To feel weird in never having a passion for any job I have ever done?

[Frokni]

Need to know if I am alone here or if other people feel this way:

Age 17-19 worked at Tesco
20-26 Nanny in London
26-present (31) teacher, first corporate training now secondary teacher at alternative school
Have supplemented income with marking, assessing, verifying etc in Education since aged 26.

I literally have never felt passion for any job! I work hard as it's in my nature and I want to be part of a team, but my god, my interest, is so low it's unreal. I taught through my mum's business for a while and was more engaged with it as it was a family thing but passion is never a word I would use.

Does anyone else feel this way? If so, why do you think? If you have always been passionate what do you do and how did you go about it? Are you following a dream with no money/capital. I want to feel really passionate about work as I have to work part-time for me and my family to get by.

(Married, DP works FT) with DD1 aged 3.5 and DD2 10 months) just saying that so you get an idea of family life. I would love to stay at home but it's not an option financially.

Any thoughts or moany rants about how boring work is?

My friend and I had this conversation recently. She has career changed within last few years from accounting to marketing and still finds going to work a chore. She has to subsidise her dislike for her job so much so that she temps quite a lot in order to travel every few months. She finds it very interesting that I love my work. I trained originally as a teacher and taught for 6 years whilst sill studying and gaining a PhD in political philosophy and writing/ lecturing for a while. I then had DC1 and became a Dr of Psychology and am now a behaviour specialist working alongside educational psychologists. I LOVE getting up and going to work, adore what I do and would definitely say I'm passionate; always have been.

My friends biggest confusion is that I haven't really ever stopped studying/ seem to have a bug for analysing and learning more. Whereas she couldn't think of anything worse. I would say more of my friends are in your camp than mine; the friends I do have who may consider themselves passionate work in similar fields to mine (education or medicine). To liken it, I know my friend would give up work in an instance if finances allowed, whereas I imagine myself to be one that if I came into a lot of money (lottery, say) I'd still go to work!🙈🙈🙈

I think Fatted is right. I'm a teacher like OP too, and although I enjoy being with the kids I hate everything else that goes along with the job - Ofsted, paperwork, data, bitchy colleagues, etc. It's the accumulative effect of doing a stressful thankless job over a long period of time. Just kills any passion I have for the profession.

@Redsharks that's so great to hear you genuinely love your work. If we take roughly the 20 plus people who have commented and only 1 has stated that they love their job it really shows how many people don't feel that way.

You are definitely not alone- moments of passion for me at work, I can count on one hand over my entire career.

I worked at a book shop from sixth form until uni and LOVED it. Since then, it’s like I’ve weirdly moved under the radar.

My first post uni job I did very little for a decent enough wage for 3 years. Seemed fair enough, post grad.

I then got headhunted to another firm, big pay jump and lots of talk about responsibility. I expected to finally be busy- wasn’t. For three more years.

I then got head hunted to my current role- even bigger pay jump, huge company. On my first day I literally gave myself a pep talk on the drive in- ‘you’ve coasted by at work, now it will be a challenge.’

I do even less work! It’s ridiculous. How have I worked my entire career and not done anything?

It’s very soul destroying but I’m locked down by the mortgage now. I often look for advice on how to fill my days at work, but all I get back is ‘find a new job.’ I can’t get paid this much anywhere else, despite the fact that this is what I am ‘qualified’ for. It’s bizarre frankly.

If you find the solution OP please report back!

Now I know how we all feel @justthelemons I will post the solution on here as soon as I figure it out!

I just want to do a job I feel really makes a difference. And teaching is not the life-changing job it's painted to be as so many posters have said already.

The only job I've ever found genuinely satisfying and loved was audio typing. After ten years in what is 'on paper' a reasonable marketing career, I couldn't give two fucks about it and wish I could put my headphones on, plug in the foot peddle and transcribe happily until retirement.

@heartshapedpostitnotes that job really sounds quite satisfying actually. Have applied for those roles in the past but never got anywhere sadly.

Just to offer a different perspective, I'm passionate about my job but all my passion goes into that. I don't like cooking, gardening, any kind of hobbies that are unrelated to my work, I'd hate to be a SAHM (although obviously I love my kids), so it's swings and roundabouts really innit. Your passions are outside of work which has its own benefits. When I have down times about my work (passion has lows as well as highs remember), I'm screwed cos there's nothing else I'm any use for. So basically try to see the positives of how you are and pursue your passions beyond work. The Instagram thing sounds great.

I think it's really common for work just to be a means to an end. You deal with that either by finding passions outside it or retrain/turn interests into your job. I'm retraining as a Counsellor after leaving teaching:too much admin & endless 3hour PTA meetings . Psychology has always fascinated me & I love learning so it doesn't even feel like study, its just something I'm fascinated by & lucky enough to pursue.