Do you enjoy your job, and why?

[BalancingActress]

Having a long think about working life, and about choosing between having a job you love, that doesn't feel like work in a way, and having one you do just to afford the lifestyle you want even if the work is not how you would ideally spend your time.

What category does your job fall into? What satisfaction do you get from your job? Did it take you long to work out what you wanted to do and to get into that career?

Is it unreasonable (or perhaps just naive) to think that hopefully most people can get a job that is fulfilling, or is the reality that that's just for an elite few, and we should be grateful if we can get work that simply pays the bills?

I will be honest I would rather be rich and not have to work at all but if I have to work I am glad to work where I do.

I like the majority of the people. I am good at what I do. I feel respected. I make a difference and the workplace is flexible.

I used to do the same job in another place and most of the above didnt apply and I hated it.

It is not the work it is the culture the job sits within

I love my job. I'm a speech and language therapist working with adults. A lot of what I do concerns swallowing, which can get affected by a lot of different conditions. I work full-time in hospitals at the moment, and I just love the moment when I get to a ward, find the notes and open them up - it's like being a detective, I never know what I will find partly because people put almost no information at all on the referrals. Then I always feel a buzz of nervousness going to meet the patient, even if it's a situation I've seen many times before, and I like the process of looking at all the different clues and trying to make a diagnostic picture out of it.

I really hate having to recommend that patients should be nil by mouth, but I do know when I do it that they will be safer, and I do like giving patients all the information and the risks. Ultimately, if they tell me to sod off, that's up to them

I learn all the time, every day. I also love working in acute because of the team around you - I'm in awe of most of the professionals I work with and even more of the families and carers.

I hate my job, I've been with the same company for nearly 20 years but in several different roles. I used to like it but I'm insanely bored now.

Yes I like my job. I get to determine how laws in Europe are interpreted in the UK.

The people in my team are great. My work is interesting and challenging. I am grateful or my job.

However if I won the lottery I would probably be back at art school!

Bits of it (publishing) but some parts of it are a struggle, ie getting copy of authors etc to meet the schedule, and for various reasons around efficiencies and cost savings it has recently become significantly stressful. I keep thinking I'd like to be made redundant to get it over with.

I have done numerous office jobs, sales jobs, TA, PR, HR, for charities and earn a hell of a lot of money one summer being a life model (sitting naked in a gallery for some of it).

For the past two years I have been a nanny and I truley LOVE my job. For me, money is not a be all and end all, I have been searching all this time for something that 'fits' and nannying does.

It helps that I'm fairly well paid within my role, £35k to play Lego, feed ducks and sing nursery rhymes is great :)

Secondary school teacher. Some days I have the best job in the world. Helping a child achieve, being someone they can rely one, seeing their face as they 'get it'. Having a laugh at some of the daft things they say.

Other days it is so awful I come home and cry. Pressure from SLT, parents, being physically intimidated by a massive 16-year-old, told to fuck off by an 11-year-old, being told by Gove & friends that I'm a lazy waster.

I'm looking for the exit and so are most of my colleagues.

I am a student midwife, I have been working towards this career for years and still cannot believe I am doing it. I love every flipping minute. Have a long haul ahead to get a job, survive being newly qualified etc but I really hope to continue loving it as much as I do now.

I love my job on the days I am really doing the essence of the job. This is not every day though.

I am a barrister.

I am self employed. It is fantastic. I can organise my day flexibly, and I love what I do.

I love my job, I'm an office manager for a family run construction related business. Yes it is stressful at times as I seem to be the 'go to' person when anyone has a query, needs something, or something needs fixing before 'disaster occurs', but I know everyone appreciates me as they say so, I get a thank you from the MD every day when I leave and feel trusted and respected by every member of staff.

I won't say I love my job but it's challenging and interesting.
I go home thinking "I've helped, I've done good" on a good day.
But because I work with The Great British Public, there are stresses.
And some of my collegues don't pull their weight
And I'm not computer savvy which is a pain, because we use Computerised records so it takes me longer.

And at the moment , I'm waiting for a hospital appointment myself but I have to switch off my own health issues (though it's really hard when someone doesn't or cannot sit how I need them too and I cannot say "Can you move your leg, I cannot bend myself that way"

I am a vet and own my own practice. I find my job incredibly stressful.

If everything goes well, and I "fix" all the patients I need too, it's a feeling of relief. If it doesn't and I can't fix them, it feels like a failure. I am too busy, but apparently that's a good thing, and I should be grateful. I work through lunch, no toilet breaks, and still people harass me that they NEED to be seen, right now, today. (I have taken on another vet now, and soon we should have more appointments available) On top of the actual job, I have al the horrible paperwork to do.

I miss my kids at times. I am lucky my dad and Dh are really practically helpful and supportive, but I feel I've lost sight of who I am doing all this for at times. I love the animals, still, and I love aspects of my job, but as a whole is it far too stressful

Yes, I love my job! It makes me feel stressed, inadequate and overwhelmed at times, but it's also interesting, challenging both intellectually and personally, gives me the opportunity to learn new thngs every day and has allowed me to meet some of the best and brightest people I know.

I currently have a demanding but utterly fascinating position in a conceptually complex environment, a client I love working for, great team mates and will shortly be working under arguably the world's lovliest boss. Detest the bloody office politics and the frequent sexism, though!

I'm an IT consultant working in the field of public transport and I wouldn't want to do anything else.

I love my job. I work as a victim's witness advocate. I enjoy assisting people through police and judicial matters. There are just two of us in our office. I've known my supervisor for almost seven years. We work very well together.

As the previous teachers have said, yes I love my job! I'm in primary, but hate the c&@p that goes with it, working all hours, no chance of a permanent contract as the LEA keep breaking contracts, and of course the myth that we only with 9-3 with fabulous holidays when reality the work done at home reduces our wage to £ridiculous per hour! But wouldn't give it up even though wages aren't what I used to earn in marketing (and less work still home) and as a lone parent I do struggle, but I also get most of the holidays with my dc (when I'm not in school prepping or prepping at home )!