What do you hate about your job?

[Thinkpaddict]

When I worked in Chicago, I traveled 2:15 each way...from my front door to my office door....

Fortunately, a lot of that time was spent on the Metra, watching DVDs on my laptop...

Now, my travel is 2 minutes...

It must have been extremely frustrating to have such long commute times. My worst time roundtrip so far has been 4:30, and I can't imagine doing that every day. Another thing for me is that I actually drive to work. I'm considering alternate approaches (a combination of trains and buses.)

Congrats on your 2 minute commute now. Do you work at home? It takes me about 2 minutes to get from bed to my computer (via the fridge, or course )

[Thinkpaddict]

How about everything apart from pay and benefits?

Daily commute equals 234 miles (117 one way). On a good day, that's a little more than 3 hours. On a bad one....

But the thing that is really killing my little gray cells-if there are any left- is the lack of ability to learn something new and/or find anything even remotely challenging...I outgrew the job itself about 4 years ago...

Needless to say, the next "early retirement" package is likely to be mine...especially with the prospect of picket lines in August...I'm too old and tired for that...

That doesn't sound very good, I'm sorry to hear about it! Hopefully you can get a nice retirement deal and find a way to make some money doing something that you like.

How did you get into that situation with your commute? Is this something recent or have you been doing it for a while? I'm about 10 months into my job now, and while I am not burnt, I can say I'm starting to get tired of wasting 15-20 hours of my life every week.

[Thinkpaddict]

The "general" public....."those that ain't stupid, are nuts"....

It's more the "me, me, me," additude, the lack of social skills combined with no common sense. And all businesses in it "just for the buck".

No "mom/pop" businesses anymore, every one of them is bought-out or ran out of business.

Fewer things are "made" here.

I absolutely agree with all that. Mom/pop businesses are disappearing everywhere except for little towns. Everything is being replaced by huge impersonal chains that sell products that, like you said, are not made here. I won't speak against the free market here, but it is just sad to see how everything is getting outsourced and we are importing products which are much cheaper (but also of lesser quality), at the expense of American jobs, just so that a few fat cats can put another zero to their right of their bank balances.

[Thinkpaddict]

In my last job the fear of getting outsourced was perhaps the biggest thing I hated. That organization was slowly but surely laying off people here on the East coast, expanding in India and China and moving more the more projects over there in the name of cheaper sustaining and maintenance costs.

Outsourcing is a serious problem, because by diminishing the potential of specific career opportunities at home, you also influence the formation that American students will pursue at our colleges. In the end, we will become more and more reliant on the external workforce. How can this be good for a country is beyond me. I think the way to measure the true wealth of a nation is through the accomplishments and competitiveness of its citizens. That foreign workers receiving American corporations' jobs have a definite advantage (a relatively much lower cost of life abroad) over American workers is not tough to figure out, and to not see the government taking some action into the matter is just plain disturbing.

[ajkula66]

Thinkpadaddict wrote:

How did you get into that situation with your commute?

It's a long one, but I'll try to break it up step-by-step to the best of my abilities:

a) Original situation: Two adults, one child, small two-bedroom house in Brooklyn, NY, two incomes, in-laws watching my daughter while we're at work.
b) Good news. Another baby on the way. Oooops, make that two. At the same time. In-laws wave the white flag when faced with the prospect of watching twin boys in addition to our daughter.. Wife quits a well-paying job. Where do you go?
c) Pennsylvania. The only place we could afford on a single paycheck, and we all love it. Huge house built per our specs, nice piece of property, good schools etc. The price is my commute, but as previously stated, I'm going to pull a plug on that sometime soon.

I don't know what your situation is, but my advice would be to get out of it ASAP, because you're going to get burned-as well as very unhappy-at some point in time. Weigh your options.

Best of luck.

[Thinkpaddict]

I don't know what your situation is, but my advice would be to get out of it ASAP, because you're going to get burned-as well as very unhappy-at some point in time. Weigh your options.

Best of luck.

I understand your situation. Congratulations on your twin boys (probably old news for you)! Well, I hope things work out for you and you can find a job closer to your place. It sounds that you and your family love Pennsylvania anyway, which is very important. Hopefully they will be able to appreciate the sacrifice that you made for them.

My situation came about because I just graduated from college a year and a half ago (Computer Science), and I had the chance to work for one of the best companies around. My wife is working too, but her commute takes her on a different direction, so as a compromise we decided to stay in the place we have lived for the past 10 years. I appreciate your wise advice to look for an alternate plan. We are working on it, and hopefully sooner than later I should be able to cut my commute drastically and stop living half my life between work and the road.

[wearetheborg]

This has been interesting.
There have been a few studies done on happiness, and what affetcs long term happiness. Apparently there are some things you get used to, and some things you dont. The best way to spend time/money is then to spend it on things you dont get used to, so that its well spent and not just some short term jolt.

People got used to bigger houses, they got accustomed it, and it did not raise long term happiness levels.
People did not get used to commute - I dont recall if it was commute as in driving car yourself, or doing public transport.


George, best of luck in getting a shorter commute.

It's a long one, but I'll try to break it up step-by-step to the best of my abilities:

a) Original situation: Two adults, one child, small two-bedroom house in Brooklyn, NY, two incomes, in-laws watching my daughter while we're at work.
b) Good news. Another baby on the way. Oooops, make that two. At the same time. In-laws wave the white flag when faced with the prospect of watching twin boys in addition to our daughter.. Wife quits a well-paying job. Where do you go?
c) Pennsylvania. The only place we could afford on a single paycheck, and we all love it. Huge house built per our specs, nice piece of property, good schools etc. The price is my commute, but as previously stated, I'm going to pull a plug on that sometime soon.

I don't know what your situation is, but my advice would be to get out of it ASAP, because you're going to get burned-as well as very unhappy-at some point in time. Weigh your options.

Best of luck.

[jamerslong]

<snip>... great benefits are a plus.

I guess that would be free air travel to anywhere in the world you are told to go? (Have a brother who had a 20-year Navy career in the Pacific)

they even give you all these cool clothes that make you invisible, like a ninja ::insert non-exsistent ninja Emotiocon::

Keep your wits about you and have a safe tour.

We all do our best to keep in a good mood, i have a buddy who has been here for a few months and hes not doing so well. Note to self: Don't try to quit smoking in the Deid. things are all too bad here, we work 12 hour shifts everyday. and there is a decent selection of things to do around here.

I decided not to go into he navy, I don't do boats. As for the free plane rides... the 24 hour trip here was not all that enjoyable. I do enjoy the window seats though. I always rush on for a window seat.

[ajkula66]

Thinkpadaddict wrote:

Congratulations on your twin boys (probably old news for you)!

Never will these guys be old news for me, they're the only ones that can put the smile on my face any time of day or night, because they're just too funny...they're 4 now, but I'm certain that they'll be as crazy-or worse-when they're 40...genetics, you know...

weatherborg wrote:

The best way to spend time/money is then to spend it on things you dont get used to, so that its well spent and not just some short term jolt.

People got used to bigger houses, they got accustomed it, and it did not raise long term happiness levels.
People did not get used to commute - I dont recall if it was commute as in driving car yourself, or doing public transport.

This is probably very true in general, and as statistics. The name of my game is somewhat different. I really care very little about my living space, be it a two-bedroom apartment that I grew up in, a large flat that I've lived in during my London years, small house in Brooklyn or a fairly big one in Albrightsville. The killer is the amount of time wasted in the commute, which translates into having less time to do things that you really want to do, and the fact that you're inevitably always tired, because you're not really sleeping properly, but just napping for the most part...

Many thanks for your good wishes, my fellow ThinkPadders, they are highly appreciated.

[dsigma6]

c) Pennsylvania. The only place we could afford on a single paycheck.

Do you mean relative to living in Brooklyn?

You probably don't mean it this way, but it sounds like you're saying the entire state has completely affordable housing costs, property taxes, etc...

I was looking at city-data.com for info on your area, and [censored], it's so much cheaper than where I'm at!

[RealBlackStuff]

That's one of the reasons we picked this area of Pennsylvania.
We live on Mt. Cobb in Lake Ariel, ours is the Jefferson Township, the County is Lackawanna, and the School District is North Pocono.
Coming from Ireland, we find this area almost unbeatable for low taxes, friendliness and having all major shopping (Scranton and Wilkes-Barre), plus an excellent school for our daughter, within 20 minutes from where we live.
I'm semi-retired but when I do work occasionally (web-design), I do it from home, so I don't have to worry about commuting.
Life is great in NEPA!

[Kyocera]

I quit the job I hated for many years back in August, stress was the major factor, but it boiled down to poor leadership/managment which causes stress on workers.

I fell into a new job (after searching for about a month, first month was a vacation) about two months ago, less stress and more money, I didn't think it was possible . To those that have jobs they hate, move on, say to yourself, do I want to do this for five more years? IF you don't, it's time to cut your losses and start enjoying life again.

[ajkula66]

dsigma6 wrote:

Do you mean relative to living in Brooklyn?

You probably don't mean it this way, but it sounds like you're saying the entire state has completely affordable housing costs, property taxes, etc...

I was looking at city-data.com for info on your area, and [censored], it's so much cheaper than where I'm at!

Dan, even where you are is very cheap when compared to Brooklyn!

BTW, my wife and I were in Philly in April and absolutely fell in love with it. So, the next time we're around I'll drop you a PM and we can meet for a few brews or whatever...

I could transfer to Philly tomorrow if I wanted to, but I just don't want to live in the city anymore...I prefer wild animals to humans these days...

Kyocera wrote:

To those that have jobs they hate, move on, say to yourself, do I want to do this for five more years? IF you don't, it's time to cut your losses and start enjoying life again.

Thanks for encouragement, Mike, not that I've needed it...your words are taken from the conversation I've been having with myself for a while, until I finally made up my mind...watch for updates...and I'm soooo glad you're happy in your new spot!

[Kyocera]

Good luck George, but really........., people with good skills just need to look, the luck takes care of itself.

[syedj]

I quit the job I hated for many years back in August, stress was the major factor, but it boiled down to poor leadership/managment which causes stress on workers.

I fell into a new job (after searching for about a month, first month was a vacation) about two months ago, less stress and more money, I didn't think it was possible . To those that have jobs they hate, move on, say to yourself, do I want to do this for five more years? IF you don't, it's time to cut your losses and start enjoying life again.

I couldn't agree more with it. At my previous job the stress level was reaching astronomical scales, other colleagues were either too burnt out to care anymore, too scared to try something new or were already thinking of jumping ship. I asked myself if that job was worth wasting my life, night's sleep, peace of mind and family life and came with negative for an answer. Luckily after sending out a few emails to old friends and colleagues I heard of another opening and applied there. After the usual rounds of interviews, things worked out and I am working there now. Stress level isn't even remotely like my earlier position, people are MUCH more livelier and full of life because of that and work is also more interesting. Needless to say I am not regretting even a little bit moving on with my career.

Life is too short to waste for a job that one doesn't enjoy. Truth be told an organization will drop like a used tissue paper whoever they don't think is useful for them anymore. I have seen that happen too many times in my career now. Loyalty, years of selfless service full of sacrifices at all levels just doesn't mean anything when the management is counting numbers to let go.

[RealBlackStuff]

I used to work as an analyst/programmer on mainframes, for big banks mostly. The money was alright, but in those big organizations you don't get much chance for improvement. So in 1990 I took the plunge and started working as a contractor (for the same banks!).
Not only was I my own boss, but I only worked WHERE I wanted, and WHEN I wanted.
I was living in Switzerland in those days, and I was 1 out of only 7 people in the whole country that could program in Assembler. Needless to say that there was plenty of work. My other language was Cobol, and for that there was also a huge market.
As a contractor I earned about 2-3 times as much as in a 'steady' job, and because of that I only worked about 8-9 months per year. The rest was spent lazing and holidaying.
I made the big killing with the Year-2000 conversions, after which I started looking for an easier way of life.
My brother-in-law wanted a website. I'd never done that before, but it turned out to be rather easy. One thing lead to another and eventually I gave up contracting altogether and stayed with websites.
It's something you can do from home, so our move to the USA was no hindrance at all. All you need is broadband, some editor, some graphics programs and a good FTP-program.
And I am still my own boss, and work when I want.

[Thinkpaddict]

Thinkpadaddict wrote:

Congratulations on your twin boys (probably old news for you)!

Never will these guys be old news for me, they're the only ones that can put the smile on my face any time of day or night, because they're just too funny...they're 4 now, but I'm certain that they'll be as crazy-or worse-when they're 40...genetics, you know...

I am very glad to hear that, you always need that extra something to make it worth it for you to get up in the morning and start spinning the old wheels.

[Thinkpaddict]

I quit the job I hated for many years back in August, stress was the major factor, but it boiled down to poor leadership/managment which causes stress on workers.

I fell into a new job (after searching for about a month, first month was a vacation) about two months ago, less stress and more money, I didn't think it was possible . To those that have jobs they hate, move on, say to yourself, do I want to do this for five more years? IF you don't, it's time to cut your losses and start enjoying life again.

Amen to that! As much as I don't enjoy my current commute, I have to say that the company I work for now is a dream come true for anyone.
My first job out of college was for a very well known company, with a higher pay, but I just hated the work environment and the job itself was excruciatingly boring. Like you said, I just couldn't picture myself going through it for any length of time, so I took a leap of faith and went with plan B.

I'm glad things are working well for you too, Kyocera!

[Thinkpaddict]

I couldn't agree more with it. At my previous job the stress level was reaching astronomical scales, other colleagues were either too burnt out to care anymore, too scared to try something new or were already thinking of jumping ship. I asked myself if that job was worth wasting my life, night's sleep, peace of mind and family life and came with negative for an answer. Luckily after sending out a few emails to old friends and colleagues I heard of another opening and applied there. After the usual rounds of interviews, things worked out and I am working there now. Stress level isn't even remotely like my earlier position, people are MUCH more livelier and full of life because of that and work is also more interesting. Needless to say I am not regretting even a little bit moving on with my career.

Life is too short to waste for a job that one doesn't enjoy.

I couldn't agree more. The main thing is to enjoy your job. You basically spend a big portion of your life at your job. If you can get a big paycheck along with it, great. But given the choice, I'd rather work in a place that I enjoy working for, with good people, and challenging and rewarding tasks, than in a much worse place with a higher salary. When you work you basically sell bits and pieces (OK, make that huge chunks) of your life. But if you enjoy doing it, then the paycheck is almost like icing on the cake.

[Thinkpaddict]

I used to work as an analyst/programmer on mainframes, for big banks mostly. The money was alright, but in those big organizations you don't get much chance for improvement. So in 1990 I took the plunge and started working as a contractor (for the same banks!).
Not only was I my own boss, but I only worked WHERE I wanted, and WHEN I wanted.
I was living in Switzerland in those days, and I was 1 out of only 7 people in the whole country that could program in Assembler. Needless to say that there was plenty of work. My other language was Cobol, and for that there was also a huge market.
As a contractor I earned about 2-3 times as much as in a 'steady' job, and because of that I only worked about 8-9 months per year. The rest was spent lazing and holidaying.
I made the big killing with the Year-2000 conversions, after which I started looking for an easier way of life.
My brother-in-law wanted a website. I'd never done that before, but it turned out to be rather easy. One thing lead to another and eventually I gave up contracting altogether and stayed with websites.
It's something you can do from home, so our move to the USA was no hindrance at all. All you need is broadband, some editor, some graphics programs and a good FTP-program.
And I am still my own boss, and work when I want.

A cousin of mine worked as a Cobol programmer for an insurance company for a while, but he ended up hating it, and much as you did is doing something completely different now.

Glad to hear things worked out for you. And to think that I believed that the Y2K issue was just a make-believe thing, like leprechauns and honest politicians.

[RealBlackStuff]

Ever been to Ireland?
There are NO leprechauns there and there are certainly NO honest politicians there!
They live by the 'brown envelope' syndrom there. These could contain money, holidays, cars, a lady of leisure, you name it.

In Ireland it's not WHAT you know, but WHO you know.
Worked fine for me though!

Oh yeah, and Y2K was for real in quite a few companies!

[imnotahippie]

the thing i hate about my job is that i drive about 1000 miles a week and put in a good 50 to 60 hours in a week.

but the pay is great. and i just sit there all [censored] day. and play games. i'm there in case something goes wrong.

totally sucks.

[T22 4me]

IMHO:If the job is worth a 3 hr commute:Its worth moving for .If not; it is time to move on.

This is from a X generation 43 yr old who started as Blue Collar and moved into management by merit.

I believe in my company and believe in family;but,if I gotta waste 3 hrs a day commuting, something would have to give.