at all. I refuse to take care of adults, but kiddos are awesome and I get to truly help them. I have a patient that will eventually be graduating off of life support. I’m specialized in terminal and rare illnesses. This is my first patient who gets their life handed back to them and I am so here to cheer them on!
Val! 2 years ago
It would be horrible to watch as someone loses their essential motor functions and ability to take care of their selves. I remember watching someone I love lose the ability to walk, eat, and even talk. I saw them at Christmas when they were walking around and cracking jokes, only for 2 months later to be in bed not able to do anything. Working in that field must take A LOT. You definitely earned my respect.
Duane Ringlein 2 years ago
20+ years in healthcare on the night shift (7p-7a), I can relate to that
#12
Teaching. Thought it be nice but was totally not suited to it, was dreadful at managing behaviour and just couldn't understand how to plan or deliver lesson. I sucked. It amazes me how much teaching is promoted by the mass media and society as a "anybody can do it job". It certainly isn't and I met some unhappy colleagues who hated it too or that weren't suited to it either when I was there but were trapped in it.
Also if you can't control a class don't expect management to understand,they won't. They'll see it as your fault. To them, the school is their business and the kids and their parents are their customers they want kept happy. Parental complaints look bad on you so don't expect management to side with you or have empathy. They often see it as your fault and you as the problem. It definitely is a marmite profession that comes back to your personality type. Just being able to manage kids alone isn't enough, it's so much more that requires a massive array of skills and talent. You either have the knack or you don't and in my new profession now I'm often asked why I left such a "cushy job/ handy number" like teaching. The same people won't believe me when I try to tell them and believe it's an easy gig. People appear to think because the holidays are good it makes it a dream job and negates everything else.
Dawn Marie 2 years ago
I was a public school teacher for 25 years and I totally understand. I began my career teaching elective classes in high school. The fun classes. The classes the students choose to take. I THOUGHT I wouldn't have discipline issues because they want to be there. I got a HUGE wake up call before my very first class even started. I will never forget what this kid told me on his way into class:. "We ran off the last teacher, we'll run you off too." Through the years I became a robot. It became teach to the test. There was more teachable moments. Drill, drill, drill!!!! I could handle discipline for the most part. My last 7 years I taught first grade. I love it, except the parents, "the work was to hard, the work was to easy, my 'other' child was reading by now, why does she have to do this, he doesn't do that at home, you will not keep him out of recess again, do not call on my child during class, (the child was extremely smart, the parent wasn't) I could go on and on.
Carla Phillips 2 years ago
Hi Dawn Marie, do you think elementary grades are preferable to the higher ones? I've been given an opportunity to go back to school completely paid for and in my head I feel like I really want to be a teacher. I had several that really made a difference in my life and I would like to have a child day the same about me some day. Am I living a pipe dream? I've never really had a conversation with a teacher about teaching so I'm sorry to barrage you in the comments. I wanted to seize the opportunity.
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Steve Robert 2 years ago
Teacher imo is one of the most noblest of career choices. Even the genius needs a teacher to unlock his potential. But cheap pay and long hours and no upper support chases away the most qualified candidates from the profession. The proof is that we are graduating students who rank as some of the dumbest people in the world. Shameful and sad that we pay someone who can hit a baseball $20,000,000 a season, but teachers need side jobs just to pay their bills.
Passerby 2 years ago
Being a school teacher is not all fun. They have million things to do that are actually unrelated to the teaching itself. Sometimes, there are students that make you feel like teaching is worth your while. The opposite is also sadly true. Sometimes students make you want to quit on the spot.
Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
Back in the '60s, teaching was one profession available to women. My father wanted me to be a teacher, but that was not my thing. One of his friend's daughters finished her first day of teaching, walked out and quit. She went back to college for something else.
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Cherreka Wirth 2 years ago
I honestly don't know anyone who thinks teaching is a cushy easy job. Seriously, I have enough trouble dealing with my own kids and I only have two. Teachers have my greatest respect.
Xenia Harley 2 years ago (edited)
People just see the time off and think it is a cushy job. What they don't see is the amount of work that teachers bring home! We used to plan having essays turned in before Christmas break so we could grade the research projects! (It took at least a half hour to grade EACH paper, multiply by about 100.) We were also expected to return graded work like that within two weeks! So, so much for an actual vacation! The three Language Arts teacher, me included, for the 7th grade had to be in sync and plan together,
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Jenn C 2 years ago
I wanted to be a teacher, but when I finally started working on the classroom, pre student teaching, I found it wasn't for me. So much organization, planning, paperwork needed. I now work as a classroom aide, and I can help the students who need extra help, like I always wanted to.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
I actually wanted to be a teacher when I was younger (being academically bright meant that I rather enjoyed school). Thankfully I ended up in IT (and not the soul crushing Roy and Moss type of IT either)
Featherking 2 years ago (edited)
… “Cushy… job”…? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!! Where I …HA HA HA HA HA!! …Sorry, sorry; I’ll try to keep it together. Where I live, it’s perceived as one of the hardest, grittiest, toughest, most demanding jobs in society. Not physically, perhaps, but man... When speaking about demanding jobs, mine workers have been known to say; “well sure, it’s a constant danger to life and limb and you have to have the physique of a tiger on speed, but at least I’m not a teacher.” Fire fighters have been heard saying; “well yeah, death is always a risk on the job, but at least I only work in short bursts and the equipment only weighs a little over half my body weight. It takes a lot out of you, it does, but it’s not exactly as if a was a teacher or something. I don’t have to be *that* tough.” (Admittedly I’ve actually only heard one firefighter say that, because I only know one firefighter - but he meant it). “Cushy job”? No no. Oh dear me no.
Sonia J-Coffee 2 years ago
Students don't have rules at home and they don't respect teachers anymore
Rachel Ainsworth 2 years ago
When I was a teacher people would always comment on how many holidays I got. When I replied "are you interested in being a teacher?" their very quick answer was always "oh no I could never do that".
#13
I worked a lot of physical demanding jobs during my 20s and had these recurring fantasies about working in a store, sitting all day waiting for people to buy something, and have all that free time
Well a couple months ago I found that job. Great pay, some benefits, great bosses, but every day it's slower than the last, and weirdly enough I come back home tired from doing almost nothing all day long, tf with that?
Now sometimes I fantasize about going back to my old job, where I would end up covered up in sweat and dirt but at least there was a feeling of accomplishment
So dumb, I hate it
Barbara Kayton 2 years ago
You are not alone in your experience. A friend of mine told me about his in- law who experienced this exact same thing. It’s astonishing how exhausting being in an office “behind a desk.”
Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
It's called mental fatigue. No creativity and it's the same thing day after day.
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Talitha Jansen 2 years ago
I've never had time when I worked in retail to sit down? You have to help costumers, restock, clean, ring up purchases etc.
--- 2 years ago
They probably worked in one of those small shops that get like 10-20 visitors a day
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pat martin 2 years ago
I was a landscaper, then went to a store where I could tell people how to do their own landscaping the right way, share my knowledge.... And I'm a landscaper again now.
Ruby 2 years ago
When I worked retail sometimes we had these days where there was barely any work to do, causing you to just stand there twiddling your thumbs waiting for costumers. Slowest days ever, just watching the clock tick away.
DarkViolet 2 years ago
But you had to at least LOOK busy. Otherwise, you would get reprimanded for "slacking on the job," or stuck in another department, with a line of customers going out of the door.
Load More Replies... White Sauce Hot Sauce 2 years ago (edited)
Writing this comment while I'm avoiding doing my office job. I'd much rather work with my hands, outdoors.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
Someone's dream job was retail? Based on the stories here and elsewhere I don't think anyone would have that fantasy any more.
Kate Jones 2 years ago (edited)
Can you please tell me where you work because that is literally my dream job. I'm going to be tired no matter what so I'd rather not get yelled at all day or take 1000 phone calls or have to do the grip-n-grin of corporate culture. I get the idea of a day dragging because it's slow being horrible, but for me the only times I've experienced that have been jobs I've had to stand up all day. If I can sit down, It would literally be my dream. I would guard a morgue. I would answer phones outside a library that only had books about golfing. I just want peace. I'm so tired of being so on edge all the time. I used to want an interesting job--nope. I'm done looking for that. At 43 years old, I just want something that doesn't require customer interaction and I can physically do.
#14
Working as a chemist in an academic research lab.
Academia is full of narcissistic nutjobs that pretend like their research is the holy grail of their field when it's actually practically inconsequential. The stakes are so low that the results dont matter and everyone is just scavenging for what little funding they can pull together for something nobody really wants or needs. The amount of pettiness, sabotage and frankly fraud is rather pathetic. But they face little to no repercussions because, again, nobody cares.
Which is why I now do research in a corporate lab.
Chrissie Anit 2 years ago
Read that as "alchemist" first and thought "cool, that's a real job?!?!?"
Oliver Kettle 2 years ago
Me and homies going to create a philosopher stone
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hardrad2009 2 years ago
Sheldon: Why would you do that? You're a string theorist as well. Barry Kripke: Incorrect. I'm a string pragmatist. I say I'm going to prove something that can not be proved. I apply for grant money and then I spend it on liquor and broads.
Featherking 2 years ago (edited)
Yeah. Doesn’t surprise me. … And at the same time, without those narcissist nutjobs we’d be so far up shìt creek that we’ll have reached Shìt City - without a paddle in sight. Because, you know, the narcissist nutjobs ARE the paddles. For good or bad, necessary research will have to be tolerated in order to have the vital research - it’s often impossible to know if somsthing is vital or not until it’s been researched. “Inconsequential” is usually a label which is impossible to put down on anything before research has shown what it is. It is what it is, science isn’t neat. It’s just correct.
#15
Teaching at a college
I ***love*** my field and I love research. It's easy to ramble for hours on end about a topic. The passion and curiosity I held for my discipline, I thought, would make me a good instructor. What I did not expect was how much hatred, contempt, jealousy, and sabotage would come from administration.
* "Oh, you're enjoying teaching an entry level class with 30 students? We'll raise the cap so it has 75 enrolled. Have fun grading until you cry each week!"
* "Oh, you want to be an expert educator in one area? Then you get to be the (unpaid) consultant on *all* department exams on that topic. Enjoy re-writing 7 midterms for your colleagues with one week's notice!"
* "Oh, you haven't had a raise in six years? The football coach *needs* to be highest paid person in the state. If you ask for a cost of living increase again we'll set the students against you by claiming inflation adjusted raises for instructors would result in doubling tuition costs for students!"
And so many of the students see the courses as box checking and are burnt out from previous bad educational experiences. I don't blame them, but no matter how hard I tried to be kind and share my excitement for the subject it felt like throwing a dandelion into the grand canyon of despair.
Wilhelm1313 2 years ago
The internet is full of teachers stories like this, so unfortunate and still nothing seems to be changing
M T 2 years ago
Again, this is the third post in this list that is academia related. academia is currently imploding and the speed is accelerated by the fact that adjuncts and postdocs are fleeing. The workplace sucks a** and even the nicest people are toxic bosses. Avoid at all cost.
CHRIS DOMRES 2 years ago
A friend's daughter spent a ton of money getting a four year degree in art education only to find she makes more as a waitress at an upscale restaurant. Teacher wages suck.
Patricia Stilwell 2 years ago
I, personally, never felt underpaid. I quit because of very bad administration and very difficult parents [who apparently could do my job better than I. Just ask them. Or don't, they'll tell you anyway.].
Shankshaw Redeemer 2 years ago
I understand so well, and it's one of the main reasons I left the job after 22 years. In my state, I could have retired in five more years but I'd rather not spend the first of my retirement in the looney bin because that's straight where I was headed. Took me four years to recover, even though I loved my job--minus the countless essays I had to grade all the freakin' time. Good riddance.
#16
Yes I did. I went to culinary school, worked my way up in restaurants (as a woman) washing dishes, being the fry cook, closing two stations without a change of pay at a couple places, and finally made it to an up scale restaurant in DTLA where the owners had, STILL have, a great reputation in the industry. We were nominated for two Michelin stars while I was working for them (I was a pastry cook and worked directly with the owner/head pastry chef). I finally had that job I worked so hard for, but I was extremely unhappy, unfulfilled and burnt out. I came to realize that it was always going to be “go go go” and I was never fully going to be able to rest and spend time with family. I knew it was a laborious job going in, and I was ready. What I did not expect was that I was never going to be properly compensated. Cooks are extremely underpaid, over worked and undervalued. It was a huge disappointment finding out that I would never make enough to live on my own, let alone start my own business which was my end goal. I do not regret taking that path though. When I began I was shy, quiet, and didn’t know how to speak up for myself. It doesn’t happen with everyone, but working those 8 years in the industry toughened me up, and gave me the confidence and courage I needed to accept that I was unhappy and had the option to change careers.
🧶𝔹𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕂𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣🪡 2 years ago
There's a lot of burnout in that industry. Also, a lot of burnouts, as in drug addicts and ex cons...not that that's a bad thing, per se - everyone needs to have a chance to work and rebuild their life - but when the demands of the job are constant hard labor being on your feet for an entire 8+ hour shift, low pay, and a willingness to basically accept subpar working conditions while the glorified front of house staff are the ones taking home hundreds or sometimes thousands of dollars in cash every night despite YOU being the one to make the product that's bringing in the customers, it tends make anyone with the option to pursue something else do exactly that while the ones who need a job just for the sake of having one tend to stick around cuz they'll head back to jail or back on the streets if not. My husband worked as a cook for years & experienced everything OP did as well. When he FINALLY quit for good, my son & I were so glad. He's still depressed & resentful from that grind.
Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
When I was younger, I worked a second job as a waitress in a neighborhood place. We always shared our tips with the cook and the busman (an immigrant from Korea with a degree in engineering who was working on his English while supporting his family.)
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Andy Frobig 2 years ago
Never had a dream job, but I've found myself in food service several times out of expediency. I always describe it as getting home at 3 AM smelling like onions
Kate Jones 2 years ago
I was in the culinary field for 4 years in my 20s and it's tough but I really needed it. I'm embarrassed to admit I used to be one of those girls who would just cry the minute I felt criticized or had any kind of pressure on me. I was overemotional. As hard as that job was, I wouldn't change a thing because it seriously toughened me up. In almost a military way. Yes chef. No chef. Do your job. There's also this camaraderie that is generally very tough but it's like family; even if you aren't best friends, they aren't going to let other people be rude to you. You start having a certain pride in being able to take on anything. A maturity level that you can actually feel yourself hit because you see that you aren't getting overemotional about things and can just learn to figure out the problem. And now when I see overemotional girls I feel for them, but part of me still feels embarrassed that I used to be like that and I'm so glad I feel so much stronger now.
Synsepalum 2 years ago
I'm a pastry chef, but after working in catering and fine dining and being overworked and undervalued (I was paid well, however), I went the boutique bakery route and never looked back. I have complete creative control in my kitchen and a staff of talented and eager people working with me.
The Starsong Princess 2 years ago
Some jobs are permanent, some are stepping stones to a better job/ career.
#17
Got a job with a U.S. state as a child abuse investigator. Like great, I get state benefits, I get to help kids, I thought it was a lot of money. How wrong I was. Chronically understaffed, overworked, underpaid, kids lying to get their step parents in trouble. Plus the actual cases… my god. I’ve never cried so much in my life from the stress and sadness. I now appreciate the life lessons it taught me. I was only 22 when I started that job. We celebrated people lasting 6 months. I made it 18 haha. I now work in order management for a big U.S. corporation. It’s boring but it pays the bills without life or death consequences.
Mouse 2 years ago
My neighbor did this job. It contributed to her becoming a chronic heavy drinker. She lost her driver's license because of it & had to take taxis to home visits where she decided if the kids could live there. She eventually hit retirement age, left the job with benefits, sobered up without the work stress and regained her drivers license. Sad sad stuff.
Cthulhu Kitty 2 years ago
Yes many were. But there has been a trend of more and more kids lying, because they believe they have power over their parents when they do. I didn't get the present I wanted, " I am going to tell my teacher t you hit me". And because CPS in USA have such a bad rep and false beliefs about them, parents freak out and give in. I have had kids confess that they lied to get there way. I have also had many kids recant their abuse stories for fear of getting more hurt or loosing family, those are the saddest
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#18
For sure! Worked in forensics and while the gruesome parts didn't affect me directly, I kinda lost my smile? It's a dark world, yet exciting. Worst part was for sure the work place and how it was managed.
Lila Allen 1 year ago
Spend any significant amount of time in law enforcement and you will start seeing everyone as bad.
#19
I dreamt of working at Disney World for YEARS, finally got hired at 23. The first couple of years weren’t that bad (I had blinders on). Year 3 I realized I was literally paying to work there I was getting paid so little. Took me 4 more years to get out of the mouse trap but once I was gone I’ve never looked back.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
Given that employees of Disney call the place "Mousewitz" gives you an idea of what the working conditions will be like
Well then 2 years ago
When I was a teen Disney would come out to the high schools and recruit students for seasonal and summer jobs. It was great, had lots of fun. I get what op is saying about "paying to work there though" because for the majority of us it is VERY far away and the pay wasn't great. But as a teen with no bills it can be a great first job. They even allowed you to sync your schedule up with someone else so you could carpool, and your days off were always together. Before 9/11, after I'd stopped working there I'd even figured out how to get in the park for free, and eat lunch in the tunnel for employees where the food was much cheaper and tasted better 😉
DeoManus Argentem 2 years ago
Most Disney World cast members are UCF (University of Central Florida) students either studying hospitality or some kind of drama/acting. Sorry to hear they were disappointed at "finally" getting hired at 23, but with such a huge pool of local "talent" (it's a giant university) it's not surprising they were disappointed. Everybody in the area with greater goals in entertainment wants to work there for the resume, not forever!
Spring Fisk 2 years ago
so true, we were repeatedly warned at my university (when they came recruiting) that their "Internships" were not accredited, and with the pay, they give you and your expenses in the living areas you are barely making any money at all.
#20
I've worked at a few nonprofits. I like my current job well enough but some things I've noticed:
1. They tend to be filled with overdramatic people. More so than other jobs I've had like retail or fast food.
2. The pay ranges from sucks to poverty.
Sloth29 2 years ago
I worked for 3 years with one of the top 5 non-profits in my country. I started as a volunteer at a very disillusioned time in my life and that experience gave my life meaning. So, I thought I'll make my career in it. So what if it pays less at least it's meaningful. I ended up taking a full time role with them which was basically recruiting paid volunteers for the program. And I realised how truly f****d everything was. How target driven, corporate and down right sales it was. How impact was just another word for numbers fudged up to suit organisations agenda. It wasn't all bad. That job taught me a lot of planning, organisation and the best ability to b******t authentically. But at the end of the day it didn't give me any purpose and it just felt like any other job with less pay. So I moved. Now I earn more and donate directly to the people who need it the most rather than going through any of these non-profits.
ILoveMySon 2 years ago
The reason I only donate locally or simply give to those I know personally who are in need.
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The Other Other White Meat 2 years ago
About 10 years ago, I worked full-time as an Executive Assistant to an Executive Director. It was just us in the office, a small field crew, and a handful of Board Members. I was getting paid very little, didn't receive any benefits, was going to the food bank often and paying my own health insurance. Then, I found out the Executive Director was making about $22/hour more than me and had benefits 😅 I mean... c'mon.
Biscuitbot 2 years ago
SO much infighting. One organisation actually required me to give up all other volunteering work, claiming conflict of interest. They were both campaigning for the same cause! And I was in completely different roles for each. (And this wasn't a case of completing for funding)
ConstantlyJon 2 years ago
8 years in the nonprofit world beginning fresh out of college. They moved me around so much that I ended up working all of the jobs I could successfully do within the organization and they then started having me do jobs I was not qualified for, but they needed help so I tried and failed to help them in those areas. In the end, I ran out of things I could really do to contribute and had to leave for other opportunities. Loved my time there, didn't make what I should have but you go into that world understanding that.
Wilhelm1313 2 years ago
It depends, but, yeah, a lot of nonprofits struggle to get enough money, that's why they get tax exemptions, but they still always seem to struggle
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Yes and no. Check out the Director’s salary, and that of other non-profit upper management, and you will see where a load of the money goes.
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#21
Wanted to be an actress. Got a place at drama school and the thing was that from day one you learned that every basic thing you always did your whole life was wrong. Talking, going, standing, speaking, breathing.... Everything was wrong. But I guess that's okay, as this was to be expected. It's a hard job.
Problem was that I had an accident while rehearsing and the school gaslight me that this was my wrong doing and that I was not meant to do that job if a light push would break my jaw..while actually someone fell full force with their knee straight in my face, while I layed - as instructed - with closed eyes on the floor.
Long story short. That experience was very traumatic and I really couldn't do that job anymore.
The Starsong Princess 2 years ago (edited)
They can gaslight you all they want but really, the only person who should have been talking to them about it was your lawyer.
Con O Cuinn 2 years ago
For me, it was other actors I couldn't deal with. The entitlement is unreal. Complaining that the scene ran long and lunch is late by like 30 mins, meanwhile the crew have been busting their asses for 7 hours without a break. Granted, it definitely wasn't all of them. Generally the stars of the shows were pretty cool, probably from being humbled on their way up, but I realised pretty quick I couldn't deal with all the bit-part actors who thought they were doing god's work. Just ended up hanging around with the crew and the stunties all the time.
#22
When I was younger, I desperately wanted to work on the railway as the money was great, and I really loved railways and everything in that world. I eventually managed to get a job as a welder with a local firm.
It was f*****g wank. Permanent nights, working every weekend in all weather, with equipment that weighed an absolute tonne that had to be loaded up dark embankments. I was working with thermite and explosive gases, usually after pushing all the gear about 3 or 4 miles down the track. One Christmas, I worked a shift on a site where a guy was killed the previous weekend after getting his arm chopped off by an excavator. They had a collection box in the site cabin with a picture of him and his young kid on it. F*****g heartbreaking. And to top it off, everyone I worked with was a complete and utter c**t.
F*****g s**t job.
Grace Note 2 years ago (edited)
This post had me saying "Tell me you're British without telling me you're British" as I read it. First sentence, second paragraph. Totally British.
#23
Yeah. I always wanted to be a part of the music industry but didn't want to be a performer. I went to college for audio engineering, and was a live sound engineer/stage tech/guitar tech for about seven years. I did love the job and I'm glad I did it, but it was pretty clear after I started touring that it wasn't feasible for me as a lifestyle.
In order to do the job consistently you have to basically be homeless and miss everything that happens at home. It wasn't like I was miserable and being held hostage, but after missing enough birthdays and holidays with family and instead spending them with other random stage techs that you aren't super close to, it gets hard to rationalize.
The days are long but the pay doesn't reflect that. If it was a show day, I'd usually work like 16 hours straight. I was working with pretty big-name acts but my day rate was still about $175 a day and if I asked for a raise they'd call someone else. Everything I did was also as an independent contractor, so my taxes were f****d to begin with. That was actually what forced me out of doing it full-time, the change to the tax code in 2017 pretty much ruined my career. I went from paying in $600 per year to paying in $4,000 in one year.
When I quit, I still kept doing it on the side for a few years with some of the local audio companies I worked with coming up, but it paid way less than touring which already didn't pay a lot. After about two years and the beginning of COVID, I walked away entirely to focus on my career as an electrician which is a much better fit.
I miss the experiences but I don't miss the lifestyle. Again, I'm glad I did it, but I'm glad I don't do it.
CHRIS DOMRES 2 years ago
I was a keyboardist in pop and soul bands road back in the 1970's. We would pass road sign that pointed to a great natural wonder of the world and could not stop to visit it because we were on a deadline getting to the next gig. We got to travel the country and not see any of it as we were gigging six nights a week. Then when we had time off we were broke because the pay was so low and could not afford to travel.
Donna Peluda 2 years ago
I've been twice to Cairo and haven't been able to see the Pyramids.
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howdylee 2 years ago
my brother is a truck driver. we all thought it'd be cool if he drove the semi for something like a singer/band tour or NASCAR, something big name. He's single and no kids, would be awesome life experience. from this post, sounds like a short stint of it would be neat, then move on to something else.
KittyMommy 2 years ago
Something like that they only hire the best. I used to drive long haul and looked into it. You had to have a lot of years in driving with a clean record and be able to back a trailer the first time into whatever weird configuration the docks were in. It's a lot harder than it sounds to bump a dock quickly and do it right
Load More Replies... Kate Jones 2 years ago
My best friend is a stage tech and I can confirm. He's literally said the same thing. He feels homeless because if you're hired for a job it can last a month or more. You're never really coordinated with your schedule and you don't always know what job you'll be doing so making plans is almost impossible. It can also be somewhat dangerous because they hire some really untrained people to do very technical and heavy work and accidents happen a lot. And often you're too scared to say anything because they don't want to inform the insurance company on the tour. He went to school for sound engineering with the intention of working with a label but it doesn't always work that way. Most of the techs are hired in whatever city they're in.
#24
I got my dream job as a designer of skiing magazines, but then my workload doubled with no raise, the raises I was promised never came, all of the people I liked working with left, and things just got gradually worse. I left three months ago, and they still haven't been able to fill the position because they're offering a wage that was low nine years ago for half of the work.
Coyote Osborne 2 years ago
Yep. I worked in graphics and design for about fifteen years, before shifting completely to IT. I loved the actual work, the actual making of stuff. But the lack of respect, the having to scramble to get paid, having to deal with clients that take the work, use it, and don't pay. And there was just a realistic cap on how much I would be making ever if I stayed in the field. Always deadlines, always a rush. If you worked for a design company, they'd charge the client a thousand dollars an hour for work we got paid between 15 and 21 an hour for. And that was one of the nicest places I worked. Working freelance? Ugh. Constant hustling, overwork, never being sure when or if you'd get paid. And work would just dry up at certain parts of the year. I don't think a single year during the time I worked in design was I employed and not broke during the holiday season. And by the time I worked on other people's art all day, when I got off work, I had no energy or creativity left for my own art.
#25
I actually have my “dream job.” Growing up I would watch ASPCA cops and loved the idea of being a dog trainer or behavior person to help the damaged dogs get better and be adopted by loving families.
I condemn a lot more dogs to death and see broken dogs unable to be saved that ASPCA cops did not show lol
Uncanny 2 years ago
I think this wins the prize for the most inappropriate lol I’ve seen on line.
Jackal 2 years ago
Agreed, but when I read it, I felt like it was the uncomfortable, crazy or unhappy laugh you get when you are that unsure about something but don't know how to deal/make yourself feel better... maybe that's just me projecting what I hope the laugh was about...
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Dee Rutherford 2 years ago
Understood. It’s so hard when you want to help and rehab every animal, but some have been abused so badly, you just want to cry all the time.
charles folger 2 years ago
This is something I'm too familiar with. I had to stop doing animal control when I started to want to kill people.
Catherine Spencer-Mills 2 years ago
My husband did this for awhile. One breed only. Would train dogs with a bite history. Never made enough to cover costs. Fortunately, the number that had to be condemned to death was a very small percentage.
#26
all through college I wanted to be a software engineer. I got the job and hated everything. the work was tedious, the impact I was making was miniscule, and my team was constantly s**t on and under appreciated. I also realized I could definitely do more than code for the rest of my life
Dan Padgett 2 years ago
I'm loving this list. I'm a graphic designer currently studying software development. Apparently I'm in for a world of pain.
HotDog Water 2 years ago
if you enjoy the work, it's great. i think we hype up our "dream job" & forget the reality of "a job".
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#27
My dream job for a long time was being a paid writer and/or screenwriter. I’ve more or less reached that point where I’m making a living writing, but boy is it different than what I expected. I could be cut/let go at anytime. Years on a temp contract with no benefits. I get the weirdest notes on scripts by someone who has no idea what story telling is. It’s a lot of keeping your head down, producing content and hoping it doesn’t get noted to the point you have to restart. My freelance writing work is similar where no one has what I dreamed of being an “artistic vision”. It’s more “we can’t shoot this in Los Angeles, so change it to Seattle” and then I have to go through the script and make the changes. A lot of it is just textual grunt work. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to make a living like this, and when I say “I’m a writer” as my living, people get all starry-eyed, but the life of a working writer is really just implementing notes and trying to make it seem like no one else can do what you do.
#28
I thought I wanted to be a manager but ended up only having to deal with my employees personal lives and feelings and not having any time left to do the fun stuff so I left. It clearly wasn’t my thing.
ExistentialSoup 2 years ago
I was in upper management for a while. People hate you from both above and below! It's great. (It's not)
Igor914624 2 years ago
I am in IT, and got moved from tech into IT management. Changed jobs, they saw the "manager" reference on my resume, and I was made a higher manager. Hated managing people. So when that job moved to another state, I took my severance, removed all the references to "manager" from my resume, and went back to being a tech. Now I am happy in what I do. No more dealing with hiring, firing, and all the other people related tasks.
Glengoolie Blue 2 years ago
I had a career doing a job that I loved and was good at, and I got lots of opportunities to become a manager but I turned them down flat. A manager just ends up being a babysitter for the worst employees in the company.
Isa Bella 2 years ago
I downvoted you first. Then I thought about it and upvoted you. Because it is the right deciaion to leave if one realizes that the position is not suitable.
Load More Replies... #29
Worked at IBM. Dream job! Especially as an OS/2 user. The work itself was excellent. Truly excellent. Building out huge nation-spanning WANs. Deploying 1000s of workstations and the associated servers at each site. Really fun stuff. But... the bureaucracy, OMG. The endless soul crushing pointless bureaucracy. I literally attended meetings about a meeting next month that was about a meeting a few months out that was a pre-meeting for a meeting to talk about a few hours of work. 100s of hours of time to talk about a few hours of work for 1-2 techs. Because the work was so good I lasted 6 years, but eventually I told my boss to go f**k himself (after, for the 4th time, he tried to sneak a "promotion" past me in a review that would have made me a "manager" and also exempt from the ~$30k of overtime I was making each year.)
Wilhelm1313 2 years ago
I wanted to say something critical about bureaucracy, but I'm still waiting for my dog and her chew toy to give their approval on it
Zephyr343 2 years ago
After reading a lot of these, does upper management actually DO anything or just have meetings?
AndThenICommented 2 years ago
It’s like any other job - 1 or 2 managers are making s**t happen while the others take credit. I report to C-suite, it’s at least a weekly occurrence that my work is credited to someone else or a higher up including revenue strategies, relationships, policies…I do this work because it has to be done, otherwise it would be endless meetings discussing just how to start, meanwhile the fires are multiplying
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#30
I am a teacher and when I first graduated college, I couldn't decide what age range I wanted to teach. My first job was 4-12 orchestra. At first this was amazing, because I could guide the same students from beginners to graduating, but I quickly learned that the 4-12 position was supposed to be a three person job and not a one person job. I unfortunately had to quit because I was so overwhelmed and my school wouldn't hire anybody else. I lasted 6 years and I don't regret it, but I also don't miss it...
Argle Bargle 2 years ago
+ boogers + vomit + doing someone else's yard duty + school committees + meetings for the sake of meetings + buying bread and spreads to feed the kids who are hungry but the school won't feed them
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 2 years ago
Do you suppose they'd only hire one person for a grade 4-12 football program?
Nightshade1972 2 years ago
My mother ws an elementary school (roughly the same age as OP's students) music teacher in the US for almost 25 years, 20 with one district. At one point, when the lady who oversaw all the music teachers in the district was about to retire, she offered to recommend my mother to take her place. My mother looked into it. Instead of 2 months off every summer, she'd only get two *weeks* off every year, not always at the same time. Granted, it would've been a big financial raise, but she ultimately decided it wasn't worth the extra stress and aggravation.
#31
Professional fine artist (oil paints). Went to art school, had gallery shows, eventually a couple museum shows, started to get into private collections, reviewed by art critics and started to have galleries contact me for representation. I was having to work my 40 hour a week job (which I loved) AND work at least another 40 hours making art, networking, etc We were not taught in art school that you'll be a self-employed small business owner entrepreneur working 60-100 hours a week running a business. After growing up poor and having to work 2-5 jobs, finally landing a 9-5 that I was decent at and enjoyed... yeah, no way I was going to continue to pursue my "dream" of making art and working my a*s off at 60-100 hours a week. No thanks.
StrangeOne 2 years ago
This is how I feel about being an artist now, too. I just want it to be my own hobby, creating things I like. I would find it difficult to come up with something innovative and original every single day.
censorshipsucks 2 years ago
you can't make money as an artist, I don't think. If you get enough money you get put on a conveyorbelt to churn work out eg as an illustrator. If you are doing original works it depends on how good you are at networking and promoting yourself to rich clients. I'd never recommend it.
#32
I worked for a small non-profit doing work that I was super passionate about. I thought it was going to be a dream job. In reality, I was super overworked and underpaid. And being such a small organization there was lots of interpersonal drama that I was just not into. I now work a more “corporate” job, but it’s still work I’m passionate about and makes a difference. I’m getting paid over double than what I made previously, my work load is manageable, and I am way less stressed. I also really like my coworkers and boss AND I work from home full time. The job I was unsure about wound up being the dream job.
Esme Love and Squalor 2 years ago (edited)
You hiring? Non profit manager here and much that I like and my pay isn’t too terrible relatively. But went from working from home to the office and I’ve learned how valuable to me working from home is. So much about being in office is soul crushing. And I miss my dog. Granted I’m hybrid and still have some work from home days still- but the in-office days for me are painful.
#33
I dreamed of landing a job as a programmer at a large company like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc. And after years of grinding I finally made it. Only to find that making any sort of change was painfully slow with layers of bureaucracy. Sure, the pay was great, but after a certain point it just became another paycheck.
I’m considering quitting and working at smaller startups instead.
CHRIS DOMRES 2 years ago (edited)
An acquaintance spent years in college for computer engineering and went to work for IBM working on mainframe computer design. He said it was enjoyable for about one year. Every part of a project requiring a group of engineers who all think they know it all requires everyone compromising their design just to get it to work. Those massive egos find it hard to compromise. Then the bean counters come in and tell them it cost too much to build so they then have to redesign it with lesser quality.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
However, I worked once for a small startup and watched a company with the world at its feet sink into the ground due to infighting by the owners. So big corporations can have their benefits
#34
I went to school for fashion merchandising. I had an internship in NYC where I was free labor for about 6 months at a top fashion house. It made me realize how out of touch the fashion industry is. A lot of nepotism as well. It was a lot like devil wears Prada but before Andy gets a makeover.
Froggi Juice 2 years ago
I've been wanting to go into fashion since forever, but looking at what people say about it makes me nervous that I'm not going to break into it or make any money.
Thot Waffle 2 years ago
I love fashion, but I find the industry really weird. It sounds like the LEAST empowering space for a woman and I think that is really sad when empowering women is often what they are trying to sell.
#35
I always wanted to be a graphic artist. I wanted to pass by billboards that I designed, print ads I made, a portfolio with all my paid work and case studies. I even centred my major around it. When I got to the professional world of it, I found out it wasn’t as fun as it was when it’s just a hobby, not even close to how I thought it was going to be. The sleepless nights, the deadlines, moving goalposts brought by irrational revisions and indecisive stakeholders; it’s draining. I shifted careers and started a job as a backend software developer. I find it more enjoying. If the code quality passes and it works as expected then I’m off the hook — no “Can you try a different font? I just wanna see it.” and “What happens if you switch this and that? How is it gonna look?” types of stuff. Fast forward I’m on an architect / designer role now. Best decision I’ve made for my long-term well-being. I still do graphic design, but it’s for my passion projects now.
Blue Mar 2 years ago
Hmmm, maybe that would be solution for me as well. Enjoyed graphic designer role but after 10 years Im feeling burnt out. The same issues, underpaid and lot lot of stress. Recently I reach my final version 37 of one project... Quit this profession but just not sure what now as I do feel creative and would like do something with it.
#36
QA tester for a video game company. I love games and gaming. Legitimately on my days off from my current job I can play video games 8-12 hours straight with only breaks for the bathroom. However when it became a job for me I absolutely hated it. There is no freedom. You can’t talk about what you are working on with your gaming friends and buddies either since you have strict NDAs for titles. You also have weird quotas for finding bugs in the game. It’s so odd that quantity ends up becoming more of a priority than quality. Especially if you are assigned something you actually care about. Don’t even get me started on crunch times and how swaths of people get laid off so easily even when they do great work.
Anyone-for-tea? 2 years ago
Oh no, this is the job I want! I don’t care about NDAs as I don’t feel like I need to talk about games with my friends and family, but I’m still hoping it will be worth it!
Cthulhu Kitty 2 years ago
It can be fun but also tedious. I used to do it for side money, contract style. As many other said. You have to be okay with playing the same part over and over and over. Trying to break things was fun. I hope you also like talking and can be clear and trace back what you did. Some places to live play throughs where you need to verbalize constant stream of thought about what you are thinking while playing. I think it's a fun side job, but I don't think I would ever do full time. If you are interested join or look for focus testing, user testing. You can get a small sample of what it's like. Hopefully if you live near by the companies. I used to live by San Francisco, so many opportunities there
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Michael Largey 2 years ago
In my spare time I worked for several software companies developing strategy games. There was always a NDA, but no one I knew would have believed that I was developing computer games even if Ixd told them.
#37
I have been fortunate enough to land my dream job several times. Sometimes I actually hired into it, but most times I hired into another job but was able to create a dream job for myself with an internal transfer after doing superlative work for a few years. And every single time it didn't last. No matter how well I did the job, no matter how profitable for the company, no matter how satisfied the customers, at some point upper management wants *more* and hires in additional management to "improve" the situation. The new management *doesn't know what we do or how we do it* and starts micromanaging until the dream job is a daily nightmare. *Every single time.* Idiot managers often don't even know what damage they have done until we all quit and the business collapses. Some of the worst management-idiots even escape to a new promotion and suffer no consequences for the destruction. Still salty about it? Yes, yes, I am.
KatZen 2 years ago
Omg. This my ex-boss. My previous boss was great at her job AND a nice person but she had a baby and moved away. This was as the pandemic was easing and finding employees was impossible. And that includes hiring management! The new boss was the only one to interview for the job. She'd been fired from her previous job. She was a completely incompetent troll. Mean and bad at her job in every way. I quit with much "flourish".
#38
i didn't really obtain my "dream job" but i got close and saw that everyone who was doing it was a depressed loser on the deep down, so i just didn't bother pursuing it anymore. dream job was big law, and i got to the right law school for it, sat in the big law panel where they talk about their jobs, they were all d***s and bragged about how they only sleep 3 hours a day. one of them was obviously on something, adderall or cocaine. they seemed like a bunch of losers "but at least we have money" i didn't even bother, few of my friends went into it and haven't heard from them since. i don't know what i was expecting, probably the best people who are disciplined and not on f*****g drugs all day.
Debby Keir 2 years ago
So, why does almost everyone complain about small pay?
Load More Replies... #39
I got an amazing prestigious job, great pay, benefits, ego stroking, and community respect. The internal politics were brutal. The boss was a narcissistic nightmare. They proclaimed the be an ethical thought-leading organization and we’re anything but. They treated staff so incredibly poorly. By my last few months, I was sleeping maybe 2-3 hours a night due to stress, and was horribly depressed. This was my dream job and I’m still dealing with the repercussions of the stress. When I quit, the HR person cried, and gave me a hug and told me how proud she was of me for standing up for myself. I was the first of over 90% staff turnover. I left for a part time job making a quarter of the wage. But I started sleeping again. It was absolutely worth it. Now, five years later, I have a new job that’s so much better, making almost as much.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
What sucks after you leave a s**t job is that it takes so f*****g long in the new job to get back to the salary level you were at before you left the s**t job. Always having to start over from scratch.
#40
realtor. I thought i would be helping people find their dream houses while also understanding the housing industry. instead it’s a bunch of scheming and flat out lying to people, my boss flat out told me “ look if A wants to sell the house for 300k ,and B wants to buy the house for 300k, thats means we make 0$, so your job is to make A sell for 250k, and B buy for 350k so we make 100k. Don’t trust what your realtor tells you, I got out in less than a year.
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
Lionel Hutz was once a realtor so that should give people a good idea of what it would be like
Debby Keir 2 years ago
I thought a 'realtor' was an estate agent, and got either a flat fee for selling, or a percentage of the selling price, so where does the 100k come in? Do US realtors BUY the house and then sell it?
Rico Suave 2 years ago
You are right, the post makes no sense whatsoever. Realtors don't buy and flip a house for profit.
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Curtis Waters 2 years ago
Not how being a Realtor works. The seller would make that money, not the Realtor. Perhaps OP worked for the Seller
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
I did real estate accounting for a real estate company. The sales people were a bunch of nasty, cutthroat liars, who didn’t care if they cheated someone they sold a house to or for, as long as they made a good commission. Once their commission check went through their bank, they ghosted them, as if they never existed.
PolymathNecromancer 2 years ago
Somebody told me recently that realtors are just used car salespeople for buildings and land. Lol
Load More Replies... #41
I wanted to run a lab and be a principle investigator in biotechnology. I got into a great grad school right after college and was part of a cutting-edge laboratory. I was on the fast track to the career of my dreams. As I learned more about what running a lab is actually like, and how bureaucratic the academic sciences were, I just lost interest. I decided to leave my PhD program early with a Master's instead and I haven't really looked back.
Michael Largey 2 years ago
My uncle ran a research lab at a major university. He said his time was spent 80% on getting Grant's, 15% on administration, and 5% on science (if things were going well).
#42
I wanted to be a scientist. Did undergraduate degree, and tbh already knew that was not a field for me. Did a PhD because… I knew I didn’t really like science, but I didn’t know what I did want. Did a postdoc position (scientist). Hated it. Underpaid AF. I hate the publish or perish stressful nature of science. And the position is only 2 years, so no stability. You’re supposed to do like 2-4 of these positions before any hope to get anything permanentish. Maybe. Became a scientist at a medical company start up. I still don’t like science. But I do get paid well enough that I am not desperate to start anything new.
Susie Elle 2 years ago
Which is the reason I stayed in the position of lab tech, and have had the luck of working for a university that put me on a research project instead of just assisting in everyone else's work. So I work as a scientist-light; without the pressure of publishing and grant-hunting, which is what my superior does, but with the in-depth research of 'my own' project.
#43
Yeah, wanted to work on space stuff. Got a software engineer degree, ended up working on an instrument on a satellite (can't really say more than that without revealing too much). The job is interesting, but everything is so awfully slow. Basically, between making a decision and getting the result of that decision (ie. Changing a setting and seeing how it affects data), a whole month has passed. Projects last a long time, they're planned on full decades, maybe more. Stuck on a s****y instrument that's badly designed ? Welcome to dealing with it for the next 10 years. It's... I wouldn't say horrible, but certainly not for me. I got the degree, and I actually enjoy programming, so it's not like I'm stuck or anything, and the experience can only be seen positively for future endeavors. But I don't know what I want to do now.
#44
I am a programmer. I love my job, but it's giving me a constant headache and sometimes even anxiety because if I can't finish a project in time my boss is probably going to scream at me or my coworker just because we're extremely short staffed and we need more people but my boss thinks "it's only typing on a keyboard how hard could that be" I love my job. I love being a programmer. But trust me, it's not as good as you might think. Even when you're home you will think about work because you work with your brain and your brain does not stop working, you are training your mindset to be a programmer most of the time and it's hard not being one On the bright side I do most of the things in the house since I can work my ways around most things
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
"It's only typing on a keyboard...". By extension of his thinking, everyone should also be a great novelist. Maybe he is the sort of person who thinks all those monkeys typing on a keyboard *will* write the complete works of Shakespeare
What do you think ?
Cassandra Hager 2 years ago
In this thread: people who drank the "do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life!" Kool aid for real. Little did they realize all labor sucks you just have to choose which one sucks the least for you.
Diolla 2 years ago
Exactly! We would not do that stuff if we weren't getting paid to do it. If we loved it we would volunteer.
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XenoMurph 2 years ago
A lot of these are people who lost their childhood wonder in the ordinary day to day mundane reality. But ALL jobs become mundane. If you can't still have wonder by being close to elephants or flying above the clouds, then sitting in an office or at a call centre is not going to be any better. Appreciate the little things, find that childhood wonder again, cos life doesn't get much better than that.
Beruthiel45 2 years ago
I'm sorry but this sounds a lot like farting rainbows and unicorns. Exhaustion and reality are eye openers and you cant condemn people for being disillusioned. They were probably the most idealistic people in the first place. Old saying: Cynics are disillusioned idealists. I forget who said it but as an old woman who started out all starry eyed I can assure you of its truth. The lucky few who never lose it are admirable but don't blame those who lose their rose coloured glasses because they've seen and experienced too much to bear.
Load More Replies... Kevin J. Henning 2 years ago
The first mistake is failing to realize it's called "work" for a reason. Flowering as an individual while at "work" is nice but don't plan on it. BTW I was an ordained minister for 22 years. I now consider myself ecclesiastically agnostic.
cerinamroth 2 years ago
I actually do my dream job (I'm a translator) - the problem is that machine translation has eaten up my work. I have no idea what I'm going to do for the rest of my working life now that my much-loved profession is going up in smoke.
Notme 2 years ago
Came here to say the same! I’m a designer, you can see from this list why I want to hear about the good jobs lol
Load More Replies... Miss Kitty 2 years ago
According to my 18-year-old work path, the following things are essentiaI if you do not want to be stressed out from your job: having friendly and helpful co-workers, having a boss who does not micro-manage every single breath you take (almost all bosses are a**holes, so you will have to deal with this), trying to ignore the things that are unfair or illogical but do not really affect your status. It was a hard lesson to learn. So always take these into consideration when applying for a new job.
Rachel Reynolds 2 years ago
I wanted to be a mechanic or Rocky Balboa. And now I'm a diesel mechanic and teach boxing at the Y. And it's awesome.
Andy Frobig 2 years ago (edited)
I didn't grow up having a dream job to pursue, maybe on some level I already knew that all work is a scam. But on my first day working at a wholesale club, I fell in love with the stand-up forklifts. I ended up driving them for fifteen years. I never fell out of love with the actual work, but it seems like no decent employer wants to hire you to do it. I didn't mind overnight shifts except that management treated us all like criminals, even though nearly half of us weren't. The wholesale club capped my wage after about six years, and then i was turned down for a transfer because they thought that wage would hurt their payroll. Work conditions deteriorated steadily from the day I was hired, and that was just the one job
HurlWurk 2 years ago
I work in IT. Most people don't really think about it being dozens of different jobs. I love servers, datacenter planning, Storage systems. IE the core hardware. Worked my way up to my dream job managing all of it. Then the director decided that he didn't like talking to me, had me removed from on-call, resigned to software support. Literally none of the three levels of management between him and me would do anything about it. Sad part, I still make terrific money for where I live, so I'm stuck with it. Never work in government if you can avoid it.
Cassandra Hager 2 years ago
In this thread: people who drank the "do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life!" Kool aid for real. Little did they realize all labor sucks you just have to choose which one sucks the least for you.
Diolla 2 years ago
Exactly! We would not do that stuff if we weren't getting paid to do it. If we loved it we would volunteer.
Load More Replies... XenoMurph 2 years ago
A lot of these are people who lost their childhood wonder in the ordinary day to day mundane reality. But ALL jobs become mundane. If you can't still have wonder by being close to elephants or flying above the clouds, then sitting in an office or at a call centre is not going to be any better. Appreciate the little things, find that childhood wonder again, cos life doesn't get much better than that.
Beruthiel45 2 years ago
I'm sorry but this sounds a lot like farting rainbows and unicorns. Exhaustion and reality are eye openers and you cant condemn people for being disillusioned. They were probably the most idealistic people in the first place. Old saying: Cynics are disillusioned idealists. I forget who said it but as an old woman who started out all starry eyed I can assure you of its truth. The lucky few who never lose it are admirable but don't blame those who lose their rose coloured glasses because they've seen and experienced too much to bear.
Load More Replies... Kevin J. Henning 2 years ago
The first mistake is failing to realize it's called "work" for a reason. Flowering as an individual while at "work" is nice but don't plan on it. BTW I was an ordained minister for 22 years. I now consider myself ecclesiastically agnostic.
cerinamroth 2 years ago
I actually do my dream job (I'm a translator) - the problem is that machine translation has eaten up my work. I have no idea what I'm going to do for the rest of my working life now that my much-loved profession is going up in smoke.
Notme 2 years ago
Came here to say the same! I’m a designer, you can see from this list why I want to hear about the good jobs lol
Load More Replies... Miss Kitty 2 years ago
According to my 18-year-old work path, the following things are essentiaI if you do not want to be stressed out from your job: having friendly and helpful co-workers, having a boss who does not micro-manage every single breath you take (almost all bosses are a**holes, so you will have to deal with this), trying to ignore the things that are unfair or illogical but do not really affect your status. It was a hard lesson to learn. So always take these into consideration when applying for a new job.
Rachel Reynolds 2 years ago
I wanted to be a mechanic or Rocky Balboa. And now I'm a diesel mechanic and teach boxing at the Y. And it's awesome.
Andy Frobig 2 years ago (edited)
I didn't grow up having a dream job to pursue, maybe on some level I already knew that all work is a scam. But on my first day working at a wholesale club, I fell in love with the stand-up forklifts. I ended up driving them for fifteen years. I never fell out of love with the actual work, but it seems like no decent employer wants to hire you to do it. I didn't mind overnight shifts except that management treated us all like criminals, even though nearly half of us weren't. The wholesale club capped my wage after about six years, and then i was turned down for a transfer because they thought that wage would hurt their payroll. Work conditions deteriorated steadily from the day I was hired, and that was just the one job
HurlWurk 2 years ago
I work in IT. Most people don't really think about it being dozens of different jobs. I love servers, datacenter planning, Storage systems. IE the core hardware. Worked my way up to my dream job managing all of it. Then the director decided that he didn't like talking to me, had me removed from on-call, resigned to software support. Literally none of the three levels of management between him and me would do anything about it. Sad part, I still make terrific money for where I live, so I'm stuck with it. Never work in government if you can avoid it.
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