OK.....I really LOVE my job because....

[cardude]

Good stuff:
1. I own the place so when we do well I make dang good money.
2. Have great employees and I finally arranged it so I can work as little or as much as I want to without it falling apart when I'm gone.
3. When we are busy it's fun and exciting.
4. Cars are cool.
5. It's a charge to sell something to someone, especially when you have to gently talk them into something that they didn't originally come looking for but really fits their needs/budget.

Bad stuff:
1. I own the place so when we don't do well I don't make any money, and lose money sometimes.
2. When it is slow it is boring, tedious, and the employees start getting nervous.
3. We are a small company and have no HR department, so I get to hear all the employee issues and deal with their various problems.

 

[oma]

I really LOVE my job because....
feel free to add to the list...

Can I get back to you on that? It'll take me awhile to come up with something..............

 

[W2R]

I really LOVE my job because....

...of the lifetime medical benefit it offers retirees (the only way I know of to be sure I can afford the best possible medical care if I should develop a major illness)

Anything further would equate to singing about how beautiful gilded my g--d--- cage is. I don't really care about the occasional pennies and courtesies thrown to employees. A job is a job is a JOB, and once I get my lifetime medical I am SO outta there.

DREAMING of retirement more, every day...

 

[FinanceDude]

Really? Cool! What kind of dog, and is it a part of your job to interact with it?

Feeding, walking, and cleaning up after it??

 

[headingout]

Can't say I really love my job, but it's good therapy to count my blessings:

6 weeks paid vacation
work from home, flexible hours around core day
good health coverage
bonuses and 401K matching
kind and easy-going boss
smart co-workers
ethical, best-in-class company
decent pay, though progress up the corporate ladder stopped years ago

 

[akck]

I get to view my investments and it's related to my job. The boss asks equity market related questions all the time.

Has a defined benefit plan and retirement medical.

 

[Milton]

Their office is my office: (1) I can get by with a cheap dial-up internet connection at home. (2) It's a place to receive packages, the UPS guy knows me by name. (3) Occasional "free lunch"!

Ditto for me.

 

[Midpack]

* Occasional free lunch.
* The office has a dog.

My wife takes our dog to her office almost every day. I would dearly love to have our dog with me at work, but there's absolutely no way...

 

[simple girl]

Number 2 (if and when it happens) sounds better than anything I ever did. Lucky you!

Thanks (to you and to the OP for starting this thread) - it's good to remember why I originally went into this field. Sometimes all the other baggage (financial pressures, supervising minimally motivated assistants, etc.) can weigh me down.

 

[TargaDave]

A. Work load is optional
B. Get to teach others with a similar passion
C. The classroom is outside and only in session on warm sunny windy days
D. Always time to unwind some after class

 

[LOL!]

. 20 hour work week ... control of my hours
. Great colleagues who value my contributions and help me
. Great students who routinely compliment my lectures
. All expenses paid travel to some interesting places: Paris, Beijing, Kyoto
. Required to browse the web and read lots
. Required to play basketball a fewl days a week

 

[tuixiu]

On days when I'm just not feeling it I can sit there surfing the internet for hours and get paid for it.

 

[bright eyed]

*we have a great mission
*smart people, nice too
*they trust my judgement
*not too small, not too big
*very flexible schedule, work from home, visit regularly
*great health coverage for whole family, no premiums
*i can create my job description
*great vacation and sick
*very understanding when kids or child care are sick

 

[MooreBonds]

--I get to engineer plumbing systems for construction projects and create something out of nothing.
--I get to use my attention to detail and prior industry knowledge to check every possibly aspect of the system and make sure everything's complete (e.g. didn't leave out a rough-in for an ice machine, or took into account how a pipe would actually be installed in the ceiling).
--Somewhat flexible hours (start anytime after 6am, put in your 8 hours, can work through lunch, etc.). Don't have any plane travel - have to drive a company car once a month (average) to a meeting/jobsite visit.

When you consider the benefits, they actually aren't all that great:

--company pays health insurance at 65% of the premium (but I have my own high-deductible individual policy -which is still cheaper than the 35% I'd pay, and equal to/slightly better).
--company pays 100% dental (still qualify even though I don't have the medical)
--Start with 2 weeks paid vacation, 2 sick days after 1st year. Vacation stays at 2 weeks for 1st 5 years, then adds one day of vacation for every year after 5 years. Can accumulate up to 2x your annual vacation allotment, and up to 10 sick days.
--After 1 year, you qualify for a profit-sharing plan. Amount of annual company contribution is undefined.
--one good thing is the fund choices in the 401(k): several Vanguard funds (Wellington, S&P500, Small Cap, and a Bond fund), along with some American funds (fair/decent expense ratios) and some Wachovia Fund-of-Funds.

I just started my new career right after Thanksgiving 2007, and my coworkers aren't the best (somewhat immature/unprofessional), and my boss can be a real jerk at times...since I'm looking for a potential Mrs. MooreBonds out of town, there's a good chance I might be moving to another city in the next few years, so I'm hoping there'll be some opportunities with another company that might have a better environment and better bennies (if Mr. Market starts behaving, I might not have to worry about working for too much longer....)

 

[saluki9]

Well.... Let's see

1. Access to a lot of market data (Bloomberg, Thomson, M*) for free
2. Company car
3. Lots of free food
4. I get to learn from a lot of other people's financial mistakes.

 

[GatorBuzz]

I'm not totally thrilled with my job, but this thread is making me realize those things about it that I appreciate/enjoy.

I telecommute full time so no commuting expenses and get more sleep than the average person b/c of this arrangement. Also, no office politics (for the most part).

Full paid health benefits for me and my family.

DC salary paid in North Florida cost of living.

Most of my work is developing ideas and implementing them, both of which I enjoy.

I'm off at 1:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays and get to watch my daughter during that time, so that she doesn't have to go to day care. Every Monday and Friday, while everyone else is at work, she and I do things like go to a state park, museum, library, park, or just walk around our property. Feels I guess a little like ER.

37.5 hour work week with no expectation to work overtime, although I usually do a few hours over.

 

[podey]

1. Cheap cafeteria

That's about it folks.... I'd say good healthcare coverage but we just switched plans and now it's Empire BCBS and they're pretty sh*tty....

 

[Fireup2020]

"Alternate work week" - adjusted 70 hr pay periods with one day off per payday Feb-Oct!
No overtime (good and bad)
I get to be myself (very to the point) with my clients (Veterans) without having to be overly PC - not that I am rude, just honest!
Get to help my clients through this unemployed/transitioning phase of their lives - very rewarding
Have a positive effect on people
Good bennies
Pay is enough for me to live on
They let me buy my active mil time towards their pension system!!! (11.5 years!)
I can retire with pens & med/dent/vis at age 50 (reduced dollars, but full bennies)
Majority of co-workers are cool
Office is midway between my place and BF's
Convention leave (5 days)
6 weeks paid military leave per calendar year
Enough sick days, I can take a mental health day (such as today to work on USNR stuff)
My involvement with Veteran organizations is "work related" - so get to go to all the good stuff. yehaw! (I'd be doing this anyway)
They automatically increase my pay once a year - sometimes twice

 

[Milton]

I'd say good healthcare coverage but we just switched plans and now it's Empire BCBS and they're pretty sh*tty....

If you just switched, how do you know that?

 

[podey]

If you just switched, how do you know that?

We switched January 1, 2008. I have had about $1,600 in medical expenses out of network so far in 2008, and after a $300 deductible they reimbursed me $345. My old insurance would have reimbursed me around $1000.

 

[makincaid]

• I get to design stuff, and then the company pays to have it built
• 4.5 weeks of vacation each year
• The pay is good

 

[CuppaJoe]

1. Cheap cafeteria

....

That's one of my favorite items from the list called, "What I no longer find at MegaCorp." It was mutually beneficial as employees could take shorter lunches.... For years after I stopped working at MegaCorps I would seek out company-sponsored Cafeterias that were open to the public albeit at a high price. Within walkable range, they have been gone for maybe 10-15 years. One of them is now a Noah's bagel shop which is very relaxing, love it. Where do you find company cafeterias in this day and age? I hear that Silicone Valley companies have great chefs.

 

[podey]

That's one of my favorite items from the list called, "What I no longer find at MegaCorp." It was mutually beneficial as employees could take shorter lunches.... For years after I stopped working at MegaCorps I would seek out company-sponsored Cafeterias that were open to the public albeit at a high price. Within walkable range, they have been gone for maybe 10-15 years. One of them is now a Noah's bagel shop which is very relaxing, love it. Where do you find company cafeterias in this day and age? I hear that Silicone Valley companies have great chefs.

We just moved into a brand new headquarters at 7 WTC. One of our floors was designated to be a cafeteria, which is quite reasonably priced and quite good, considering the other options in the area. we even have a foosball table in the sitting area, which I find highly unusual for a New York financial firm...

When I was at E&Y we moved into a brand new headquarters in Times Square and the vote was overwhelmingly for a cafeteria rather than a gym. I must say, the food was great there too and quite reasonable...

 

[CuppaJoe]

We just moved into a brand new headquarters at 7 WTC. One of our floors was designated to be a cafeteria, which is quite reasonably priced and quite good, considering the other options in the area. we even have a foosball table in the sitting area, which I find highly unusual for a New York financial firm...

When I was at E&Y we moved into a brand new headquarters in Times Square and the vote was overwhelmingly for a cafeteria rather than a gym. I must say, the food was great there too and quite reasonable...

Sounds wonderful. It's probably worth every penny they pay for it and it's a plus for their reputation. I remember an old law firm that was legendary for it's bocce ball court on the roof. They couldn't take it with them when they moved.

 

[podey]

Sounds wonderful. It's probably worth every penny they pay for it and it's a plus for their reputation. I remember an old law firm that was legendary for it's bocce ball court on the roof. They couldn't take it with them when they moved.

That would be so cool! I agree it's probably worth every penny. The time people take for lunch gets cut in half, and people are motivated to go there since they can save a few bucks every day vs. the outside.