# What did your current job make you realize about yourself?



## Fleetfoot (May 9, 2011)

Do tell.


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## Caveman Dreams (Nov 3, 2015)

A decent positive work - life balance is more important than what is on the paycheck.

I will gladly take a pay drop to get my social life back.

I am not my job.
I am not my wallet.

I am defined by what I do, how I look and act. Not my job title an dnot my wallet.


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## flummoxed (Jun 29, 2015)

I didn't need to spend 4 years in college to get a decent job. Could have just joined a union.


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## Another Lost Cause (Oct 6, 2015)

That I would be perfectly happy winning the lottery, disappearing far into the woods in some secluded cabin somewhere, and dropping out of society. I'd rather work on my own projects, on my schedule, in the way that I want to do them, whether they are profitable or not.


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## MetamorphosisINTJ (Jan 7, 2012)

cybersloth81 said:


> A decent positive work - life balance is more important than what is on the paycheck.
> 
> I will gladly take a pay drop to get my social life back.
> 
> ...


This exactly, unfortunately.

I also learned that many people will convince themselves that what they do for work is important (even if it isn't) because a lot of people derive their self-worth from their profession.

I also learned that office politics seems to perpetuate the use of of meaningless buzz words in an effort to sound important/like you care when you actually have nothing useful to say.


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## JayDubs (Sep 1, 2009)

I am happier when I feel productive. I have a high tolerance for stressful situations. I do, in fact, like to help people - it wasn't just something I was telling myself or potential employers. I don't have a problem with authority. I love not having to wake up early, and I don't mind staying up late. Some fun jobs have great pay and benefits.


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## 95134hks (Dec 20, 2015)

Fleetfoot said:


> Do tell.


No, you go first !!!


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## Death Persuades (Feb 17, 2012)

That I have a lot more patience than I think I do.


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## astrolamb (Dec 14, 2015)

It is very difficult, but also very rewarding, to consistently look pleasant and approachable.


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## Fumetsu (Oct 7, 2015)

That people are, for the most part, miserable zombies who just love the chance to step on anyone because those precious moments of superiority is the only joy they get in they get in life.

Keep that in mind and do not allow them to drag you into the much with them.


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## Ace Face (Nov 13, 2011)

My job has helped me realize that I really do thrive in highly stressful situations. It has also helped me realize that my ability to multi-task is a lot more impeccable than I originally thought. It's also helped me realize that I'm quite the adrenaline junkie.


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## Alpha_Orionis (Jan 18, 2015)

It made me realize something that i did not want to accept is true. Money is in the center of our world and quality does not matter if there is profit. I work for a big national firm so it looks that way. Maybe working in a small business is more rewarding.


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## Caveman Dreams (Nov 3, 2015)

MetamorphosisINTJ said:


> This exactly, unfortunately.
> 
> I also learned that many people will convince themselves that what they do for work is important (even if it isn't) because a lot of people derive their self-worth from their profession.
> 
> I also learned that office politics seems to perpetuate the use of of meaningless buzz words in an effort to sound important/like you care when you actually have nothing useful to say.


I generally find it funny when Im around people who let their work define them.
Then I generally start to find them boring, if I wante dto talk office I would still be in the office.
And then I find it insulting that they think that there is no more to me than a job (Hey how was work).

Its like even if we are sat in a bar having a drink or two, there is stuff happening in the bar, there is stuff around us. Why drag the reality to the workplace when there is stuff happening around us and a world to interact with.

For me work has always been a means, not the ends. 

IE, I want to do X, Y, Z with my life. As this costs money and is not free, I need to put aside some of my time to be able to afford these activities as well as basic needs such as shelter, food, water, electricity, etc. Hence I goto work, if I could achieve the mythical 4 hour working week, I would.

I also want a job where I can become skilled enough so that I can live comfortably. Hence I do like to work in a field I have an active interest in. However even when discussing this I discuss the field not the actual job/work/company. But also with enough spare time to persue the things that are the vital priorities (health and fitness, social life).

Once this balance is met, I like to focus the time I do actually have free into health and fitness and my social life. For me this is what defines me. My job is just a necessity. I don't despise my job, don't get me wrong, Im getting paid to do something I enjoy, which actually leaves me more free time, as it isn't something I need to persue with my free time.

But all in all my job and/or job title is not part of my identity. 

Also because of this, I do find some social requirements of work annoying, like work social events, where there is an "expectation" to attend. So I generally go along, make my appearance and leave ASAP so I can actually get back to my life. I still think that people should be paid either normal time or overtime for work socials. Granted we are not doing our jobs, but we are still sacrificing our free time to the company.


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## Toru Okada (May 10, 2011)

I am my job.
I am my wallet.
Also I need a job where I am constantly moving and things are constantly changing otherwise JUST


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## flummoxed (Jun 29, 2015)

cybersloth81 said:


> Also because of this, I do find some social requirements of work annoying, like work social events, where there is an "expectation" to attend. So I generally go along, make my appearance and leave ASAP so I can actually get back to my life. I still think that people should be paid either normal time or overtime for work socials. Granted we are not doing our jobs, but we are still sacrificing our free time to the company.


What sort of job to you have that it requires you to attend unpaid social events?



Gore Motel said:


> Also I need a job where I am constantly moving and things are constantly changing otherwise JUST


I agree. I can't ever work in the same place for more than a few years. I've lived in 4 states in the last 4 years and it boggles my mind how many people live their whole lives in the same place. How do they not get bored?


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## Caveman Dreams (Nov 3, 2015)

flummoxed said:


> What sort of job to you have that it requires you to attend unpaid social events?
> 
> 
> I agree. I can't ever work in the same place for more than a few years. I've lived in 4 states in the last 4 years and it boggles my mind how many people live their whole lives in the same place. How do they not get bored?


It snot that we are "Required" to, but office politics and all that. 
They put on a massive do, spend a million or so on it and we are expected to attend. If we don't show up, they notice. 

Officially nothing can be done or said, but you know how it goes in the corperate world.

But as the social events are generally evening (ie Christmas dos and everything) it means I have to give up my own social events or the gym, so I can go and sit with people I spend all day sat with anyway.


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## Fleetfoot (May 9, 2011)

95134hks said:


> No, you go first !!!


Okay fine. 

I realized I hate chiropractors.


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## Schizoid (Jan 31, 2015)

It made me realize that I'm really sick and tired of working for people and I prefer to be self-employed. It also made me realize how much I enjoy working alone by myself, I really hate having bosses or coworkers around me, they make me nervous and I can't focus on my work.


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## xisnotx (Mar 20, 2014)

That I'm more patient than I realize.


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## 95134hks (Dec 20, 2015)

Fleetfoot said:


> Okay fine.
> 
> I realized I hate chiropractors.


I get back pains from scuba diving, and my chiropractor is really good about icing it, then heating it, then stretching it for me.

Works every time.

He also gave me a stretching book and told me to do it every morning. Great book:

Spiral Bound Stretching Book | Relax The Back


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## LibertyPrime (Dec 17, 2010)

Cosmic Hobo said:


> Hang on, dude! Life's downhill at 50? That's a pretty negative attitude. I could point you to a gazillion links saying it's never too late - and, you know what? Every mother's son of 'em'd be true. While you're alive, there are opportunities. And there was a guy in the Washington Post talking about how old people could still be active. And they say they'll switch off the ageing gene.
> 
> Hell, I'm changing careers and moving continents at the ripe old age of 32.
> 
> But kudos for the self enploy employment, the healthy habits - and the screwing into the wall!


Thx, you are probably right. I think I just let my environment influence my opinion of this a bit too much :/



PowerShell said:


> I hate dealing with users. How can people be such morons when using a computer and it's just so damn hard for them to learn while at the same time think things are so damn easy for you you can go whiz bang pow and it's instantly fixed?


^^; I once stayed till 1 am at the company, because the economic director screwed up her computer so bad I had to do an emergency backup, complete system wipe and reinstall. She managed to do this 5 to 10 minutes before quitting time and then called me and screamed at me that she needs the computer the next day to do banking. The usual "I don't care how long it takes, fix it by tomorrow morning! >(" was issued.

Idk how these ppl get these jobs, I swear she calls me to help her send e-mail sometimes...

A lot of users imo are computer illiterate or they barely know enough and they can't keep up with the rate of change. A friend of mine who owns his own business bought a laptop with windows 8.1 on it and we hooked it up to the office network (the usual).  I swear man, they were fucking LOST...LOST. His employees failed at basic tasks when attempting to use it.

^^; now he wants to switch entirely to linux.... I think I'm going to go insane.

A colleague of mine posted this on FB recently, thought you might like it:


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

FreeBeer said:


> Idk how these ppl get these jobs, I swear she calls me to help her send e-mail sometimes...


Because they've had them before computers were needed. I find it annoying how a computer is a tool of the job yet is the only tool people can claim ignorance to. Imagine a carpenter going, "Well these brand new whiz bang laser guided table saws. They're just too complicated to use!" The foreman might show them once or twice how to use it and if the person still can't cut wood using that tool, they're fired for incompetence.

You have to love users who say, "Well I didn't grow up with computers." They're typically old as hell and have been with the company for 20-30 years. You want to ask them where they have been the last 20-30 years since desktop computers have been in the office for their tenure there. 

The second I get my MBA and if I haven't got a business idea off, I'm getting a job not tied with user support. Right now I work as a systems administrator (formal title Network Specialist). It's a small team so I often get roped into doing end user support. Unless there's 3-4 levels under me filtering the BS and by the time it gets to me, it's a legit issue not just isolated to that specific user, I want nothing to do with it. If in an interview they mention about having to back fill or do any help desk, I'd be tempted to just walk out of the interview.

Then again hopefully I get a business idea to take off or I find a job where I can actually design systems and get away from the support of them. I think with an MBA as well as over 10 years experience, I should be able to qualify for a systems architect sort of job.


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## Enxu (Dec 14, 2012)

I am a high achiever, thrive on challenge and need stimulation to be productive.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Being on call while doing an IT job essentially make you a bitch. Bend over and take it.


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## Arzazar Szubrasznikarazar (Apr 9, 2015)

I can't function without stability. I like money.



PowerShell said:


> Because they've had them before computers were needed. I find it annoying how a computer is a tool of the job yet is the only tool people can claim ignorance to. Imagine a carpenter going, "Well these brand new whiz bang laser guided table saws. They're just too complicated to use!" The foreman might show them once or twice how to use it and if the person still can't cut wood using that tool, they're fired for incompetence.
> 
> You have to love users who say, "Well I didn't grow up with computers." They're typically old as hell and have been with the company for 20-30 years. You want to ask them where they have been the last 20-30 years since desktop computers have been in the office for their tenure there.


I like people like these. They create jobs in IT. I dread what will happen when computer-literate generation will take over D: .


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Arzazar Szubrasznikarazar said:


> I like people like these. They create jobs in IT. I dread what will happen when computer-literate generation will take over D: .


I'm at a level where I can essentially work on the backend of things and keep automating systems so I really could care less if user support goes away. Then again support jobs aren't going away. "Computer literate generation" is merely being able to use Facebook and a smart phone.


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## Arzazar Szubrasznikarazar (Apr 9, 2015)

PowerShell said:


> I'm at a level where I can essentially work on the backend of things and keep automating systems so I really could care less if user support goes away. Then again support jobs aren't going away. "Computer literate generation" is merely being able to use Facebook and a smart phone.


Well, maybe not going away, but I don't see any internal IT customer support job offers here. But then Poland is a special country. From what I understand from complaints on IT forums, they usually roll multiple jobs into one.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Arzazar Szubrasznikarazar said:


> Well, maybe not going away, but I don't see any internal IT customer support job offers here. But then Poland is a special country. From what I understand from complaints on IT forums, they usually roll multiple jobs into one.


Yeah a lot of smaller companies do a jack of all trades thing. It's a bit like that where I work. In the US, help desk jobs are a dime a dozen. They don't pay the greatest ($10-15 an hour) but they're a decent starting point for people. I really don't think they're going away for a long time because there are still a lot of stupid people and, as I said, most of the younger generations who the older generations think are computer saavy only really know how to use the internet and do other basic stuff. They still can't fix their own problems in a lot of cases.


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## Arzazar Szubrasznikarazar (Apr 9, 2015)

PowerShell said:


> Yeah a lot of smaller companies do a jack of all trades thing. It's a bit like that where I work. In the US, help desk jobs are a dime a dozen. They don't pay the greatest ($10-15 an hour) but they're a decent starting point for people. I really don't think they're going away for a long time because there are still a lot of stupid people and, as I said, most of the younger generations who the older generations think are computer saavy only really know how to use the internet and do other basic stuff. They still can't fix their own problems in a lot of cases.


Here it happens even with institutions and large companies. The only help desk job offers I see are ones outsourced from western countries which are on email/phone and require great English speaking skills.

Here is a google translate of a typical Polish IT work offer:


> *Junior IT specialist*:
> 
> Requirements:
> 
> ...


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Arzazar Szubrasznikarazar said:


> Here it happens even with institutions and large companies. The only help desk job offers I see are ones outsourced from western countries which are on email/phone and require great English speaking skills.
> 
> Here is a google translate of a typical Polish IT work offer:


Looks like a standard IT job above help desk here.


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## Arzazar Szubrasznikarazar (Apr 9, 2015)

PowerShell said:


> Looks like a standard IT job above help desk here.


The difference is that, here, there's nothing below. It's supposed to be a "junior" job.
There's no internal help desk job where one would get prepared for stuff like this because as in the job description, the employee on that position also acts as help desk.
"ongoing technical support to users of information systems"


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## baitedcrow (Dec 22, 2015)

The less public my problem-solving is, the less dependent _other_ people are on the outcomes I generate, the better able to work I am. When my neck is the only one on the line I'm much quicker to take (well-calculated) risks that pay off big: when I'm trying to work within systems with more moving human parts I second guess myself more, as in excessively, and it slows me down.

Dream job would pretty much be designing, developing and supporting one very small data warehouse and an attached analytics platform on my own, so that I own as much of everything I need to touch as possible. (Preferably one that stores and makes use of data that I find really interesting, maybe something medical, legal, scientific or conservational.) At least, until I develop better skills working with others it will be.


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## Arzazar Szubrasznikarazar (Apr 9, 2015)

My dream job would be hunting down the wicked and killing them.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Arzazar Szubrasznikarazar said:


> My dream job would be hunting down the wicked and killing them.


Well minus the killing, you could be a bounty hunter.


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## Baby Spidey (Jun 4, 2012)

Note: I'm an 18 year old college student.

My job I'm currently working at is a retail job... a book store. It's my first job ever. I won't name it because it's against policy. I'm a cashier, but I suck at sales. I'm great at customer service and going out of my way to help people.

I thought it was fun at first because I loved this place growing up, but after a couple months, the walls began to shrink and the store seemed smaller. I felt trapped. My feet and toes grew numb and still are.

I learned pretty quickly I can't ever be in a place that I'm trapped in for long hours, unless it's something fulfilling and my main focus. I'm sometimes distracted at work because of the homework I need to be doing, for example.

I hate saying repetitive things as a cashier, and it can get messy because I have ADHD. I told someone to swipe their card when I meant to say good bye.

I need absolute control over my work environment.

I suck at getting along with other people, or I don't care enough to learn. I'm unsure.

I will admit though that I matured a lot because of this first job, and I don't regret it.


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## nonnaci (Sep 25, 2011)

At programming job... Automate everything, from builds (especially x-platform ones), test cases, git updates, website uploads, blah! The mental effort saved later on is ridiculous. Also, refactor code and avoid tight coupling like its plague to manage code rot. Bad design decisions will bite you in the ass months down the road when feature creep begins. 

i.e. My laziness makes me economical.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

nonnaci said:


> At programming job... Automate everything, from builds (especially x-platform ones), test cases, git updates, website uploads, blah! The mental effort saved later on is ridiculous. Also, refactor code and avoid tight coupling like its plague to manage code rot. Bad design decisions will bite you in the ass months down the road when feature creep begins.
> 
> i.e. My laziness makes me economical.


The same thing for systems administration. Automating pays huge dividends.


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## angelfish (Feb 17, 2011)

Wow, so much. 

That I am stronger, smarter, and more resilient than I thought. That being a whimsical, quiet INFP is ok on the job. I play a fine ESTJ when needed and I have a lot of strengths others don't have. 

That I can be valued for a unique talent. That hard work and versatility plus that talent make me valuable and increase my job security. But, unlike in school, me doing hard work and achieving success do not always just get recognized - I have to tell people above me my accomplishments and tell them that I are ready and desire to move up. 

That taking a few minutes out of the day to talk genuinely to people is almost always worth it. That there is a delicate balance between doing extra to demonstrate commitment and dedication versus taking care of myself and going home at the end of the day. 

That people are generally decent and loving, but self-centered. Their lives - logically - revolve around them and their priorities. It's not about me and their lives aren't about me. That most of the time, when they act shitty towards me, it's because of something that has no relation to me whatsoever, and it's easier if I remind myself of that and just try to smoothly handle them than if I take it personally - regardless of whether coworker or client. 

That I pour myself into my work and have undervalued my ability to adapt to the working world. I have been afraid of not being able to be happy or successful at a professional job, which has prevented me from taking steps forward, but in reality I am fairly happy and successful working a job that is really not even aligned with my personality or talents. 

That I should be more confident.



nonnaci said:


> i.e. My laziness makes me economical.


YES. SAME. I figure out all sorts of tricks at work to save me time later because I am lazy AF.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

I'm really starting to hate Cisco equipment.


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## strawberryLola (Sep 19, 2010)

I yearn for a career I feel most passionate about. I yearn change, creativity, reaching out to the public. I yearn for something more rewarding personally, professionally, and academically. 

I want to get out there and engage more, to experience life, culture, people, and to give back.


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