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 Since I work in a large organization most our technology is outdated so that combined with the more business analyst type work means my tech skills are stale.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.
That's what I am worried about. I can't imagine how jaded I will be in 30+ years.
In Hawaii state and county employees get 1 month vacation and 1 month sick leave. These are golden jobs that don't exist any where else in the private sector.
Just start a side hustle that you are into
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.
In this economy?
Stay in this dead end job, for now. Is it possible to slip in some training while on the job?
I know that awful feeling about being trapped at work, but if you time it incorrectly it could make life even harder.
I actually almost applied somewhere today but the economy did slip into my mind. Your right, now would definitely be a bad idea.
Maybe look for more fulfilling ways to spend your time outside of work? I tend to think that "dream jobs" are nonsense for most people. If you've got something secure that pays the bills, you're blessed. Look for fulfillment elsewhere.
In the same vein of "why would you kill yourself when you could go out while taking down Osama Bin Laden or some shit and if it doesn't work out maybe you die anyway?": "Why would you quit your incredibly secure job when you could [potentially] move up to management and give yourself more room to do more stimulating work, while giving your team room to unionize or something, and if it doesn't work you get fired anyway?"
My real answer is that there's no harm in applying for jobs elsewhere if it truly is soul killing for you. Just go to interviews and if it doesn't feel right, just decline the offer and wait for the next one. Quitting and hoping for the best is probably not the best idea, if that were on the table at all.
I am obviously extremely risk averse so quitting without a plan b would never happen.
keep the job. you aren't going to find one that pays as well in this economy. Save a bunch up then defect to Cuba. Then make videos claiming you have the Q secret and the deep state is after you.
I like the defect to Cuba part. Hadn't considered that.
don't take the risk now, Comrade. We're in an incredibly fucked time. If there were a moment where a risk would go sideways in the worst way, it would be now.
Edit: If you can get away with it, maybe do something while you're on work hours like make a software product of some sort? Something that could become your avenue out into something more interesting?
I’d say quit your job but only because it sounds like I have a similar skill set and would kill to have that job over what I’m doing now
Definitely a nice problem to have and I would never just quit. I will keep an eye out.
It's dead end in the sense I am locked in. My job uses outdated tech and is mostly a do-nothing job so I don't really have transferable skills and experience, but because I have been promoted within the organization I can't really take another job without pretty much a guaranteed cut in pay and benefits. I am not opposed to taking a manager position but it's government so those don't open up very often and most the people in those positions are old enough to be my parents. It could literally be a decade and it's no guarantee to get one of those jobs.
Hi Comrade, I was in a very similar situation a couple of years ago. Looking back, it might have been a mistake, to quit the job. I felt depressed at work, nothing would move forward and there wasn't even one day, where I went home and thougt "great, you did something usefull today". Years later I understood that the Job was only partly to blame for my depression. I thought the dead end job made me depressed, now I learned I was depressed long before. I think the ideal way would have been, to stay at this job and build a life around it. What I really want and need is spare time with my loved ones and there would have been a way to have that with my old job. After that, I worked self employed for a while because I thought the freedom of having no boss would make it worth while. Little did I realize, I wouldn't have one boss, every customer was my boss now. Now I part time and further my education 15h/week. It's the first time I really feel free. My job is easy and my heart is in my education. I earn just enough money for rent and food, but that's totally worth it for me. TL;DR capitlism is always alienating. Try do understand what the real reasons for the feeling of being stuck at this job are. Try and understand what you really need to be happy.
