Job Satisfaction

[Eag's]

Just wondering how many of you guys and gals are happy with the jobs and careers you have

I myself work at a hospital as a nursing orderly, been doing this for about 3 years now. It can be a very rewarding job at times because I get to look after people when they are unwell and most of the time I get to see them head home again.
Other days can be rough as I have to deal with death and people suffering. This can really wear you down over time and I can head home somedays really down


I have always worked in positions where I am in contact with the general public. I have been employed in the Hospitality industry (8 years) owned my own cleaning Franchise (4 years) and now here at the hospital.

I have reached the point where I need a change of direction in my working life. I have had a keen interest in Computers for a few years now and a lot of my mates are in the I.T. industry. So I decided to pursue a career in I.T. and have been studying for the last 6 months or so to get my Certifications. Specificly trying to get Microsoft certified MCP 70-210 & 70-215

I realise the odds are stacked against me to break into this field so late in life, but I will give it my best I would just like to use my brains rather than my braun for once in my life

Anyways enough early morning ramblings from me
I would be intrested in your thoughts

[BrisVegas]

Just wondering how many of you guys and gals are happy with the jobs and careers you have

I still don't kow what I wanna do for a crust... You know, my "true calling". I work in IT by default, as it was one of the easiest courses to get into at uni (in 1992) and there were plenty of jobs around at the time. I didn't know what else to do after missing out on an aircrew place in the RAAF. I probably should have put more thought into it, as I am now trapped in a career which does not interest me in the slightest. My job satisfaction is pretty low. I can't get motivated to do more than I need to in this type of work, it just doesn't excite me. Some of the geeks I work with though.... crikey! Tthey could prattle on for hours about this, that and the other. It always make me feel a little sad when I hear people I work with say how they always wanted to be a computer programmer or whatever...

I think you have to work out what really interests you and what you have some natural ability in... I realise now that I have a real interest in design, architecture and built environment. In hindsight, I probably should have done drafting or architecture etc.. I remember that I aced graphics/tech drawing at school, but was just too stupid to realise that there was a decent career in it. I have a real eye for detail and can visualise quite well. Trouble is.... Architecture is 4 years full time at uni, plus a couple of years as a cadet on crappy money. I'm at the point where I can't afford to change careers due to my level of financial commitments.

Damn.. I'm depressed now. Thanks Richard!

Thank God for GOLF!!

[damoocow]

I love my job teaching Drama but really do not like kids - I wonder if that is a problem ?
damoocow

[Kee]

Crikey Vegas. I think we may have something in common there. I wanted to be a draftsman, architect or accountant during high school. I too was too short sighted when selecting Uni courses and saw the 6 years needed for architecture as too long. I just wanted to get out to work and earn. I had a couple of friends who were doing IT while I was still in high school and they encourage me to go to the field and it seemed interesting at the time.

Started an IT degree in 1993, didn't mind the 1st year, 2nd year, I started to hate it and wanted to change to business. Parents encourage me to stay on for 1 more year to get the degree and then decide to move to something else. Got the degree and didn't want to study anymore. I applied for the RAAF and went through to the 3rd stage but got another job offer during that time which I excepted.

Actaully enjoyed my IT job for years and it helped that I have tried many different things in IT, and was able to travel to most parts of Eastern Australia. Started off in helpdesk, then to NT admin, then on to Lotus Notes admin and development and now SAP, Unix, and Oracle admin. But I'm now getting to the stage where I'm feeling stale and not giving 100% during work. I was thinking about going back to Uni to do Law, but can't afford to leave my job for financial reasons (freaking mortgage). Although, I'm trying to motivate myself to study for the SAP certification in hope that will get my satisfaction up.

[Fishman Dan]

Eags - I don't mean to scare you, but after 10 years in the IT industry i still think that it isn't a fantastic career path (keep reading - it's not all doom and gloom). I'm sitting at my desk doing what i am good at doing, but it's not really what i enjoy.

I look after the infrastructure for a business in Sydney, as well as run the Helpdesk. I'm a fan of the Helpdesk work, i've got 40 remote salesmen who have NFI about PC's, and it's good to be able to help them as well as chat regularly. They are all vets and farmers, different walks of life etc.

I'm not MS certified, i don't rate the certification process. I have worked with too many MCSE's that have no idea what they are doing in 'the enterprise' (not a spaceship, Trek-nerds). As long as you can apply your new skills to a 'live' situation, you will be right - i.e. rebooting a server can fix a problem, but you cannot simply reboot a server during the middle of the day without threatening your own existance!

I know what i know from the school of 'Trial and Error' - with basic problem-solving skills you can fix/break any situation, the best way to learn anything. Doing the sexy stuff in IT (building/reconfiguring/migrating servers, networks, applications etc) can't happen during daylight hours, a lot of it is spent working around the business needs - so plenty of late nights and mis-spent weekends.

This is coming from a guy who is (as of today) completing a migration from an NT 4 network to Active Directory (including all application servers, and an upgrade from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2k). I'm stuffed, and as per my 'Front or back 9' thread - i've put in a lot of hours this week but it's always rewarding to complete a project like this. It's been stressful (even a little 'political? ) in between.

[andylo]

I have been working, studying and working again in I.T. as software developer for last 14.5 years.

I love the nature of the people in this field... lazy, deadline always got push back, very unresponsible, talk something only he can understand!

But I am working on to moving toward a direction which leads me to a management level.

If god let me choose again, I probably will do accounting (because the girls in accounting campus are prettier) but in general I don't hate my job.

I believe if I look hard enough I will find something more interesting to study and work on... but no matter what I am still working for someone so what the hell.

I like to own my own business that makes real money 1 day, that will gives me the most satisfication I can get.

[AndyP]

I work to live, not live to work. Unfortunately, my company has an American culture, so they tend to work the other way sometimes. However, in the last few months the attitude has started to change.
I like to leave at 4 on Fridays, I don't want overtime, and I don't like giving work my weekends.

I used to work in an accounts section in the public service, very easy work, good pay, even better if I performed higher duties. But the work just wasn't challenging enough, and I became bored sh*tless.

Decided to get a job using my Electronic Engineering degree. Took me 8 years to get that damn piece of paper (4 year degree), and I wanted to see what I could do with it. I'm not convinced that I have made the right career choice, but I am giving it a crack.

I've been at this company for 18 months now, doing bits and pieces and working in supporting roles, and the job satisfaction level has been up and down a lot.
After coming back from my Canberra trip, I have settled into a proper engineering job. And have just recently been offered a permanent position. (It knocks you around a bit being a temporary employee in the workforce for over four years. Stability would be nice.)

So things are on the up, and I expect the Job Satisfaction level to start rising. [-o<

[Fishman Dan]

I like to leave at 4 on Fridays, I don't want overtime, and I don't like giving work my weekends.

Not to mention you have over 2100 posts on this golf forum

[wavemaker]

i love my job as a stay at home dad. as long as i have all my jobs for the day done or postponed i can fish or play golf or whatever. i used to work in construction and 20 years ago that was a great thing to do. i worked outside doing really different things. worked as a rigger erecting the flagpole on the new parliament house. also i worked on the national gallery and i get a real buzz every time i walk in there thinking how i was 22 when we layed the carpark beams. i drove tower cranes for a few years and they are great fun to operate.also worked in the north sea for a while. but things changed in the late 80s. the workers became more selfish and less inclined to help others out. then the bosses got their tails up with all the workplace reforms and they could sense that a lot of the blokes would do anything for a $ so they started making longer hours the norm and squeezing out the blokes who would try to uphold the safety standards. thats when i got out, its a shit of an industry now. i also managed 10 years as a professional fisherman but i had to flick that once my environmental concience kicked in. sometimes i miss those really big paychecks but all in all i'm as happy as a pig in poop.

[drunken]

One of the things I like about this site. You old guys always make me feel young

I finished school two years ago. Started studying a Bachelor of Sport Tourism Management at Uni. The course was so boring I deferred after the first semester. In hindsight I should have done the course I originally planned to. A double degree (4 years) in IT/Accounting.

I scored a Job at Rae's On Watego's in Byron Bay. http://raes/com.au One of the top boutigue Hotels in the world. Worked there for a year as 'Junior'. Basically ran the Hotel myself for two days of the week. I resigned about 6 weeks ago & am now jobless & not haaving much luck finding anything else.

[BrisVegas]

Kee - we definitely need to get together over a few drinks for a chat. We've had a lot of common experiences. I actually started IT in 1993, as I did a year of law via articles at Goondiwindi in 1992. I liked the social side of it all, but hated the study. Gave it the arse after a year. I kinda fell into law as well. I hadn't really made plans beyond the RAAF (all my family was in the military), so didn't really have a plan B. I got the law prize at school, and got offered work at a firm of solicitors. Seemed like a good way of getting out of home and making some (pitiful) money. After I quit articles & law, I headed back to my parents place with my tail between my legs, so to speak. I had a cousin who did IT and she worked at Dept. of Defence in Canberra, so that sounded pretty cool. Had a few job offers at the end of IT at uni, but chose to go to QRail in Brisbane as it sounded pretty cruisy.

The best thing about IT was that I met my wife at work at QR. Mind you, I had to be quick, as that sly dog choppa was on the prowl too. We ended up heading overseas with our SAP skills. That kept the interest level up for a few more years, mostly due to the travel and golf! The work itself was always mundane.

IT is one of those careers that is becoming less and less glamorous. Hours are getting longer and the pay has declined. Tradespeople make better money that IT now.... Man, if only I'd known that 10 years ago!!

As AndyP said.... I work to live. I'm not too old to change careers again.... just gotta sort out the finances....

[davidp]

What is it about this board and I.T. freaks? :P

I also work in the I.T. industry.

Started life in hospitality, working my way up to restaurant manager in a 4.5 star restaurant in Melbourne. Couldn't stand the hours, loved the people contact. Made outrageous money for a 20 year old. Left after 3 years

Left to go and work for a bank. WTF? Stable hours, just starting a serious relationship with my now wife. Met some of the biggest dropkicks who stood by the 14,000 pages of rules that exist in banking. Definitely not my thing. Left after 3 years

From there, went to work in the telco industry starting in customer service, winding up in corporate sales. I wasn't a pushy enough salesperson apparently, and left. Left after 5 years

Became a credit analyst working for a bank. It was better 2nd time round, but still not what I wanted to do. Left after 2 years.

Went to work in the I.T. industry as a software developer with no software development experience. Nearly blew my head off after 6 mths, but stuck at it. Moved into a training / writing role. Been here for 4 years. I enjoy it but need more people exposure. Hence, I sit here and meet people virtually...

The search continues...

[AndyP]

I like to leave at 4 on Fridays, I don't want overtime, and I don't like giving work my weekends.

Not to mention you have over 2100 posts on this golf forum

Number of posts is inversely proportional to Current Job Satisfaction.

[Bruce]

I work in IT by default....... I didn't know what else to do after missing out on an aircrew place in the RAAF.

SNAP!!

I won the Sir Richard Williams Scholarship and then flunked the eye test. Went from hot-shot officer candidate to standing on a street corner wondering wtf to do next in about 20 mins. I handled it badly.

I sat the APS exam and got a job at DSS (now Centrelink) processing fortnightly dole forms. It only took a couple of months to display more aptitude in supporting the local IT stuff than the person who was employed to fill that role. She hated it - I liked it and so we swapped jobs.

I work in IT because I'm good at it but I'm feeling a bit out of place lately. When I started there was a bit more art to it, now it is a discipline. I've been writing a lot lately and the energisation I get from that is fantastic. Getting paid to write sketches is fantastic (even if you didn't personally like EAGLE AND EVANS - I still think we did a pretty good show. Episode 1 was a dud because it had to me be made 6 weeks before we finished writing the series. If it comes back give it another try the last 4 are much better than the first 4).

If I were a single man I might think about packing it in and giving professional comedy a RHG. But with wife and two kids I can't afford to give up my wage slave status. Dreams of freedom are linked to the occasional $10 splurge on a powerball ticket.

[Eag's]

Thanks for the responses people, some very intresting reading.

[BrisVegas]

I work in IT by default....... I didn't know what else to do after missing out on an aircrew place in the RAAF.

SNAP!!

I won the Sir Richard Williams Scholarship and then flunked the eye test. Went from hot-shot officer candidate to standing on a street corner wondering wtf to do next in about 20 mins. I handled it badly.

Yeah I know what you mean. I got through the board and the psych and coord test etc... They only knocked me back on a marginal referral from my dermatologist. I guess they considered me a slightly higher cancer risk, based on my fair skin and moles etc.. They offered me pretty much any other role except aircrew. I figured if it wasn't aircrew, why join?!!

Like you, I really didn't handle it very well. I moaned about the unjustness of it all blah blah blah. I later joined the Army Reserve and went through officer training. Having the benefit of hindsight, I'm glad I never gave my body and mind over to the military. Not that there's anything wrong with the military, mind you...

[claydog]

Guys,Guys,Guys,
What's with all the IT stuff? I myself started a trade in 1984 in Retail Butchery (long 4 yrs,very little money)worked in the meat industry for 10yrs until longer hours for no more pay through industrial reforms in 1995.Left that job and found work in the coal industry,where I have been ever since.The hours are long,but the rosters good,pay is ok and the safety standards are rising to standards higher than they have ever been.I believe what Wavemaker said would bee as close to the truth as you'll ever get.Good call mate! So job satisfaction as an underground miner,well it's more of the standard to which we work and putting your faith in your workmates than satisfaction.A good day is when we all go home safe and we've had lots of good days,but it only takes one bad day to turn that all around.So yes!,Job satisfaction must be there or I wouldn't be studying to become a Mine Deputy.Cheers,Craig

[Andrew]

Don't worry, you IT guys make the world go round.


I don't want to gloat, but I have job satisfaction.

All I ever wanted to be was a professional musician & composer, which is what I have been doing for the last 21 years, since I was 17.

It's allowed me to see alot of the world, meet alot of people & run my business the way I want. When I wanted to settle down, I was able to tour less, teach a bit & work a few days a week with the muso's & singers at the church we go to.

I still complain, but my wife always reminds me that I get paid for what most do as a hobby. That puts me in my place, so I walk back into the studio to do more work.

Eag's - if IT is what you want then do everything you can to do it.

Never be scared of change, only the inability to change.

[markTHEblake]

I worked for a bank for 15 years, and then got into a midlife crisis. Gave that career away and pursued my dream career IT. Worked Helpdesk for nearly 5 years, but what started out to be a senior and challenging role was bit by bit being reduced to a common phone monkey. I was realistically getting paid almost twice what i was worth, and much more than the managers i was reporting too.... So midlife crisis again.

midway through an IT Diploma and MCSE certs, i gave the IT path away and returned to finance, working for myself as a Mortgage Broker from a home officee. The hours are crap, (24/7) but i can do what i want, when i want.

I swear I will never work for anybody else again, at worst Contract only. In fact i have a couple of IT contract jobs lining up, and a dozen or so casual clients anyway. Nice little casual earners here and there help the golf expenses fund.

Anyone in IT or contemplating it, go and get yourself a book called "From Serf to Surfer", to learn how in IT to work for yourself and make much more money, and then read "Rich Dad Poor Dad".

Poor people work for Rich People.

Rich smart People employ poor dumb people who can do the job better than themselves.

Get Smart!

[davidp]

Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a great book to learn how to make money from a zero capital base. Nice call Blakey.

But, more important than reading the book is putting it into action...

That's the secret.

Eags, pursue your dreams with your eyes and mind open. After all, we all dream of shooting a sub-par round one day...

[Ducky]

I want to become good at something I enjoy doing.

I can't stand the thought of being a web designer longer than a few years.



Kind regards,

Ben (Ducky).

[Ona]

yea I read Rish Dad, Poor Dad.. cant remember much of it exept that in many ways my dad is exactly like the "Poor Dad"., well that and I can recall being excited about all the ways I was gonna get richer than Scrooge McDuck

Just had the graduation ceremony for my BCOM that was completed mid year. Lost interest in the field half way thru the course and am now unemployed. This thread has been a good read for me, learned (again) that it wont be the end of the world if I get a job that isnt perfect, seems theres always something else to try...so... what am I waiting for

[AndyP]

I read "Rich Dad Poor Dad", and was inspired afterwards. Don't think I applied too much though.
I just couldn't accept the idea of not owning your own home.

[Jarro]

i work as a part-time porn star.

pay is OK, plenty of overtime if you want it .. and all the coke you can snort

i love my job.

[damoocow]

Jarro , I thought you had given up making those gay porno's - are you still hard up for cash now that the arse has dropped out of the R7 market - just go easy and don't swallow, whatever you do.
damoocow