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.)

[orangegato]

@bert3400

Own a business - and not a made up MLM business.
Do I love it, no but what I do love is the income, the flexibility, the fact we can work anywhere in the world - only constriction is time difference - we live in sunny Europe ( which is effing freezing atm) and I love that.

What type of business if you don’t mind me asking?

[MojoJojo71]

Midwife sonographer. Hard work, physically and emotionally, but 19 years in and I still love it. I never wake up in the morning dreading going to work, I’m very lucky.

[Agapornis]

@PousseyNotMoira

I think the sector can be wonderful, but I agree with all of this.

Have you seen this? mobile.twitter.com/nonprofitssay?t=IWcJvGlkIDiWCCyY5wgPXg&s=08

It’s hilarious, but also not.

😁 I do still love a good satire charity Twitter account, but there was a point they only encouraged me to quit!

[Wordsofthewise]

Hi Op, I’m not sure if you have said yet, but what sort of charities are in you interested in / or what values are important to you? I have some experience in joining the charity sector after having previously working in a different role and have learnt a lot in the process. Happy to pm you with details and advice if you’re not sure where to look etc 😊

[Pssspsss]

@MarkWithaC

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.

Hello @MarkWithaC


Is there such a thing as part-time/casual proof-reading jobs? I work part-time in a role which I think gives oodles of transferable skill. I’ve always wondered if there’s a possibility to pick up a bit of spare cash when I’m sitting at home doing nothing but utilising my skills.

[PousseyNotMoira]

@Warmwesterly

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 !!

Consult! You only have to do the bits you like and you don’t have to do the dance for Trustees! I heartily recommend it. And you’ll be surprised how easy it is to leverage your contacts and get the contracts in at the moment.

[Mangogogogo]

Safeguarding. I wish I didn’t even have to do the job because everyone vulnerable was nice and safe but I do enjoy it a lot!

deffo don’t do it for the ‘money’ hahahahahha

[Noviembre]

Software developer.

[JaceLancs]

Head of a small local charity - love my job

[aynsleyredder]

Oh OP, I resonate with your post completely. I work in accounts and I’m completely fed up. I hate the monotony and long for a role where I do something much more worthwhile.

I had an interview this morning, but it was my first in over 15 years and I struggled so don’t think I will have got it. I’m not sure it was right for me anyway. I’m a bit stuck in that I have two young children to pick up from school/nursery, so my options are a bit limited as I’d need flexibility.

Best of luck with your job hunt, I hope you get the job satisfaction you deserve.

[Jackrabbit22]

Manager of a small public library. I absolutely love it.

[Daftasabroom]

@aynsleyredder

Oh OP, I resonate with your post completely. I work in accounts and I’m completely fed up. I hate the monotony and long for a role where I do something much more worthwhile.

I had an interview this morning, but it was my first in over 15 years and I struggled so don’t think I will have got it. I’m not sure it was right for me anyway. I’m a bit stuck in that I have two young children to pick up from school/nursery, so my options are a bit limited as I’d need flexibility.

Best of luck with your job hunt, I hope you get the job satisfaction you deserve.

If you can do accounts you can do an environmental life cycle analysis. 10x as interesting, you'll be helping to save the planet, and in all likelihood better paid within the next few years. I'll post some links if you're interested.

[MarkWithaC]

@Pssspsss

Hello @MarkWithaC


Is there such a thing as part-time/casual proof-reading jobs? I work part-time in a role which I think gives oodles of transferable skill. I’ve always wondered if there’s a possibility to pick up a bit of spare cash when I’m sitting at home doing nothing but utilising my skills.

Well, if you're freelance, obviously you can always choose whether to say yes or no to an offer of work, so in that sense yes. But I find that I'm loath to turn work down because I think if I say no to someone they won't ask again, and they'll tell other people I'm not very available. So if you're at all like me that is a potential hitch; maybe you can be more laid-back about it though!

[MichaelAndEagle]

@waterfallswillfindyou

@StepAwayFromGoogling @MichaelAndEagle Can I ask how you got into CSR/sustainability, please?

@OvertiredandConfused Can I please ask how you got into the C-suite? This has always seemed shrouded in mystery to me!

@cheapskatemum @familyissues12345 @iwishiwereafirefly @OnTheRunWithMannyMontana @Janedoe82 @WhinnieThePoohHead @sunshineandshowers40 @Thedamndoorbell @schnitzeln Would love to hear a bit more about what you do for your charities if any of you are open to sharing. I volunteer a lot for charities, but I never really see many jobs going - I wonder if they're not advertised externally or if it's because there's low staff turnover. I'm very interested in the idea of working for a charity that is aligned with my values - I think there could be a lot of fulfilment in that.

Sorry, missed you'd asked a question.
I pretty much started straight out of uni working on environmental projects.
I would suggest joining IEMA Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment. You can join as an affiliate member and take their exams to become an associate member. Dont have to pay for the course there is a self directed learning option. Even just as an affiliate member there is access to resources, webinars etc, career advice.
If you are an accountant, you'd probably find carbon footprinting easy and a good transition. Or as someone else mentioned life cycle analysis calculations.
Sustainability is a growing area and lots of people join with other areas of expertise such as project management, policy writing, change management. You don't necessarily need a Sustainability qualification.

[MichaelAndEagle]

IEMA membership would help you in job hunting though.

[OnMyWayToSenility]

I run my own small business, 18 years going strong and I love it.

Works around kids, only work about 24 hours a week and it's great

[AliasGrape]

I work on the membership team for a professional body. I have to keep up with the latest news, updates, regulatory changes (of which there are many) etc in the sector and make sure our members are kept up to date to. I write and create resources, articles etc for them and keep our closed community as well as external social media updated.

I love it, it's interesting and flexible and I love working with members. Mostly, I love the whole team in the organisation and the way I'm supported if needed but largely trusted to get on with my job with the assumption that I know what I'm doing - that is very very different to my previous role. I enjoy working from home, but there are a number of in-person events I attend to which gives a good balance.

[AliasGrape]

*kept up to date too

Disclaimer that I write far better and proofread more thoroughly in work mode than I do on mumsnet!!!

[waterfallswillfindyou]

@Wordsofthewise

Hi Op, I’m not sure if you have said yet, but what sort of charities are in you interested in / or what values are important to you? I have some experience in joining the charity sector after having previously working in a different role and have learnt a lot in the process. Happy to pm you with details and advice if you’re not sure where to look etc 😊

That would be AMAZING. Thank you for the offer. :)

If I'm honest, what I most want to do is support rough sleepers. I'd also consider supporting children, more from a mentoring perspective than say, a child's health charity. Generally, any cancer charities are also of interest.

I have loads of transferable skills (and tons of experience volunteering for charities as a general dogsbody), but I can't work out how to position myself.

Being upfront, I wouldn't want to get involved in fundraising. I'm done with selling things to people. I want to do something either on the front line, or in management (because then I'm supporting people in supporting people).

[waterfallswillfindyou]

@MichaelAndEagle

Sorry, missed you'd asked a question.
I pretty much started straight out of uni working on environmental projects.
I would suggest joining IEMA Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment. You can join as an affiliate member and take their exams to become an associate member. Dont have to pay for the course there is a self directed learning option. Even just as an affiliate member there is access to resources, webinars etc, career advice.
If you are an accountant, you'd probably find carbon footprinting easy and a good transition. Or as someone else mentioned life cycle analysis calculations.
Sustainability is a growing area and lots of people join with other areas of expertise such as project management, policy writing, change management. You don't necessarily need a Sustainability qualification.

This sounds really interesting - thank you for another great lead to research. :)

[waterfallswillfindyou]

@aynsleyredder

Oh OP, I resonate with your post completely. I work in accounts and I’m completely fed up. I hate the monotony and long for a role where I do something much more worthwhile.

I had an interview this morning, but it was my first in over 15 years and I struggled so don’t think I will have got it. I’m not sure it was right for me anyway. I’m a bit stuck in that I have two young children to pick up from school/nursery, so my options are a bit limited as I’d need flexibility.

Best of luck with your job hunt, I hope you get the job satisfaction you deserve.

Thank you. I think it's uncomfortably common in our line of work.

Find me a happy accountant and I'll find you a liar!

Fingers crossed you find something more suitable soon.

[Beetlewings]

I own and run a bar. I love it however I do also have to have a 'real' job. Lockdown was terrible so I was thankful for my WFH job although it's not what I would choose to do.

[Bibbitybobbityboot]

Hi OP, I was you once - a very miserable accountant. I tried working in different sectors but I was still miserable. I eventually talk a massive paycut to retrain. I am now a librarian and earning a reasonable salary but have never got back to where I was. I wouldn't say I LOVE it but am no longer completely miserable. Anyway I'm not sure accountancy in a different sector will help, because it really is just the same job elsewhere (though some places are much more pleasant to work in than others).

[aynsleyredder]

@Daftasabroom

If you can do accounts you can do an environmental life cycle analysis. 10x as interesting, you'll be helping to save the planet, and in all likelihood better paid within the next few years. I'll post some links if you're interested.

Yes please!

[Warmwesterly]

@Daftasabroom

If you can do accounts you can do an environmental life cycle analysis. 10x as interesting, you'll be helping to save the planet, and in all likelihood better paid within the next few years. I'll post some links if you're interested.

Would you be prepared to send me the links too @Daftasabroom . I woukd be very interested