# If your jobs dead end should you find a better one?



## thedazzlingdexter (12 mo ago)

HAL said:


> I know a lad who joined a software dev traineeship and he hated it, he just about scraped by after training and hated going to work. It was a dead-end to him.
> 
> If I had a specialised trade skill, I would probably still consider it a dead-end job because I don't enjoy that kind of work and would end up feeling like I was stuck in a monotonous daily _dead-end_ cycle.
> 
> ...


Again like I said if you think its an unskilled job thats on you. It doesnt mean its a dead end. When I say dead end I literally mean dead end. As in there is a pay check and thats it. No benifits, chance for promotion, retirment. Literally a dead end.


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

thedazzlingdexter said:


> I had to jump about 7 jobs during this pandemic. It was due to the company going under or moving or overly strict covid policys with companys just firing anyone who trys to take a sick day. I ended up in a job with steady hours and start school soon. Was considering finding a company that would offer better position. I go back to college in a month and if I find theright position thought I could get away with not coming to work and work from home. I am also concerned if I stay at the deadend too long it will look poorly on my career progression.


I seriously cannot fault your logic here. It sounds like a reasonable idea to me. Is there anything you can do to improve your chances of moving up when you do decide to move on? Some certifications or whatnot?


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## shameless (Apr 21, 2014)

HAL said:


> "Dead end job" is a misappropriated term.
> 
> I'm a software developer, my job will remain the same for as long as I do it, and I have no intention of 'upgrading' my role to anything else. It is a dead-end job. But it's great and as far as I know it's relatively well respected in society.
> 
> ...


Eh I think most people say that when it is unskilled labor, with a low wage, and remedial.


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## thedazzlingdexter (12 mo ago)

0.M.I.A.0 said:


> Eh I think most people say that when it is unskilled labor, with a low wage, and remedial.


Yes, my piont.


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## thedazzlingdexter (12 mo ago)

tanstaafl28 said:


> I seriously cannot fault your logic here. It sounds like a reasonable idea to me. Is there anything you can do to improve your chances of moving up when you do decide to move on? Some certifications or whatnot?


I mean was considering applying to manager position but also going back to school soon so dont know if I would have the time.


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

thedazzlingdexter said:


> I mean was considering applying to manager position but also going back to school soon so dont know if I would have the time.


What's your priorities? Can you do a Pro and Con list?


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## HAL (May 10, 2014)

thedazzlingdexter said:


> Again like I said if you think its an unskilled job thats on you. It doesnt mean its a dead end. When I say dead end I literally mean dead end. As in there is a pay check and thats it. No benifits, chance for promotion, retirment. Literally a dead end.


A lot of skilled jobs are like that too though. Truck driving, for example.

Anyway, I hope you find the not-dead-end job you want!


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## thedazzlingdexter (12 mo ago)

tanstaafl28 said:


> What's your priorities? Can you do a Pro and Con list?


Well the purpose of promoting is trying get a job where I can eventually do less work for more pay. But like also I have to get a job after college and wondering if stagnation will look bad or if 4 years of management and a year of stagnation isnt reluvant since I already have 4 years of management in various fields.


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## thedazzlingdexter (12 mo ago)

HAL said:


> A lot of skilled jobs are like that too though. Truck driving, for example.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you find the not-dead-end job you want!


Yes but they are skilled, often have unions, benifits and better pay vs the base pay of say a frycook or a warehouse worker.


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

thedazzlingdexter said:


> Well the purpose of promoting is trying get a job where I can eventually do less work for more pay. But like also I have to get a job after college and wondering if stagnation will look bad or if 4 years of management and a year of stagnation isnt reluvant since I already have 4 years of management in various fields.


If you can demonstrate that you consistently worked towards something better, that will be enough. Look for a job that offers an education program as part of your benefits package.


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## thedazzlingdexter (12 mo ago)

tanstaafl28 said:


> If you can demonstrate that you consistently worked towards something better, that will be enough. Look for a job that offers an education program as part of your benefits package.


Well I got rejected by starbucks. Which I mean i always do but than I could try another coorperate fast food. Kind of would like a sales job but many are just pyrimid schemes and not real jobs.


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

thedazzlingdexter said:


> Well I got rejected by starbucks. Which I mean i always do but than I could try another coorperate fast food. Kind of would like a sales job but many are just pyrimid schemes and not real jobs.


I would look at what's around you that you can easily reach daily and start from there.


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## chad86tsi (Dec 27, 2016)

thedazzlingdexter said:


> Again like I said if you think its an unskilled job thats on you. It doesnt mean its a dead end. When I say dead end I literally mean dead end. As in there is a pay check and thats it. No benifits, chance for promotion, retirment. Literally a dead end.


you are describing a shit job, not a dead end job. 

Many shit jobs like that are not dead ends : sales clerk that leads to supervisor, that leads to manager that leads to district manager, and self employed owner, so sales clerk is not automatically a dead end job. Some are, some aren't. Sales clerk at a corner market with 3 employees : probably a dead end. Sales clerk at a major retailer, fairly unlimited : how far do you want to go? 

I've worked dead end jobs, that's how I financed my way through college, and now have a very good career job using that same education, so how dead end was that dead end job, really ? ... Those hours toiling for an unappreciative manager in an uncaring company has pulled me out of the bottom tier and put me in the top. So long as you are working towards something better in the long run, there is no such thing as a dead end job.


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## islandlight (Aug 13, 2013)

To me, dead end means I made minimum wage when I started working at 16, and I was still making minimum wage when I retired.

It can also mean a job that wears you out physically and doesn't pay well. So by the time you're 50 you can't do the job any more, and can't do any other job either. And you don't have anything to show for the years you worked.


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## thedazzlingdexter (12 mo ago)

islandlight said:


> To me, dead end means I made minimum wage when I started working at 16, and I was still making minimum wage when I retired.
> 
> It can also mean a job that wears you out physically and doesn't pay well. So by the time you're 50 you can't do the job any more, and can't do any other job either. And you don't have anything to show for the years you worked.


Your first paragraph is the job.


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## dinadore (7 mo ago)

I think you should. I really didn't like my job anymore, so I started looking for a new one and I found it! I am very satisfied now. I started working in the field of marketing and it is very interesting. I learned a lot and learned a lot through https://аpiх-drive.com/en/blog/useful . This is an interesting field and I think that this is exactly the profession of my dreams! I wish you luck, I hope you will succeed


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## thedazzlingdexter (12 mo ago)

chad86tsi said:


> Dead end jobs while attending college can be a benefit, you should focus your mental energy on school, and not get "drained" at work. Dead end jobs are usually tolerant of you just showing up, doing your part, and leaving with no desire to do more or better than expected. Don't burn your candle at both ends.


That's literally not how this works though. I expected to constantly stay late, do extra, train people and than get scolded for acting like a leader when I need to realize I'm below everyone. While everyone gets to lax all the time and I am held accountable for anything that everyone above me didn't have time for. If I'm given all these extra standards and extra tasks why not just promote me. This doesn't make sense otherwise.


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## chad86tsi (Dec 27, 2016)

thedazzlingdexter said:


> That's literally not how this works though. I expected to constantly stay late, do extra, train people and than get scolded for acting like a leader when I need to realize I'm below everyone. While everyone gets to lax all the time and I am held accountable for anything that everyone above me didn't have time for. If I'm given all these extra standards and extra tasks why not just promote me. This doesn't make sense otherwise.


That's literally how it works for some of us, and how it worked for me, but it seems not for you. Perhaps you are expecting too much reward from the experience. 

I had the same expectations, did the same things, and was often given added responsibilities = new skills. Skills that I exploited later in my career. Those jobs were all dead ends, I capped out. Then I moved on. If you can't get ahead by by rising to the occasion (taking on new responsibility) and those around you are lax slackers, be one of them and bide your time till the next job opportunity turns up. If the slackers are getting away with it, why not you too? Jobs aren't supposed to be fun, they are supposed to be profitable. Profit = return / investment. If you can't profit more, invest less or temper your expectations and plan your exit.

Those dead end still served an important role in my journey. Even the jobs that sucked, I learned stuff from those jobs. They also paid my bills while I planned my exit.


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## thedazzlingdexter (12 mo ago)

chad86tsi said:


> That's literally how it works for some of us, and how it worked for me, but it seems not for you. Perhaps you are expecting too much reward from the experience.
> 
> I had the same expectations, did the same things, and was often given added responsibilities = new skills. Skills that I exploited later in my career. Those jobs were all dead ends, I capped out. Then I moved on. If you can't get ahead by by rising to the occasion (taking on new responsibility) and those around you are lax slackers, be one of them and bide your time till the next job opportunity turns up. If the slackers are getting away with it, why not you too? Jobs aren't supposed to be fun, they are supposed to be profitable. Profit = return / investment. If you can't profit more, invest less or temper your expectations and plan your exit.
> 
> Those dead end still served an important role in my journey. Even the jobs that sucked, I learned stuff from those jobs. They also paid my bills while I planned my exit.


Yes but that isn't lenient. I had chill jobs with 0 expectations. Also I learn nothing from this klb since I dome everything in this line of work so to learn I'd need to do other things. Which isn't happening. Also I don't get to be lax or I get fired since my expectations are more than everyone else's.


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## chad86tsi (Dec 27, 2016)

thedazzlingdexter said:


> Yes but that isn't lenient. I had chill jobs with 0 expectations. Also I learn nothing from this klb since I dome everything in this line of work so to learn I'd need to do other things. Which isn't happening. Also I don't get to be lax or I get fired since my expectations are more than everyone else's.


Then I guess you are screwed.


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