Comrades, I am about to sound like a whiny bitch, but please indulge me. I am suffering from extreme alienation.
Basically I am in my dream job. It's easy, secure(government), makes good money, tons of vacation, and is low stress enough that I can listen to podcasts all day, but not boring enough that I could read a book all day and not get fired. I'm also in a union which at the moment is full of old timers that aren't radical in the least but at least it's something and possibly something I could take on as a future goal .
The problem is I'm in a total dead end job. I started as a developer(sql developer) and it's turned into more business analyst type work. Since I work in a large organization most our technology is outdated so that combined with the more business analyst type work means my tech skills are stale. I fear if I want to change jobs at all in the next 40 years I will have to basically start over and take a pretty massive pay/benefits cut. Not only that but the group I work with is a disaster and I see very little likelihood of possible improvement or interesting projects down the road. The last few projects we started went nowhere because they were such shitshows. I have tried pushing some modernization efforts on my manager to at least give me something interesting to do, but they weren't interested. My job is totally mind numbing and alienating. I feel like I am just maintaining old shit now one cares about and really should die but it would take too much effort to change. Not only that but because I got promotions I don't have much room to move up without going into management. I feel stuck because on one had this job has what I described above as what I have always wanted, but it is totally killing my soul and the longer I stay here I fear the harder it's going to be leave. The problem is I worry about getting a new job that is also soul destroying but doesn't offer me the time(9-5 and lots of vacation) to pursue my true passions.
So what do you think comrades? Stay in my dead end, but secure, job and let that kill my soul while I use my free time to pursue my interests or take a risk for something that isn't totally soul sucking? For those of you that made it through my whining I thank you. This is the ultimate first world problem but it is literally killing my soul and I need to vent.
Nothing is going to touch government benefits right now in the private sector. Nothing. Your health care will be shit. You'll start at 2 weeks a year for PTO. You will work nights and weekends. And at some point the company you work for will either fire you, sell out and be acquired by a shittier company, or lose funding (like loss of contract). All of which will have you posting resumes on Monster or annoying your "network" on LinkedIn (the most soulless of all social media).
Your work does not define you. Enjoy your free time, your vacation, and your interests. Take solace in knowing you can do your job in your sleep and get paid regardless. The grass is not greener on the other side.
That is good to hear because that is exactly what I am worried about. It's also ironic you mention healthcare because I almost applied to another job that was still public but a lower level and my deductible would have doubled. What the fuck.