Real Life vs. "Gray Time"

[Bimmerbill]

I used to think this way, but am training myself to focus on the positives of the job. My job allows me to live well, provide for my family, and save enough that I can hopefully retire early.

It's boring and provides no challenge, but at least I get to work inside and get a steady paycheck.

 

[brewer12345]

This problem is a big part of the reason many people buy lottery tickets.

I prefer beer. Its a lot more reliable.

 

[nun]

The maths of a "gray" job is tricky.

Would your apparent ER date be earlier form a poorly paying inspiring job than from a well paid "gray" job. The premise being than you enjoy the inspiring job and the days pass quickly even if you had to work a bit longer.

 

[Walt34]

It's boring and provides no challenge, but at least I get to work inside and get a steady paycheck.

And there are plenty of people who would be grateful to have that.

"Fulfillment"and all that is wonderful but there is the matter of putting food on the table. Or having a table to put it on....

 

[HFWR]

And there are plenty of people who would be grateful to have that.

"Fulfillment"and all that is wonderful but there is the matter of putting food on the table. Or having a table to put it on....

If it was fun, they wouldn't call it work...

 

[nun]

And there are plenty of people who would be grateful to have that.

"Fulfillment"and all that is wonderful but there is the matter of putting food on the table. Or having a table to put it on....

I know that many people see work as just 8 hours to endure, but I remember a time when I loved my work. I don't any more and I miss that very much.

 

[brewer12345]

I know that many people see work as just 8 hours to endure, but I remember a time when I loved my work. I don't any more and I miss that very much.

Loved? Been interested in, I have done that. Been motivated to do or felt like what I was doing was worthwhile? Yeah. Loved? Uhhh....

 

[nun]

Loved? Been interested in, I have done that. Been motivated to do or felt like what I was doing was worthwhile? Yeah. Loved? Uhhh....

Yes I think loved is good. As a kid I loved astronomy and I got to do that professionally for a while until I was lured away by bigger salaries.

 

[Meadbh]

Loved? Been interested in, I have done that. Been motivated to do or felt like what I was doing was worthwhile? Yeah. Loved? Uhhh....

I'm with Brewer on this one.

 

[Huston55]

Loved? Been interested in, I have done that. Been motivated to do or felt like what I was doing was worthwhile? Yeah. Loved? Uhhh....

Same here. Although, I can honestly say there have been jobs I've had that, while I didn't "love" them, I did have the hots for them for extended periods of time.

Regarding the OP though, there's a lot more 'gray' in my job these days than there used to be.

 

[CoolChange]

I can definitely identify with brewer and nun: I currently have a position that pays well but is no longer rewarding in much of any other way. I am high enough in the management chain to have people relying on my for their jobs but not quite high enough to force the changes that I believe could make the company sustainable. (I definitely do not have the political skills to gracefully engineer such changes.)

While I readily admit that I have no real right to complain and that others would love to be in my position, this does not change the fact that I find the situation exhausting.

Even though I think I have enough to walk away now with a reasonable chance of portfolio survival, each additional month of employment does increase the financial safety net. So, I continue to suffer from the one more dollar/year syndrome. Maybe I will find the cure in 2013.

 

[W2R]

Loved? Been interested in, I have done that. Been motivated to do or felt like what I was doing was worthwhile? Yeah. Loved? Uhhh....

+1

I got the PERFECT job for me, probably the only job like it in the world. But one of the things nobody told me when I was younger (and I wish they had) is that when push comes to shove, a job is just a job, and not only that, a job is a job is a job.

 

[Walt34]

I know that many people see work as just 8 hours to endure, but I remember a time when I loved my work. I don't any more and I miss that very much.

There were plenty of times I looked forward to going to work, especially later on when I got into working computer crime cases. That was a way-cool job straight out of a 1960's science fiction novel and most days I went to work thinking "Wow, I can't believe they're actually paying me to do this!"

Admittedly I took a page out of What Color is Your Parachute? and persuaded my employer to create the job I wanted. Also, it took about four years for that to happen.

But it sure was fun while it lasted.

 

[brewer12345]

most days I went to work thinking "Wow, I can't believe they're actually paying me to do this!"

Sounds like fun.

Lately, my job has come to resemble a minimum security prison. I am doing a 5 year term (vesting schedule), have no choice but to show up every work day, sit in my cell/cube, do what I am told, etc. The cafeteria food, bars on all the windows, and armed guards all over the place add to that feeling.

Good thing I get along with the other inmates and manage the occasional conjugal visit...

 

[Huston55]

Sounds like fun.

Lately, my job has come to resemble a minimum security prison. I am doing a 5 year term (vesting schedule), have no choice but to show up every work day, sit in my cell/cube, do what I am told, etc. The cafeteria food, bars on all the windows, and armed guards all over the place add to that feeling.

Good thing I get along with the other inmates and manage the occasional conjugal visit...

Hmmmmm, conjugating among [-]employees[/-] inmates; you have a very open minded employer!

 

[Hamlet]

"Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light."

 

[palomalou]

I could only get so lucky as to be laid off and not need to work this next year! It definitely looks like "gray" clouds ahead but at least I can see that May 2014 light in the distance. When I moved from a job in one city to a different job in another city a few years ago (big mistake, probably) I said to spouse as the moving van pulled away that I felt as though I had finally been let out of prison.