Who loves their job and why?

[sjdawg]

I enjoy my job.  I am fortunate enough that my company has given my family and I a chance to live overseas for the past 3 years and experience a new culture.  My children have been exposed to travel, cultures, religions, and been given education at private international american schools. 

funny enough although I am extremely grateful for my job I can't say that I love it.  I miss the camaraderie I felt at my office back home.   Humor is different in this culture of often I don't get other peoples jokes and they don't always get mine.  My favorite jobs have never been the ones where I earned the most but the ones where I was able to have fun with my co-workers.

[rodheadlee]

3 hours ago, Garden Girl said:

Hello Rod... 

You have a wonderful set of skills that work in your everyday life on the boat plus as a job... How are the kittens (cats by now)... any pictures?... I'm glad about your captain's license,  Hope you and Patti are well.  All good wishes...

GG 

Thanks, the kittens are doing great and they are cats now. It's almost time to take them sailing. I'll have to e-mail my self some pics from my phone to my lap top so I can post them. Every one here is doing fine!

[Tacenda]

3 hours ago, sjdawg said:

I enjoy my job.  I am fortunate enough that my company has given my family and I a chance to live overseas for the past 3 years and experience a new culture.  My children have been exposed to travel, cultures, religions, and been given education at private international american schools. 

funny enough although I am extremely grateful for my job I can't say that I love it.  I miss the camaraderie I felt at my office back home.   Humor is different in this culture of often I don't get other peoples jokes and they don't always get mine.  My favorite jobs have never been the ones where I earned the most but the ones where I was able to have fun with my co-workers.

You hit the nail on the head for me. That's why I don't enjoy my sub teacher job as much because there isn't much camaraderie, if at all with co-workers. I go to a different class daily and don't really develop that, although I do sub for the same teachers often, so that helps. 

I really enjoyed working at a bank, Zion's Bank to be exact. Lots of fun work parties, etc.

[Rain]

4 hours ago, sjdawg said:

I enjoy my job.  I am fortunate enough that my company has given my family and I a chance to live overseas for the past 3 years and experience a new culture.  My children have been exposed to travel, cultures, religions, and been given education at private international american schools. 

funny enough although I am extremely grateful for my job I can't say that I love it.  I miss the camaraderie I felt at my office back home.   Humor is different in this culture of often I don't get other peoples jokes and they don't always get mine.  My favorite jobs have never been the ones where I earned the most but the ones where I was able to have fun with my co-workers.

I keep hoping that my husband's job takes us or of the country though I worry about it at this point.  I have one out of the house, one going to college and one graduating in 2.5 years.  Leaving 1 or 2 behind really isn't something I want to do. 

[thesometimesaint]

While I loved my profession being retired is great too.

[rodheadlee]

I got to ride around today in a customer's boat. It was a 46 foot 1964 Chris Craft. The owner is a great customer and we were testing some of the stuff we installed. She is all mahogany, teak and oak. I have done a lot of wood work on her and there is more to do.

[sdc999]

I love my job, but then again, I own my own company.  There are days that are definitely stressful but I have never hated it.  The very first time, 10 years ago,  I signed for my first $250k loan.  It scared my wife to death but I reassured her that they couldn't eat us even if it all went horribly wrong.  Now, I have over a million in debt after expanding but we are in a solid equity position.    

There are a lot of misconceptions with being the owner though.

1.  you answer to nobody....   False.  Every decision I make can affect 20 employee paychecks.  So, in reality, I answer to everybody. 

2. come and go as you want....    True/False.   You will come and go as much as needed if you really want to be successful.  Finding great employees can ease this item greatly.

3. you own your business so you are rich....   Well, rich is a relative term.  I do make very good money but no, I am not a millionaire ----- yet.

Signing the front of your check definitely has its advantages but most importantly, do what makes YOU happy.  

*****   never start a business with a hobby.  "hobby" businesses greatly sway the statistics of failed businesses.  Find something that everybody MUST have.    

[Marmonboy]

On 11/17/2016 at 6:12 PM, rodheadlee said:

I got to ride around today in a customer's boat. It was a 46 foot 1964 Chris Craft. The owner is a great customer and we were testing some of the stuff we installed. She is all mahogany, teak and oak. I have done a lot of wood work on her and there is more to do.

Those old ChrisCraft boats are works of folk art...they just don't build them like that anymore.

[sjdawg]

On 11/17/2016 at 8:05 PM, Rain said:

I keep hoping that my husband's job takes us or of the country though I worry about it at this point.  I have one out of the house, one going to college and one graduating in 2.5 years.  Leaving 1 or 2 behind really isn't something I want to do. 

Depends where you go I think.  some companies will fly the college age kids to visit you once a year.   

[Kenngo1969]

"Love" my job?

Love my job?  

Perhaps my relationship with my job can be summed up in the following verse:

Quote

 

Do chickens have lips?

Do pythons have hips?

Is the sky blue?

Do I ... love you?

 

One of the reasons why I decided to go to law school is because I decided that, even though the only thing anybody seemed to want to hire me for when they saw I have phone experience on my resume is to answer phones, I definitely didn't want to do that for the rest of my life.  Then I lost my nerve, withdrew before receiving any credit, and got a job.  Doing what, you ask?  Why, answering phones, of course!  So, I swallowed an enormous amount of pride and went back.  Very long story short, I graduated ... literally against all odds ... then was denied licensure, in large part (if not entirely) due to a complicated behavioral health history.

A ten-year odyssey of attempted rehabilitation, followed by a psych eval from an idiot psychologist who blithely swept all of those efforts aside, and misquoted me and quoted me out of context in his report (speaking of someone who ... Ahem! .... perhaps should have been denied licensure: At the very least, he should go back to the correctional environment he came from; if he thinks I have a personality disorder, one cannot swing a dead cat by the tail without in a correctional environment without hitting someone who has a personality disorder [Memo to PETA: no cats were harmed in the making of this blog post].  At least then, he'd be right at home )  So, I sued him for malpractice, losing at the prelitigation stage.  For my action to survive, I needed an affidavit of merit from another provider. In essence, one provider I consulted connected all the dots except one: "Nope, he didn't listen as attentively as people in our profession are expected to do.  Yep, he misquoted you and quoted you out of context.  Yep, his conclusions were materially inaccurate as a result.  Yep, you were harmed as a result of that negligence."  Was it malpractice?  That's the only dot he didn't connect.

So, where am I?  Why, back answering phones, of course!  

Now, all of that having been said, are there things I love about my job?  Yes.

1. My start time window (it can vary from week to week between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. MT) doesn't "open" until 11 a.m. MT, so it doesn't matter if I have a horrible night the night before and am not necessarily well put together by 7 or 8 a.m. or whatever ungodly hour I otherwise would have to leave for, or to be at, work.
2. Most of the customers are cool.  About once every 20 calls, I get an @$$h0!# who thinks I should lick one's boots because one drives a Lexus.  I bite my tongue before retorting "Sir/Ma'am, There are two problems with your request: 1.  We're not a shoe-shine service and 2.  My salary's gonna have to double before I'll even think about licking anybody's boots ..."  Other than that ...
3. Supervision here is top-notch, and I've had my share of supervision in telephone (and other) environments, and, frankly, some of it has been like Tom Brown's old rhyme about a professor at Oxford at Christchurch with whom he did not get along, as they've told me, in essence, "I do not love thee, Dr. Fell. The reason why, I cannot tell.  But this I know, and know full well: I do not love thee, Dr. Fell."  In stark contrast, here, expectations, and how they can be met, are crystal-clear.  (Frankly, I'm bewildered by some of the reviews I've seen of my current employer at Glass Door and elsewhere.  Obviously, they've been rendered by cream-puffs who are prone to fall apart at the faintest hint of a wisp of criticism.  These people need to work at 2-3 other places, at least, before they will even begin to have a valid basis for comparison.)
4. Closely related to Number 3 is that this job is the direct antithesis to my most recent previous employer, where I had the misfortune of being supervised by She Who Could Not Possibly Be Pleased Yet Still Must Be Obeyed. There have been times here when I have Royally Scr***d the Pooch*, and the consequences of doing that here are both more immediate and more dire than they ever were (or even than they could have been) at my prior employer, yet when that happens here, it's treated as a teaching and learning opportunity rather than as a good excuse to grind the offender's ego to a fine powder so supervision can sprinkle it over their breakfast cereal in the morning.  And when I do a good job (and it may be repetitive and boring as hell* at times, but I'm damn* good at it), they're not afraid to let me know.  Hell*, we even get bonuses for exceeding certain statistical targets, and that's not even all that hard to do. *Sorry for channeling J. Golden Kimball here.  
5. My current supervisor is an absolute sweetheart!  She could build a terrific rapport with an antisocial deaf-mute, for crying out loud!  And which is more, if it weren't for that old axiom, "Don't get your honey where you get your money" (among numerous other things) ... (Sigh!  I'm afraid I'll just have to settle for an Electrifying Working Relationship.   )

[ERayR]

On 11/15/2016 at 9:09 PM, Marmonboy said:

I am an archaeologist--well, more of a tech/crew chief. I like my job a lot, when I have one. The collapse of oil in 2008 pretty much ruined it for me. Nobody has the kind of big projects any more that require lots of archaeologists. I was lucky enough to get a couple of year-long projects, but work has been intermittent the last few years. I have a hard time seeing myself doing anything else; this is a perfect fit for ADD me, and I'm too old to go back to school, even if I knew what else I wanted to do. I guess I just have to get any job until I get closer to an age I can retire.

Too old to go back to school?  Once when I was considering it I was talking to a very wise man and told him "but I will be 52 years old when I finish" in four years.  He asked me he asked me "How old will you be in four years if you don't go back to school"?  I went back for five years and came away with an MBA.  It was worth it and he was right,  I was the same age I would have been if I hadn't gone back.

[Marmonboy]

And when I finish, I will be of an age to retire, and another 25K in debt. I should have got that MA, but the time to do that was about 30 years ago. "When one door closes, another one opens" doesn't negate the fact that a door closed.

[Tacenda]

On 11/21/2016 at 5:59 AM, Kenngo1969 said:

"Love" my job?

Love my job?  

Perhaps my relationship with my job can be summed up in the following verse:

One of the reasons why I decided to go to law school is because I decided that, even though the only thing anybody seemed to want to hire me for when they saw I have phone experience on my resume is to answer phones, I definitely didn't want to do that for the rest of my life.  Then I lost my nerve, withdrew before receiving any credit, and got a job.  Doing what, you ask?  Why, answering phones, of course!  So, I swallowed an enormous amount of pride and went back.  Very long story short, I graduated ... literally against all odds ... then was denied licensure, in large part (if not entirely) due to a complicated behavioral health history.

A ten-year odyssey of attempted rehabilitation, followed by a psych eval from an idiot psychologist who blithely swept all of those efforts aside, and misquoted me and quoted me out of context in his report (speaking of someone who ... Ahem! .... perhaps should have been denied licensure: At the very least, he should go back to the correctional environment he came from; if he thinks I have a personality disorder, one cannot swing a dead cat by the tail without in a correctional environment without hitting someone who has a personality disorder [Memo to PETA: no cats were harmed in the making of this blog post].  At least then, he'd be right at home )  So, I sued him for malpractice, losing at the prelitigation stage.  For my action to survive, I needed an affidavit of merit from another provider. In essence, one provider I consulted connected all the dots except one: "Nope, he didn't listen as attentively as people in our profession are expected to do.  Yep, he misquoted you and quoted you out of context.  Yep, his conclusions were materially inaccurate as a result.  Yep, you were harmed as a result of that negligence."  Was it malpractice?  That's the only dot he didn't connect.

So, where am I?  Why, back answering phones, of course!  

Now, all of that having been said, are there things I love about my job?  Yes.

1. My start time window (it can vary from week to week between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. MT) doesn't "open" until 11 a.m. MT, so it doesn't matter if I have a horrible night the night before and am not necessarily well put together by 7 or 8 a.m. or whatever ungodly hour I otherwise would have to leave for, or to be at, work.
2. Most of the customers are cool.  About once every 20 calls, I get an @$$h0!# who thinks I should lick one's boots because one drives a Lexus.  I bite my tongue before retorting "Sir/Ma'am, There are two problems with your request: 1.  We're not a shoe-shine service and 2.  My salary's gonna have to double before I'll even think about licking anybody's boots ..."  Other than that ...
3. Supervision here is top-notch, and I've had my share of supervision in telephone (and other) environments, and, frankly, some of it has been like Tom Brown's old rhyme about a professor at Oxford at Christchurch with whom he did not get along, as they've told me, in essence, "I do not love thee, Dr. Fell. The reason why, I cannot tell.  But this I know, and know full well: I do not love thee, Dr. Fell."  In stark contrast, here, expectations, and how they can be met, are crystal-clear.  (Frankly, I'm bewildered by some of the reviews I've seen of my current employer at Glass Door and elsewhere.  Obviously, they've been rendered by cream-puffs who are prone to fall apart at the faintest hint of a wisp of criticism.  These people need to work at 2-3 other places, at least, before they will even begin to have a valid basis for comparison.)
4. Closely related to Number 3 is that this job is the direct antithesis to my most recent previous employer, where I had the misfortune of being supervised by She Who Could Not Possibly Be Pleased Yet Still Must Be Obeyed. There have been times here when I have Royally Scr***d the Pooch*, and the consequences of doing that here are both more immediate and more dire than they ever were (or even than they could have been) at my prior employer, yet when that happens here, it's treated as a teaching and learning opportunity rather than as a good excuse to grind the offender's ego to a fine powder so supervision can sprinkle it over their breakfast cereal in the morning.  And when I do a good job (and it may be repetitive and boring as hell* at times, but I'm damn* good at it), they're not afraid to let me know.  Hell*, we even get bonuses for exceeding certain statistical targets, and that's not even all that hard to do. *Sorry for channeling J. Golden Kimball here.  
5. My current supervisor is an absolute sweetheart!  She could build a terrific rapport with an antisocial deaf-mute, for crying out loud!  And which is more, if it weren't for that old axiom, "Don't get your honey where you get your money" (among numerous other things) ... (Sigh!  I'm afraid I'll just have to settle for an Electrifying Working Relationship.   )

I think you should write (even though sometimes it goes over my head)...

It could be a movie script, an advertisement, a play, a book, a pamphlet or...the skies the limit. You have a gift, forget the attorney job! But glad you have a great supervisor, that helps. Anyway, I guess you have a good outlet with your blog, forgot about that!

[Kenngo1969]

1 hour ago, Tacenda said:

I think you should write (even though sometimes it goes over my head)...

It could be a movie script, an advertisement, a play, a book, a pamphlet or...the skies the limit. You have a gift, forget the attorney job! But glad you have a great supervisor, that helps. Anyway, I guess you have a good outlet with your blog, forgot about that!

Thank you, Ma'am. Oh, the Blog's not a bad outlet, notwithstanding the relatively little attention it draws. Notwithstanding the fact that, until now, my writing has probably made me perhaps a few hundred (at most, say, a couple thousand) dollars, I do have aspirations, at least eventually, of making a good supplementary income as a writer.  It's simply a matter of turning wishes into more concrete goals and then mustering the forward momentum necessary to meet them. 

As I mention in my introduction to the Blog, I'd like to write some motivational non-fiction (there's already a good bit of that on the Blog (see, e.g., here, as well as the other link contained within that post: https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2014/11/16/beating-the-odds/)); some decent-selling book-length fiction (although it isn't book-length, there's even some fiction [labeled as such, lest anyone get the wrong idea] on the Blog (see the following two links: https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/everyday-roses/ and https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/carrie/); a stage play and a screen play.

Here's today's offering:  https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2016/11/23/another-story-of-forgiveness/.  To anyone who's so inclined, happy reading, and happy Thanksgiving!

P.S.: As for the "legal stuff,"  it may be on the back burner, but I'm not quite ready to take it off of the stove entirely just yet.  If nothing else, I could always aspire to become the next John Grisham (I'll be the first to say fat chance, but a guy's gotta dream! ) 

Edited November 23, 2016 by Kenngo1969

[Jeanne]

3 hours ago, Kenngo1969 said:

Thank you, Ma'am. Oh, the Blog's not a bad outlet, notwithstanding the relatively little attention it draws. Notwithstanding the fact that, until now, my writing has probably made me perhaps a few hundred (at most, say, a couple thousand) dollars, I do have aspirations, at least eventually, of making a good supplementary income as a writer.  It's simply a matter of turning wishes into more concrete goals and then mustering the forward momentum necessary to meet them. 

As I mention in my introduction to the Blog, I'd like to write some motivational non-fiction (there's already a good bit of that on the Blog (see, e.g., here, as well as the other link contained within that post: https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2014/11/16/beating-the-odds/)); some decent-selling book-length fiction (although it isn't book-length, there's even some fiction [labeled as such, lest anyone get the wrong idea] on the Blog (see the following two links: https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/everyday-roses/ and https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/carrie/); a stage play and a screen play.

Here's today's offering:  https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2016/11/23/another-story-of-forgiveness/.  To anyone who's so inclined, happy reading, and happy Thanksgiving!

P.S.: As for the "legal stuff,"  it may be on the back burner, but I'm not quite ready to take it off of the stove entirely just yet.  If nothing else, I could always aspire to become the next John Grisham (I'll be the first to say fat chance, but a guy's gotta dream! ) 

Write a book...I will sure read it.  You are eloquent with words.

 

[saemo]

On 11/15/2016 at 0:16 PM, Tacenda said:

Hi all,

I am right smack in the middle of a big and costly decision. To continue on in my schooling in a field I may end up hating or look for a job somewhere else. I am a sub in the school district and am in a technical school to either become a billing and coding specialist, or a medical assistant. I'm leaning toward medical assistant. My next class after completing the core classes is Medical Terminology.

I sat here thinking, I wonder how many people love their job, and thought wouldn't it be wonderful, I do love working with students, on my lunch break as I type. But I don't know if I love it enough to seek employment in this field either.

So just wondering if there are better options. Be my guest to share if you'd like.

How about medical billing?

I know many people who work in finance/accounting, and one thing they have, is job security. Everyone needs the bean counters. What I've seen with billing clerks, is they often move up, to doing payroll or managing A/P teams.

I have a love/hate relationship with my career. It's mentally challenging and simultaneously mind numbing. 

I like the place I work. The place I was at before, every morning I dreaded, and every day I just hated that I was there at all and couldn't find a new job fast enough. I think it took a good three years to recover from that place. The place I'm at now, I never dread going to work, even when it is super busy and stressful, like it is now. 

I had good fortune and enough smarts to learn on the job. Looking for work though, people want that pierce of paper.  I went to school, working full time and school part time, and it took forever to get my AS. When I looked at continuing on to my BS, I thought, are you freaking crazy? At the cost I mean. I make a decent wage, so quitting and going to school full time would be 2+ years of lost wages, not investing for retirement, plus $35k in debt when I was done. Turns out to be a costly idea, which, the ROI (I did calculate it) would be at nearly the time I retired. And I don't love going to school all that much. I'm old enough where that just didn't make sense. I'm happy with my decision and now work to save as much as possible before I retire. 

Edited November 24, 2016 by saemo

[Stargazer]

I started out my working life not really knowing what I wanted to do, although I had taken a programming class in high school and rather liked it.  This was back in the days when personal computers didn't exist, and if you wanted to be a programmer it frequently meant writing your programs on paper with a pencil, then giving the code to a keypuncher who would then create the program either on punchcards or punched tape to be loaded on the computer.  And computers lived in refrigerated rooms that were only accessed by technicians.

I studied electronics in high school, too, and after 8 years in the US Army, first as a combat soldier, and then as an electronics technician, I tried to continue along as an electronics tech in civilian life.  Didn't really like it that much, but suddenly had the opportunity to study to become a computer programmer.  I was working a night shift as a data communications technician while I got an Associate Degree in computer programming.  After graduating I shifted over to programming and never looked back.  I loved making computers do things!  I had opportunities to go into management, but avoided doing so, and programmed for 29 years until I retired a few months ago.

[saemo]

On 11/24/2016 at 3:02 PM, Stargazer said:

I started out my working life not really knowing what I wanted to do, although I had taken a programming class in high school and rather liked it.  This was back in the days when personal computers didn't exist, and if you wanted to be a programmer it frequently meant writing your programs on paper with a pencil, then giving the code to a keypuncher who would then create the program either on punchcards or punched tape to be loaded on the computer.  And computers lived in refrigerated rooms that were only accessed by technicians.

I studied electronics in high school, too, and after 8 years in the US Army, first as a combat soldier, and then as an electronics technician, I tried to continue along as an electronics tech in civilian life.  Didn't really like it that much, but suddenly had the opportunity to study to become a computer programmer.  I was working a night shift as a data communications technician while I got an Associate Degree in computer programming.  After graduating I shifted over to programming and never looked back.  I loved making computers do things!  I had opportunities to go into management, but avoided doing so, and programmed for 29 years until I retired a few months ago.

Wow, similar career trajectory here, minus the military service. I had a computer programming class in high school, that was using punch cards and a Wang computer.  But prior to that, the very first computer was in a math class.  There wasn't a terminal, but a typewriter/printer hybrid. You'd type commands on the typewriter and the computerized responses came back printed, on the same typewriter/printer. It was magic!

I taught myself Basic and had a boss willing to  promote me to programming. That was decades ago. I totally get the not wanting to take on management positions. I've done it twice. The first time I didn't like it at all and took a new job where I could go back to actually working on computers. I'm back again, as a manager of a tech team. I have joys in this job, just different. I'll ride this wave to retirement. No going back. 

[The Nehor]

On 11/17/2016 at 0:15 PM, thesometimesaint said:

While I loved my profession being retired is great too.

Are they hiring?

[Kenngo1969]

I recently wrote my boss:

Quote

 

Nicky:

 

I would like to take this opportunity to let you know that I am very impressed by you, on both a personal and a professional level. While I believe that if I were to rely totally on external motivations to get me to come to work each workday it would probably be time for me to find another job, it certainly doesn't hurt that I anticipate seeing your bright, shining, smiling face, benefiting from your relentlessly positive outlook, being uplifted by your frequent positive feedback (as well as by your encouragement in areas in which I might need improvement), and having the distinct and frequent pleasure of interacting with you. If anyone ever asks you what a coworker or a subordinate might say about you, you are perfectly welcome to use this as “Exhibit A” if you would like to do so. You have my utmost respect and admiration. It is my honor, my privilege, and my pleasure to associate with you, and I am the better for it, considerably.

 

I wish you and yours the very best for a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

 

With Warm Regards and Fond Affection,

 

Ken

 

Would I have written something similar about (and/or to) She Who Could Not Possibly Be Pleased, Yet Still Must Be Obeyed?  You be the judge!  

 

[waveslider]

I love my job. Although it is dirty and very hot, and even highlights my hair with a tinge of green at times, it is very fulfilling. I am a starving artist. I make bronze sculptures, from thought, to a finished product, all myself. It isn't always profitable yet, so there are times when I need to tighten the old belt, but other times it pays off pretty decently. When it rains it pours, and when it is a desert, it can get a bit too arid. I get to set my own hours, but I usually end up putting longer hours than if I solely worked for someone else. Much those long hours are time spent being lost in my work so I don't even always notice the passage of time, and if I need a break really bad I don't have to wait to take it. I haven't had my own shop doing this for too long. I have had to wait until my kids were old enough that I could spend some time building the shop rather than rearing little ones, as a single dad. This year I finally have enough money to build the shop big enough to step up the production level to the point where it should get pretty lucrative. I have a corner on the market. I am the only person, that I know of anyway, in this entire state who makes fine art bronzes entirely here in Hawaii.

I also do part time sales to supplement the income and to help funnel money into my shop when the shop is paying for itself, and to be the bread and butter when it isn't doing so well. I like that too since I make my own hours on that, and I just work a couple of hour per day with it..... usually. The sales job is pretty lucrative, so much so that I don't think I would ever take another hourly waged job again, although since it is solely based on commissions there a few days, once in a while, where I don't make anything with it. The days when I make a ton of sales more than makes up for those rare days when I get little or none. It has also taught me a lot about how to market my own art in ways that are outside the normal box and helps to create certain niche markets that I wouldn't have otherwise tapped into, had I not gotten into sales.

[hagoth7]

On 11/15/2016 at 0:16 PM, Tacenda said:

Hi all,

I am right smack in the middle of a big and costly decision. To continue on in my schooling in a field I may end up hating or look for a job somewhere else. I am a sub in the school district and am in a technical school to either become a billing and coding specialist, or a medical assistant. I'm leaning toward medical assistant. My next class after completing the core classes is Medical Terminology.

I sat here thinking, I wonder how many people love their job, and thought wouldn't it be wonderful, I do love working with students, on my lunch break as I type. But I don't know if I love it enough to seek employment in this field either.

So just wondering if there are better options. Be my guest to share if you'd like.

While at a tech school recently, I met a very nice person who, like you, is training to be a med assistant.

Have you done any temperament/career testing to discover the type of career that bests suit you and your personality?

Most school advising centers, Workforce Service offices, Voc Rehab offices, etc. offer such testing to help you align your personal strengths and preferences with a role that you're more likely to find personally rewarding.

There are also a broad array of free online assessments that accomplish the same thing. (Perhaps you've already explored that.)

...Such tests obviously do not mean that you can't find happiness working at whatever you choose to do for a living. Happiness is often a conscious choice...

[hagoth7]

Do I love my job right now?

No. Wouldn't call it love. Gratitude might be a more fitting description. I enjoy the privilege of working, and seriously enjoy the challenge of what I'm currently learning to do. I know that the areas I'm being required to stretch right now are the areas where I really need to grow. So I'm confident that I'm working precisely in the kind of role where I need to be...*at least at this juncture.*

Meanwhile, I have a meeting scheduled later today with someone that I trust...to discuss a business plan  for the side venture that I've been aching to build for quite some time. Plays to all of my interests, strengths, and expertise. A well-rounded challenge - with something of substance/value to offer others. Fiscal viability looks promising - at least on paper. Will find out soon enough whether it gains enough airspeed to support the people I care about most.

Edited December 15, 2016 by hagoth7

[hagoth7]

On 11/15/2016 at 0:16 PM, Tacenda said:

..So just wondering if there are better options. Be my guest to share if you'd like.

And just for grins, I took another career quiz this morning.

That quiz's suggestions for me:

Your Interest

"Interests" describe the types of activities that you are drawn to; these will need to be present in a job or career that you are considering if you are to stay motivated. It is important to note that interest in an activity does not necessarily indicate skill.

•  Green (Communicating)

  People with green interests like job responsibilities and occupations that involve persuasion, sales, promotions, and group or personal contact. People with green Interests enjoy activities that include: motivating, mediating, selling, influencing, consensus building, persuading, delegating authority, entertaining, and lobbying. These Interests often lead to work in marketing, advertising, training, therapy, consulting, teaching, law, and public relations.

 

Your Style

"Style" describes the strengths that you could bring to a work environment when you are at your best. This is the way you like to get results. A work environment in which your strengths are appreciated is a big part of career satisfaction.

•  Yellow (ADMINISTRATING)

  People with yellow styles perform their job responsibilities in a manner that is orderly and planned to meet a known schedule. They prefer to work where things get done with a minimum of interpretation and unexpected change. People with a yellow style tend to be orderly, cautious, structured, loyal, systematic, solitary, methodical, and organized, and usually thrive in a research-oriented, predictable, established, controlled, measurable, orderly environment. You will want to choose a work environment or career path in which your style is welcomed and produces results.

 

[Tacenda]

7 hours ago, waveslider said:

I love my job. Although it is dirty and very hot, and even highlights my hair with a tinge of green at times, it is very fulfilling. I am a starving artist. I make bronze sculptures, from thought, to a finished product, all myself. It isn't always profitable yet, so there are times when I need to tighten the old belt, but other times it pays off pretty decently. When it rains it pours, and when it is a desert, it can get a bit too arid. I get to set my own hours, but I usually end up putting longer hours than if I solely worked for someone else. Much those long hours are time spent being lost in my work so I don't even always notice the passage of time, and if I need a break really bad I don't have to wait to take it. I haven't had my own shop doing this for too long. I have had to wait until my kids were old enough that I could spend some time building the shop rather than rearing little ones, as a single dad. This year I finally have enough money to build the shop big enough to step up the production level to the point where it should get pretty lucrative. I have a corner on the market. I am the only person, that I know of anyway, in this entire state who makes fine art bronzes entirely here in Hawaii.

I also do part time sales to supplement the income and to help funnel money into my shop when the shop is paying for itself, and to be the bread and butter when it isn't doing so well. I like that too since I make my own hours on that, and I just work a couple of hour per day with it..... usually. The sales job is pretty lucrative, so much so that I don't think I would ever take another hourly waged job again, although since it is solely based on commissions there a few days, once in a while, where I don't make anything with it. The days when I make a ton of sales more than makes up for those rare days when I get little or none. It has also taught me a lot about how to market my own art in ways that are outside the normal box and helps to create certain niche markets that I wouldn't have otherwise tapped into, had I not gotten into sales.

Wow, I would love to see your work if I ever get to go to Hawaii again! Have you thought of going online and selling that way? I bet you do beautiful work!