Please help me! I hate my job!

[FuckThatHill]

As above.

I am 50. I've done this job for five years. It was always poorly paid with little chance of progression. I did get a little bit of promotion two years ago and wanted more but couldn't see a way to do so. Come the pandemic and suddenly I see my way so I take my chances, shouldering extra responsibility, making changes that have a measurable impact on turnaround etc, partly to distract myself from the disaster that's happening around me that by the end saw me lose five people I really cared about to the Covid, partly because I genuinely was committed to my job, partly because I need to find a way to pay rent on my family home via work alone rather than via universal credit.

But the outcome was they rewrote a new job for me, but for the same money, with all the additional responsibilities I've taken on, and there are a lot including managing people. I asked for the grading to be reconsidered but they refused. They also brought in new line management who are high handedly shunting their own responsibilities onto me and if I try to contain to my own JD I'm told I'm being obstructive. I am paid a tenner an hour and they're taking the piss. I'm exhausted, demoralised and I know I need to look elsewhere with all of these skills I have developed but every night I just stare at the telly and feel sad because I think that at 50 I'm past it and will just live and die in poverty doing a job I hate.

Please Mumsnet, give me a kick up the arse.

I would just apply hard for a promotion in a different company OP. What kind of business is it you work in?
In my work it's not unusual at all for 50 year okds to be hired, in fact the experience and cool headedness that comes with age is something my team seeks out

Do it. Find your anger. Apply for a new job. Get it. Put your notice in. Serve the fuckers right for treating you that way.

Move on.

My sister is a little younger than you but she has worked her absolute arse off for her current employer. She is on almost minimum wage for quite a specialised role (it's a charity so salaries aren't great).

They changed her role a year ago which meant her workload doubled and she had a new staff member reporting into her. No salary increase.

She had a glowing appraisal with HODs saying how valuable she is. No salary increase.

She lives hand to mouth every single month due to the low salary.

She's moving to do a way less stressful role in the same industry with a huge salary increase and no evening and weekend working.

Remember it will cost a company way more to replace top talent than it would to just pay them what they are worth in the first place.

(And she is coming to work with me which he is so exciting!!)

Omg that all sounds very familiar right down to the glowing appraisal, constantly being told how great I am how they can't do without me etc (followed by a fucking 1% increment which actually was more than anyone who wasn't graded "outstanding" got!). Right up to when the new LMs got appointed, who right from the start seemed to be hostile and point scoring.

I don't know what's wrong with me that I don't have the fight left in me. I know I need to leave because I can't afford my rent on what they pay me without universal credit which is going to drop next year when my eldest leaves school but I am so very tired and angry and I can't seem to do anything. It's a horrible state of mind to be in.

I guess I just feel like there's no hope of ever earning more than a tenner an hour. And I'm old and fucked and past it.

Have you looked at adverts? What sector do you work in?

I work in the charity sector. I never want to work in it again though! I can't afford to pay rent to house my own frigging kids.

I have looked at adverts but I can't seem to see how my skills transfer. I know a lot but only about my own shitty miserable job. I am truly fucked.

What do you do? Is it something like finance?

No, service delivery admin.

Local authority admin?

You must have loads of transferable skills. What do you do day to day and maybe sometime can help with a new sector or types of jobs to look for, and how to word the application?

Nhs? Dr Surgery? Private care home/hospital?

No, charity 😭 see, I'm fucked. It's actually quite a hard job to learn which is part of what makes it demoralising because we're constantly recruiting and I'm constantly training due to low wages, but it's really specialist.

Would your skills translate though to civil service/nhs/local authority?

You're not fucked. I have niche skills that only 2 employers in my city use and have had plenty of interest from vaguely related companies. Just have to be creative with the applications. If you say what tasks you do am sure somebody can help. You can do it!

I hope so! I need money! But I can't see how to make them fit so I just stare at the telly and cry and wake up in the morning and cry and with every minute that passes it feels more hopeless on the long descent to impoverishment and death.

That sounds horrendous and no job is worth that level of stress. Let mn help you!

I agree with what other people have said. You are not past it by any means, and you obviously do have lots of skills, you just might need help in how to phrase them or see them in relation to other jobs.

Taking the Civil Service for example, they recruit people of all ages, from all backgrounds. In the most recent recruitment where I used to work, the ages ranged from a 21yr old fresh out of uni to a 58yr old typist, and so many in between. With CS it's all about what you have done to achieve xyz in the past, not what computer systems you have used, or your words per minute etc.

If you give us a rough idea of what you actually do, or jobs you'd be interested in, we can definitely help you.

It's ok to feel crappy for tonight, but tomorrow find and channel your anger. You can fucking do this and show those idiots what they are going to lose!!

NHS admin would snap you up OP !

Allow yourself to wallow a little then get productive.
Are there careers advisors listed near you? Or online? There's bound to be some on Mumsnet.

I'm 53 and don't consider myself old at all. My dcs are grown so employers know that's a bonus.

You probably are computer literate? Can you relate well with the general public?

In the meantime are there any additional courses you could do?

Best wishes. It's awful being in a job you hate. Worse when you are struggling financially

OP, you sound like you have good experience and you’re definitely still able to make a change. Could you start by writing a list of all the things in your job description/day to day work and seeing what transferable skills another organisation would find useful? From what you’ve said so far you seem to have experience of managing people, training people, used your initiative to streamline/implement service improvements which improved turnaround as well as demonstrated your ability to gain and apply technical knowledge. Think if there is anything you do outside of work that might be relevant do you volunteer, help out at any kids clubs, have an interesting hobby etc…Reason for leaving current job: Eldest about to leave school, time to reassess priorities and now you have more time you are keen to progress/learn new things (just don’t say you hate your current job!). Draft a CV with the key things you’ve done over the last 5 years and use it to pull examples from to fill out and tailor any applications. NHS and civil service are good places to start but think about what you want, is there anything you like about your current job? Is it the role, money or the people you don’t like? Or do you want a complete change? Good luck OP. X

Whereabouts are you OP? I know we have a couple of service delivery type roles at the moment!

Op - there are people here that can help you! Don't let this opportunity pass you by - go for it !! You will find something that pays more from your experience

How are you OP?