To ask what you do for a living if you genuinely love what you do?

[waterfallswillfindyou]

Like many people, I'm not fulfilled by what I do for a living. At all.

I was chatting to a doctor the other day who loves what she does - even with all the crap that NHS staff put up with - and it really hit home how I've never had that feeling. Work has always been a means to pay the bills. The money is nice, but I'm starting to struggle with not finding it rewarding, and am considering taking a pay cut for job satisfaction.

If you actually love your job - you're not just doing it for money - what do you do, please? And is it the role you actually love or the employer? (I have been wondering if working for a charity I believe in might be the answer, and am doing the sums to see if I could afford to live on third-sector wages.) I feel stuck, and I'm looking for inspiration to start researching a career change.

(Even if it's not something I can actually do, still interested in your answers. I've spent my whole adult life expecting everyone to be miserable at work, and now I'm wondering if that doesn't have to be true.)

[purplefacemask]

Doctor - love it but also feel it's a vocation, a calling beyond me. So would still do it for no money.

[mrstnov13]

I work in a nursery. I love being with the children and enjoy watching them grow and develop. I feel so proud of them when they go off to school to start their new chapters. Don't love the pay but the role is rewarding.

[Izzy24]

HCP. Love it .

[Eyesopenwideawake]

Remedial hypnotist. Seeing the difference I make to people's lives is just magical.

[WhenYouWalkThroughTheGarden]

Self-employed hair stylist in a salon. Love my job, chatting to people, being creative, making my clients feel wonderful about themselves. And being my own boss gives flexibility and motivation.

[Latenightreader]

Museum education officer. Love the work and the people I work with, but the pay is awful. If I didn’t need the money I’d do the teaching and planning new sessions, but I’d let someone else do the admin!

[UnicorseTime]

Oooh what do all these home working charity workers do? I'm an ex teacher and would love to.leap but sometimes you just don't know what roles are there?

[Wallywobbles]

Instructional designer for an NGO. Genuinely love my job.

[Oodlesofdoodlescockapoodles]

Dog trainer! I never, ever dread going to work. If I won the lottery I'd use the money to do more dog training 😁

[Wallywobbles]

WFH. Great colleagues. Relatively well paid. Would do it even if I didn't have to work.

[catinboots123]

@sunshineandshowers40

I'm also a charity worker, based at home, I enjoy my job and the flexibility it gives me (especially around the Dcs).

Snap

[Undisclosedlocation]

Dog trainer. Funnily enough, I reached a state of financial independence a few years ago and wondered if early retirement was for me.
I lasted all of 3 months, absolutely hated it and went back to work😂

[dogscatsandbabies]

NHS Physio. Without getting into the trauma of the worst bits of the NHS right now, I do genuinely still love it.

[ComtesseDeSpair]

I didn’t enter the world of work with the impression that I needed to find it personally fulfilling and soul-enriching - so I’ve never been troubled by not finding it so. My criteria have always been simply that it’s got to interest me and provide some level of intellectual stimulation. I’m a Company Secretary currently in insurance. The law never stops changing so I’m always learning and finding new ways to apply things, and the way the insurance market works, and how entities operate and interact with each other, can be genuinely fascinating even if it wouldn’t appear so in the surface.

I get my real kicks elsewhere; but I’m never bored at work and I never dread getting up in the morning to start it.

[AnotherFamilyUpset]

Ambulance trust working in clinical audit. I love spreadsheets and making data accessible to others. Really interesting research projects too. I'd do it even if I won the lottery.

I love spreadsheets, data, medical stuff, creating graphs and reports. It ticks all my boxes!!

[NotReallySure]

Nurse. It's a brilliant job, which is why it's so sad people are being pushed out due to current conditions and stresses. I'd not give up nursing if I won the lottery, but I'd definitely keep hours to a minimum!

[RagzRebooted]

Nurse in a GP surgery. Love it. Varied, skilled, rewarding, only occasionally frustrating. I generally get enough time to do my job well, have a great team around me and some days I feel like I've really made a difference. I'm respected by my colleagues and usually by my patients. I am still learning every day.

I would probably still work (very part time) if I won the lottery as it would be a shame to waste my skills and training plus I find the job interesting and challenging so it would stop me being bored.

[OnTheRunWithMannyMontana]

@UnicorseTime

Oooh what do all these home working charity workers do? I'm an ex teacher and would love to.leap but sometimes you just don't know what roles are there?

The charity I work for closed its offices during covid so all head office roles from HR, finance, employee support, payroll etc are all home based.

[MichaelAndEagle]

Sustainability Manager. Love it, love the organisation, love my team.

[MadameDe]

@Oodlesofdoodlescockapoodles

Dog trainer! I never, ever dread going to work. If I won the lottery I'd use the money to do more dog training 😁

I want my next job to be a dog trainer. I'm a teacher and love it but not a spring chicken anymore and would like something where I don't work ridiculous hours for shit pay.

[JettyB123]

What job do you currently do OP? I feel i couldve written your post myself! I'm a nurse, don't love it but have good and bad days. Some days I hope I catch covid just so I don't have to go in, other days it feels like the loveliest job in the world!
I think the fact my DH has a cushy WFH job which he loves, he never gets stressed and earns 4× my salary grates on me sometimes!!

[YouJustDoYou]

I never found a job I loved, it was all just boring misery day in day out. It's nice to read about other people having found their happy jobs.

[MotherOfRatios]

Public affairs officer in the women's sector £32k
i do love my job yes, but the charity sector can be low paid and there's capacity issues which often means too much work and not enough staff, also there can be a lack of structure like HR etc

[LittleDonkeyKong]

I'm a receptionist/care navigator and for the stick we get I love my job. I'm always trying to do my very best for our patients and find it very rewarding.

[LittleDonkeyKong]

@LittleDonkeyKong

I'm a receptionist/care navigator and for the stick we get I love my job. I'm always trying to do my very best for our patients and find it very rewarding.

In a GP surgery