Job sucks the life out of me.

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Originally Posted By: CT8
I was once told that is why it is called work.


My uncle used to say if you are going to work a job you hate you might as well make as much moey at it as you can.
 
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
Originally Posted By: CT8
I was once told that is why it is called work.


My uncle used to say if you are going to work a job you hate you might as well make as much moey at it as you can.


Unfortunately most Americans really don't love their job but need a paycheck.

I could never live in a small town, I'd feel trapped and on an island....

I would enroll your daughter in that gifted school, even it was a pain to drive further.
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Originally Posted By: bigj_16
Keep the job. Find something meaningful outside of work.


^^This^^ plus you're going to have to stop caring about the workplace culture there and just milk the company for your salary without putting in much in the way of extra efforts whatsoever. Basically what your work partner is doing. True, such a strategy is counter to what you believe in but it sounds like the culture there is so apathetic already that no one will notice anyhow.


Exactly right! Since I was not too far from retirement, I found an outside interest, (Christmas Tree Farm), and invested my spare time in that while making some extra cash. I had to work my *** off on the farm which contributed to my good health. (Most of the Dunderheads at that work place are now graveyard dead and I am still going strong!)
 
Having lived in small towns and an island, you do get the impression that employers think they have you over a barrel, you just can't walk out and get another job...but I still do. In 12 years in this town I've had 5 jobs, for 2 companies, and 3 jobs out of town. As a small group of mechanics, we know each other, and have worked together at times. I left the island after 10 years because I had run out of jobs...and employers. I guess I have a problem of not sticking to jobs, I think no matter where I worked, and how good it was, I'd get itchy feet after a few years.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
Originally Posted By: CT8
I was once told that is why it is called work.


My uncle used to say if you are going to work a job you hate you might as well make as much moey at it as you can.


Unfortunately most Americans really don't love their job but need a paycheck.

I could never live in a small town, I'd feel trapped and on an island....

I would enroll your daughter in that gifted school, even it was a pain to drive further.


I should just clarify one thing the gifted school for my daughter. The long drive to get her there and back would be for my wife and her not for my commute to work. My job has strict geographical limitations I must live within 15 miles of the service facility. This is pretty typical for electric utilities. From our house right now it's about an hour and 15 to that school on a good day when it's snowing and blowing it's easily a two hour drive each way. If I moved closer in that direction and still stayed in the service territory I have to live in you're still talking at least an hour and that's on a good day I really don't want her in the car for two to three and a half hours a day.

Plus the cost would be high. You would be talking a hundred miles round trip each day and then what would my wife do for 7 hours in between.

If I could move in that general area and I could do the commute I would do it in a heartbeat I would actually prefer to live in that area at this point but with my current job that is not an option.
 
It seems to me that the 35 to 45 year age bracket is a common time that many men reflect on their current situation and question the meaning of it all. My 37 year old son, a professional chef and business manager, is showing signs of burn out. I also struggled a bit with this stuff in my 30's. It's a "man thing", LOL. Maybe a precursor to male menopause.

Regarding public school, depending on the circumstances, I think that it can be made to work if you stay involved with your kid's education. No matter how hard you try, don't be surprised if one of your kids completely goes off in another direction during or after high school. It's amazing.
 
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool


Very well put. I think it has had an effect on my health.

Honestly sometimes the electrical utility industry is tough. Its a 24-7-365 job. It respects no holidays,birthdays,anniversaries, nothing. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to get out of it completely.

I have thought about pursuing a passion of mine as a side business. The possibility is there where I could do it full time. I am researching things needed to start it up.

Working here has soured me on the utility industry honestly. There are definitely some that have to be better, but many that are worse.... Many times you cannot determine that until you have already jumped in the deep end.


I feel the same way... my industry is not utility service, but it is 24/7 and the company is the 2nd largest in the world in our industry. I took my new position in January 2017, and I've traveled more than 50,000 miles this year for work and been out of town for 58 nights. Needless to say my wife is not amused. Because I care and because I know what I'm doing, many people around me seem to feel that it is "OK" that they pile their problems on me instead of taking their own responsibility. I have a bachelor's in ECE and an M.Sc.Tech degree as well, so I may look into something else, but that would involve a move for me as well, and my wife doesn't want to move away from the grandkids. I might need to find an early 2000s Honda Insight and hypermile it
smile.gif


Life is short and hard, like a bodybuilding elf. Don't submit yourself to endless mental torture... find a job that you are happy doing, and adjust your spending/finances to fit the new "normal". You may or may not make as much money, but happiness and health cannot be bought when you're unhappy in your job. JM2C.
 
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool

There are some critical things that only my Immediate boss and myself know how to do. My partner should know but he honestly does not have what it takes and is truly incompetent. The Big boss and my boss know that I am a "key" employee.


Sounds like you have some room to negotiate a better pay.
 
If you're good at what you do and can support your family comfortably on only 40hrs/week, don't have to travel or have a horrendous commute, how bad can it be?

I don't mean to sound all Pop-rivety, but working for a living is not going to be a feel great situation 100% of the time. Like said, focus on the positive aspects of the job and continue to learn either in house, or elsewhere while you work.

I hear you in that it can be a drag. I'm 47, have a stay at home bride and 4 school aged kids. 40hrs/week is borderline poverty for me. Luckily I'm hourly, do regular rotating shift work and can get overtime. I'm considered a "senior tech" at my job and are at the top labor grade for techs. It takes years to learn what we do and it's extremely difficult to find people with the needed experience or willingness to put in the time.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
If you're good at what you do and can support your family comfortably on only 40hrs/week, don't have to travel or have a horrendous commute, how bad can it be?

I don't mean to sound all Pop-rivety, but working for a living is not going to be a feel great situation 100% of the time. Like said, focus on the positive aspects of the job and continue to learn either in house, or elsewhere while you work.

I hear you in that it can be a drag. I'm 47, have a stay at home bride and 4 school aged kids. 40hrs/week is borderline poverty for me. Luckily I'm hourly, do regular rotating shift work and can get overtime. I'm considered a "senior tech" at my job and are at the top labor grade for techs. It takes years to learn what we do and it's extremely difficult to find people with the needed experience or willingness to put in the time.


I totally get what you are saying. My wife is also a SAHM and its hard to make it work now a days to an extent. Our quality of life is good by my standards, but some would be aghast at our "poor" living conditions. I drive older vehicles, wear second hand clothes, buy a lot of second hand stuff, we are never going to Disney on our finances, I fix everything myself or with my wife's help.

Basically we live like second class citizens, but that's comparing it to US standards. I feel like we live like kings, Maybe its because I grew up poor, IDK.

I actually have it made. Salary that is enough for our lifestyle, 7 minute commute, I dont live at work (most of the time).

I do know this and appreciate this, I just have a hard time getting past certain issues at work.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool

There are some critical things that only my Immediate boss and myself know how to do. My partner should know but he honestly does not have what it takes and is truly incompetent. The Big boss and my boss know that I am a "key" employee.


Sounds like you have some room to negotiate a better pay.


Yes and no. I have thought about trying to get the foreman position on our truck. Currently there is no foreman. But I think that could open a whole other can of worms.
 
Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool


Very well put. I think it has had an effect on my health.

Honestly sometimes the electrical utility industry is tough. Its a 24-7-365 job. It respects no holidays,birthdays,anniversaries, nothing. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to get out of it completely.

I have thought about pursuing a passion of mine as a side business. The possibility is there where I could do it full time. I am researching things needed to start it up.

Working here has soured me on the utility industry honestly. There are definitely some that have to be better, but many that are worse.... Many times you cannot determine that until you have already jumped in the deep end.


I feel the same way... my industry is not utility service, but it is 24/7 and the company is the 2nd largest in the world in our industry. I took my new position in January 2017, and I've traveled more than 50,000 miles this year for work and been out of town for 58 nights. Needless to say my wife is not amused. Because I care and because I know what I'm doing, many people around me seem to feel that it is "OK" that they pile their problems on me instead of taking their own responsibility. I have a bachelor's in ECE and an M.Sc.Tech degree as well, so I may look into something else, but that would involve a move for me as well, and my wife doesn't want to move away from the grandkids. I might need to find an early 2000s Honda Insight and hypermile it
smile.gif


Life is short and hard, like a bodybuilding elf. Don't submit yourself to endless mental torture... find a job that you are happy doing, and adjust your spending/finances to fit the new "normal". You may or may not make as much money, but happiness and health cannot be bought when you're unhappy in your job. JM2C.


I really need to concentrate on my business idea, I am not afraid of hard work, But that security of a steady job is hard to beat.

I could sell the "farm" and just buy a small house and work another kind of job. IDK.
 
When I was in that age range, I simply accepted that this was the way things were and ceased to worry about it.
By the time you're in your mid forties, you should accept where you are assuming that you make enough money that you don't need to pinch pennies just to get by and that the pennies you pinch end up paying off your mortgage and accumulating for your eventual retirement.
I once lived to work and I now work to live.
Doesn't mean I'm not a subject matter expert in what I do nor does it mean that I don't care about what I do.
It simply means that I'm not going to be consumed with the idea that I work with idiots and that I should be better compensated.
While both might be true, I'm happy with my life as it is and have no desire to relocate and start anew at this point.
There is so much more to life than one's job, or at least there should be.
 
fdgc27,

You pretty much summed up the way people look at their job once they past 40 years old.

No need to daydream the.... 'If only I had done things differently' question people ask themselves.
 
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool


Very well put. I think it has had an effect on my health.

Honestly sometimes the electrical utility industry is tough. Its a 24-7-365 job. It respects no holidays,birthdays,anniversaries, nothing. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to get out of it completely.

I have thought about pursuing a passion of mine as a side business. The possibility is there where I could do it full time. I am researching things needed to start it up.

Working here has soured me on the utility industry honestly. There are definitely some that have to be better, but many that are worse.... Many times you cannot determine that until you have already jumped in the deep end.


I feel the same way... my industry is not utility service, but it is 24/7 and the company is the 2nd largest in the world in our industry. I took my new position in January 2017, and I've traveled more than 50,000 miles this year for work and been out of town for 58 nights. Needless to say my wife is not amused. Because I care and because I know what I'm doing, many people around me seem to feel that it is "OK" that they pile their problems on me instead of taking their own responsibility. I have a bachelor's in ECE and an M.Sc.Tech degree as well, so I may look into something else, but that would involve a move for me as well, and my wife doesn't want to move away from the grandkids. I might need to find an early 2000s Honda Insight and hypermile it
smile.gif


Life is short and hard, like a bodybuilding elf. Don't submit yourself to endless mental torture... find a job that you are happy doing, and adjust your spending/finances to fit the new "normal". You may or may not make as much money, but happiness and health cannot be bought when you're unhappy in your job. JM2C.


I really need to concentrate on my business idea, I am not afraid of hard work, But that security of a steady job is hard to beat.


I could sell the "farm" and just buy a small house and work another kind of job. IDK.


Might want to think about school.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
By the time you're in your mid forties, you should accept where you are assuming that you make enough money that you don't need to pinch pennies just to get by and that the pennies you pinch end up paying off your mortgage and accumulating for your eventual retirement.
I once lived to work and I now work to live.
Doesn't mean I'm not a subject matter expert in what I do nor does it mean that I don't care about what I do.

Not necessarily. At age 40 I took extensive additional training, learned a lot and got the highest available certifications, leading to quite a good job. But I got my best ever job at age 49. The next 16 years made all that hard work worthwhile. My best years were after age 50.

I followed my interests. I stayed ambitious. I worked hard. No doubt there's an element of luck involved, but sometimes it does all work out. "Fortune favours the prepared mind" Louis Pasteur
 
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
Our quality of life is good by my standards, but some would be aghast at our "poor" living conditions. I drive older vehicles, wear second hand clothes, buy a lot of second hand stuff, we are never going to Disney on our finances, I fix everything myself or with my wife's help.

.... I feel like we live like kings...

I do most of that too. Except, we could go to Disneyland - if we wanted to.

I was taught to be self reliant. I live this way by choice.
 
I do agree with you in that keeping current as well as gaining additional formal training is always of value and does position one for promotion.
If nothing else, it adds interest to one's work.
Still, that opportunity might not come along and you can't beat yourself up over that.
We all have many "if onlys" going back to our early adulthood, but we can't dwell upon what might have been had we made different choices and we should bear in mind that the road not taken might have proven to lead us off a cliff anyway.
It's also a matter of what you're willing to do to grasp the brass ring. Will you relocate or accept a very long commute? I was never inclined to do so, while those who were often gained opportunity from this, often at the cost of having a personal life or a secure marriage. There is a trade-off between career and personal life and I've always been inclined to weigh family life as more valuable than career, although I've been fortunate in terms of job security and income.
We can only live the life we have and work the job we have and take enjoyment from both.
We did go to Disney when our sons were small and I have been known to shop thrift stores.
I too was taught to be self reliant and have always been so.
 
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