To just want a job rather than a career?

[dancingqueen345]

I've always been career minded with huge expectations for myself, but on a dreary Monday with incompetent team members and stressful projects to work on I can't help but wonder if maybe actually I'd be happier with a 'job' that was 9-5, process driven and a little simpler.

Is there anyone out there who's left a career for a job? Were you happier?

What's the difference between a job and a career anyway ?

But on a serious note OP. Doesn't it boil down to happiness ? Being in a job (any job) and being happy in it ? I've recently graduated and in a part time job and not in the field I graduated in (yet!). Though to be honest, I'm bored shitless, I like the job but I'm not in love with it and I will be depressed if I stayed in that job forever. I have lots of time to myself which is great but still it doesn't take away that sadness that I'm not doing something enjoy.

I'm hoping to do an MSC this September (if I get in) and that's only keeping me sanity for now. it's completely different to my first degree (which I still love !) but oh my goodness I can't wait (if I get in) to start working in that profession. When I tell people about the new profession I want to get into, a lot of them ask me "oh, your going to get a lot of money for that" and I'm like huh ? I didn't even think about that ! I don't care about the money (obviously I care to have the means to support my DS) but it's something that I would love to do.

Life is full of what if's. I don't want to spend my life thinking of what if ? I want to get out there and follow my passion. So; if your not happy in this job, if this job is bringing you down and your not happy about the current set up with your family and so on. Just quit and go down to a "lesser" job if you want to. It's all about happiness .

I left a career and took on a job.

At the end of the day, I found it hard to not care about things and to leave it behind when I clocked out, I just made a lot less money. It is not in me to "just" do "just" the basics, to not be frustrated at inefficiency etc.

In my job I still dealt with management issues, different issues than my career but the realization there with be issues or inefficiency or incompetence in any field/career/job.

I'm back in my career, making 3x as much, and feel validated that I'm making the right choice. I've seen the grass isn't always greener so it's easier for me to ignore the things I don't like, and everyday I consciously choose to try and keep a positive attitude rather than letting the little things (and things beyond my control) bother me.

Same here OP I work in retail and love it because its a robotic job where you can switch off mentally when you need to and no one cares, then again i long for a career some days when it gets too dreary and robotic

I didn't find retail at all like that.

Me neither! I've worked in retail and it was way more stressful than my professional jobs where I was making serious decisions that had real impact!

Being treated like a child and being watched and timed all day was not the mindless clock-in-clock-out job I'ld hoped it would b

It was one of the worst most exhausting (mentally not just physically) job I've done!

on a serious note OP. Doesn't it boil down to happiness ? Being in a job (any job) and being happy in it ?

No. Happiness is dependent on financial stability. It's really difficult to reach that perfect combination of family wellbeing, job satisfaction and economic security. Constant worry about how to replace the boiler that keeps your kids warm, the car that gets you to work and school and keep the home you're in standing is just as stressful as a challenging career, if not more so because you're not in control.

Actually, I second.the one who said retail is sometimes stressful. The hours are pants too. I wonder.if I overestimate how it would be stressful elsewhere.

I would like to use my skills but not necessarily have the pressure of a career