The upside to being a pencil pusher: I'm no longer literally destroying my body for the sake of some fuck-off big box store's profits.
The downside: I can feel life leaving me every instant of every hour I sit in this chair. I crawl from weekend to weekend as the days in between fade to a grey monotonous blur. To save my body, I have sacrificed my soul.
One of the biggest hurdles to establishing any socialist project in the imperial core is the fact that doing so would necessitate the re-proletarianization of much of the extant professional class. I've heard a lot of pro-union, allegedly socialist types balk at the idea that instead of just being a labor organizer or a labor theorist, they might actually have to do labor.
I've never had an office job so I don't get when people say it's soul sucking. Is it really more soul sucking than working retail? Hell sitting around reading books on my computer instead of working is already what I do. You should read Lenin while at work, I reckon that'd help.
I've worked blue collar and white collar and I'll say that white collar jobs are definitely more soul-sucking for the simple fact that you're not moving. The only thing that comes close is warehouse dock work, and even that you're at least operating equipment. It's tactile in a way any office gig isn't.
Like definitely office gigs are easier, but at least in my current gif I'm still working 10, 11 hour days just staring at a screen while I feel my spine compress.
I just moved from retail to an office job. It's goverment so it's probably a bit cushier than normal, but night and day honestly. You'll never get me to go back.
Mind me asking you managed the transition? I'm without a degree and am getting to the point of throwing myself into a trade or trying to get my foot in the door with something in an office, but unsure how. Something like data entry is my current thought
For me the job is still customer service, so retail actually helped. But since it's the gov they are only open 9-5 m-f. So I would say look for something like that, all cities need people to answer the phone, bill utilities, and answer questions. You still got to deal with people, but I think it's a good jumping off point. The person I replaced for example got a job in a different department, so it is possible.
I'm sure you can find something similar for private companies, though so you may have to deal with different hours.
You have to jump through more hoops than normal, like for this job I had to take a test (basic common sense stuff, and some math to make sure you can make change and count), but at least I got communication every step of the way.
Look into IT helpdesk. You might have to go through a temp agency to start, but everywhere needs IT and customer service work is directly related to a helpdesk job. Entry level stuff often doesn't require anything beyond customer service experience and proof you have basic computer knowledge. Great way to get into a white collar job. Plus you feel like you're achieving something each day if you're deploying equipment, instead of losing your soul working in Excel. After that you can get IT certifications and jump off to something better.
Reposting because life choices: Mind me asking you managed the transition (to office work?) I'm without a degree and am getting to the point of throwing myself into a trade or trying to get my foot in the door with something in an office, but unsure how. Something like data entry is my current thought
Yeah, trying to figure out a degree I'd like and would be employable is something I've wrestled with for awhile, though I've been enjoying the lack of debt.
Damn I want an office job
The upside to being a pencil pusher: I'm no longer literally destroying my body for the sake of some fuck-off big box store's profits.
The downside: I can feel life leaving me every instant of every hour I sit in this chair. I crawl from weekend to weekend as the days in between fade to a grey monotonous blur. To save my body, I have sacrificed my soul.
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One of the biggest hurdles to establishing any socialist project in the imperial core is the fact that doing so would necessitate the re-proletarianization of much of the extant professional class. I've heard a lot of pro-union, allegedly socialist types balk at the idea that instead of just being a labor organizer or a labor theorist, they might actually have to do labor.
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I've never had an office job so I don't get when people say it's soul sucking. Is it really more soul sucking than working retail? Hell sitting around reading books on my computer instead of working is already what I do. You should read Lenin while at work, I reckon that'd help.
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I've worked blue collar and white collar and I'll say that white collar jobs are definitely more soul-sucking for the simple fact that you're not moving. The only thing that comes close is warehouse dock work, and even that you're at least operating equipment. It's tactile in a way any office gig isn't.
Like definitely office gigs are easier, but at least in my current gif I'm still working 10, 11 hour days just staring at a screen while I feel my spine compress.
I just moved from retail to an office job. It's goverment so it's probably a bit cushier than normal, but night and day honestly. You'll never get me to go back.
Mind me asking you managed the transition? I'm without a degree and am getting to the point of throwing myself into a trade or trying to get my foot in the door with something in an office, but unsure how. Something like data entry is my current thought
For me the job is still customer service, so retail actually helped. But since it's the gov they are only open 9-5 m-f. So I would say look for something like that, all cities need people to answer the phone, bill utilities, and answer questions. You still got to deal with people, but I think it's a good jumping off point. The person I replaced for example got a job in a different department, so it is possible.
I'm sure you can find something similar for private companies, though so you may have to deal with different hours.
Thanks, gov wouldn't be a bad place to try
You have to jump through more hoops than normal, like for this job I had to take a test (basic common sense stuff, and some math to make sure you can make change and count), but at least I got communication every step of the way.
Look into IT helpdesk. You might have to go through a temp agency to start, but everywhere needs IT and customer service work is directly related to a helpdesk job. Entry level stuff often doesn't require anything beyond customer service experience and proof you have basic computer knowledge. Great way to get into a white collar job. Plus you feel like you're achieving something each day if you're deploying equipment, instead of losing your soul working in Excel. After that you can get IT certifications and jump off to something better.
Hey, that's really helpful, thank you!
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Reposting because life choices: Mind me asking you managed the transition (to office work?) I'm without a degree and am getting to the point of throwing myself into a trade or trying to get my foot in the door with something in an office, but unsure how. Something like data entry is my current thought
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Yeah, trying to figure out a degree I'd like and would be employable is something I've wrestled with for awhile, though I've been enjoying the lack of debt.
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Like with any job, there are ups and downs.
I have been looking into being an elevator technician
Oh shit thats you! Nice.