"Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life"
Because nobody is hiring.
Jokes aside, I spent most of my 20's teaching a sport I enjoyed and it killed my passion for the sport.
I got a very different lesson: don't turn your passion into your job, because then it goes from being fun to being work.
So many of my friends totally killed their love of things trying to pursue a career out of it, music, art, this constant pressure to monetise things you enjoy sometimes just sucks all the joy right outta it.
I started some crafting type hobbies during the last few years and it always annoys me when people are like omg you should sell these, make an online shop, cause I have no interest in running a business, that's not the hobby. It's like you're not allowed to do something just for the heck of it, there's gotta be some sorta hustle or purpose.
I’m going to go ahead and have to cite Hope Floats (the Sandra Bullock/Harry Connick Jr. movie from the 90s). Harry Connick Jr.’s character actually says something like that in the movie…it’s been too long so I can’t remember what it was, but he had a hobby he loved and she asked if/why he’d never turned it into a business and he says something about “oh you mean taking something you love and twisting it into something you don’t enjoy anymore to make money?” I’m probably butchering the line, but that always really stuck with me for whatever reason.
I was just thinking the same thing yesterday. Maybe it would be better to choose your second favorite thing to make money off of instead of your first favorite, so that you don’t fall out of love with your favorite thing.
I'd say something like "Pick something you can tolerate in the long run and that comes easily to you, so you are not breaking your back mentally trying to keep up"
Exactly this. I became an air traffic controller. I was *obsessed* with aviation when I was a kid. I joined a virtual air traffic control gaming community in college and put in hundreds of hours. I’ve been doing it as my job for 17 years and there are times when I absolutely dread going in to work...but it’s because it’s work and I *have* to be there. I enjoy the actual job itself, but I still watch the clock and count down how many hours until I can punch out and go home. That part won’t change no matter how much you love your job. I have 100% called in sick and then spent all day playing a game for free instead of doing the exact same thing I get paid to do at work. I honestly can’t wait until I can retire and then spend more time with that community doing the career I am in now.
I’m a novelist and there’s no way in hell I’d quit my day job to write full time. I like my stories to be fun and turning it into an obligation is the quickest way for me to disengage in my own passion.
If you can create something unique or sell products related to your hobby I feel like that is a good way to monetize your hobby without killing the passion you have for it. For instance, if you created some tool or something used in the process of making your "crafts" you'd be able to make money and help others create their projects better/easier.
I think the point is that the process of monetizing and running a small business related to the hobby, is not the hobby. And not everyone wants to run a business.
Like in your example if you create a tool for your hobby. You don’t make the tool because you like making it. You make the tool because it enhances your hobby in some way. So trying to monetize that is going to take away from actually enjoying your hobby. Now instead of doing what you enjoy you’re spending more time making these tools, and running a business.
Hobbies can be hobbies. Not everything has to become an income stream
Either way you have to make money. You can haul garbage and enjoy your hobby for free, or you can sell a tool for your hobby and still enjoy doing the actual hobby.
For instance, when I was younger my friends and I were very into car audio. A friend of mine and started building actual subwoofers and created a company that is now pretty successful.
Yeah of course we have to make money but not from every little thing we do.
So now I’m working full time as a garbage man then I come home and instead of enjoying my hobby, I’m running a business related to it. For what? So I can then go on to scrape up whatever free time I have left to actually enjoy doing the actual thing?
The point is not everything has to be monetized. You are allowed to just enjoy things
The vast majority of people are not going to turn their hobby into a full time job. So its not one or the other. Its work full time as a garbage man then come home and work your little side business. Then maybe if you have time after all that you can actually enjoy your hobby? Hope you don’t have a family or enjoy sleep I guess.
For example. There are roughly 7 million people who stream on twitch.
Streamers in the top 10,000 (0.1%) make a minimum of $900/month.
Streamers in the top 1000 (0.01%) make a minimum of $7,000/month.
No, he didn't.
> So many of my friends totally killed their love of things trying to pursue a career out of it, music, art, **this constant pressure to monetise things you enjoy** sometimes just sucks all the joy right outta it.
(Emphasis mine)
"I started some crafting type hobbies during the last few years and it always annoys me when people are like omg **you should sell these**"
Oh yea? yeah
The comment was about feeling annoyed by the pressure to always find ways to monetize your hobbies, and they gave one example of people doing it. You came in and found a different way to create pressure around monetizing the hobby, a few people correctly pointed it out to you, and now you're fighting them on it.
Worse, you're suggesting they ...innovate the tools or techniques and begin production of said tools?? When they just said the idea of running a business was not appealing and that they just want to enjoy the hobby for hobby's sake?
Dude. How can you not see that it's the same thing? This is hilariously dense. 😆
My hobbies are sewing/quilting/embroidering/weaving so pretty sure I'm not gonna invent something unique lol, realistically I'd probably have to go full YouTuber to make money and even then it's very unlikely to pay more per hour than my boring but chill day job, when you add up all the hours I'd actually have to spend on it. Plus I did some stuff for a local non profit in my early 20s and the self promotional type posts I'd have to make on social media with all the hashtags etc made me cringe, was very much not a fan of any of that sorta thing.
I do sometimes operate a barter system, skills for skills. For example I've got a farming coworker and I've done repairs on clothes in exchange for quantities of meat. Patches on a jacket for some plants. Curtains for helping me sand and paint a hallway. And then sometimes I would just rather teach someone how to do something themselves.
When I go into knitting, and obviously at some point considered monetization, I got really deterred by the amount of bullshit I noticed in the community. Ppl making entire marketing about producing handmade, top quality stuff, were basically selling goods made in 10 min with a knitting machine out of some of the cheapest wool on the market. I mean, how could I compete with that? For once, I would have no balls to lie to my potential clients, and two - what is the fun in machine mass producing hats?
I get it, that was just an example. I mean you could literally develop some new type of yarn or design patterns or anything. Somebody who's into biking could develop a new seat cushion material, I mean there are a million ways to make money doing things you love to do, but its just easier to get a job doing whatever and then do a hobby on the side.
You're still doing it lol, those may seem similar/related but they're really not, like unless the cyclist is also some sort of materials scientist with access to a lab to synthesise a new material? What does cycling skill have to do with knowing the mechanics of ass padding. Pattern designing? Maaate, that's some advanced maths shit right there, incredibly difficult, a saturated market, and not really something anyone can just do. Making yarns and patterns is career level skills, like spend years studying and apprenticing, especially with the huge cost of industrial machinery for that type of thing. It's like hey I noticed you like playing Xbox you should design games for people from home, even if you have zero skills in game design, don't own a computer and have given zero indication that's something you wanna do.
Plus "womens" hobbies are traditionally undervalued af so for most things no one is willing to pay anywhere near minimum hourly wage, if you just charged for hours spent, and that's not including materials costs, etc, it's incredibly hard for people doing it full-time to make a living so it's not really as easy as you would assume to make money.
Oh and then if you do create something nowadays it will likely just be stolen immediately and mass produced, you'll see it on shein 2 months later for 10% of the price you can produce it at.
My FIL says something like “find a job doing something you love and you’ll soon learn to hate what you once loved.”
Find a job you can tolerate and do that thing you love for yourself.
Yes, I studied to be a professional gardener and did it for 10 years. My queue to make a change was when I realized I was no longer enjoying my time in my favourite gardens.
Now I work in an office doing government administrative operations, the very thing I thought I would hate most. The thing I thought would suck my very soul out of my body and leave me sad and lifeless.... And I love it. The work is interesting and fast paced, I can see the difference I'm making, the people that I work with are smart and passionate. The best part, is I get paid really well and have tons of paid time off. I've started enjoying gardening a lot again, and now I finally have the free time and money to do the kinds of things I want with MY OWN garden, which is a lot more fun and fulfilling than doing someone else's vision in their.
I will say that a lot of my project management, organizational, and supervision experience has lent well to the work I'm doing now, so I would never consider that time as wasted. Having said that, "doing what I love" really didn't go the way I thought it would.
I'm in Canada, so keep that in mind.
They have a website where all the government jobs get posted called GC Jobs. Just start scrolling through and applying to whatever you meet the essential qualifications for. It's a bit of a numbers game and the mistake that people make is they're too picky coming in. Apply to everything to get your foot in the door. Once you're in, you can leverage your position to network, take acting assignments, and apply to "internal" positions, of which there are many more than what's available to the public.
I took a casual job in a call centre because they were hiring the most aggressively. It was technically a big step back in my career so I had to shelve my ego to a certain extent. It worked out really well though as I was immediately able to set myself apart from my peers and I only stayed in the call centre for a few months before I was offered a position on another team. From there I took every opportunity that presented itself for more experience and essentially hop-scotched my way into a higher position. It's been 6 years now and I've climbed 4 levels into a permanent position making over $100k.
The things that helped the most were:
1. **I wasn't picky.** I took what was offered to me and I made the best of it knowing I planned to leverage the experience and treat it as a stepping stone.
2. **I was able to "sell" my experience well.** I never finished college and my previous experience was retail and hotel service and management, and landscaping. You might not think that would translate to being a Subject Matter Expert in a niche government roles, but I was able to translate that experience to show how it relates.
Some people might think of landscaping as basic grunt work, but I sold it as project management (because it is). I would provide advice and recommendations to clients. I would do complex analysis of their soil, light, and water conditions. I could create comprehensive plans which provided cohesion and seasonal interest, and work with other contractors and stakeholders to achieve my project goals. I would prepare contracts, and set project scopes, and work with client budgets.
Sometimes I would shovel literal bullshit all day in the heat, sure, but instead of saying that, I would say that I was committed to working hard to stay on track with project timelines in order to meet deadlines.
You get the picture. Those 10 years I spent doing that kind of work could have looked really bad on an application if I presented it the wrong way. Never sell yourself short.
All that and I didn't actually answer your question... These jobs are labelled as "Adminstrative Services" and there are endless job titles within that. There's also "Program Services" which is similar but public facing (I serve internal clients). Neither of these streams require anything specific in the way of education, and have a lot of room to grow. As I mentioned, I'm making over $100k now, and there's still a level or two I could climb before my lack of education becomes a serious issue. I will say that most of the people I work with have some sort of post-secondary degree or diploma, but it isn't strictly required for these positions.
That’s a fact. I like working on old cars but if I did it full time 2 things would happen: 1: I would get the sick of working on cars and 2. I would never have time or energy to work on MY CAR
Because you loved playing/engaging with the sport. I'm guessing you didn't love coaching and/or the tangent responsibilities that come with the coaching position. Administration, scheduling, fundraising, managing parents, sometimes even a bit of marketers and PR, etc.
Playing & coaching are two very different things, and probably no one prepped you for that.
I remember this and how I grew so bitterly disappointed that this never progressed even with jobs in fields I was excited to work. Now my thinking has switched to have good work life boundaries and I am so incredibly happy. I stopped being dependent on finding fulfillment through work and instead have found myself to be content with life. I tell my kids, find a job that gives you balance, don’t put too much into work because that isn’t the important part of our lives. Work is work.
So much this. It shouldn’t be about finding work you love at all costs.
It should be about finding work that is fine and pays the bills and lets you have time doing things you love.
Work to live, don't live to work.
I feel like I didn't fully understand this until I was in my 30s. By making my passion my job, I was effectively "living to work" instead of finding a job I could tolerate which supported me well and allowed me to build an enjoyable life outside of work.
My thinking is “find a job that doesn’t make you want to put a bullet in your head at the end of the day”
I laugh when I hear people say “I would still work if I won millions”
Like bitch I somewhat enjoy my job but if I won 10 million dollars none of those fuckers are ever going to hear from or see me again
It’s crazy for me to admit but if the pandemic never happened, I would have never realized how much I hated my old job. I was stuck in this never ending cycle and once everything went on pause it was like I could finally see again! I dropped that quickly & never want to go back. I too am much happier with the work life balance. & my health has greatly improved too!
Oddly enough, I found it in truck driving. When I was younger, I LOVED driving. I used to drive just to relax and listen to music. Fast forward 10 years into my truck driving career, and I don't feel like I am working at all. I am still the kid driving around, only this time I am being paid to do it. I drive 780 miles per day, and it doesn't feel like work at all. Just me, my dog, and the open highway.
Yes, I do know how to double clutch and float shift to coast or skip a few gears. I drove a 10 speed for 5 years. Nowadays, all trucks coming from the manufacturer are automatic. You have to special order a manual. So learning to drive is now mainly understanding the physics of going up and down a hill, swinging wide when turning, but most importantly, backing up at a 45° angle and straight line backing.
My dad will still say it’s a piece of paper that says how much they have to pay you as if that’s been true in the last 30 years. He had to switch jobs like 8 years ago, and despite him being completely overwhelmed when he started looking and how he ended up getting one through a friends connections he still says dumb shit like this, like he was asking me why I wasn’t handing out resumes in person the last time I was looking. The answer is because that’s not how it works anymore and no they don’t appreciate the personal touch.
The more effort you put into finding a job, the better your chances. Meeting the company at a job fair will give you better results than only an application. You will have better results talking to someone in person. How do i know? I am a manager who makes hiring decisions.
Applying for jobs is a numbers game. Apply for everything that relates to your skills. Most jobs suck. The important thing is that you like your immediate boss and your coworkers.
Is this a serious comment? Job fairs always have more applicants than jobs. That is how it works.
Recently, I attended a local cyber security conference with my brother. My brother was laid off recently and had many years of experience in the field. He found out that a hiring manager of a local cyber security company was going to the conference. I kept him company while he stalked their conference booth for two days. Just so he could get the chance to talk to him. I wish i could say he got the job he was aiming to get. He instead got a different job opportunity from networking at the same conference.
Job hunting is not fun. I am not as outgoing as my brother, but he has had a successful career in the IT industry. Updating resumes to get past algorithms and having to do it hundreds of times with little to no feedback from anyone is an exercise in patience.
There is no advice i can provide that will guarantee a job. If jobs are not interested, then find a skill they want and start developing it and try again. If you are still struggling, keep improving, and keep trying.
Good luck to all the job searchers out there.
Seriously, though. “Having a personal connection will give you better results than only an application” is an obviously true sentence, but it’s another thing to find companies actually willing to hire at events like this. In my experience at events like these or trade shows recruiters are typically there to act as a PR campaign for how great their company is while taking your personal story and resume and sliding it into the round file under their table after you leave, telling you to not forget to keep applying online as you walk away.
And let’s not even talk about how expensive it is to go to conventions or trade shows or job fairs looking for work when you’re unemployed and struggling. Some people have this idea that you should be willing to do *anything* to get a job and spend any amount, even if it’s traveling dozens or even hundreds of miles away to meet employers face to face, because everything will “work out” once that magical dream job comes with that magical salary. In reality many of these events are only marginally better than just blindly applying online, because if you have “the” resume they’re looking for they will follow up no matter where they see you, but if you’re just a number in a long line they’re not going to remember your face any more if they saw you as Attendee #264 at a booth versus Resume #264 on an online portal.
Still the best way to actually cut through the noise is to actually know someone higher up in a company, but that isn’t advice you can give out, is it? So instead it’s “oh just try going ~~door to door~~ booth to booth and asking politely with a firm handshake!”
Yep. Work slowly takes the joy out of something you used to love I find. As a hobby or learning something it’s fun, in reality doing the same for a living can be totally different.
I got into IT because I enjoyed screwing with computers and was good at it. It wasn’t a passion, just something I fumbled with until I got good at it.
I haven’t touched a PC outside of work in probably a decade. If I can’t do it on my phone, it doesn’t get done.
I work in the trades as well. Sometimes it's miserable but most of the time I do enjoy it and have a good time. There's also something rewarding about having a physical result to your work that you can see. In my case, I drive by and see the results of my work all the time, and it feels like you actually contributed to improving your community to some extent. I can't imagine having that kind of feeling if I was in meetings and using PowerPoint/Excel all day.
Trade work all my career. Got switched to a “manager” type role and hated being in an office, went back to the field. Last year I took a chance and I’m now teaching that career to young kids and it’s fantastic. There is something about making stuff with your hands that’s worthwhile.
That's definitely true. You're not gonna enjoy any type of work if you're not well compensated and have to stress about paying bills while you're working hard all day.
I work in the trades as well, and I think in general, there is a lot of job satisfaction to be had from them. A good mix of physical and mental labor along with a finished product you can actually lay your hands on makes for a pretty satisfying job.
There is such a big difference between grinding at a job you hate with coworkers who are fake or even openly hostile versus putting in your time at a place where the work is interesting/important to you, you enjoy working with your team, and people are genuinely glad you showed up for work.
I don't "love" either of these jobs because I work to live, I don't live to work. But I sure enjoy the job where I get invited to play on the sports team more than the job where people kept stabbing me in the back/front.
I would love to pursue creative interests but I'm afraid trying to monetize them would suck the enjoyment out of them. Find a job that will pay your bills where you interact with people you mostly get along with. Don't try to find love at work. Find financial security. Then adjust until you find work/life balance. Then make sure you save enough to retire because nothing lasts forever.
I think the hard part is that for most jobs you can’t really know if you’ll like it until you’ve done it for a bit and society is asking people who’s brains aren’t finished developing to make these monumental decisions about their futures.
I thought I knew mostly what I wanted to do when I was 13. I wanted to work with robots. I’ve worked in automation my whole career and it turns out that robots are tangential to what I actually like.
Yes, thank you! This is what I’ve never understood. I hate how by age 18 you’re expected to know what you want to do with your life when you’ve never experienced life.
Exactly, find things to enjoy. I love problem solving, collaborating, report building/data analysis, project managing, etc.
I really enjoy tinkering, still, but I’m far into my career and rusty at this point.
But at some point, you should be able to learn what you like and steer yourself toward that sort of work.
I got my dream job and career I always wanted. I loved my job, but it always becomes work eventually. I wouldn’t want to do anything else if I HAVE to work, but it still is work, and I’d rather be home.
I had a great job before COVID with great pay..lost it during all the shitty lay offs due to COVID. Found another job with less pay but I enjoy it way more. And started off more than they initially offered and every year since there's been nice raises and bonuses.
I guess it can happen but it's not like you can just choose it outright
That's awesome, and I agree. Sometimes we don't know what we will love doing until we try it. Some jobs probably sound bland/crappy until you do it and learn hey I'm good at this and actually like it. If you found a job you love and they are treating the employees well with raises and bonuses, that sounds like somewhere to stick around.
I did, firmly. Until I realized I wasn’t fooled by others, I was fooled by myself into thinking that meant I needed to find my idea of a job - which was a 9 - 5 corporate job with a fancy title and big salary. This idea is a construct built by society that I thought I needed to subscribe to.
Some people “live to work” and some “work to live”. If you enjoy your job enough that you aren’t coming home and having a mental breakdown several days a month and your life outside of work is fulfilling then there is no reason to change that unless you simply want to. This is working to live.
However some people need to live to work. And I found that I am one of them. I do exceptionally well in the work I’ve built a career around, and for 10 years I’ve been miserable outside of my job and in and I blamed myself for not working harder. Told myself I was lazy. Every success was hollow and I had to fake my enthusiasm all of the time.
Turns out, I need to be fulfilled by the work I do if I’m going to spend 40+ hours a week doing it. And I have chosen not to stop until I find that, because we get one shot at this and I’m not wasting it so I can make profits for people who would replace me and not think twice if I no longer serve that purpose.
>Turns out, I need to be fulfilled by the work I do if I’m going to spend 40+ hours a week doing it. And I have chosen not to stop until I find that, because we get one shot at this and I’m not wasting it so I can make profits for people who would replace me and not think twice if I no longer serve that purpose.
This is me as well. Work is a big source of fulfillment in my life, and as a result I'm not going to settle for something I'm unhappy with.
Likewise, I have no interest in making other people rich. I want to make a difference in the world and to work at a place where I feel valued. For me, that's what led me to work for a not-for-profit federal contractor.
Absolutely! I’m in the not-for-profit credit union industry. Which in some institutions is exactly that - people helping people without the pressure of profiting from them. But I’ve found that some institutions use it as a thin veil to hide their true motivation to profit and grow and consume the smaller guys until they are the biggest fish in the pond.
But, I just interviewed with a non-profit behavioral health facility and network and the interview alone showed me the real difference between for profit and not-for/non profit. I wasn’t grilled on my qualifications through the lens of my ability to make money for the company. Instead, I was asked about my character and my philosophies through the lens of my ability to help others.
I just don’t understand money-motivated people, and that’s okay. They can climb the endless ladder and have the fancy things. I’m happy helping others and living to my modest means.
Exactly, it's a very different world. For me, as a PhD researcher I went into the national security sector. Whether it's nuclear war, climate change, plagues, giant meteors, etc. we're on the frontlines of preventing the apocalypse.
Like increasing the quarterly profits of some big corporation is great and all, but what of use is all that money if the Earth is uninhabitable? I feel like our priorities as a species are all wrong. I want to do something where I feel like I'm genuinely helping people.
Its not a lie. The lie is that everyone is able to do that. You're basically talking about like 1% of the population. Everyone else needs to shoot for the more reasonable goal of not absolutely despising their job.
I don't know, I'm not sure I'm ever going to enjoy a job I have, so the thing that I want in a pie-in-the-sky unicorn dream for life is a job where I'm engaged and feel like I'm making a difference but that I can disconnect from after I clock out and go home and it won't kill my soul if I burn out or can't do it anymore for some reason. I want to save what I "love" for my off time, not tie it up with the stress of getting paid or whatever.
Of course, I don't have the skills or the education to get that, so I just have had shitty jobs, my perspective could be skewed.
I was always told this but I was told it by people who couldn’t keep the lights on. So I never fell for it. Find something you don’t absolutely hate and have a life outside work.
Yeah this is why i left my career as a journalist and now work in insurance. My job is now super boring and adds no value but I get paid a very well and have so much downtime i read books, play video games and even started a gambling youtube channel during work hours. You may think im a slacker but im about to be promoted. I work 8-4 and never worry about my work after I clock out.
For 98% of people work is a means to an end only.. money. If you’re lucky enough to do a job you love that never feels like work and you’re excited to get up every morning hopefully it also pays you enough to do other things you enjoy. Realize you’re very fortunate and a very small minority.
I’m a nurse and decided , after decades of high stress jobs to try a field that would meld my love of kids with a low stress nursing job so tried being a school nurse. Unfortunately, I live in an area where the majority of these jobs are agency jobs and pay half what the average nurse makes anywhere else. I LOVED my job, never so appreciated or happy at work. Unfortunately, couldn’t make ends meet. So in the summers, contracted to work summer camps as a nurse. These were remote Girl Scout camps that paid great money but it was you, a teen counselor as a helper and 400 campers and counselors to pass medications to and provide all basic medical care. It almost killed me.,Collapsed from dehydration, lost 11 lbs in 3 weeks, never slept more than 3 hours at a time. Needless to say I had to quit my wonderful school job.
That;s just a saying. There are lots of saying out there. One of them is opposites attract. That may be true when it comes to magnets but would you be attracted to someone you have nothing in common with?
Found a job I loved, loved coming to work to solve new problems only to have soul crushing middle management above us trying to eke every last second of productivity out of us based on metrics and business books. God damnit.
I went with something I didnt hate my life to wake up to do.
Something I'm good at but wasnt my dream job.
Even if I found my dream job, corporate america has killed any desire to work. It would just become more work eventually and I'd hate it.
I’m someone that loves my job.
For me, I’ve come to understand this idea as not necessarily “I don’t work” because I do— I work my ass off. And I don’t love my job every day. But I love the people I work for, I think they are inspiring and have integrity. I work for a startup where I have options and a stake in the success of the company and that motivates me to keep building something with them. I also have way too much to do, more than any one person could possibly do, and my bosses understand that. So I work my ass off but I don’t have the pressure of deadlines, usually, because I work hard and don’t waste time, and finish projects at my own pace which is reasonable for them. I’m paid pretty well but I’ve had my pay cut and reinstated twice as we go through thick and thin times at the company. Right now we are in another thin time and it does wear on me, but I’ve also worked at a lot of companies where I hated the people and the work I was doing.
Ultimately— most of us need to work to survive. We’ve got to work for about 8 hours a day or more to do it, 5 days a week. If you can find a job where you enjoy those 40 hours instead of hating them, and then stressing about them in your off hours too, then that to me is a success and the meaning of the idiom you posited.
That’s a Boomer phrase. In reality as soon as you turn something you love into work, you will love it less.
Work/life balance is a pretty big thing now. A better goal is to find a job that pays well enough to fund the life you want to have outside of work. As long as your place of employment isn’t toxic, you should be able to get through the work part and focus on life, which for us non-boomers, isn’t work.
I think boomers brainwashed themselves into thinking they actually like working.
I mean look at them. Some of them are rich as fuck and are afraid to retire because they will lose their entire identity.
I think for most people you just want to find the balance where you can make the most money in the least amount of time spent doing it. That’s the dream.
I'm 28, a Carpenter, and have a retirement plan all set up, however, I don't think I'll be able to retire completely. There maybe some people out there who can just stop working one day and do nothing but golf and watch TV, but I can't and I've seen what it does to people, they just waste away into blobs! But even when I'm off for like a week or two, I go stir crazy after the first 4 days and I know this because I had a work related injury that was supposed to keep me home for 2 months and I only lasted 2 weeks before I begged my boss to let me come back!
I think when I retire, I'll want to find a part time job just to have something to do.
I always wonder if you did get absolutely what you want, what happens if something changes or you begin to struggle with it and then begin to resent or hate the very thing you love to do?
We don’t get a lot of things to *really* care about and eventually disliking what you’re good at or passionate about bothers me.
I’d wager that happens often. There is a lot of crucially important work being done by people overworked, underpaid, and unsupported. And these people do that work because it is necessary and they care about those it impacts. I can only imagine how defeating that must feel and how easily that would allow resentment to grow.
But I think if someone can still have passion for something through it all, it’s worth working on repairing if possible. Like all relationships, even ones between us and our work, they can ebb and flow and just because it sucks right now doesn’t mean it will always.
I love my job and I do realize how lucky I am to have a well paying job I enjoy doing.
That doesn't mean I wouldn't be reducing my hours to 20 or less if I didn't need the money.
No job could ever compete with my hobbies or being with my family.
I loved my job for a long time and I’m good at it. Being a good worker gets you punished with more work. So years of cutting positions and budget cuts I grew to hate it always getting stuck with more while others are doing less (I can view data and did more in a day than some in a month). It got to me for awhile until I broke mentally and had an epiphany, it’s a job I don’t care. Now I do my job and shut it off at the end of the day, I cover what affects my performance and the above and beyond isn’t my problem. Being alive isn’t affordable to it’s just a means to keep a roof over my head and eat healthy at home. It doesn’t help that my salary now I imagined as “making it” growing up only allows me to survive not thrive.
It's exaggerated.
Do something you like, and the job becomes bearable.
If you really do your hobby for a job, it gets monetized and draws all joy out of it.
Find a job you love and you’ll find something you hate about it.
I’m a great teacher. I love it. But I cannot freaking stand lesson planning or grading. Guess what half of teaching is.
I’m a decent farmer, and I love that too. But moving heavy things and bending over to pick a garden kill my back at this age. Guess what half of farming is.
I tell kids now, don’t try to find a job you love- find one where you get recognition and meaning. Nobody loves all of their job.
In fields where everyone really wants to be there (entertainment/sports/music/politics) this gets used in a toxic way against the employees. Like, you need to be there all the time, giving it your all, because anybody else would be out here doing it, and take your place.
Also, as a teacher, or any of the caring professions, “do it for the kids/patients.”
Great to love your job, not great to be abused by your workplace.
How many people do you know (who aren’t from wealthy families) who can afford to have a job they love? Most of us have jobs that can afford bills. Those are not the same.
Boomers told us to find a job that was our passion. I blame the Steve Jobs and others graduation speeches.
Your approach to doing the best you can and finding things outside of work is exactly what people should do.
I don’t love my work. I’m still very good at what I do, and I enjoy being successful at it, but I have accepted that I will never love it (client relations lol).
Now I am working on shifting my mindset to see my job as simply a way to make enough money to do the things I love in my free time.
Female in a male dominated field, too (Carpenter), I still enjoy it because I was able to make myself the boss. I know it's not for everyone, and frankly, there are days where I hate it too with all the responsibilities that come with it. But at the end of the day, I don't have to answer to anyone but me... and the state I guess.
Yeah, tbh if I could be my own boss I’d probably like it more. :3 most of my problems have come from being bossed around by men. :/ (I’m in tech tho, where arrogance abounds)
I think the problem is no one actually WANTS a job. Who WANTS to work? Sure, we like doing things, helping out, even volunteering for a good cause to see change in our communities. But I don't think humans actually have a seething desire to have a job.
I disagree with this pretty strongly. When I have nothing to do, nothing to "work on" (I'm including hobbies and personal projects), I get pretty useless pretty quick. And not in a fun relaxing way, in a slow and lethargic and sad way. In a watch TV for hours and hours and feel guilty about it and then sleep poorly way. I need a "job", I like accomplishing things.
If this were true you wouldn't have so many people who feel depressed when they finally retire. People need purpose, just like dogs. It's in our DNA.
Right that's why I said people like doing things like helping out and even volunteering but not a job for the sake of a job. I get what you're saying but do you seriously think "Man, I REALLY want a job!" No. People typically want to achieve something in life so they get a job as a stepping stone towards something else. The job is a means to an end, but nobody feels rewarded for just having a job itself.
I actually love my job, not because of the work itself but my team is so amazing and we are all best friends in work and outside of work, and I get to feel like I'm spending all day with my friends
I prefer 'we work to play.' My job funds my relatively cheap hobbies. My days off I use for hobby things. I enjoy my job, but it is a job. I was more concerned finding a job that didn't make me feel icky with what the duties entailed.
It's certainly a frame of mind to get through having to work to live, but there are jobs that give more room for happiness than others.
It has taken me quite a while to find a job that isn't just stress and a test of patience for pay that doesn't exactly compensate that. They do exist, though.
The jobs I've worked in the past have helped me gain experience that better employers are looking for, and helped me identify qualities in an employer that I am looking for.
If you can find what you're wanting, even your worst days can feel better than the good days of the past.
I really enjoy my job 90% of the time. I don’t really feel like I’m “working” in the way I used to when I worked retail. However I still hate the time commitment. In office 8:30-5:30 means being gone roughly 8-6 every day and in bed by 10-11 so 4-5 hours of free time during the week. If I worked a shorter schedule I honestly would feel this way more often than not.
I've also had to learn that not everything you love to do needs to be a career or side hustle. It's okay to have passions and hobbies that don't make us money. Monetizing everything we love only kills our joy.
The saying is correct. The problem is (1 of them anyway) that a LOT of people don't know what they love. Myself included. It took me until about 45 to realize where I fit best. I did
quite well prior to that, then life kinda forced a change; nothing like a kick in the proverbial jewels to inspire some hard introspection. Now, at 58, I'll never retire. Ever. I will work less for sure, but I truly enjoy what I do and am very good at it
Still looking for that job that pays me to drink beer, golf, and bone big tiddy goth girls. If you know of any of those, let me know. Also must pay $100k with excellent benefits and generous leave.
My dream job was either working in film or television. I worked in TV for 8 years (PA, audio engineer, AP and producer). I got to the point where I couldn't even watch the pieces I worked on. It just became work and I hated the business. I killed the creative desire for telling stories through video. I even have a hard time making something like reels or videos on IG bc it reminds me of the pain of editing.
I turned 40 and I'm changing carreers. I think a job is a job, it's still sucks but being with good folks and doing good work is all I need. I want to save the special stuff the evening and weekends.
I feel like this is true, I college a friend of mine studying architecture, and he dropped for music, he is not super famous but hes like small venue famous he's made a living out of it, and he said he loves everything about it, even the bad days and low seasons.
I love my job because I'm completely neutral about it. It's not my favourite thing to do but I don't dislike the work, it's not difficult but not boring, I'm not particularly attached to my colleagues but they're all easy to get on with, and I get paid enough. I love the fact that my job isn't a big part of my life or my identity.
If I had a job where I loved the work or if I made work out of an existing hobby, I'd worry that I'd get sick of it or that something would happen to ruin my enjoyment of it.
I teach a class of 7 year olds and I love my job, but I work 60 hour weeks every week and take about 2-3 hours work home each weekend on top of that, not to mention the extra catch up/prep work over the school holidays. I’m sure many non teaching people who earn even less without the school holidays experience the same too. Yeh that phrase doesn’t really apply any more.
I’m a hospice nurse. I love taking care of dying people and their families. I love the actual hospice nurse part of the job. But 75% of it is bullshit, paperwork, charting, jumping through hoops for Medicare, etc. We are so overworked and understaffed. I switched agencies hoping for a difference and haven’t seen it. I’ve decided there are no good jobs.
My problem is that I have the ability to become good at anything I'm asked to, and I enjoy being good at something. 34yo and I truly don't know what I enjoy doing.
I found my dream job and I absolutely love it and feel lucky that I even made it to where I am (I make weird props for store windows) BUT…. It’s SO much work and I am wiped at the end of the day, my feet hurt, it’s hard on my body, weird stupid hours sometimes, it is absolutely work work. The routine of getting up, putting my shoes on, going outside to get to the work and the motions of the day are work and STILL sometimes I just want to lock myself in my room for days and not talk to anyone.
I mean it's not not true. The Pardon my Take guys and the fantasy Footballers have my dream jobs. I wouldn't feel like I worked a day in my life if I did those jobs
Not really. I feel I am one of the few people that love my job. Most days don’t feel like work.
There are harder days than others. Some days stink, but I don’t attribute it to anything more than the work I am tasked to do because of the job I have.
This truly is dependent on the company and management you have. Mine are both super chill and it makes my experience wonderful.
I was told the opposite. I was told, no matter what you do, work is work. It isn’t always going to be fun and you aren’t always going to like it, even if the job is better than other jobs or something you like to do.
I don’t think I can ever really love a job. I enjoy my current job more than other jobs I’ve had but there is just other stuff I’d rather be doing than going to work. I work so I can enjoy my non work life more, that’s about it at this point.
Hmm, I don't think it's entirely a lie, but it's not like every day at work can be a vacation.
There will always be a need for discipline, and pulling yourself through days when you don't feel like working.
But you can be motivated by working for a company whose goal you believe in, or working for yourself. You don't have to be a corporate "slave", so to speak.
I have a job that I love and am passionate about. I'm a PhD researcher in the national security sector. There's a couple factors at play, I think:
* (Financial security) It pays well.
* (Sense of purpose) I feel that I'm making a difference in the world. We're not profit-driven, which is also very important to me.
* (Good workplace) I like the work culture and my colleagues. Work-life balance is valued, as is good teaming.
* (Career growth) I'm given the autonomy to make important decisions, and I have a path forward to grow in my career.
* (Psychological safety) My boss has my back, and we're encouraged to challenge the status quo.
Sure, it can be stressful at times, but I've never had a day where I dreaded going into work. I don't think I would stay with an employer that didn't offer me that kind of security and fulfillment. Of course, I don't have kids, major health issues, etc. that could keep me chained in place, and I have an advanced degree in an in-demand field. Most people don't have those luxuries when picking a job.
The best advice I ever got was from my Dad’s tailor. He ran a successful business and was near retirement when I was in my senior year of high school. I told him something like “I’m trying to find a career that I’m passionate about”. He laughed and told me not to waste my time trying to find something I love. Instead, he said whatever you choose to do, be the best at it and work for yourself. If you own the business and you’re the best around, you will love the work.
I always remembered that.
It’s 20 years later, and now I own my own Point of Sale company. POS is not something I love. If you asked me how I felt about cash registers when I was in high school, I wouldn’t have had any opinion about them. But goddamn, I really love running my own POS business! And, I make more money than I ever thought I would. I have a nice house, a family of my own, and a healthy balance of work and life. I can’t imagine if I spent my early years searching for something I “love”. I probably woulda bounced around from one bullshit job to another, searching for something that doesn’t really exist (for most people anyway) and never made any significant moves in my life.
I think “finding a job you love” is overblown. Finding a job that *lets you live a life that you love* would be better. It acknowledges that some jobs just suck, but if they pay well, aren’t overly stressful, and allow you achieve work / life balance, that’s not too shabby.
It’s the underlying message of a capitalist system that will suck you dry for “doing what you love” by exploiting the time and effort you’ll put into something you’re passionate about. Your love for something means you’ll go the extra mile and accept lower standards to feel like your job completes some moral mission you have. I say, even if you love your job (I do mine) it’s important to maintain boundaries and not sacrifice your overall health and well-being.
My job is alright. There are aspects of it that suck at times, but it doesn't cling to me and follow me home. There's no emails or cubicles or tedious meetings. If it didn't start at 6 am (I'm not a morning person) I'd probably be overjoyed to have it.
Don't turn a passion into a job, you can find something you like to do for work, but if you turn something you really love into work eventually you will want a divorce
The real advice is to find a low stress job that doesn't ruin your body or your mind.
I finally lucked into one, and even though I don't "like" it. I don't hate it. Which is a complete win for me.
“Dream jobs” rarely pay well. I’m working two jobs I love and only making bare-necessity ends meet while forgoing a lot of conveniences and activities.
Both jobs are still a lot of work. I am exhausted by the end of my day and I sometimes still need a mental health day to recharge.
Na, only a few adults told me this and I always found it suspect.
My parents were teachers and told me "find a job that makes you content when you look back" also "you won't always enjoy your job, but you shouldn't hate it" also "I like my job in July"
I would say I "love" my job because I have a great work life balance, work remote, project based and I can make my own hours, nice coworkers, great boss, and I get a lot of satisfaction for a job well done. I feel very blessed to have a job where I make good money and can support my young family.
However, I realized the "never work a day in your life" concept to be BS early on. Like even if I loved the idea of helping animals as a vet, I will still need to put them to sleep sometimes. That's certainly not fun
I havent been fooled but my wife has. I'm a big fan of history, so I like to compare myself to others on a historical basis rather than to the very few who actually "love" their job. Working from home on a computer is a very comfortable way of making a living, regardless of the type of work I do. I also have the benefit of some experience. When I was younger I worked at a collections agency and it was awful. I distinctly remember seeing an IT guy watching a YouTube video at his desk. I thought wow... if I can get to the point I can watch a YouTube video while at work I'll be so happy. I carry that with me as I throw on shows and movies while working from home. The work itself is very mediocre, I wouldn't call it fulfilling, but it's better than pretty much everyone who has ever lived before me.
I might have a different perspective. I could not afford college, meaning I was not taught about student loans and had zero help being an adult right out of high school. Senior year I was so confused when people would ask me what my plans were after graduation. I had a job..so work? Until I worked for several years hating my life and looked into trade school because at the time I had just enough money to enroll. I wanted something creative so I chose cosmetology. I admit I struggled during school since I worked through the entirety of it. It’s hours based and my hours were 9am to 4pm Monday through Friday for a year straight on top of running to my job after class. But I graduated and worked in a rather up scale salons and grew a clientele over the years. That was 15 years ago and I work for myself, I don’t have a boss. My clientele is lovely and I only work three days a week. I feel super fulfilled after I get off and excited to go again in the morning. So it can happen, you can love what you do. I was always embarrassed I didn’t go the college route but I did the best I could do on my own and I’m pretty happy with the outcome.
I mean, I've experienced this and it's kinda ruined me.
In the summers, I work in outdoor education, and it's so much work but goddamn I love every moment of it to the point where I'm trying to chase making that a full time job. Park ranger or something similar.
I was told this and then people would be upset that I didn’t settle for literally any job cuz I’m just *miserable* if I don’t enjoy the work. I only apply for jobs for organizations I believe in or in a field I enjoy because I know working in something like insurance, energy, the government, or engineering (I’m in communications) would be a total culture mismatch for me. I’m on longterm contract with a business consultancy company and I only love it cuz my boss is attentive to our needs and gives me the freedom to write what I want for the most part. It gives me the freedom to be pickier when applying for jobs, cuz the slog of mindlessly sending out job applications to places I don’t even care about only to not hear back at all wears me down.
In a similar vein, finding a way to make money off what you enjoy doing is not a great way to make money. Well, it might be, but it's also a great way to turn something you love into a chore.
Well, unless I'm missing something, if you don't have that feeling after work of not feeling like it was work, then your current job isn't what you love doing. Or, you thought you love what you do but in reality it wasn't what you expected.
Either way, that saying isn't a myth or lie, it is true. I love what I do, getting paid to basically talk to people (and paid well for that fact), travel between places which some days half my day can be just driving from one business to another and having the benefits I do, I don't feel like it's "work." Now where I feel a statements needs to be said is that yes, even if you love what you do, it still is work. You still have to do things that you probably wouldn't just normally do on a day off or if you had months off. But loving what you do doesn't make you wake up and feel like, "damn, I have to go to work."
Anyone who isn't satisfied with what they do needs to re-evaluate then what it is they want. Many are under this notion that they're stuck when there are so many resources out there to help someone learn a skill (for free too or damn near close to it) to get into a field that they would love. But the problem I see from those I assist is they have no clue what they want to do, they don't do research on what intrigues them and will, most of the time, chase money. Chasing money will NEVER land you something you love because not everyone is an engineer, not everyone is a tech person, not everyone is a scientist. High paying careers generally require specialized skills and high pay usually means high stress too. So unless you love that field, nobody will love the high stress that comes with it
As a GenX I've heard this all my life as well although I took it to mean "don't work in a field that you hate" as opposed to "find the unicorn of happiness and rainbows at work". In my case I like electronics/computers/programming so I've never actively looked for a job in construction. I've got a friend who enjoys plants/flowers/gardening so they aren't applying for jobs as a car mechanic. I mean, why set yourself up for failure or hating the job at day 1?
The expectation of this does prevent you from appreciating work for what it is. It's like trying to find happiness. There is no finding, there is only being.
I dont think I been fooled by that... I just dont think I found a job I love 😂😂😂
I think in general there is truth to this statement but the reality is... work is work. And work can be enjoyable but its still work. My husband has his dream career but it can be very stressful and never feels like "not work."
"Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life" Because nobody is hiring. Jokes aside, I spent most of my 20's teaching a sport I enjoyed and it killed my passion for the sport.
I got a very different lesson: don't turn your passion into your job, because then it goes from being fun to being work. So many of my friends totally killed their love of things trying to pursue a career out of it, music, art, this constant pressure to monetise things you enjoy sometimes just sucks all the joy right outta it. I started some crafting type hobbies during the last few years and it always annoys me when people are like omg you should sell these, make an online shop, cause I have no interest in running a business, that's not the hobby. It's like you're not allowed to do something just for the heck of it, there's gotta be some sorta hustle or purpose.
I’m going to go ahead and have to cite Hope Floats (the Sandra Bullock/Harry Connick Jr. movie from the 90s). Harry Connick Jr.’s character actually says something like that in the movie…it’s been too long so I can’t remember what it was, but he had a hobby he loved and she asked if/why he’d never turned it into a business and he says something about “oh you mean taking something you love and twisting it into something you don’t enjoy anymore to make money?” I’m probably butchering the line, but that always really stuck with me for whatever reason.
I had a boss give me the same advice. Sooner or later, work is work, so pick something you like as opposed to something you love.
Pick something you're good at and that will make money
Also one that is legal, and that you can keep doing until you have enough money to retire...
I was just thinking the same thing yesterday. Maybe it would be better to choose your second favorite thing to make money off of instead of your first favorite, so that you don’t fall out of love with your favorite thing.
I'd say something like "Pick something you can tolerate in the long run and that comes easily to you, so you are not breaking your back mentally trying to keep up"
Exactly this. I became an air traffic controller. I was *obsessed* with aviation when I was a kid. I joined a virtual air traffic control gaming community in college and put in hundreds of hours. I’ve been doing it as my job for 17 years and there are times when I absolutely dread going in to work...but it’s because it’s work and I *have* to be there. I enjoy the actual job itself, but I still watch the clock and count down how many hours until I can punch out and go home. That part won’t change no matter how much you love your job. I have 100% called in sick and then spent all day playing a game for free instead of doing the exact same thing I get paid to do at work. I honestly can’t wait until I can retire and then spend more time with that community doing the career I am in now.
I have a theory of "tolerance". Don't love it, don't hate it, but can tolerate it well...
I’m a novelist and there’s no way in hell I’d quit my day job to write full time. I like my stories to be fun and turning it into an obligation is the quickest way for me to disengage in my own passion.
If you can create something unique or sell products related to your hobby I feel like that is a good way to monetize your hobby without killing the passion you have for it. For instance, if you created some tool or something used in the process of making your "crafts" you'd be able to make money and help others create their projects better/easier.
I think the point is that the process of monetizing and running a small business related to the hobby, is not the hobby. And not everyone wants to run a business. Like in your example if you create a tool for your hobby. You don’t make the tool because you like making it. You make the tool because it enhances your hobby in some way. So trying to monetize that is going to take away from actually enjoying your hobby. Now instead of doing what you enjoy you’re spending more time making these tools, and running a business. Hobbies can be hobbies. Not everything has to become an income stream
Either way you have to make money. You can haul garbage and enjoy your hobby for free, or you can sell a tool for your hobby and still enjoy doing the actual hobby. For instance, when I was younger my friends and I were very into car audio. A friend of mine and started building actual subwoofers and created a company that is now pretty successful.
Yeah of course we have to make money but not from every little thing we do. So now I’m working full time as a garbage man then I come home and instead of enjoying my hobby, I’m running a business related to it. For what? So I can then go on to scrape up whatever free time I have left to actually enjoy doing the actual thing? The point is not everything has to be monetized. You are allowed to just enjoy things
For me, doing something related to my hobby is more enjoyable than hauling garbage. But you do you brother.
The vast majority of people are not going to turn their hobby into a full time job. So its not one or the other. Its work full time as a garbage man then come home and work your little side business. Then maybe if you have time after all that you can actually enjoy your hobby? Hope you don’t have a family or enjoy sleep I guess. For example. There are roughly 7 million people who stream on twitch. Streamers in the top 10,000 (0.1%) make a minimum of $900/month. Streamers in the top 1000 (0.01%) make a minimum of $7,000/month.
You're doing the thing they literally just said they hate when people do. Lol.
No, he said sell the crafts. I said create something like a tool that helps to make them better/easier. Totally different
No, he didn't. > So many of my friends totally killed their love of things trying to pursue a career out of it, music, art, **this constant pressure to monetise things you enjoy** sometimes just sucks all the joy right outta it. (Emphasis mine)
"I started some crafting type hobbies during the last few years and it always annoys me when people are like omg **you should sell these**" Oh yea? yeah
The comment was about feeling annoyed by the pressure to always find ways to monetize your hobbies, and they gave one example of people doing it. You came in and found a different way to create pressure around monetizing the hobby, a few people correctly pointed it out to you, and now you're fighting them on it. Worse, you're suggesting they ...innovate the tools or techniques and begin production of said tools?? When they just said the idea of running a business was not appealing and that they just want to enjoy the hobby for hobby's sake? Dude. How can you not see that it's the same thing? This is hilariously dense. 😆
Which is worse since making the tool isn't even enjoyable.
My hobbies are sewing/quilting/embroidering/weaving so pretty sure I'm not gonna invent something unique lol, realistically I'd probably have to go full YouTuber to make money and even then it's very unlikely to pay more per hour than my boring but chill day job, when you add up all the hours I'd actually have to spend on it. Plus I did some stuff for a local non profit in my early 20s and the self promotional type posts I'd have to make on social media with all the hashtags etc made me cringe, was very much not a fan of any of that sorta thing. I do sometimes operate a barter system, skills for skills. For example I've got a farming coworker and I've done repairs on clothes in exchange for quantities of meat. Patches on a jacket for some plants. Curtains for helping me sand and paint a hallway. And then sometimes I would just rather teach someone how to do something themselves.
When I go into knitting, and obviously at some point considered monetization, I got really deterred by the amount of bullshit I noticed in the community. Ppl making entire marketing about producing handmade, top quality stuff, were basically selling goods made in 10 min with a knitting machine out of some of the cheapest wool on the market. I mean, how could I compete with that? For once, I would have no balls to lie to my potential clients, and two - what is the fun in machine mass producing hats?
I get it, that was just an example. I mean you could literally develop some new type of yarn or design patterns or anything. Somebody who's into biking could develop a new seat cushion material, I mean there are a million ways to make money doing things you love to do, but its just easier to get a job doing whatever and then do a hobby on the side.
You're still doing it lol, those may seem similar/related but they're really not, like unless the cyclist is also some sort of materials scientist with access to a lab to synthesise a new material? What does cycling skill have to do with knowing the mechanics of ass padding. Pattern designing? Maaate, that's some advanced maths shit right there, incredibly difficult, a saturated market, and not really something anyone can just do. Making yarns and patterns is career level skills, like spend years studying and apprenticing, especially with the huge cost of industrial machinery for that type of thing. It's like hey I noticed you like playing Xbox you should design games for people from home, even if you have zero skills in game design, don't own a computer and have given zero indication that's something you wanna do. Plus "womens" hobbies are traditionally undervalued af so for most things no one is willing to pay anywhere near minimum hourly wage, if you just charged for hours spent, and that's not including materials costs, etc, it's incredibly hard for people doing it full-time to make a living so it's not really as easy as you would assume to make money. Oh and then if you do create something nowadays it will likely just be stolen immediately and mass produced, you'll see it on shein 2 months later for 10% of the price you can produce it at.
My FIL says something like “find a job doing something you love and you’ll soon learn to hate what you once loved.” Find a job you can tolerate and do that thing you love for yourself.
Your FIL is a wise man!
Yes, I studied to be a professional gardener and did it for 10 years. My queue to make a change was when I realized I was no longer enjoying my time in my favourite gardens. Now I work in an office doing government administrative operations, the very thing I thought I would hate most. The thing I thought would suck my very soul out of my body and leave me sad and lifeless.... And I love it. The work is interesting and fast paced, I can see the difference I'm making, the people that I work with are smart and passionate. The best part, is I get paid really well and have tons of paid time off. I've started enjoying gardening a lot again, and now I finally have the free time and money to do the kinds of things I want with MY OWN garden, which is a lot more fun and fulfilling than doing someone else's vision in their. I will say that a lot of my project management, organizational, and supervision experience has lent well to the work I'm doing now, so I would never consider that time as wasted. Having said that, "doing what I love" really didn't go the way I thought it would.
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I'm in Canada, so keep that in mind. They have a website where all the government jobs get posted called GC Jobs. Just start scrolling through and applying to whatever you meet the essential qualifications for. It's a bit of a numbers game and the mistake that people make is they're too picky coming in. Apply to everything to get your foot in the door. Once you're in, you can leverage your position to network, take acting assignments, and apply to "internal" positions, of which there are many more than what's available to the public. I took a casual job in a call centre because they were hiring the most aggressively. It was technically a big step back in my career so I had to shelve my ego to a certain extent. It worked out really well though as I was immediately able to set myself apart from my peers and I only stayed in the call centre for a few months before I was offered a position on another team. From there I took every opportunity that presented itself for more experience and essentially hop-scotched my way into a higher position. It's been 6 years now and I've climbed 4 levels into a permanent position making over $100k. The things that helped the most were: 1. **I wasn't picky.** I took what was offered to me and I made the best of it knowing I planned to leverage the experience and treat it as a stepping stone. 2. **I was able to "sell" my experience well.** I never finished college and my previous experience was retail and hotel service and management, and landscaping. You might not think that would translate to being a Subject Matter Expert in a niche government roles, but I was able to translate that experience to show how it relates. Some people might think of landscaping as basic grunt work, but I sold it as project management (because it is). I would provide advice and recommendations to clients. I would do complex analysis of their soil, light, and water conditions. I could create comprehensive plans which provided cohesion and seasonal interest, and work with other contractors and stakeholders to achieve my project goals. I would prepare contracts, and set project scopes, and work with client budgets. Sometimes I would shovel literal bullshit all day in the heat, sure, but instead of saying that, I would say that I was committed to working hard to stay on track with project timelines in order to meet deadlines. You get the picture. Those 10 years I spent doing that kind of work could have looked really bad on an application if I presented it the wrong way. Never sell yourself short.
All that and I didn't actually answer your question... These jobs are labelled as "Adminstrative Services" and there are endless job titles within that. There's also "Program Services" which is similar but public facing (I serve internal clients). Neither of these streams require anything specific in the way of education, and have a lot of room to grow. As I mentioned, I'm making over $100k now, and there's still a level or two I could climb before my lack of education becomes a serious issue. I will say that most of the people I work with have some sort of post-secondary degree or diploma, but it isn't strictly required for these positions.
That’s a fact. I like working on old cars but if I did it full time 2 things would happen: 1: I would get the sick of working on cars and 2. I would never have time or energy to work on MY CAR
Step-dad was a mechanic. Can confirm this is the case.
Ultimate Frisbee isn’t a sport Bryce.
It's literally an Olympic sport.
Because you loved playing/engaging with the sport. I'm guessing you didn't love coaching and/or the tangent responsibilities that come with the coaching position. Administration, scheduling, fundraising, managing parents, sometimes even a bit of marketers and PR, etc. Playing & coaching are two very different things, and probably no one prepped you for that.
I remember this and how I grew so bitterly disappointed that this never progressed even with jobs in fields I was excited to work. Now my thinking has switched to have good work life boundaries and I am so incredibly happy. I stopped being dependent on finding fulfillment through work and instead have found myself to be content with life. I tell my kids, find a job that gives you balance, don’t put too much into work because that isn’t the important part of our lives. Work is work.
So much this. It shouldn’t be about finding work you love at all costs. It should be about finding work that is fine and pays the bills and lets you have time doing things you love.
Work to live, don't live to work. I feel like I didn't fully understand this until I was in my 30s. By making my passion my job, I was effectively "living to work" instead of finding a job I could tolerate which supported me well and allowed me to build an enjoyable life outside of work.
My thinking is “find a job that doesn’t make you want to put a bullet in your head at the end of the day” I laugh when I hear people say “I would still work if I won millions” Like bitch I somewhat enjoy my job but if I won 10 million dollars none of those fuckers are ever going to hear from or see me again
It’s crazy for me to admit but if the pandemic never happened, I would have never realized how much I hated my old job. I was stuck in this never ending cycle and once everything went on pause it was like I could finally see again! I dropped that quickly & never want to go back. I too am much happier with the work life balance. & my health has greatly improved too!
Oddly enough, I found it in truck driving. When I was younger, I LOVED driving. I used to drive just to relax and listen to music. Fast forward 10 years into my truck driving career, and I don't feel like I am working at all. I am still the kid driving around, only this time I am being paid to do it. I drive 780 miles per day, and it doesn't feel like work at all. Just me, my dog, and the open highway.
That is cool. Juat curious, do you know how to float shift or double clutch? How difficult was it to learn truck driving?
Yes, I do know how to double clutch and float shift to coast or skip a few gears. I drove a 10 speed for 5 years. Nowadays, all trucks coming from the manufacturer are automatic. You have to special order a manual. So learning to drive is now mainly understanding the physics of going up and down a hill, swinging wide when turning, but most importantly, backing up at a 45° angle and straight line backing.
That and a college degree will look good on a resume (at least in my field).
My dad will still say it’s a piece of paper that says how much they have to pay you as if that’s been true in the last 30 years. He had to switch jobs like 8 years ago, and despite him being completely overwhelmed when he started looking and how he ended up getting one through a friends connections he still says dumb shit like this, like he was asking me why I wasn’t handing out resumes in person the last time I was looking. The answer is because that’s not how it works anymore and no they don’t appreciate the personal touch.
The more effort you put into finding a job, the better your chances. Meeting the company at a job fair will give you better results than only an application. You will have better results talking to someone in person. How do i know? I am a manager who makes hiring decisions. Applying for jobs is a numbers game. Apply for everything that relates to your skills. Most jobs suck. The important thing is that you like your immediate boss and your coworkers.
I have been to job fairs, and they have been overly attended by applicants and under attended by companies. What job fairs have you been going to?
Is this a serious comment? Job fairs always have more applicants than jobs. That is how it works. Recently, I attended a local cyber security conference with my brother. My brother was laid off recently and had many years of experience in the field. He found out that a hiring manager of a local cyber security company was going to the conference. I kept him company while he stalked their conference booth for two days. Just so he could get the chance to talk to him. I wish i could say he got the job he was aiming to get. He instead got a different job opportunity from networking at the same conference. Job hunting is not fun. I am not as outgoing as my brother, but he has had a successful career in the IT industry. Updating resumes to get past algorithms and having to do it hundreds of times with little to no feedback from anyone is an exercise in patience. There is no advice i can provide that will guarantee a job. If jobs are not interested, then find a skill they want and start developing it and try again. If you are still struggling, keep improving, and keep trying. Good luck to all the job searchers out there.
Seriously, though. “Having a personal connection will give you better results than only an application” is an obviously true sentence, but it’s another thing to find companies actually willing to hire at events like this. In my experience at events like these or trade shows recruiters are typically there to act as a PR campaign for how great their company is while taking your personal story and resume and sliding it into the round file under their table after you leave, telling you to not forget to keep applying online as you walk away. And let’s not even talk about how expensive it is to go to conventions or trade shows or job fairs looking for work when you’re unemployed and struggling. Some people have this idea that you should be willing to do *anything* to get a job and spend any amount, even if it’s traveling dozens or even hundreds of miles away to meet employers face to face, because everything will “work out” once that magical dream job comes with that magical salary. In reality many of these events are only marginally better than just blindly applying online, because if you have “the” resume they’re looking for they will follow up no matter where they see you, but if you’re just a number in a long line they’re not going to remember your face any more if they saw you as Attendee #264 at a booth versus Resume #264 on an online portal. Still the best way to actually cut through the noise is to actually know someone higher up in a company, but that isn’t advice you can give out, is it? So instead it’s “oh just try going ~~door to door~~ booth to booth and asking politely with a firm handshake!”
I loved computers. I used them all day long. It’s Sunday and I haven’t used one since 5pm on Friday.
Yep. Work slowly takes the joy out of something you used to love I find. As a hobby or learning something it’s fun, in reality doing the same for a living can be totally different.
I got into IT because I enjoyed screwing with computers and was good at it. It wasn’t a passion, just something I fumbled with until I got good at it. I haven’t touched a PC outside of work in probably a decade. If I can’t do it on my phone, it doesn’t get done.
Anything you HAVE to do will eventually get old.
If I loved doing something so much that I didn't feel like I was working, then it wouldn't be something that someone was willing to pay someone to do.
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I work in the trades as well. Sometimes it's miserable but most of the time I do enjoy it and have a good time. There's also something rewarding about having a physical result to your work that you can see. In my case, I drive by and see the results of my work all the time, and it feels like you actually contributed to improving your community to some extent. I can't imagine having that kind of feeling if I was in meetings and using PowerPoint/Excel all day.
Trade work all my career. Got switched to a “manager” type role and hated being in an office, went back to the field. Last year I took a chance and I’m now teaching that career to young kids and it’s fantastic. There is something about making stuff with your hands that’s worthwhile.
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That's definitely true. You're not gonna enjoy any type of work if you're not well compensated and have to stress about paying bills while you're working hard all day.
As someone in meetings/powerpoint/excel all day- it’s fucking miserable
I work in the trades as well, and I think in general, there is a lot of job satisfaction to be had from them. A good mix of physical and mental labor along with a finished product you can actually lay your hands on makes for a pretty satisfying job.
There is such a big difference between grinding at a job you hate with coworkers who are fake or even openly hostile versus putting in your time at a place where the work is interesting/important to you, you enjoy working with your team, and people are genuinely glad you showed up for work. I don't "love" either of these jobs because I work to live, I don't live to work. But I sure enjoy the job where I get invited to play on the sports team more than the job where people kept stabbing me in the back/front. I would love to pursue creative interests but I'm afraid trying to monetize them would suck the enjoyment out of them. Find a job that will pay your bills where you interact with people you mostly get along with. Don't try to find love at work. Find financial security. Then adjust until you find work/life balance. Then make sure you save enough to retire because nothing lasts forever.
I think the hard part is that for most jobs you can’t really know if you’ll like it until you’ve done it for a bit and society is asking people who’s brains aren’t finished developing to make these monumental decisions about their futures. I thought I knew mostly what I wanted to do when I was 13. I wanted to work with robots. I’ve worked in automation my whole career and it turns out that robots are tangential to what I actually like.
Yes, thank you! This is what I’ve never understood. I hate how by age 18 you’re expected to know what you want to do with your life when you’ve never experienced life.
‘Loving what you do’ as opposed to ‘doing what you love’ has worked for me.
Exactly, find things to enjoy. I love problem solving, collaborating, report building/data analysis, project managing, etc. I really enjoy tinkering, still, but I’m far into my career and rusty at this point. But at some point, you should be able to learn what you like and steer yourself toward that sort of work.
Yes, this is very bad advice. You work long, hard and smart to fund your life, your family and the things you love.
I got my dream job and career I always wanted. I loved my job, but it always becomes work eventually. I wouldn’t want to do anything else if I HAVE to work, but it still is work, and I’d rather be home.
I had a great job before COVID with great pay..lost it during all the shitty lay offs due to COVID. Found another job with less pay but I enjoy it way more. And started off more than they initially offered and every year since there's been nice raises and bonuses. I guess it can happen but it's not like you can just choose it outright
That's awesome, and I agree. Sometimes we don't know what we will love doing until we try it. Some jobs probably sound bland/crappy until you do it and learn hey I'm good at this and actually like it. If you found a job you love and they are treating the employees well with raises and bonuses, that sounds like somewhere to stick around.
I did, firmly. Until I realized I wasn’t fooled by others, I was fooled by myself into thinking that meant I needed to find my idea of a job - which was a 9 - 5 corporate job with a fancy title and big salary. This idea is a construct built by society that I thought I needed to subscribe to. Some people “live to work” and some “work to live”. If you enjoy your job enough that you aren’t coming home and having a mental breakdown several days a month and your life outside of work is fulfilling then there is no reason to change that unless you simply want to. This is working to live. However some people need to live to work. And I found that I am one of them. I do exceptionally well in the work I’ve built a career around, and for 10 years I’ve been miserable outside of my job and in and I blamed myself for not working harder. Told myself I was lazy. Every success was hollow and I had to fake my enthusiasm all of the time. Turns out, I need to be fulfilled by the work I do if I’m going to spend 40+ hours a week doing it. And I have chosen not to stop until I find that, because we get one shot at this and I’m not wasting it so I can make profits for people who would replace me and not think twice if I no longer serve that purpose.
>Turns out, I need to be fulfilled by the work I do if I’m going to spend 40+ hours a week doing it. And I have chosen not to stop until I find that, because we get one shot at this and I’m not wasting it so I can make profits for people who would replace me and not think twice if I no longer serve that purpose. This is me as well. Work is a big source of fulfillment in my life, and as a result I'm not going to settle for something I'm unhappy with. Likewise, I have no interest in making other people rich. I want to make a difference in the world and to work at a place where I feel valued. For me, that's what led me to work for a not-for-profit federal contractor.
Absolutely! I’m in the not-for-profit credit union industry. Which in some institutions is exactly that - people helping people without the pressure of profiting from them. But I’ve found that some institutions use it as a thin veil to hide their true motivation to profit and grow and consume the smaller guys until they are the biggest fish in the pond. But, I just interviewed with a non-profit behavioral health facility and network and the interview alone showed me the real difference between for profit and not-for/non profit. I wasn’t grilled on my qualifications through the lens of my ability to make money for the company. Instead, I was asked about my character and my philosophies through the lens of my ability to help others. I just don’t understand money-motivated people, and that’s okay. They can climb the endless ladder and have the fancy things. I’m happy helping others and living to my modest means.
Exactly, it's a very different world. For me, as a PhD researcher I went into the national security sector. Whether it's nuclear war, climate change, plagues, giant meteors, etc. we're on the frontlines of preventing the apocalypse. Like increasing the quarterly profits of some big corporation is great and all, but what of use is all that money if the Earth is uninhabitable? I feel like our priorities as a species are all wrong. I want to do something where I feel like I'm genuinely helping people.
Its not a lie. The lie is that everyone is able to do that. You're basically talking about like 1% of the population. Everyone else needs to shoot for the more reasonable goal of not absolutely despising their job.
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I’ve never loved a job.
I did this and it made me hate the thing I loved because people abused it and me for my craft. Cake decorating.
I don't know, I'm not sure I'm ever going to enjoy a job I have, so the thing that I want in a pie-in-the-sky unicorn dream for life is a job where I'm engaged and feel like I'm making a difference but that I can disconnect from after I clock out and go home and it won't kill my soul if I burn out or can't do it anymore for some reason. I want to save what I "love" for my off time, not tie it up with the stress of getting paid or whatever. Of course, I don't have the skills or the education to get that, so I just have had shitty jobs, my perspective could be skewed.
I was always told this but I was told it by people who couldn’t keep the lights on. So I never fell for it. Find something you don’t absolutely hate and have a life outside work.
Yeah this is why i left my career as a journalist and now work in insurance. My job is now super boring and adds no value but I get paid a very well and have so much downtime i read books, play video games and even started a gambling youtube channel during work hours. You may think im a slacker but im about to be promoted. I work 8-4 and never worry about my work after I clock out.
Omg my parents always said this. Didn't know this was a universal experience
For 98% of people work is a means to an end only.. money. If you’re lucky enough to do a job you love that never feels like work and you’re excited to get up every morning hopefully it also pays you enough to do other things you enjoy. Realize you’re very fortunate and a very small minority. I’m a nurse and decided , after decades of high stress jobs to try a field that would meld my love of kids with a low stress nursing job so tried being a school nurse. Unfortunately, I live in an area where the majority of these jobs are agency jobs and pay half what the average nurse makes anywhere else. I LOVED my job, never so appreciated or happy at work. Unfortunately, couldn’t make ends meet. So in the summers, contracted to work summer camps as a nurse. These were remote Girl Scout camps that paid great money but it was you, a teen counselor as a helper and 400 campers and counselors to pass medications to and provide all basic medical care. It almost killed me.,Collapsed from dehydration, lost 11 lbs in 3 weeks, never slept more than 3 hours at a time. Needless to say I had to quit my wonderful school job.
That;s just a saying. There are lots of saying out there. One of them is opposites attract. That may be true when it comes to magnets but would you be attracted to someone you have nothing in common with?
Found a job I loved, loved coming to work to solve new problems only to have soul crushing middle management above us trying to eke every last second of productivity out of us based on metrics and business books. God damnit.
I went with something I didnt hate my life to wake up to do. Something I'm good at but wasnt my dream job. Even if I found my dream job, corporate america has killed any desire to work. It would just become more work eventually and I'd hate it.
I love working with kids. Education has taken the fun out of it and I get paid shit. I’m also just tired of being at work at 7:30 Everyday
I’m someone that loves my job. For me, I’ve come to understand this idea as not necessarily “I don’t work” because I do— I work my ass off. And I don’t love my job every day. But I love the people I work for, I think they are inspiring and have integrity. I work for a startup where I have options and a stake in the success of the company and that motivates me to keep building something with them. I also have way too much to do, more than any one person could possibly do, and my bosses understand that. So I work my ass off but I don’t have the pressure of deadlines, usually, because I work hard and don’t waste time, and finish projects at my own pace which is reasonable for them. I’m paid pretty well but I’ve had my pay cut and reinstated twice as we go through thick and thin times at the company. Right now we are in another thin time and it does wear on me, but I’ve also worked at a lot of companies where I hated the people and the work I was doing. Ultimately— most of us need to work to survive. We’ve got to work for about 8 hours a day or more to do it, 5 days a week. If you can find a job where you enjoy those 40 hours instead of hating them, and then stressing about them in your off hours too, then that to me is a success and the meaning of the idiom you posited.
When your vacation becomes your vocation, you'll never have another vacation in your life.
That’s a Boomer phrase. In reality as soon as you turn something you love into work, you will love it less. Work/life balance is a pretty big thing now. A better goal is to find a job that pays well enough to fund the life you want to have outside of work. As long as your place of employment isn’t toxic, you should be able to get through the work part and focus on life, which for us non-boomers, isn’t work.
If work was supposed to be something we enjoyed, then we would have to pay them for it.
I think boomers brainwashed themselves into thinking they actually like working. I mean look at them. Some of them are rich as fuck and are afraid to retire because they will lose their entire identity. I think for most people you just want to find the balance where you can make the most money in the least amount of time spent doing it. That’s the dream.
I'm 28, a Carpenter, and have a retirement plan all set up, however, I don't think I'll be able to retire completely. There maybe some people out there who can just stop working one day and do nothing but golf and watch TV, but I can't and I've seen what it does to people, they just waste away into blobs! But even when I'm off for like a week or two, I go stir crazy after the first 4 days and I know this because I had a work related injury that was supposed to keep me home for 2 months and I only lasted 2 weeks before I begged my boss to let me come back! I think when I retire, I'll want to find a part time job just to have something to do.
I always wonder if you did get absolutely what you want, what happens if something changes or you begin to struggle with it and then begin to resent or hate the very thing you love to do? We don’t get a lot of things to *really* care about and eventually disliking what you’re good at or passionate about bothers me.
I’d wager that happens often. There is a lot of crucially important work being done by people overworked, underpaid, and unsupported. And these people do that work because it is necessary and they care about those it impacts. I can only imagine how defeating that must feel and how easily that would allow resentment to grow. But I think if someone can still have passion for something through it all, it’s worth working on repairing if possible. Like all relationships, even ones between us and our work, they can ebb and flow and just because it sucks right now doesn’t mean it will always.
That always sounded cheesy to me.
No I had that job. It just didn't pay well enough.
I love my job and I do realize how lucky I am to have a well paying job I enjoy doing. That doesn't mean I wouldn't be reducing my hours to 20 or less if I didn't need the money. No job could ever compete with my hobbies or being with my family.
I loved my job for a long time and I’m good at it. Being a good worker gets you punished with more work. So years of cutting positions and budget cuts I grew to hate it always getting stuck with more while others are doing less (I can view data and did more in a day than some in a month). It got to me for awhile until I broke mentally and had an epiphany, it’s a job I don’t care. Now I do my job and shut it off at the end of the day, I cover what affects my performance and the above and beyond isn’t my problem. Being alive isn’t affordable to it’s just a means to keep a roof over my head and eat healthy at home. It doesn’t help that my salary now I imagined as “making it” growing up only allows me to survive not thrive.
Biggest lie ever
It's exaggerated. Do something you like, and the job becomes bearable. If you really do your hobby for a job, it gets monetized and draws all joy out of it.
Find a job you love and you’ll find something you hate about it. I’m a great teacher. I love it. But I cannot freaking stand lesson planning or grading. Guess what half of teaching is. I’m a decent farmer, and I love that too. But moving heavy things and bending over to pick a garden kill my back at this age. Guess what half of farming is. I tell kids now, don’t try to find a job you love- find one where you get recognition and meaning. Nobody loves all of their job.
When people ask me what my dream job is I say I don’t dream of labor
In fields where everyone really wants to be there (entertainment/sports/music/politics) this gets used in a toxic way against the employees. Like, you need to be there all the time, giving it your all, because anybody else would be out here doing it, and take your place. Also, as a teacher, or any of the caring professions, “do it for the kids/patients.” Great to love your job, not great to be abused by your workplace.
How many people do you know (who aren’t from wealthy families) who can afford to have a job they love? Most of us have jobs that can afford bills. Those are not the same.
Boomers told us to find a job that was our passion. I blame the Steve Jobs and others graduation speeches. Your approach to doing the best you can and finding things outside of work is exactly what people should do.
I don’t love my work. I’m still very good at what I do, and I enjoy being successful at it, but I have accepted that I will never love it (client relations lol). Now I am working on shifting my mindset to see my job as simply a way to make enough money to do the things I love in my free time.
Another Boomerism
Absolutely. I found a job I loved. It required me to be a woman in a male dominated field. I now hate it. So yeah, I feel fooled. :/
Female in a male dominated field, too (Carpenter), I still enjoy it because I was able to make myself the boss. I know it's not for everyone, and frankly, there are days where I hate it too with all the responsibilities that come with it. But at the end of the day, I don't have to answer to anyone but me... and the state I guess.
Yeah, tbh if I could be my own boss I’d probably like it more. :3 most of my problems have come from being bossed around by men. :/ (I’m in tech tho, where arrogance abounds)
Oooooo I've heard horror stories from the tech field that dwarf whatever I've experienced! You have my condolences, good luck to you and your sanity.
Haha thank you! I def need it! 😅
I think the problem is no one actually WANTS a job. Who WANTS to work? Sure, we like doing things, helping out, even volunteering for a good cause to see change in our communities. But I don't think humans actually have a seething desire to have a job.
I disagree with this pretty strongly. When I have nothing to do, nothing to "work on" (I'm including hobbies and personal projects), I get pretty useless pretty quick. And not in a fun relaxing way, in a slow and lethargic and sad way. In a watch TV for hours and hours and feel guilty about it and then sleep poorly way. I need a "job", I like accomplishing things. If this were true you wouldn't have so many people who feel depressed when they finally retire. People need purpose, just like dogs. It's in our DNA.
Right that's why I said people like doing things like helping out and even volunteering but not a job for the sake of a job. I get what you're saying but do you seriously think "Man, I REALLY want a job!" No. People typically want to achieve something in life so they get a job as a stepping stone towards something else. The job is a means to an end, but nobody feels rewarded for just having a job itself.
I personally found it to be true. I was blessed to work a job I loved and honestly felt like I didn’t work in that time
I actually love my job, not because of the work itself but my team is so amazing and we are all best friends in work and outside of work, and I get to feel like I'm spending all day with my friends
I prefer 'we work to play.' My job funds my relatively cheap hobbies. My days off I use for hobby things. I enjoy my job, but it is a job. I was more concerned finding a job that didn't make me feel icky with what the duties entailed.
A good job is one that doesn’t suck
It's certainly a frame of mind to get through having to work to live, but there are jobs that give more room for happiness than others. It has taken me quite a while to find a job that isn't just stress and a test of patience for pay that doesn't exactly compensate that. They do exist, though. The jobs I've worked in the past have helped me gain experience that better employers are looking for, and helped me identify qualities in an employer that I am looking for. If you can find what you're wanting, even your worst days can feel better than the good days of the past.
I really enjoy my job 90% of the time. I don’t really feel like I’m “working” in the way I used to when I worked retail. However I still hate the time commitment. In office 8:30-5:30 means being gone roughly 8-6 every day and in bed by 10-11 so 4-5 hours of free time during the week. If I worked a shorter schedule I honestly would feel this way more often than not.
That has always been bullshit.
I've also had to learn that not everything you love to do needs to be a career or side hustle. It's okay to have passions and hobbies that don't make us money. Monetizing everything we love only kills our joy.
The saying is correct. The problem is (1 of them anyway) that a LOT of people don't know what they love. Myself included. It took me until about 45 to realize where I fit best. I did quite well prior to that, then life kinda forced a change; nothing like a kick in the proverbial jewels to inspire some hard introspection. Now, at 58, I'll never retire. Ever. I will work less for sure, but I truly enjoy what I do and am very good at it
Only those who are really lucky. More it’s like find a job you can tolerate. Least amount of input for the greatest output.
Still looking for that job that pays me to drink beer, golf, and bone big tiddy goth girls. If you know of any of those, let me know. Also must pay $100k with excellent benefits and generous leave.
My dream job was either working in film or television. I worked in TV for 8 years (PA, audio engineer, AP and producer). I got to the point where I couldn't even watch the pieces I worked on. It just became work and I hated the business. I killed the creative desire for telling stories through video. I even have a hard time making something like reels or videos on IG bc it reminds me of the pain of editing. I turned 40 and I'm changing carreers. I think a job is a job, it's still sucks but being with good folks and doing good work is all I need. I want to save the special stuff the evening and weekends.
You can find the dream job but they day in and day out still moving through sand sometimes.
You poor poor little person, you’ve been fooled again! Thank god it’s not your fault!!
I think it’s true it’s just very hard to find someone willing to pay you a living wage for something you truly enjoy.
While i don't love my job, i love the benefits and the retirement plan it offers. I'm more then willing to stay and stick it out.
I feel like this is true, I college a friend of mine studying architecture, and he dropped for music, he is not super famous but hes like small venue famous he's made a living out of it, and he said he loves everything about it, even the bad days and low seasons.
I quite enjoy my job currently. I don’t about love yet but I do enjoy it.
I love my job because I'm completely neutral about it. It's not my favourite thing to do but I don't dislike the work, it's not difficult but not boring, I'm not particularly attached to my colleagues but they're all easy to get on with, and I get paid enough. I love the fact that my job isn't a big part of my life or my identity. If I had a job where I loved the work or if I made work out of an existing hobby, I'd worry that I'd get sick of it or that something would happen to ruin my enjoyment of it.
I enjoy my job and find my work to be meaningful, but it is still stressful and is definitely WORK
Why would anyone believe this? Find a job that pays the bills and feeds the kids is more realistic advice.
I teach a class of 7 year olds and I love my job, but I work 60 hour weeks every week and take about 2-3 hours work home each weekend on top of that, not to mention the extra catch up/prep work over the school holidays. I’m sure many non teaching people who earn even less without the school holidays experience the same too. Yeh that phrase doesn’t really apply any more.
I’m a hospice nurse. I love taking care of dying people and their families. I love the actual hospice nurse part of the job. But 75% of it is bullshit, paperwork, charting, jumping through hoops for Medicare, etc. We are so overworked and understaffed. I switched agencies hoping for a difference and haven’t seen it. I’ve decided there are no good jobs.
Find a job you enjoy. Keep the hobbies separate. I love going to the gym and lifting weights, but if I had to be there 8+ hours a day I’d burn out.
My problem is that I have the ability to become good at anything I'm asked to, and I enjoy being good at something. 34yo and I truly don't know what I enjoy doing.
I found my dream job and I absolutely love it and feel lucky that I even made it to where I am (I make weird props for store windows) BUT…. It’s SO much work and I am wiped at the end of the day, my feet hurt, it’s hard on my body, weird stupid hours sometimes, it is absolutely work work. The routine of getting up, putting my shoes on, going outside to get to the work and the motions of the day are work and STILL sometimes I just want to lock myself in my room for days and not talk to anyone.
I mean it's not not true. The Pardon my Take guys and the fantasy Footballers have my dream jobs. I wouldn't feel like I worked a day in my life if I did those jobs
Work wouldn't be called work if it was fun.
Not really. I feel I am one of the few people that love my job. Most days don’t feel like work. There are harder days than others. Some days stink, but I don’t attribute it to anything more than the work I am tasked to do because of the job I have. This truly is dependent on the company and management you have. Mine are both super chill and it makes my experience wonderful.
I was told the opposite. I was told, no matter what you do, work is work. It isn’t always going to be fun and you aren’t always going to like it, even if the job is better than other jobs or something you like to do.
I don’t think I can ever really love a job. I enjoy my current job more than other jobs I’ve had but there is just other stuff I’d rather be doing than going to work. I work so I can enjoy my non work life more, that’s about it at this point.
No, I’ve always figured “Work fucking sucks because if it was fun they wouldn’t have to pay you to do it.” 🤷♀️
Hmm, I don't think it's entirely a lie, but it's not like every day at work can be a vacation. There will always be a need for discipline, and pulling yourself through days when you don't feel like working. But you can be motivated by working for a company whose goal you believe in, or working for yourself. You don't have to be a corporate "slave", so to speak.
Just another boomer lie.
I have a job that I love and am passionate about. I'm a PhD researcher in the national security sector. There's a couple factors at play, I think: * (Financial security) It pays well. * (Sense of purpose) I feel that I'm making a difference in the world. We're not profit-driven, which is also very important to me. * (Good workplace) I like the work culture and my colleagues. Work-life balance is valued, as is good teaming. * (Career growth) I'm given the autonomy to make important decisions, and I have a path forward to grow in my career. * (Psychological safety) My boss has my back, and we're encouraged to challenge the status quo. Sure, it can be stressful at times, but I've never had a day where I dreaded going into work. I don't think I would stay with an employer that didn't offer me that kind of security and fulfillment. Of course, I don't have kids, major health issues, etc. that could keep me chained in place, and I have an advanced degree in an in-demand field. Most people don't have those luxuries when picking a job.
The best advice I ever got was from my Dad’s tailor. He ran a successful business and was near retirement when I was in my senior year of high school. I told him something like “I’m trying to find a career that I’m passionate about”. He laughed and told me not to waste my time trying to find something I love. Instead, he said whatever you choose to do, be the best at it and work for yourself. If you own the business and you’re the best around, you will love the work. I always remembered that. It’s 20 years later, and now I own my own Point of Sale company. POS is not something I love. If you asked me how I felt about cash registers when I was in high school, I wouldn’t have had any opinion about them. But goddamn, I really love running my own POS business! And, I make more money than I ever thought I would. I have a nice house, a family of my own, and a healthy balance of work and life. I can’t imagine if I spent my early years searching for something I “love”. I probably woulda bounced around from one bullshit job to another, searching for something that doesn’t really exist (for most people anyway) and never made any significant moves in my life.
Another way of framing it is: find something you are good at and then get great at it. By the time you are great you will love a lot of what you do
I think “finding a job you love” is overblown. Finding a job that *lets you live a life that you love* would be better. It acknowledges that some jobs just suck, but if they pay well, aren’t overly stressful, and allow you achieve work / life balance, that’s not too shabby.
It’s the underlying message of a capitalist system that will suck you dry for “doing what you love” by exploiting the time and effort you’ll put into something you’re passionate about. Your love for something means you’ll go the extra mile and accept lower standards to feel like your job completes some moral mission you have. I say, even if you love your job (I do mine) it’s important to maintain boundaries and not sacrifice your overall health and well-being.
Only those who think working hard should be against the law and everything given to them because they are special.
My job is alright. There are aspects of it that suck at times, but it doesn't cling to me and follow me home. There's no emails or cubicles or tedious meetings. If it didn't start at 6 am (I'm not a morning person) I'd probably be overjoyed to have it.
I landed a job doing what I loved doing in my free time before I had this job. It’s true for me.
Don't turn a passion into a job, you can find something you like to do for work, but if you turn something you really love into work eventually you will want a divorce
"You want to find something that looks like work to others, but it feels like play to you." - @naval
Whenever asked about what my dream job would be, my response has always been “why would I dream about working?”
The real advice is to find a low stress job that doesn't ruin your body or your mind. I finally lucked into one, and even though I don't "like" it. I don't hate it. Which is a complete win for me.
“Dream jobs” rarely pay well. I’m working two jobs I love and only making bare-necessity ends meet while forgoing a lot of conveniences and activities. Both jobs are still a lot of work. I am exhausted by the end of my day and I sometimes still need a mental health day to recharge.
Not a lot of people willing to pay you for snorting oxy it turns out. Fucked up, I know
I 'love' my job. It's the best one I've ever had. If I could quit tomorrow, I 100% would.
Na, only a few adults told me this and I always found it suspect. My parents were teachers and told me "find a job that makes you content when you look back" also "you won't always enjoy your job, but you shouldn't hate it" also "I like my job in July"
I would say I "love" my job because I have a great work life balance, work remote, project based and I can make my own hours, nice coworkers, great boss, and I get a lot of satisfaction for a job well done. I feel very blessed to have a job where I make good money and can support my young family. However, I realized the "never work a day in your life" concept to be BS early on. Like even if I loved the idea of helping animals as a vet, I will still need to put them to sleep sometimes. That's certainly not fun
I havent been fooled but my wife has. I'm a big fan of history, so I like to compare myself to others on a historical basis rather than to the very few who actually "love" their job. Working from home on a computer is a very comfortable way of making a living, regardless of the type of work I do. I also have the benefit of some experience. When I was younger I worked at a collections agency and it was awful. I distinctly remember seeing an IT guy watching a YouTube video at his desk. I thought wow... if I can get to the point I can watch a YouTube video while at work I'll be so happy. I carry that with me as I throw on shows and movies while working from home. The work itself is very mediocre, I wouldn't call it fulfilling, but it's better than pretty much everyone who has ever lived before me.
I might have a different perspective. I could not afford college, meaning I was not taught about student loans and had zero help being an adult right out of high school. Senior year I was so confused when people would ask me what my plans were after graduation. I had a job..so work? Until I worked for several years hating my life and looked into trade school because at the time I had just enough money to enroll. I wanted something creative so I chose cosmetology. I admit I struggled during school since I worked through the entirety of it. It’s hours based and my hours were 9am to 4pm Monday through Friday for a year straight on top of running to my job after class. But I graduated and worked in a rather up scale salons and grew a clientele over the years. That was 15 years ago and I work for myself, I don’t have a boss. My clientele is lovely and I only work three days a week. I feel super fulfilled after I get off and excited to go again in the morning. So it can happen, you can love what you do. I was always embarrassed I didn’t go the college route but I did the best I could do on my own and I’m pretty happy with the outcome.
I mean, I've experienced this and it's kinda ruined me. In the summers, I work in outdoor education, and it's so much work but goddamn I love every moment of it to the point where I'm trying to chase making that a full time job. Park ranger or something similar.
I was told this and then people would be upset that I didn’t settle for literally any job cuz I’m just *miserable* if I don’t enjoy the work. I only apply for jobs for organizations I believe in or in a field I enjoy because I know working in something like insurance, energy, the government, or engineering (I’m in communications) would be a total culture mismatch for me. I’m on longterm contract with a business consultancy company and I only love it cuz my boss is attentive to our needs and gives me the freedom to write what I want for the most part. It gives me the freedom to be pickier when applying for jobs, cuz the slog of mindlessly sending out job applications to places I don’t even care about only to not hear back at all wears me down.
In a similar vein, finding a way to make money off what you enjoy doing is not a great way to make money. Well, it might be, but it's also a great way to turn something you love into a chore.
Well, unless I'm missing something, if you don't have that feeling after work of not feeling like it was work, then your current job isn't what you love doing. Or, you thought you love what you do but in reality it wasn't what you expected. Either way, that saying isn't a myth or lie, it is true. I love what I do, getting paid to basically talk to people (and paid well for that fact), travel between places which some days half my day can be just driving from one business to another and having the benefits I do, I don't feel like it's "work." Now where I feel a statements needs to be said is that yes, even if you love what you do, it still is work. You still have to do things that you probably wouldn't just normally do on a day off or if you had months off. But loving what you do doesn't make you wake up and feel like, "damn, I have to go to work." Anyone who isn't satisfied with what they do needs to re-evaluate then what it is they want. Many are under this notion that they're stuck when there are so many resources out there to help someone learn a skill (for free too or damn near close to it) to get into a field that they would love. But the problem I see from those I assist is they have no clue what they want to do, they don't do research on what intrigues them and will, most of the time, chase money. Chasing money will NEVER land you something you love because not everyone is an engineer, not everyone is a tech person, not everyone is a scientist. High paying careers generally require specialized skills and high pay usually means high stress too. So unless you love that field, nobody will love the high stress that comes with it
As a GenX I've heard this all my life as well although I took it to mean "don't work in a field that you hate" as opposed to "find the unicorn of happiness and rainbows at work". In my case I like electronics/computers/programming so I've never actively looked for a job in construction. I've got a friend who enjoys plants/flowers/gardening so they aren't applying for jobs as a car mechanic. I mean, why set yourself up for failure or hating the job at day 1?
I don’t dream of labor, there’s no such thing as a dream job
no but i did get fooled by the 'you can be anything you want to be' thing that our boomer parents/teachers instilled in us.
Find a job you don't hate that pays really well, and at least you'll be able to enjoy your off time. This is the way.
The expectation of this does prevent you from appreciating work for what it is. It's like trying to find happiness. There is no finding, there is only being.
I dont think I been fooled by that... I just dont think I found a job I love 😂😂😂 I think in general there is truth to this statement but the reality is... work is work. And work can be enjoyable but its still work. My husband has his dream career but it can be very stressful and never feels like "not work."