I hate my job…or maybe I hate working for others?

[tinnitus]

Interesting irony I've noticed here and on another hobby-centric forum I visit.

In many cases, those who love/enjoy what they do for a living seem happy and content. But more than a few within that demographic express a sense of dread as impending retirement draws near. It's as if the sudden vacuum of an empty schedule (hours no longer spent at work) will be sad, lonely, idle and unfulfilling.

I guess I was lucky to enjoy long stints in air traffic control and law enforcement, eventually tiring of each before moving on to do other things. My final gig before retiring (government agency finance department drone) was a soulless, awkward, time-consuming grind. I was competent in the job, but found zero joy there. Further, my direct supervisor was a disorganized, socially stunted "rainman," very difficult to be around. I struggled daily not to blow up and stomp out the door.

While always planning to retire at age 66, my total dislike for that job led me to start weighing options early on. I suddenly realized that I had resources to pull the plug comfortably at 62, so I did. Busier than ever now at 66 with projects that actually matter to me and the people I care about, I feel fortunate that things worked out the way they did. Inadvertently, I had landed in a final career quagmire that compelled me to look around, wake up and get the hell out sooner than later.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by tinnitus

In many cases, those who love/enjoy what they do for a living seem happy and content. But more than a few within that demographic express a sense of dread as impending retirement draws near. It's as if the sudden vacuum of an empty schedule (hours no longer spent at work) will be sad, lonely, idle and unfulfilling.
..

A fellow I know, the husband of a woman I worked with, has been battling cancer for three years now. He is seventy something, a little older than I am. His biggest fear is that he won't be able to go to work.

[gfirob]

I think part of this fairly common dilemma is based on the kind of person you are. I have been fired a couple of times, because of what probably would be called authority issues, but based on what I would call a disjunction in standards (I always felt I had higher standards than the company or boss).

So I started my own company, which I ran for 30 years, including years of struggle and years of success. I retired comfortably at 68 (I am now 74).

Self employment is not for the faint hearted. You work harder, have more stress and take more risks. But I once had an entrepreneur, who had owned several businesses tell me “People trade independence for the illusion of security.”

What is true, particularly now, is that there is almost no security in corporate employment of any time. The independent operator can always change direction faster, reformat the business faster and is probably paying more attention to what is going on in the business than the salaried person.

But it is never easy, especially in hard times.

[619TF]

Originally Posted by gfirob

I think part of this fairly common dilemma is based on the kind of person you are. I have been fired a couple of times, because of what probably would be called authority issues, but based on what I would call a disjunction in standards (I always felt I had higher standards than the company or boss).

So I started my own company, which I ran for 30 years, including years of struggle and years of success. I retired comfortably at 68 (I am now 74).

Self employment is not for the faint hearted. You work harder, have more stress and take more risks. But I once had an entrepreneur, who had owned several businesses tell me “People trade independence for the illusion of security.”

What is true, particularly now, is that there is almost no security in corporate employment of any time. The independent operator can always change direction faster, reformat the business faster and is probably paying more attention to what is going on in the business than the salaried person.

But it is never easy, especially in hard times.

Retired at 68 is a long time. I totally agree with you about the fact that self employment is not for the faint hearted. I've worked for others, then myself, then others again as self employment was incredibly demanding on my time and not worth the financial upside (ex. self employed pay 15% Social Security contributions, employed by another pay just half that and the employer pays the other half).

I will, however, take your entrepreneur's quote and adjust it for what I've seen in my dealings with the workers vs self employed. It is my belief that “People trade the illusion of independence for the illusion of security (and a steady paycheck).”

[tinnitus]

I've always admired entrepreneurs for their boldness - but not felt much envy. More than a few such fellows (with small companies) have told me, "Owning a business means there's no such thing as a day off."

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by gfirob

I think part of this fairly common dilemma is based on the kind of person you are. I have been fired a couple of times, because of what probably would be called authority issues, but based on what I would call a disjunction in standards (I always felt I had higher standards than the company or boss).

So I started my own company, which I ran for 30 years, including years of struggle and years of success. I retired comfortably at 68 (I am now 74).

Self employment is not for the faint hearted. You work harder, have more stress and take more risks. But I once had an entrepreneur, who had owned several businesses tell me “People trade independence for the illusion of security.”

What is true, particularly now, is that there is almost no security in corporate employment of any time. The independent operator can always change direction faster, reformat the business faster and is probably paying more attention to what is going on in the business than the salaried person.

But it is never easy, especially in hard times.

Your first paragraph describes what I’m feeling quite perfectly. While I’ve never been fired from a job, I’ve always have had trouble with authority. And it’s not because I’m lazy, and don’t like to work, but it’s because either the expectations are unreasonable, or the standards are below mine.

Case in point with my current job, I’ve already been told to not spend so much time making my repairs “pretty”, or try and dig too deep into the issue (IE a fuse keeps blowing, then I should just replace it and not spend time troubleshooting why the fuse keeps blowing). Just keep the equipment going. Or work in unsafe conditions. And the micromanaging. I can’t stand micromanaging.

Had a tough day today, and almost packed it up and left, considering I was made an offer this last Saturday. But I don’t wanna make a rash decision.

I’m now preparing for a phone interview in 20 minutes. This will be for a decent sized corporation. The past interview was for a smaller family business.

[ruger9]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

And the micromanaging. I can’t stand micromanaging.
.

This was one of the biggest reasons I started my own company. I no longer "work FOR" people, but instead they are my CLIENTS. When a client begins micromanaging, I ignore them for awhile, but I have actually walked away from a few people/jobs because they wanted me to do things a certain way, based on no experience from them whatsoever, it's just what they wanted. And they actually think "the customer is always right" LOL. I've quit jobs and turned down work because I could tell these people would not simply let me do what they hired me to do- because I have years of experience doing it.

I don't hire a car mechanic and then tell him HOW I want them to do the work- I tell them WHAT needs to be done, and I let them do it. THAT'S WHY I HIRED THEM instead of doing it myself: they have more experience than me.

I saw a good meme the other day:

"Wow, you got that done in 30 minutes? It would have taken me hours! But why are you charging me so much?"

"Because you're not paying for the 30 minutes. You're paying for the years of experience it took for me to learn how to do it in 30 minutes."

[Neil K Walk]

Since I'm basically a homemaker I can't give you any advice but suffice it to say that I'm happy to have been able to spend some good years with my kids when they were young. I make no apologies for walking away from a job I hated (that ended up shutting down anyway because their business model was unsustainable) and my wife's career has always been her life goal so it was a decision that went beyond dollars and sense and allowed to experience something that I didn't get as a child as my dad worked himself to an early grave. If that has made me unemployable now that I'm in my 50s then I don't accept the blame or judgment. My only regret is that we didn't have kids earlier in life; we were in our 30s by then. Life is too short.

Good luck with the interviews. If people chide you on their happiness then I submit this for the record: you can't take it with you, all you can do is leave something behind in the hope that those who receive it can appreciate it.

[Gdjjr]

I've always worked for me- I have been employed by others. Period.
I too have trouble with authority figures- who deem themselves better than when clearly they ain't. I will and have pointedly pointed out their imperfections which has cost me employment- my work was my signature- they believed it should reflect their taste. I didn't. I took pride in what I did, not what they wanted.

from my parody/rebuttal to Don't Let the Old Man In- titled, Let the Old Man In

Play the hand you were dealt, forget what their rules say, you know you win when you live life your won way-

[ruger9]

Originally Posted by Neil K Walk

Since I'm basically a homemaker I can't give you any advice but suffice it to say that I'm happy to have been able to spend some good years with my kids when they were young. I make no apologies for walking away from a job I hated (that ended up shutting down anyway because their business model was unsustainable) and my wife's career has always been her life goal so it was a decision that went beyond dollars and sense and allowed to experience something that I didn't get as a child as my dad worked himself to an early grave. If that has made me unemployable now that I'm in my 50s then I don't accept the blame or judgment. My only regret is that we didn't have kids earlier in life; we were in our 30s by then. Life is too short.

Good luck with the interviews. If people chide you on their happiness then I submit this for the record: you can't take it with you, all you can do is leave something behind in the hope that those who receive it can appreciate it.

This is profound. Thanks for posting.

[H165]

You've stated you like what you do, but you don't like this particular job. It sounds like you are a mechanic. It sounds like you would like to be financially stable and have some decent benefits.

You might look at your local utilities. They are often large, stable corporations with fleets of vehicles and other mechanical stuff that needs to be maintained and customized to fit the job. Some of the tools and vehicles they use are weird and interesting. Might be a fun change of pace for you

[YamaYairi]

When you go on a job interview, don't be afraid to interview them as they interview you. You have to be careful how you do it. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but make them positive.
Or make a statement about yourself and see how they react: "The quality of my work is really important to me. I stand behind my work." "I take the time to do the job correctly." "If I don't find a problem, I call the customer and get more information."
Ask them how important quality is to them. Ask about how you would order parts.

[rule18]

Interesting responses here, from all points of view. Here's my contribution (all of the following are in the same industry albeit different sectors over the years):

1. I've worked for myself. I did it too young and got really burnt out because my boss was an absolute slave driver and a perfectionist, and never gave me time off.

2. I've worked for a company that I've disliked. The money was just ok but my coworkers were great. I took the best of it with me when I left.

3. I've worked for a company that I've (more or less) liked. The money was good, the coworkers were great. I took the best of it with me when I got headhunted by a good company into a management role. It was a stressful situation at best (unnecessarily so, caused by the owner). I learned a ton there, and took the best of it with me when I was headhunted by an industry-leading manufacturer.

4. I now work for a great company (12 years and counting) and will likely retire from this one. The money, benefits and coworkers are great. I manage an area of the country with excellent local partners and nobody's looking over my shoulder, in part because all the real-life skills that I kept learning and taking with me have served me very well over the decades.

@1neeto - the moral of my particular story is, you do what you have to do for you and your family BUT there's no reason to be miserable doing it. You go on the interviews, you put your best face/foot forward and show them who you are and what skill sets you bring to their table. You find out what they bring to your table and hopefully, you find yourselves at the same table agreeing on a start date.

Best of luck to you!

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

Your first paragraph describes what I’m feeling quite perfectly. While I’ve never been fired from a job, I’ve always have had trouble with authority. And it’s not because I’m lazy, and don’t like to work, but it’s because either the expectations are unreasonable, or the standards are below mine.

Case in point with my current job, I’ve already been told to not spend so much time making my repairs “pretty”, or try and dig too deep into the issue (IE a fuse keeps blowing, then I should just replace it and not spend time troubleshooting why the fuse keeps blowing). Just keep the equipment going. Or work in unsafe conditions. And the micromanaging. I can’t stand micromanaging.

Had a tough day today, and almost packed it up and left, considering I was made an offer this last Saturday. But I don’t wanna make a rash decision.

I’m now preparing for a phone interview in 20 minutes. This will be for a decent sized corporation. The past interview was for a smaller family business.

Smart not to make a rash decision. Keep your head up!

How did the phone interview go?

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Smart not to make a rash decision. Keep your head up!

How did the phone interview go?

The employer was 45 minutes late, but other than that, it went quite well. We talked for nearly 45 minutes. It’s a matter of compensation now.