At what point did you start to enjoy your job, or have you given up on that thought?

11 comments

1. I’ve worked jobs that went from terrible to great, and jobs where they’ve gone from great to terrible. Universally, these were the influencing factors:

   – Management. There’s an old saying – people quit managers, they don’t quit jobs. If you have a terrible manager who isn’t invested in your succeeding, you will always be miserable. Move on immediately.

   – Time for creative thought as a part of the work day structure. If I’m working a job that allows no room for creative thought as a part of the gig, I was always miserable.

   – Room for exploration and mobility – if the job is positioned in such a way as to never allow employees the chance to advance or grow their skillset, it’s by definition a dead end job. Time to get out.

2. Never once a job I didn’t hate. SO glad to be retired

3. When I saved/invested enough money that I no longer needed to chase the money (still need to make money to live, but debt free and have enough saved for retirement) and was free to leave my desk job and do work that I find enjoyable and fulfilling instead of getting paid to do what someone else wants.

4. I knew what I wanted to do since I was a kid and I made that my career. And I’ve consistently loved it. There have been a few specific jobs within my career along the way that I hated, but I got out of them as quickly as I could. So, I’m one of the fortunate ones who truly loves and feels fulfilled by what he does

5. I’ve only had jobs that I’ve enjoyed. If I didn’t enjoy a job, I changed careers or even industries. In fact, I’m 40 and I’m considering a change in role and potentially even a new job.

   In the end it’s sort of worked out. I’m moderately successful and make decent money.

   Of course this also means that I’m not as successful as some of my friends and colleagues who stuck around in tech or banking or physics but as my wife reminds me, I’ve had an interesting life and a checkered career all over the world so that’s been fun.

   These days, with a newborn I optimize a bit more for work life balance and to make time for my hobbies.

6. There have been only very brief times in my life where I didn’t hate my job. I never knew what I wanted to do growing up, so I’ve drifted between a bunch of things in IT. I’m currently a help desk manager in a government office and hate it more than anything I’ve ever done, but the pay and benefits are more than I’d get if I left, so I feel stuck. At this point, I’m 51, am only good at a few things and just need to figure out how to survive until retirement with enough of my mental health still intact to enjoy my retirement. I don’t think I have any chance of ever liking what I do.

7. I love my job…I just need it to pay more

8. I am not in love with my job I am in love with the schedule and pay. I get 10 weeks off a year because of my rotation schedule. Along with I only work 3-4 days a week when I do work. Part of me has just thought about riding this out until I can’t anymore. As it allows me time to travel and just enjoy life. Compared to the rat race that is Mon-Fri with fighting the weekend crowds.

9. As unlikely as it is, it as has actually happened once or twice before.

   1) At the office: I was the most social person there, I chatted up with the receptionist, made jokes, smiled all the time, greeted the evil ppl that surrounded me on a daily basis, sincerely good vibes were given without anything in return….

   That lasted less than 10 min. It was my last day at work, when I came in to deliver my time sheet.

   I sometimes still think back on that wondrous day. It was a good one

10. I’ve thought about giving up so many times now. I keep thinking if I just keep pushing myself I’ll eventually find out I actually like it. Problem is I’m moving so slow and sometimes I feel I haven’t gotten that momentum quite yet.

11. I love being able to afford rent and food. The job is just means to an end.