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.)

I run an arts centre. I earn a lot less than I used to but I've never been happier or more fulfilled in my job.

I run a careers consultancy. We provide a quick and powerful method to help individuals find their ideal work within the firm they currrntly work in. We also do free outreach education for anyone working with under 5’s. I employ a team fo five, we all work virtually and part time. I also speak and write on my subject and get paid to do that as well. I absolutely LOVE my work. It’s rewarding, impactful, ethical, well paid and I work where I want, when I want, for who I want.

Primary school teacher

3D artist and designer. 3d modelling, texturing and rendering of virtual environments from scratch. I currently work freelance making visualisations for landscaping companies but would love to move into environment art (gaming) but its great. Its the only job I am motivated to do in my spare time.

If anyone is interested I use a piece of software called Blender which is becoming more and more popular and is FREE!! lots of learning resources for it online, big internet community for support.

I only learned it a couple of years ago and i'm now using it to make an income (although I have a degree and experience in the design field too which helps)

TA - I love my job! Definitely not in it for the ££, it does not pay well! 🙄🤣

I think some people naturally 'are' what they do for a living. I'm a born social worker, I can't help it. When my kids were little I used to help people in the library with their CV or to do things on the computer. When I was an admin I used to print out the policies on annual leave and sick leg for the cleaners. I'm a natural interferer! It really true what they say, do what you love and you will never work another day again.
Are you the sort of person who organises other people?
Do you big up your friends when they're down?
Do you know the best bargains and discounts for everything?
Do you never back down and win at small claims court?

Teacher, at the end of my career, and always loved it.

Part time Counsellor
Personal Wellbeing Advisor within Probation Services
Housekeeper

Enjoy all three! 😁

University lecturer in nursing, I love my job and feel privileged (almost) every day to be doing it. Would I still do it if I won the lottery? Yes, although probably part time as I would want more free time to enjoy the money and I have an idea for a charity/social enterprise/education project that I would want to start if money was no object

I run my own dog walking and pet-sitting business.

I absolutely love my job and never dread going to work, even on days where it's pissing down and the mud's up to my knees

University lecturer (not in UK), but on a permanent teaching-heavy contract, so pressure to publish is minimal. I teach 4 days a week, take 1 for research.

The students are very bright and enthusiastic, and I have a lot of freedom to be creative with what/how I teach. The university provides decent accommodation in lovely campus and a good salary, but even if the compensation weren't as good, I'd still love the work. If the students weren't such stars though, it would be a very different job.

Interior designer. Love it. I love shopping with other people's money, seeing a vision come to life, helping people achieve something they know they want but don't know how to get there themselves.

There are downsides - sometimes clients don't turn out to be as nice as they ay have seemed at first, all too often people want a Ferrari on a Fiesta budget, sometimes I can get a creative block which depresses me and finances can be erratic.

If I won the lottery I'd still do it but only on my own, personal projects rather than taking on clients.

I also volunteer for a charity helping out older people and I love that. Again not everyone is lovely but I get an enormous buzz out of genuinely helping people in vulnerable positions.

@SharpLily I have joined a fund raising charity organisation, and have loved taking part in fund raising events. My social life has increased manyfold through my fund raising efforts as well.

Academic in a RG university. Love the variety of the job, engaging with students, doing research, and writing grant applications. Yes, would still do it if I won the lottery, though would definitely outsource the marking!

Thank you @PousseyNotMoira

I was at a similar level in a Not for Profit and am constantly seeking to answer the ‘what next’ question. Retirement feels hollow !!

Paramedic - 24 years.
Despite the government and media rhetoric, the often bonkers in house politics and the frankly nonsense calls, I love my job.
Yes the shifts can be long and I'm often late home but I really wouldn't do anything else.
I find it's a privilege to enter people's homes and lives at what is often their worst times, to gain their trust and to actually intervene and use my skills to make a difference.
Sometimes the only skill I need is to open my mouth and talk, to comfort and placate, to problem solve.
I could never be tied to a 9-5.

I love this thread!!

I have a portfolio career of things I love doing but right now I’m mainly a specialist midwife. I did this job in another Trust and loved it (mat cover) and so when the role I’m currently in came up, I applied for it and love it more. So it’s not just the organisation.

I don’t love the commute; I think if I won the lottery, the main things I’d do would be outsourcing a lot of cooking and cleaning and also pay for a parking space at the station so it’s easier to get to work in the mornings and I’m not so tired 🤣

I teach animation software at a university part time at the moment, really enjoying it and considering becoming a lecturer when my toddler goes to school full time in a couple of years. I would genuinely carry on if I won the lottery and I really feed of the enthusiasm and passion of the students which is really reigniting my own.

I used to work in the video games industry as a cutscene animator and even though it had it's moments and I loved the people I worked with I was a bit burned out from the industry after 12 years as some weeks can be 60hrs+ during crunch periods. Plus there's a bit of "boys club" mentality (and general twattery) in the upper management. Which is starting to sloooowly change (although maybe just on the surface and PR/HR are just better at glossing it over since "metoo")

I started out in a junior fundraising role and worked my way up. I was relatively lucky to be able to make the switch into management outside Fundraising but I did that by spending a lot of time getting involved in service delivery and operations.

I’m a psychotherapist at university. I love my job! It’s stressful at times and I struggle with certain management decisions but overall I wouldn’t want to do anything else!

Secondary school teacher. Love it.

I'm an author (with a tiny bit of screenwriting) and have been for 20+ years. I absolutely love it and would totally carry on doing it if I won the lottery.
However I also do various bits of teaching creative writing, and I'd drop that if I could. I'd keep on a couple of people I mentor but would lose the rest of it.

This thread is really interesting!

To the PP who had worked in a call centre for a bank known for its customer service ... I am sorry that was such an awful job. I wonder if that's my bank. I get quite anxious about phonecalls and financial things so I can't tell you how much it means to me that the CS team are always so friendly and patient and helpful. I am always very polite and grateful to CS reps but I know a lot of the public are just foul :-(

Editorial freelancer in publishing. Love it. Cannot believe I get paid (albeit not v well) to sit at home drinking tea and, essentially, reading books.
It is more than that really, obviously, and sometimes it can be dull (proofreading uninteresting material) or very challenging/stressful and frustrating (dismantling, rearranging and improving badly written or structured material. Not to mention having silly deadlines imposed on me). And freelancing is by its nature financially precarious.

But I genuinely wouldn't want to stop and would be very upset if someone told me I had to. Not just because of the income either.