Is anyone in a career that they, and everyone they know in it, enjoy?

I’m a hospice nurse and I love my job, but it’s very workplace specific. I’ve disliked other roles I’ve done immensely.

I think these things are very culture driven, the team I work in are absolutely passionate about what we do, we work so well together with a common aim. Management is visable and hands on, we are included in service design, we (usually) have excellent staffing. All of these things add up, yes the pay isn’t as good as the NHS but I’m fine with that as we have enough to get by.

I’m an Occupational Therapist and I don’t know any unhappy ones.
if you don’t much like your chosen speciality there are plenty more to try.

Medicine BUT that’s because we’ve weeded out everyone who wasn’t completely devoted to being a doctor, in the first few years of training. The only people who make it to consultant are those who really really love being a doctor.

Work in a hospital (admin role) and love my job and colleagues. Although not amazing pay, never worry about having a job, good pension, full pay for 6 months, then half-pay for 6 months if I was ever to get a serious illness (I barely ever take a day sick but it’s good to know just in case anything awful came along). Everyone in my team gives everything to the job and supports each other.

Several of my friends have been made redundant from private companies over the last decade, so the job security/working school hours through primary school is worth the slightly lower admin pay for me.

Maybe a bereavement midwife

Me music and DH tech. Not everyone in those fields love it though, obviously.

I worked in a public library and then ran an academic library, I unfortunately became very ill so left. I haven’t worked in libraries for years now but it was a lovely job. It has however changed and my two good friends who still work in both types of library say it’s changed beyond recognition for the worst.

Gardener here and have never met a gardener who wasn't happy and passionate about the job. Gardeners seem to be decent people, generous, kind, peaceful sorts and are great to work with.

You have to love gardening and working outside all year round but if you do then there are lots of career paths including the option to just have a quiet, healthy, outdoorsy sort of life. Pay varies from great to pretty poor.

I work in a university library. It’s challenging and not particularly well paid but I work with wonderful, dedicated, innovative people and I love it. Every day is different.
Having said that I’d advise anyone to think very carefully before going into working in HE as the financial situation is so precarious at the moment, and the future is very uncertain.

Paediatric nurse. We have a really happy team and everyone enjoys their job.

I'm a paediatric physio and all my team and I love our jobs. Of course there are hard days, when we lose a child we have known for many years (some of our children are life limited) or when a parent has a go at us (of course we can empathise they only want the best but it's hard to be shouted at when trying to do our best). But it's a privilege to look after these amazing children and get to know their families. I have done it for over 20 years and couldn't imagine doing anything else. Of course there are frustrations, when the nhs can't provide enough, or when families don't engage, but at it's core it's a great job, with reasonable pay and flexibility to make it work with my own families needs.

Cyber security/IT, but does depend on the workplace culture as with anything!
However, I would recommend it to anyone (just steer away from 'trend' sub industries like AI unless your risk appetite is big)
I see arguments on threads sometimes about how nurses/doctors are paid a good wage so why are they striking etc, and it makes me wonder if people would still say that if they knew what kind of salary you could make in tech without being responsible for life and death, without getting abused every day, without the years of training, awful shift patterns, without the stress.... we 100% dont pay medical staff nearly enough!

I’d say mine
As an Architect
I don’t know however how admin and architectural technicians view it but
all Architects I know and have worked with are very passionate about their jobs and work.

When your passion and your hobby become your job, whats not to love.
Its what I told my kids when they were thinking about what to do in life

I'm an epidemiologist - I design and carry out healthcare research studies.
I think it's pretty great and I think that's a common view - I find it generally low stress (except for occasional tight deadlines), I'm paid well, I mostly WFH and its reasonably flexible, I feel like I'm doing good in the world. I've never experienced any workplace bullying or toxic behaviour or sexism, generally everyone I work with is always polite, respectful and hard-working.

I'm not the poster you are quoting but thought I'd answer your question. It's reasonably common for midwives (and nurses, allied health professionals etc) to specialise and develop specific knowledge/skills in one area. It's useful for career progression/to get paid more as well of course as being fulfilling and interesting to develop expertise in a chosen area. A specialist midwife wouldn't usually focus so much on conditions that babies have (as after birth the baby will be looked after by neonatal/paediatric clinicians - neonatal specialist nurses and dieticians, physio etc are very much a thing though as well of course as doctors).

Common specialisms for midwives are multiple pregnancies (twins/triplets etc), breech births, perinatal mental health (so looking after women with serious mental health conditions during pregnancy and around their birth), bereavement (looking after women whose baby sadly dies before or shortly after birth) or safeguarding.

I work in the heritage sector and have done since leaving uni almost 20 years ago. I love it, and have always loved it. A lot of the people I work/ed with in this sector really love what they do and have a real passion for it. I think, to some extent, you do have to enjoy it because the pay for entry level and intermediate positions can be bad. I'm now working for a heritage based government body and the pay is OK, but they give you more in terms of annual leave, enhanced maternity benefits, looking after the wellbeing of their staff - and that stuff helps a lot.

And what dept is that? Sounds great.

I've changed career path fairly recently and now work in insurance. Lots of colleagues have been in the same industry (even the same company) for their entire career.

It's much more interesting than I was expecting (phew!) and can be very well paid, depending on what you do. I've come to it later in life, but hope to increase my earnings as I gain additional industry-specific qualifications.

I’m a civil servant of 25yrs and love my job. Hardly anyone leaves my dept, so must say something.

I work in theatre and love it.

I was in FOH, stage management and then directing, latterly building / organisation management.

I have always loved it and everyone who has ever worked alongside me loved it too.

Pay: terrible until you reach very rare / responsible positions and then absolutely not comparable to other sectors with similar responsibility for turnover, staff team size, skilled and specialist knowledge and experience and thoroughly anti-social hours!

Would I advise it as a career path: No. Jobs are ever more competitive as the sector faces huge financial challenges. Pay and conditions are highly unlikely to improve.

Will anyone who is actually driven to work in the arts take notice and be deterred?

No.

Many freelancers have alternative jobs alongside. Teaching , lecturing, running workshops, roles in various events, temping, etc.

Many people who start out realise that it isn't sustainable for adult family life and re-train as life coaches, therapists, team building for industry, teaching, fundraising, and many other things.

I managed it from leaving Uni and through starting a family etc - but only because I had a partner who was fully 50/50 with childcare and household (also had an arts job), I stopped touring and had moved into largely management role. And we have lived thrifty lives!

I don't regret a moment of it but it is immeasurably harder for the next generation.

Professional novelist, it's my day job. I love what I do, but sometimes love the world of publishing less! Deadlines can be stressful. But I don't know any authors who would do anything else (though a lot of us have to teach, mentor, etc., to supplement our incomes!). Definitely wouldn't recommend it unless you have a real passion and skill for it.

I am but I am SE and so is everyone else who does the same "job"
I am a Relocation and Education Consultant
There are some stresses around getting clients etc but everyone I know (and we are a large network) do seem to love what we do.

Im curious, what is a specialist midwife? Do you deal with complicated births where the baby might have a condition?

I’ve been a nurse for 23 years. I love my job. If you can switch off to the politics and negative press about the role it’s a fantastic job.

I just wouldn’t recommend it due to the job situation. We were told last week that another 450 jobs need to go at our trust on top of recent redundancies and redeployments. The student have no jobs so haven’t bothered applying for their pins.

When I trained hog were sold a job for life, but that’s certainly not the case now. Lucky to have a job at all.

Yes - dog walking. It’s not something you can do without a love of animals as it’s very physical and requires you to be outside no matter what the weather.

There are people who think it’s an easy way of earning money but they often never make it past their first winter 🤣