Hello. I hate my job. How about you?

[Halfasianmomma]

The title says it all: I hate my job. It's not a horrible job, as in, I get paid ok, the insurance is good, it's stable. I have an ok boss, who sometimes gets a bit moody, snappy and demanding, but otherwise, he's great, super independent, just a bit of a perfectionist.

But..it's soul-suckingly boring. Mostly, I think it's the field: I work in a law firm and it's SO not my thing. It's a true blue legal secretary job, and I spend my days typing letters, faxing stuff, photocopying other stuff, filling more stuff, and then keeping my boss' agenda in order. That's it. I stare at my cubicle walls, listen to the hum of the neon lights, and get depressed. I've been an assistant before so I know it can be very stimulating, but this environment is really dry and boring. Also, it irks me to no end that I struggled to complete a B.Ed. and that instead I'm doing *this*, mostly because I make more as a legal secretary than I could as a h.s. teacher.

It's hard to keep going everyday. I just try to think of my DD, and of the fact that I need the money I make right now to pay for my divorce, to pay for what she needs, and to pay back debts...but still.

I'm currently seeing a guidance counsellor to try to figure out what else there is for me, but I'm starting to realize that *realistically*, going back to school (I already have 20K of student loan debt!) while taking care of a toddler isn't really an option, as much as I love the idea of doing my masters. Even a short-term certificate would be hard to swing; I don't really know if I could work FT AND study PT. DD seems to be in a very needy phase right now.

So that's where I am: trying to figure out what kind of job would make me happy, make ok money since STBX isn't helping me at all, and provide me with some insurance for DD.

Anyone else BTDT?

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Sort of there. My job is mundane most of the time. I sit at a desk 8 hours a day, and constantly check the time to see if its time to go pick up my monkies yet. However, i dont feel like its sucking the life outta me, but I did not go to school to get my liscense to shape the minds of tomorrow ( I went to school to get my license to shape the hair of tomorrow ), so we may have different aspirations for this life.

I try to look forward to the weekend, to vacations we will take, and how the money I make will help pay for all that. And the healthcare I wont have to worry about. Or that our mortgage will be paid for the beautiful home we have created for said monkies. I just try to keep everything relative in my head. Look at my profile. Under profession it says BORING, but it pays the bills. That about sums it up for me.

[proudmamanow]

I'm so with you! I also hate my job....even though I've been in this field for 10+ years, I'm doing what I went to school for, working in my subject area. But I feel a huge moral & cognitive disconnect between my job & the kind of world I actually want to create. I've been here for so long that I can't tell if my job sucks because I'm depressed or if I'm depressed because my job sucks, kwim?

But it is a very good well paying job with nice people & benefits, and I am supporting a SAHP and two young girls, and so I am still very grateful & responsible & all that. I just wish I could be doing something that was a) less bureaucratic, disconnected from people b)less morally bankrupt c)more flexible.

Hang in there though mama! It sounds like you are where you need to be right now, and I'm sure it seems like forever, but in a year or so your daughter will be in a different phase and grad school might seem more possible! What is it you love to do? Deep down I know what I love, I have known for years, I've just been too scared to do anything about it!


I do count my blessings though!

[Alyantavid]

Yep. My job has lots of perks; it's close to home, they're extremely flexible and it pays well for my town.

But I'm bored to tears. I spend several hours a day finding things to do. I hate the vibe because everyone's so negative, no one likes being here and it just infects everything. I work in accounting and this is not something I ever wanted to do nor something I want to do forever.

I'm stuck for now though. I carry the insurance and dh's about to apply for a medical program, which one of the requirements is that the applicants have medical insurance while in the program.

[jgale]

Yes I hate my job. I just started in January and I fear I may have made a horrible mistake.

Like others have said--good money, good benefits, close to my home.

But, terrible environment, lots of stress and I miss my kids.

Ugh

[JD5351]

Yep.

Love my company..Love my co-workers...Hate my job.

I work in a call center, in the escalated calls dept. So when someone is very mad and ask to speak with a supervisor..That's me.

To make it even MORE fun, we are a mail order pharmacy. And while I don't mind helping those with a legitamite issue--Their order is late, they have an emergency and need their order rushed..They got the wrong item, etc...I REALLY don't enjoy talking to Mr. "E.D." and trying to explain to him that his insurance company isn't going to pay for any more Viagra this month because they have a limit. He'll need to pay out of pocket at the pharmacy if he needs some more.

What sucks the most is my benefits are the best I've ever had..Wonderful insurance, vacation pay, etc. And I make a very high salary for what I do. Over double the average pay for a call center employee in this area. But I hate my job. So is it worth it? Blah.

[aleatha5]

Me too! I've already complained about it, but my new boss is not very family friendly, there's no flexibility, and everytime I turn around there's a new policy that gets rid of a perk that we used to have. I feel like I am doing the work of at least 2 people (I do have two jobs, but they won't separate them, so therefore they say "well, we'll give you fewer assignments in this other area...and that just isn't happening) and I am constantly getting more things dumped on me. The benefits are ok, but they get worse every year. The pay is pretty low. The things that I loved about my job -- flextime, comp time, dress down days, kids at work -- have all been taken away. Now, I just wonder why I am still there...

But, I feel all of you.

[2cutiekitties]

Have you considered being a paralegal?

[texmati]

Originally Posted by Halfasianmomma

But..it's soul-suckingly boring.

I'm so there mama s

[AnnaNova]

ohhh... just just now i turned off the tv which a spent an hour watching, mesmerized ... some show on discovery about how they were filming "life" series. with people diving under 8 feet of ice, chasing whales in the ocean, holding their cameras tight as swirls of billions of butterflies circle them...
and that entire time i was asking myself: HOW, HOW DO YOU GET A JOB LIKE THAT????????
did they save an burning orphanage full of babies in their past life?
i complain a LOT about my job - management, co-workers, pay - you name it, and the thing is that i dont know HOW to persue something different, something i'd enjoy. employment section of the local newspaper sure doesnt cover that...
i will be starting school this summer/fall to get a different degree, one i will actually be able to use, and we will sacrifice a lot for that, but in the long run i am hoping to be happier self with an ability to actually support my family rather than just pay bills.
next few years will be tough, we are getting ourselves morally ready to accumulating some amount of debt, but i think it will be worth it in the end. .. honestly, if i have to eat only beans and rice for a few years, i will...
im so sick of myself complaining, i finally decided to do something about it for a change. it's moving awwwwfully slowly, but it makes me feel better that im working towards a certain goal, that in 5 years' time i won't find myself in the same spot still b***** about how unfair things are.
sorry for a rant, i just got so fed up with things recently... agh

[happysmileylady]

I "hate my job" but I don't HATE my job, if that makes any sense.

I work part time at CVS. It's not awful. It's easy work, several of the people I work with are really nice, it's very flexible, my boss is very flexible and the pay is acceptable. At the same time though, it's total peon work, by which I mean a trained monkey could probably accomplish nearly all the same tasks. And my boss, IMO, has his priorities, regarding the work and cleanliness standards, out of whack. And, while several of the people are really nice, several are just weird. And the public I work with is weird too. Like the guy that comes in multiple times a day to buy random stuff and tell us weird jokes.

But, it's a temporary job. I have another job (actually at the moment, two others) that is a self employed gig, doing photography. Building that business is SLOW going. I have been working at it since DD2 was born, but between dealing with PPD and being under financial stress because it wasn't bringing in enough (a huge catch 22 there) I just didn't get much going in the first 18 months. However, I have already met with more clients this year than I did all of last year, have already shot one wedding and have a lead from that one on another one, which is also a first, so growth is happening. I want to turn this into my full time income eventually. It took my sister 3 years to build her cake business from random cakes out of her house for friends to a free standing store, but she did so with a lot of loans, which I am avoiding like the plague.

I also start work for the Census this week. Probably will also be boring and suck, but also temporary. VERY temporary, like 8 weeks.

DH is in school and finals for this semester start this week. After finals are over, he has just 3 semesters and 2 summer classes left. Once he graduates, he should be able to start out at approx. double what he makes now, if not more. That will put us financially back where we were before I stopped working full time. So, I am just basically biding my time and scraping by until then.

[Halfasianmomma]

Originally Posted by 2cutiekitties

Have you considered being a paralegal?

Yes, and seeing as I work alonside paralegals all day long, I'd utter a resounding "no!" to that suggestion. I think that the legal field simply isn't for me. Everyone is SO serious, so unimaginative, and there's a huge hierarchy in place that separates partners from associates from paralegals from secretaries. It drives me insane.

As much as I'd LOVE to do something like an M.Ed. or to go into a completely new field--as in, one that's more artistically minded, I don't think it's in the cards for me, considering my financial situation. The best I can hope to do accomplish is a 1 year certificate is something that is "more interesting" to me than what I do now and can lead me to a job with comparable benefits, salary and working conditions.

I'm actually considering a certificate in HR management...Anyone know about that field?

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

OH, forgot to mention that I look at and read about all the teachers who are loosing their jobs right now, or, like my BF and BIL, want to be teachers and NO ONE is hiring, and all the corporate people who are getting laid off or let go and going bankrupt and loosing EVERYTHING (There was a mama in my DDC that this happened too. They went from a HUGE house and she had every designer thing you could fathom, to living in ONE BEDROOM in a family members home, all 6 of them!)

Stories like those help me stay posative about my "cushy" little job. And be thankful for it.

[Teenytoona]

I don't hate my job, Gaia knows I've hard FAR worse ones. But I feel like it's useless. I mean I get hte paycheck and have the better insurance... But it's an hour commute, so with my lunch I'm gone 11 hours. I spend alot of time, ALOT, looking for something to do. It's an ok job, not a vocation or anythign. I really want to find *my calling* but everything I'd consdier that isn't something that will bring in money, or will bring in money right away. So I'm here still on this job. What can I do? Keep on doing it, I guess.

[anjelika]

I hate my job and my field! I think I'd jump off a bridge if I didn't know I'd be transitioning out in 404 days - but who's counting???

[JessieBird]

Me too. I actually loved my job before having DS. Ever since going back, I absolutely hate it. Can't figure out if something there has changed (everyone seems so cranky and stressed all the time) or if it is my new perspective on life, and generally higher standards for how I spend my time. My solution was to get knocked up again asap and I won't be going back after mat leave this time. Financially it will be tough but at least it will be gradual (5 more mos of work then 12 mos of partial benefits) and for me to decide whether to stay home or find something new. I'll never find anything that pays as well or that has such great benefits but I don't care. I can't stop thinking about how I spend 80% of my awake hours at work. I can't spend 30 more years like that in a job that doesn't stimulate me. I hope that you find your solution soon!

[onlyboys]

I do hate my job. I returned to work after 8 blissful years at home because my husband needed a break before he begins working a very intensely stressful job (he took a sabbatical before he becomes a principal of a Montessori middle school). I don't regret taking the job--on the contrary, I am THRILLED that I was able to support him in the way he deserves, because he did the same for me while I was home with the boys. But, I hate, hate, hate being out of the house.

I teach middle schoolers. They deserve a teacher who wants to be here. I have five weeks and 2 days left, but who's counting?

[Mama~Love]

I work in a maunufacturing plant, and I hate it. It's not "hard", I mainly sit at a computer & test parts all night. But, I miss supper & bedtime every.single.night. (except weekends) and that's hard. The hours are long (2pm-11pm), and I'm so exhausted.

I hate being gone from my family more than anything .

[transylvania_mom]

lol op, I'm a teacher and I'd love to have an office job.
I work in adult education and I find it draining. I plan on SAH for a couple of years, then I have to change my career.

[rivkah]

Originally Posted by Halfasianmomma

Yes, and seeing as I work alonside paralegals all day long, I'd utter a resounding "no!" to that suggestion.

As a law firm employee, I'd say excellent choice.

And as for you original question--yep, I hate my job. I want to be a restaurant reviewer. THAT is the kind of job I could put my heart into.