What do you love & hate about your job?

carol a

Does love out-weigh hate? By what percentage? 60% to 40% ?



If you could change jobs, what would you rather do for a living?



About 'my' job:



I teach Language Arts to 130 13-year-olds. I really like my students a lot. They are filled with energy and fun. We have the best discussions sometimes. They LOVE to discuss (read: get teacher off the topic of grammar - haha).



If you despair about "kids these days", don't !! They're terrific. They're smart, sweet, impressionable yet wary, troublesome yet cooperative, annoying yet charming.



I enjoy being around them so very much. And the best thing is that I get to influence them by the literature I choose, which generally encourages them to be sensitive, perceptive individuals who care about the planet and all its creatures.



Also, I turn book-haters into book-lovers. I feel so fortunate to have a job where I can make a difference in people's lives. That's the good part. The part I love.



The part I hate: The volume of paper I have to deal with is overwhelming (a paltry and completely inadequate word to describe the true horror of the avalanche). The demands from the state regarding what should be taught have doubled in the last few years, so that the required curriculum could be called "mission impossible". The number of students who don't even speak English has tripled - in classes where I'm supposed to be teaching expository essay. All the fun, creative things I used to incorporate into my curriculum I've had to eliminate. So I'm thinking of taking a year's leave - all the while knowing that once I depart, I'll probably never return.



Each day now I look around my classroom as if for the last time. It's bittersweet. I am *REALLY* terrible about making decisions like this.



Love = 55% Hate = 45%



Job I'd LIKE to have: running river trips and other exiting trips for a high-end adventure travel company.



Hope you will share thoughts about the positives and negatives in your job.



Thanks for any replies.



Carol

akumulator

Love the fluffers



Hate the coffee



Love 95% Hate 5%

naderfan

Well, I actually have a job interview tomorrow (wish me luck! )so I don't have a current job. But my last job was definitely a split. I worked for five years at a Christian bookstore. I was one of two liberals there (both politically and religiously speaking)which took some getting used to. My co-conspirator was a woman in her mid-to-late sixties who went to college at both Madison and Berkley. So there you go. But despite being on the fringe in some of my beliefs, I made such wonderful friends among my co-workers. We had fun, we looked out for each other, and we'd go out after work often. Some of the girls and I visit each other at school. My bosses were very understanding and really cared about their employees, which I'll miss.



That having been said, the job itself took a lot out of me. I had to deal with some very closed-minded people and some really psychotic ones. I had people scream at me, swear at me, and pray for my soul....and this was without knowing that I was a crazy communist! And, as I'm sure is a part of all retail experience, I dealt with a lot of rude, unforgiving people. And our corporate office didn't help matters, as they changed policy over and over again. Plus they wouldn't staff us well and kept having us cut back on the staff we did have. But that's another rant.



I think all said, it was about 50-50 love/hate. I loved my co-workers and it was definitely a unique experience, but I'm not sad to have left it.

carol a

Quote:

Originally posted by Akumulator

Love the fluffers

What does that mean, Akumulator?

carol a

Quote:

Originally posted by Naderfan

Well, I actually have a job interview tomorrow (wish me luck! )

Good luck, Naderfan!!!



Let us know how it goes.

naderfan

Quote:

Originally posted by Carol A

Good luck, Naderfan!!!



Let us know how it goes.

Thanks! I should probably sleep, but I'm too wound up and am doing laundry instead.

carol a

Quote:

Originally posted by Naderfan

Thanks! I should probably sleep, but I'm too wound up and am doing laundry instead.

Well, have a beer and relax; and wear your best shoes tomorrow.

dmband0026

My "job" right now is paramedic school.



It's a 100% love type situation.



A little bit of classroom work, lot of time in an emergency room, and working a 24/48 shift with a fire department.

You don't know what good hours are until you've worked 24/48, I will never work anything else again, as long as I live.

gspotter

I'm an IT consultant. I'm working on projects mostly for DaimlerChrysler. In my previous project, I worked on site at the german DC headquarter. Currently, I'm envolved in a project that will replace Mercedes' current european web applications.



The pros:

+ Working on projects offers a lot of variety: New challenges, new technologies, new customers, new coworkers every year or so. So no (or at least not much) daily routine work

+ In the current project, we have a great team

+ As I'm often working on internet projects now, I can later show the results to my family and friends: I was involved in this or that website. Before that, my job was rather intangible for them ("you work with computers, huh"?)



The cons:

+ Stress / workload. The project schedules always seem to get tougher, the competition gets more fierce ("offshore development" is a well known buzz word now). I'm currently working 10+ hours a day, some weekends, too ...

+ The future gets more and more unclear (see offshore).



Love: about 70%, hate: 30%



Job I'd like to have: My job with a workload from 7 years ago

br

I love and hate the fact i don't have a job.

tmp

Hmmm... love The Fluffers? Interesting job, there.



I love working in downtown LA. I am smack-dab in the middle of one of the most vibrant, exciting areas in the city, within walking distance of Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Bunker Hill, and the historic core. It spans LA from the Pico Adobe to the Disney Hall. I have a very nice boss, nice co-workers and a realtively boring and insipid job. Things could be a lot worse (and have been).



Another plus- the cafeteria at work stocks Pepsi products with the iTunes Promo, and I've gotten about a 90% success rate with downloads. Of course, I am vibrating like a tuning fork, but I have totally filled in my 80's and 90's "one note wonder" tunes.

splinemodel

I work for a young tech company that I have a big influence on, as I am a founder. We sell products designed in-house to entertainment venues. I'm an industrial designer/circuit designer/embedded programmer. (probably the world's only) In two months I am moving to south Florida, because our company is moving down there. (There are more racetracks, resort hotels, theme parks, and nightclubs in Florida than in most other places.)



My co-workers are awesome and all incredibly smart. There's a huge potential for me to make a bunch of money when we sell out in 2-3 years, start antother company with the same guys, and then move to West Palm at age 30 and start a VC firm, work 4 hours a day and make a buttload of money while having plenty of time to explore all of the little things that I've always want to explore.



Love: 100%

carol a

Did everyone know what 'fluffers' were except me?



The thought of such a job never even crossed my mind...



(...And *most* things eventually at least cross my mind. ) (or so I thought )



Guess I'll have to see that movie now, or be consumed with curiosity.



(...damn...never even crossed my mind...) \





Hmmm...*could be* 'cause I haven't watched much porn. Yep, that's gotta be it.

carol a

Speaking of a job like 'fluffing', I wonder how many other weird jobs there are out there - that most people would never even think of?



Like, I've mentioned before about that lady who works for Dial Corp. whose job it is to smell sweaty armpits. She works in the deodorant/deodorant-soap division, I guess.



So: fluffers and sniffers.



Any other weird ones you guys can think of?



Geez...my imagination is starting to work overtime thinking about weird jobs. Damn! There must be hundreds of such jobs...maybe thousands.

trailmaster308

Currently:



Hate 90%

Love 10%



I'm a programmer for a hospital and lately our projects have become insane! I use to be an AIX administrator but we since moved our servers to our sister hospital and are running everything remotely. Now they moved me to a programmer position writting code for these stupid apps in an archaic language. I HATE IT!!! I work 10+ hours a day. I'm on call all the time since the hospital never shuts down plus weekend. I'm thinking about giving it all up to become a teacher. I think I would enjoy a less stressful job that actually had some fullfillment. I have a BS in CS. What else do I need to become a teacher?

podmate

I'm currently the DBA/Web Developer for a large department at a large State University.



What I love: No stress, family friendly, flexable hours, open-minded people, great co-workers and NOT working with faculity or students. I also love working in a business that is socially conscious and makes a difference in peoples lives.



What I don't love: Being one of two Mac people in a devoutly windows environment, doing help desk crap, the pay and the office (I share a medium sized, light blue, cinderblock office ; I get to hear the physical plant workers cuss and yell all day, I get to smell the fumes of idiot smokers all friggin day and our A/C sucks big time). I also can't stand interfacing with State Government agencies. Nothing like a career, union flunky to ruin your day.



Love/Hate: 75/25





What would my dream job be? Chocolate taster. Ummm, chocolate.

podmate

Quote:

Originally posted by trailmaster308



I have a BS in CS. What else do I need to become a teacher?

I bet Carol A can answer this better than I can. From what I see at the University that I work for you will need a minumum of a Masters. To get tenure you will need a Doctorate. I not sure what you need for public/private K-12.

My brother-in-law is a Spanish teacher at a Prep school in CT. and he only has a BS.

trailmaster308

Quote:

Originally posted by podmate

I bet Carol A can answer this better than I can. From what I see at the University that I work for you will need a minumum of a Masters. To get tenure you will need a Doctorate. I not sure what you need for public/private K-12.

My brother-in-law is a Spanish teacher at a Prep school in CT. and he only has a BS.

I've read about some programs that allow you to teach K-12 while you work on your masters for education. I'm thinking about looking into this. Maybe even getting my Ph. D one day. Dr. Trailmaster!

podmate

trailmaster308



watch out for the pay. I can't imagine that Louisiana is all that much different from Akransas so the pay will really suck. Like mid-20's suckishness. I would say look for a private K-12. Sometimes you can get a sweet deal. My brother-in-law works for a private 7-12 and loves it. He only gets paid ~20K, but he gets to live in a 3br house with his wife and kids on school grounds for free, gets free utilities and free food (at the cafateria).

trailmaster308

Quote:

Originally posted by podmate

trailmaster308



watch out for the pay. I can't imagine that Louisiana is all that much different from Akransas so the pay will really suck. Like mid-20's suckishness. I would say look for a private K-12. Sometimes you can get a sweet deal. My brother-in-law works for a private 7-12 and loves it. He only gets paid ~20K, but he gets to live in a 3br house with his wife and kids on school grounds for free, gets free utilities and free food (at the cafateria).

Yeah, if money was an issue I would not even consider it. But in my case money is not an issue. Thanks for looking out for me though.

kirkland

I do graphic design and Mac network management for the corporation which publishes the newspaper at my university (yea! free tuition!). I like my coworkers, and the job itself is a lot of fun...



except for the hours. The ungodly, terrible hours. 9:00 to 5:30. I can't function before noon, never have been able to, never will be able to. This will be my last office job.