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Had a chat with the GF this weekend and we both have a inkling to own and run a guesthouse/small hotel. She works for a big NGO is well paid but quite fed up with the bureaucracy, my job is a bit stagnant but reasonably well paid for the stress etc. We both decided we would be happier getting up to change beds, fire up hoovers and the like than getting on a train each day to go work for someone else.
No. 6 months in and the promise (at interview) that the old days of unhappy customers and poor communications were behind them was a lie. It's possibly worse now.
2 CV on route to better companies well out of the industry I'm sick and tired of
Love the work.
Hot beverages? Check. Radio? Check. Decent people that don't talk about their self-centered "oh my God my day is ruined cuz there's no Steakbakes"? Check. No stress, anxiety or managerial ineptitude & bullying? Check
An actual wage that affords me any disposable income? Nope.
I know which I prefer. (milk & 2).
Love the job , hate the manager.
Whats not to like . Start and finish more or less when I want . Actually get to make something which is well received . I'm good at it , I like the challenge and it plays on my only skill . Seeeing the quickest and easiset way to acheive the workload in the time available.
Used to care more , and worry more about production and stock levels, lead times , wholesalers puting in random orders with little or zero notice. Now with a manager I worry not . He is a total bean counter and is destroying the business but i still get paid.
Radio on , tea whenever , almost as much free beer as I want . Car / bike wash facilities. It is 32 miles away , and does sometimes require weekend commitments
Yep can't complain at all, I got very lucky. I'd still rather not be here but I can think of much much worse jobs. I'm a video editor which I enjoy doing in my spare time occasionally anyway and everyone here is pretty chilled and easy to get on with. I also get to go out and do video shoots on location which are fun.
loddrik - MemberDo you enjoy your job and if so why?
Absolutely not. I work with zombie maggots so not good. Not good.
For the moment the alternative can lead to homelessness and starvation.
I can't wait to start my own business but is being delayed by zombie maggots affecting my PT job.
Most people have forgotten the meaning of being human.
Yep get up in van and off to customers to fix there forklifts which as they are German and a bit complex means I have to use my brain most off the time and when Iam not iam using my brawn get to drive around nice countryside in new van and as its a German company work life balance is pretty good 🙂
Yes. Yes I do.
Pretty much my own boss at the moment with a small team of staff around me who all work hard and have the best of intentions. Its a 15 minute drive/ 25 minute ride/ 40 minute run to work.
Can get a bit hectic at times and I think my current role may be relatively short lived but for now, I'm happy.
Do I enjoy my job?
In a word, 'No'.
I several words, 'I f*****g hate my job!'
Well, the job is ok in the main but the people I have to work with are 'king retarded!
Every day is a huge effort to get out of bed and go to work
I would, except weve had NO work in yet this year (its nothing to worry about, it comes in waves), but we have to come in anyway, look busy, and my boss wont accept "thumb-up-arse" on my time sheets.
It wouldnt be a problem if el capatain would just recognise the siutuation and tell us to go home for the afternoon.
im SO BORED im actually desperate for something to kick off.
I love my job … it's the people I can't stand.
Yes, it's a bit quiet at the moment but I'm largely able to do as I please and it pays pretty well.
Had a chat with the GF this weekend and we both have a inkling to own and run a guesthouse/small hotel.
That's our Plan B.
Current job is very cushy but I'm very bored, can do it with my eyes closed....
I absolutely love my job, I feel happy driving to work. I am an accountant by trade but do a more operational role and feel like I really help people. My peers and MD are some of my best friends. Long may it last!
I trained with this company and then left to seek my fortune ending in redundancy at one place and then having the manager from hell at the next job. Moved back and it was great from day 1. I think having the horrible job just keeps my brain balanced and I know that this is good.
footflaps - Member
Had a chat with the GF this weekend and we both have a inkling to own and run a guesthouse/small hotel.That's our Plan B.
Current job is very cushy but I'm very bored, can do it with my eyes closed....
Do it if you have the business acumen. Take charge of your lives.
Hate mine to death. Good money, good holiday entitlement (which we can never get) pension, crap shifts etc. I've applied for 3 jobs in the last 2 weeks on up to 15K a year less, that's how I feel about it.
Yes and No
The job no, the end result yes.
jp-t853 - Member
I absolutely love my job, I feel happy driving to work. I am an accountant by trade but do a more operational role and feel like I really help people. My peers and MD are some of my best friends. Long may it last!I trained with this company and then left to seek my fortune ending in redundancy at one place and then having the manager from hell at the next job. Moved back and it was great from day 1. I think having the horrible job just keeps my brain balanced and I know that this is good.
I'm an accountant by training too. The problem with my job is that it has gone from having enough time to really help out the business to endlessly rehashing figures in different formats and reports for our group company. They have responded to pressures by choosing paralysis by analysis and just spend all their time dreaming up new and complex ways for us to report the same basic bloody numbers.
The facts are quite straightforward for us, but everyone seems to want to seek consolation in and hide behind endless reports rather than actually doing something about it.
Thing is, I've had a couple of ideas about how we could go forward, but I don't dare express them as I'll just wind up having to do a 25 page report to justify my case, as well as the endless bland reporting for group. In short, it's not worth trying to think any more. It's just getting a load of reclassifying and recutting done in an acceptable amount of time so I can have at least some time at home/riding/whatever.
My current boss has also resigned himself to this. He stated openly one day "I don't actually DO anything, I just process numbers". The worst thing is that by endlessly recutting and reclassifying we actually totally lose sight of what things actually mean!
I left my corporate nonsense job three years ago to set up my own business.
I'm a land surveyor / Site engineer / project manager / H&S boffin to my clients, but I'm also an MD, FD, sales man, book keeper, wages clerk etc etc.
It's ace.
I've built build things now and currently I'm on a wind farm and hydro electric power job I'm project manager and engineer on up on the west cost of Scotland for the next 8 months or so. Happy days.
Hours can be long but it's rewarding in so many ways. I'd never go back to the corporate world but as a downside, I don't get to ride my bike as much as I did while in my corporate job.
Sorry to pick on this one post, it could have been another, but
get to fly business class around Africa, meet some great people, drink loads of good beer (if I'm forced to drink lager the locally brewed ones are very considerably better than keg Europiss like Stella, Heineken and the rest) and my boss leaves me alone to do the job exactly as I wish. When in the office life moves at an easy pace dictated by email enquiries and by preparations for the next trip so it's generally not stressful. My agents are on the whole satisfied and compliant and don't cause me much bother. I get a good car and have valuable shares in the company.
Do you like your job though?
I love my job, theres always too much to do and I could always do it better but the actual job is great.
Its okay, well paid, clean, regular hours, the politics get me down a bit but overall I get up every morning happyto go to work
I guess my rut is that I can't/won't see a way out of it. Two kids, mortgage etc. I feel like I can't take the risk of doing something drastic, nor can I think of anything I can do 'on my own'. In a work sense, I've become the exact thing I used to despise when I actually had some vigour left in me.
Here's a classic example of something that occupied twenty minutes of my time once.
I was approached by our FD, who seemed rattled. Someone at group had produced a set of figures that seemed to disagree wildly to our sales figures. Whoever it was had basically kicked off about things never seeming to tie up etc etc.
So after he and the MD had had a bit of a flap about it, it was thrown at me. The basic concept being, "here are two sets of numbers, one you know inside out, the other you will probably have no idea how they were generated. Why are they different?"
So, after being a bit pissed off about the whole "explain the difference between at least one number you have no backing for and another" thing I sat down and tried a few things I thought they might have got wrong at the group company. Nothing worked, it wasn't anything I would expect them to get wrong. Until my eureka moment about ten minutes later. Every number they were quoting that should have matched to one of ours was out by the same factor. Yep, they'd sent a report over in euros (no currency symbols on it) and asked us why it differed to our numbers in GBP.
I'd initially credited our group bods too much. I thought they'd included some branches from another company or suchlike. No, they'd spent some time fretting about why a report in euros didn't match a report in sterling.
Now that's the funniest (in one sense) example I can remember. The thing is that it is symptomatic. Lots of the finance people, especially at group, spend their entire time trawling through the minutiae of endless reports looking for differences. When they find one, they fret about it, before chucking it to us.
We don't 'help' the business much, we are a bit like an order of monks who just perform endless rituals on things that no one else understands!
Rantette over.
Up until a week ago I loved it. The work is challenging and interesting. The salary is ok but there are good holidays and a pension.
However the people are very challenging. Lots of nastiness and undermining. There is quite a bit of pressure in my job but I am well used to pressure. Others are not so good and lash out. Made some good mates though and they keep me sane on the darker days.
dannyh - MemberThing is, I've had a couple of ideas about how we could go forward, but I don't dare express them as I'll just wind up having to do a 25 page report to justify my case
I would always suggest doing this a couple of times to see if something better comes from the process but it looks like you have tried and you are back where you were with little recognition.
It may be worth looking to create a 'Business Partner' role for yourself, place the odd hint here and there. I have some traditional finance duties roles but these are not onerous (sales forecasting and budgeting, rebates management by checking Finance have all the information needed from sales, month end margin analysis). I spend time dealing with salesmen, sales directors and other members of the SMT guiding them directly rather than passing reports on, I create far less reports but get direction action. I work between the FD and MD. My MD seems content that he has lured me to the dark side as I have to take a far less prudent view than most Accountants, otherwise nothing would get done.
We have a habit of buying companies and I will do due diligence work, organise legal people etc and manage the take over. I carry out or help with month end accounting at first as I know what the numbers mean whilst Finance are playing catch up. I am now sat in a hotel at a company we bought a year ago as I stay hands on with the company to help them integrate smoothly. I am currently working on three more acquisition opportunities.
No, if I was single I'd have ****ed off and joined the French Foreign Legion by now. If I'm going to be paid naff all I'd rather be outdoors getting a kick out of it.
Bike mechanic. I get to play and talk bikes all day. Whats not to like.
Most days I love my job. I do genuinely believe if I won the lottery that I would keep doing it in some way. It can be very stressful with pressure of client expectations, cost implications, workload and dealing with staff.
However days are varied, always new things to learn and progress. Pay ok, not so good if you include all the hours including weekends. Generally happy when driving into work.
The actual activity no, not much. Working with friendly, intelligent, capable people yes. Dealing with corporate politics no. Feeling skilled and experienced yes. Helping others most definitely. Being pressured I cannot stand it.
Corporate politics is the worst thing though. Invented by people who don't have the capability to do honest, skilled work and have no scruples. Tossers game!
On the whole I enjoy it a lot which is just as well as I have needed to put in some very long hours for the last couple of years. However, middle management in a big corporate has all the usual downsides, the relentless politics, lack of qualified and experienced resources, cost pretty much drives all decisions, constantly unrealistic expectations and senior management not willing to manage the demands of the Board. By most people's standards I am well paid, but it sure doesn't feel that way. Thankfully on the whole I work with great people. If I was in a environment with back stabbing peers it would be absolute hell. But the trend quarter by quarter is not favourable, it surely has to bottom out at some point.
Can't say I've ever had a job I really enjoyed (maybe the 2 years in a record shop after leaving school).
Current job has lots of boring crap and endless politics (which I can do to an extent, but would really rather not) but, crucially, means I earn far far more than I probably should given my lack of qualifications and inate slacker attitude. This means I have a good quality of life and lots of toys. So I'm resigned to being a wage slave. Hopefully only 10-12 years to go.
JohnClimber - MemberNo. 6 months in and the promise (at interview) that the old days of unhappy customers and poor communications were behind them was a lie. It's possibly worse now.
2 CV on route to better companies well out of the industry I'm sick and tired of
Just pressed send on the 2 CV's, it feels good.....
Ultimately it's ok. My office is my home, so when I'm not travelling I'm at home planning trips and completing reports STW 😉
I've just had a change of boss and it's the one guy I have never really got on with at the company. So I'm getting lots of patronizing emails telling me how to do the things I have already been doing.
Yes still do after 25 years but it's getting tougher as the workload is increasing, 14+ hours shifts are the norm most days with 8-9 hours without so much as a cuppa.
No. It pays well enough for the effort involved but I feel like I'm stagnating.
At the moment I hate it . 😥
I like my job, and I'm a hero.......FACT!!
I'm the bypass technician (number 14). But also part of the organ retrieval team. Very rewarding if long hours and lots of on calls.
She looks very different since she left Byker Grove.
Love my job. I'm a guitar teacher and play in a couple of bands too (albeit only 1 generates an income)
I earn less than the national average wage, but what I do earn, I earn with a smile on my face.
Let me see.....
Pay=poor
Hollidays=legal minimum
Breaks in day=legal minimum
Boss=tool
Workmates=Idiots
Prospect of anything changing for the better=nill
I design and build hydro-electric power stations in the Highlands.
I was a bike mechanic before this job.
That's two jobs I wanted to do ticked off.
I join the Forestry Commission next week. If that measures up, I'm made.
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No and yes, in that order.
I've just changed career. I was a lawyer, at first doing M&A in private practice. Typical long hours deal junkie. But there was no satisfaction in it and I didn't want to be a partner.
Moved inhouse to a FTSE 250 telecoms business. Learned that life needn't be all grim. Changed job (slightly) in the legal team around a year ago and started leading a large change programme across the business.
At the same time I landed the legal (and some commercial) work on one of the business's two main innovation projects. That led to a secondment into a (more senior) commercial role. Delivered a game changing contract and am now leading the commercial stream across the biggest and most ambitious programme in the business.
It's incredibly complex and extraordinarily hard work. I love it.
I used to love my job up to 2012 now i am dreading every day, i thought it was working for others ? So i became my own boss around 4 months ago , now i hate it more as i have real financial obligations and have to deal with every last thing from stationary to recycling to staff ,Drama ect .I have become a little Hitler and will not tolerate things not done my way.i am hyper sensitive to external criticism - i am looking forward to the day i can sell the company and get my life back (i am about to expand to a second site as well ) just had a baby and i dread Wednesdays and going back to work for 5 days and 80 hours . My trade has been great taken me to 56 countries and rubbed shoulders with stars . But now i have crashed back down to earth -grown up and i don't think i like it ,
I have become a little Hitler and will not tolerate things not done my way.i am hyper sensitive to external criticism
I'm guessing your staff feel the same way?
Without knowing your line of work, it's obviously hard to know what's going on - however, try cutting them some slack, let them be creative in their roles and don't get het up if everything isn't perfect. Sometimes people working for me don't do things how I would, but then I would have never done something EXACTLY in the method that my boss wanted, unless it was 100% critical to the roles needs.
Also, if you are receiving external criticism, then maybe YOU are doing things in the wrong manner?
Co-incidentally, two different people, working for both of my businesses (one retail, one electrical contracting), have both told me recently that I'm the best boss they've ever had. Make of that what you will.
As for the OP - sometimes my job/s have crappy days, sometimes fantastic days. Sometimes I enjoy them, sometimes I tolerate them. Can't complain though.
Oxford PhD student (though mostly based at a lab in Plymouth so no student life per se) generally no. I get to go to sea on the new RRS Discovery and be involved with some cool projects but ultimately it's a lot of work (typically 370-410hrs a month at sea) and an often weird culture. Only carrying on because I know I'll regret it later in life if I quit; I don't really see academia as a rewarding career that allows a reasonable and secure family life except for the very few.
Yep, pretty much all the time.
Work from home, which is great for time to ride and be with the family. Quite a bit of travel, though, which is a double edged sword. Good because I get to go to some interesting places (currently in San Antonio) but it can be lonely at times, as well as being away from my family and bikes!
No - hate it.
Travel too much. Miss my family. Drink too much, probably burn myself out before I hit retirement.
But I get paid enough to buy bike parts whenever.
What a ****er I am.
Automatic swear remover.? Never knew it was on stw.
Most jobs are tolerable if people are more humane or considerate. The ones that spoil it for everyone are the ones with power getting to their under evolved brains. These are the people that make life difficult for all. I can understand if they owned the company, i.e. owner, but majority are just employees like you and me. The way they progress up their career is by stepping on others which is not difficult if you are given the power and being a sucker in office politics.
I see them everyday and I can't wait to get out but I am on boarder line homeless if I do so immediately ... 🙄
Yes, even with low pay (lowest of anyone I know) Ten hour day. No overtime. Extremely busy, no lunch. Sometimes gets a bit 'fighty' Great workmates. Seven minute commute. No weekends. Always go in an hour early just to set up shop.
I don't want to retire
Can't complain. Exciting sporting environment, but also get to mix with other elite sports including British Cycling. Get to play with lots of toys (with have some chaps from McLaren with us at the moment). Lots of travel and perks. When in the office, it ain't a bad view...
I've been in some truly shite soul destroying jobs mind. So I earned this one.
Mental busy year ahead...
mafiafish, that's a real shame that you are not enjoying your PhD. With regard to the hours worked, that is a lot but it is the nature of marine work. But usually for a PhD you would have one field trip or perhaps a series for up to a year and then you would analyse all the data. If that's not the case, then that is unusual and I can see why it could get you down.
Working in academia feels very different depending what field you are in and what institution you are at. If you accept the relatively low pay for the people who actually do a lot of the work (I'm thinking post-doc level), then it can be incredibly rewarding and can have lots of freedom (depending on your boss), which you just don't get in industry. In my opinion, the lack of permanent contracts is a royal pain in the arse but there are other benefits working in Universities or Research Council centres that far, far outweigh the private sector, including flexitime, annual leave, maternity leave etc that give you a far better work life balance which actually allows you to enjoy family life. In my opinion, of course.
Back to the OP. Now, yes, love it. But it's only a 15 month contract, so who knows what the future holds! I've been a consultant (hard work, paid ok, interesting work, but hated the deadlines and pressure), PhD student (loved it, really interesting and lots of freedom!), software programmer (lovely people but got really bored after 2 years) and now a researcher (loving it: the people, the work, the opportunities and the working culture).
Nope, hate it. With a passion
Found out over the past two weeks that the big piece of work I've been doing has been given to another team purely on the basis of politics. Its about the only interesting piece of work I've had in the past five years.
I'm no longer a contractor so its not even as if the money is good, and Southeastern Railways charge me £500 a month to stand up for two hours a day with people full of colds/coughs/flu. I really do have no idea why I'm doing it...
Wouldn't change my job for anyone else's (certainly not the sorry tales of boredom/stress/office politics above)
Feel quite lucky but it did take a lot of effort to get where I wanted to be, also there are so many wannabee's who would like to do what I do and only so much work to go round.
Offices/spreadsheets/dress codes would sapp my will to live, why do you do it to yourselves?
konagirl - MemberWorking in academia feels very different depending what field you are in and what institution you are at. If you accept the relatively low pay for the people who actually do a lot of the work (I'm thinking post-doc level), then it can be incredibly rewarding and can have lots of freedom (depending on your boss), which you just don't get in industry. In my opinion, the lack of permanent contracts is a royal pain in the arse but there are other benefits working in Universities or Research Council centres that far, far outweigh the private sector, including flexitime, annual leave, maternity leave etc that give you a far better work life balance which actually allows you to enjoy family life. In my opinion, of course.
Back to the OP. Now, yes, love it. But it's only a 15 month contract, so who knows what the future holds! I've been a consultant (hard work, paid ok, interesting work, but hated the deadlines and pressure), PhD student (loved it, really interesting and lots of freedom!), software programmer (lovely people but got really bored after 2 years) and now a researcher (loving it: the people, the work, the opportunities and the working culture).
Ya, you might love it now (all depending on the PhD subject) as you are still not in reality. Wait until you are in for the real job especially if you intend to have a job at the Univ, which means you better come up with new ideas every now and then otherwise you will not last. Most "bright", young and energetic type always think of a rosy, comfy job as researcher etc at Uni but in reality they are only there very temporarily. The benefits are outweighed by the uncertainty once you reach certain age. Ya, mortgage ... uncertain long term job ... you are in for a ride. Even low pay is not a problem at Univ, it is the agony of uncertainty and a job at Univ is very uncertain unless of course you can be a consistent bright young thing ... then you have no family or life. If you get a job there there is a high possibility you will not settle down to have a family until you are nearing age 40. If you are lucky and throw yourself about then about 30 to 35. Worst case you will be single until after 40. Working at Univ is completely different from 30 years ago ... it is worst than a dog eat dog world now.
How do I know? I am surrounded by them. i.e. most of my friends are PhDs, post-docs, retired profs, ex-lecturers etc, who are stressed to an inch of their lives. Very few survived into retirement in that industry in one location. Very few. Too much hype. One was left without job suddenly after funding went dry without him knowing. Nearly lost everything he had. Good eh? Oh ya ... most have very poor people managing skills too. If you think I have made up this story observe and look carefully at people where you are now. Perhaps you are the lucky one who knows but very few are lucky in this industry. Once reality set in you can then try to compare what I said.
I have a friend who got her PhDs then post doc whatever and I advised her to get into the industry quick rather than getting stuck at Univ cos the future is not rosy at Univ. I think she is doing rather well now with a well paid job but a bright girl she is, she noticed the atmosphere at her lab at Univ and how people struggled ... she got out quick and now as she works for commercial company ... others not so lucky.
[b]Tick tok tick tok [/b]... as the body clock strikes ... they aged quick and some are beautiful young once but when they wake up from their dream they are old and in their 40s. Still single without family and struggling to hold down a job ... [b]Tick tok tick tok.
[/b]
[b]Mafiafish ... get out soon and get out quick. [/b]
Ya, I know one marine researcher too from S.America who is gorgeous and got married just immediately after her PhD. Not sure what she is doing now.
🙄
chewkw - MemberThat's our Plan B.
Do it if you have the business acumen. Take charge of your lives.
My main concern is that we'd get bored of doing endless cooked breakfasts every day for the next 20 years....
footflaps - Member
chewkw - Member
That's our Plan B.Do it if you have the business acumen. Take charge of your lives.
My main concern is that we'd get bored of doing endless cooked breakfasts every day for the next 20 years....
Ya, if this is your answer then ya, no business acumen there I am afraid. Don't do it as you will Not survive. Seriously. 😯
You can hire someone to cook etc or you can hire someone to look after one premises while you retire to another etc ... if you think carefully.
yes. The work is interesting, keeps my brain ticking over. WFH 4 days a week makes the one remaining day's 30 mile each way commute via Bradford City Centre, M62 & M1 a bit more bearable.
I really enjoy my job mostly. However, after a nice long Christmas break, I came back to two new business meetings in the first two days (along with another two this week), a really heavy workload (that I had been putting off 'until next year') and subsequently hearing that we have won another two big jobs has left me wondering WTF to/how to do it all.
Still, it's nearly the weekend...
It's an odd one.
I like the people I work with and the fact I can work at home most of the time. Occasionally I get interesting projects and interesting travel opportunities. I joined the company with the aim of making it a 1-2 year role to pull some funds together (I left the bike trade for extra cash) and I'm still here six years later.
Unfortunately it's now quite dull and I live in a part of the country with limited opportunities. While I like the company, its leadership and its culture, I have no interest in its product and really feel I should be doing something to positively impact people other than business travellers.
Consequently I am looking to change, but working out what to change to is proving the tricky part.
Mafiafish ... get out soon and get out quick.
I suspect there are a few on this forum who have completed PhDs/Postdocs then left asap (I'm one of them) after an extensive Costs (lots)/ Benefit (few) Analysis.
I'm not saying the corporate world is easy in comparison - as others have posted, the politics can be every bit as terrible and the hours just, if not more, long. But you should at least be getting recompensed - academia expects you to put up and shut up, with miserly financial reward.
I generally enjoy mine despite being inherently lazy and a world class procrastinator.
Self employed fitting woodburners for the past four years, it seems to be a good little niche to be in at the moment. Dealing with the admin side can be a drag but my procrastination makes this worse.
Money is great but I need to be careful not be greedy and overdo it. It can be hard to say no though, I'm sure other SE folks can identify with this.
September - December tends to be manically busy, I was totally knackered by the time I stopped for the crimbo break last year.
Being high up on a chimney stack on a nice day never gets boring 🙂
During the summer I do six weeks or so for a local music festival, building large sculptures mainly in metal. It is challenging and appeals to my inner showoff 🙂 Always ends up stressful for the few weeks before the fest as the worrkload ramps up but there is a great sense of cameraderie and fun though.
I'm aiming to do a lot more four day weeks this year, starting now!
Yes, mostly. I'm a freelance architect working school hours + evenings to suit workload. I get to work at all scales from one-off house to major masterplanning schemes, so that keeps it varied and interesting.
Only downsides are when all the varying deadlines clash, then it's a massive push with lots of late nights.
Never really enjoyed what I do but totally appreciate the hours, benefits and OK money, although the money is a constant frustration because I feel I should be earning more by achieving more. It's a vicious circle of being stuck in a comfort zone rut with nowhere to progress to even if I wanted to but I don't want to but I'm stuck if I did want to but I don't want to but I do want to etc
The dream of owning a pub / restaurant I know is more likely to be a nightmare. Maybe that's the 'retirement plan'.
chewkw often spouts some nonsense on here, but on university life speaks sense.
I have less and less idea why people would remain in academia. Pay is awful, the bureaucracy mind numbing and the politics more vicious than the House of Cards.
Yes I do, have never minded any of the jobs I do, the nice thing with my current job is it's virtually impossible to bring work home, so work/home life is very nicely balanced.
Only downside is the reputation that goes with it, not out to rob anyone despite what the majority think, just keep you on the road and safe.
ourmaninthenorth - Memberchewkw often spouts some nonsense on here, ...
😆 That's because you have decided to be selective of the information you processed without thinking through ... You need to install more RAM otherwise there is limit as to the amount of information you can process. Information overload, does not compute. No multi-tasking I am afraid.
I am the TRUTH! (just like the voice from above ... 😈 )
... but on university life speaks sense.
Now bow down and ask for forgiveness ... 
I have less and less idea why people would remain in academia. Pay is awful, the bureaucracy mind numbing and the politics more vicious than the House of Cards.
Because they all got sucked into the hype of the perceived "benefits" i.e. the holidays, the easy comfy life at work, the casualness of work and the "intelligent" people that challenge their thinking etc ... all hypes. Once you got sucked in there is no escaping ... you will regret it. Most do.
😯
I get to meet nice people and some a bit indifferent, all types and all social clasess all treated the same hopefully, get to hear about their family work life problems for some reason and get paid at the end.
Enjoy what i do and like meeting new people,andhelping them out.Oh and having a laugh with most and crying with others but only occasionaly
Hate my job. Company is a joke, poor customer feedback from most of them. Long hours driving, no time to myself from Monday morning to Friday night. No benefits or decent overtime rates and the boss thinks he's lord and master of us all!
I don't, myself. It's a hard road, and you need a lot of luck to make it, but that's no different to any creative pursuit or really anything worthwhile. I think the zombie maggot mind virus with which you are afflicted is distorting your view of the world. Chewkw's glass is half full. Of depressed maggots.Because they all got sucked into the hype of the perceived "benefits" i.e. the holidays, the easy comfy life at work, the casualness of work and the "intelligent" people that challenge their thinking etc ... all hypes. Once you got sucked in there is no escaping ... you will regret it. Most do.
Garry_Lager - Member
I don't, myself. It's a hard road, and you need a lot of luck to make it, but that's no different to any creative pursuit or really anything worthwhile. I think the zombie maggot mind virus with which you are afflicted is distorting your view of the world. Chewkw's glass is half full. Of depressed maggots.
You are the lucky zombie maggot bar-stewart! You got luck on your side.
Ya, other jobs might not be different or worthwhile but they get to be zombie at home (switch off) and get paid accordingly.
How long have you worked there? More than 25 years yet? See if you can break my friend record as he is coming into his 30 years (he is the last one standing) ... others legged it for early retirement. Brilliant minds but got fed up with zombie maggots spreading viruses ... 😆
Ah ha ... You should be half full (half empty depressed, half full optimistic) then cheerful zombie maggot ... 😆
I enjoyed the first 18 months. After those, it has been a low. Now i'm entering the third consecutive year which will feature major redundancies and unnecessary corporate restructuring. The atmosphere is a little like this... [img] 
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I love mine. Would most likely do it for free. I usually start at 7 am and finish at 7pm work through lunch. My contracted hours are 8-530 with an hr for lunch.
The restaurant serves better food than you would find in the best eateries, I get loads of perks including champagne for breakfast up to 20 times a year depending on how hard we all work as a team to achieve our goals.
The guys and girls are the best in the business and it's always been a childhood dream to work there.
Real carlsberg job.
Oh and the pays pretty good too.
On balance, yes. It's the fact that there's too much of it (long hours) and worst of all is the commute, which just sucks the life out of me. If I could work from home I would love it.
I recognise it's got a definite shelf life though. I will get bored with it at some point.
Cant stand it.. Work offshore, so the hours are long (and feel longer when you have nowt to do) Long time away from the other 1/2, bikes & pastimes. Most of the time I don't feel I'm capable of doing the job and when I try & bring this to the attention of supervisors etc at the job they tend to ignore it. My lack of motivation & laziness (as well as recognising that my job is fairly well paid for what I do) Means I'm never going to look for further employment till working offshore no-longer suits (starting a family etc) by this time I'll have ruined my chances of developing skills or a a CV that could be applied elsewhere.
Good job I answered this earlier. Today politics have got me so wound up I hate this place so much I could kill.
Because they all got sucked into the hype of the perceived "benefits" i.e. the holidays, the easy comfy life at work, the casualness of work and the "intelligent" people that challenge their thinking etc ... all hypes. Once you got sucked in there is no escaping ... you will regret it. Most do.
+1
Seriously, it makes "Marche ou crève" seem like an attractive sane and rational choice.
I liked my job in academia while it lasted (postdoc and temporary lecturer in a Russell Group geography dept). Students are generally cool, it was a nice working environment and I got to go on field trips to amazing places like the Mojave Desert, South Africa, Sardinia, the Lake District. That went a long way to making up for the less good bits.
However I didn't have any particularly earth-shattering ideas research-wise, so it sort of fizzled out. That's fine though - fortunately politics is pretty interesting too 🙂