A fulfilling job is a rarity and you should just suck it up

[TangentsPlease]

Has anyone else been through a big career change and found a second job they love?

Did anyone work in a bad fit job for ages and then discover a perfect job later in life?

Are good jobs a rarity and I should count myself lucky to have had a little bit of enjoyable career?

Background: Previously, I had my dream job. It was well paid, interesting, creative, and I was good at it. Because I always knew what I wanted to do since I was a kid, I had a 'goal' and a clear place I wanted to get to. Recently, the industry has basically all but disappeared (due to big cultural society shifts), and there is no work. I need a new career.

I feel like I used all my hustling energy getting into my first industry 15 years ago, and now I don't have a clear goal to head towards and no energy to decide on one🙁

The only interest/potential to interview I've had is from jobs who want my organisational skills (skills which I used early on in my previous career) but I HATE that stuff. I did it because I had to on the career path, but I find budget/coordinating/organising stuff frustrating and boring and having to do that stuff upsets me and makes me feel hot and angry inside. (If that sounds like an overreaction I'm on the waiting list to be assessed for ASD).

Other people are fantastic at organisation and that's a wonderful skill but it's not a thing that suits me at all. Please help.

YANBU - there is a chance you can find something good again
YABU - most people don't even get one job they love, tough luck

I think it’s seen a a rarity because many people have mortgages and other financial commitments by the time they know what they would love to do. At that point it’s alot harder to pursue a career you enjoy, rather then staying where you are as it pays the bills.
However, you can of course find a job you’d rather do and move into it. It may involve a pay cut if you’re starting from a lower position.
I’ve been very fortunate to have been able to change career to something I actually want to do. After maternity leave I was fortune enough to not have to go straight back to work and have been able to choose a part time career doing something I’m passionate about. BUT this only happened because we got our mortgage on a fixed rate when the rates were a lot lower, my husbands salary just about covers all our basic needs, and we saved and budgeted lots when we were both working full time so have a bit of a safety blanket. Obviously without these things I would have gone back into a job I didn’t particularly want to do.
I think of you’re willing to make some sacrifices then you can move into a job you’d rather do.

I am really unhappy in my current job so very much relate to your predicament. Even more so because I am ND and sick to the back teeth of feeling like each day is a battle just to fit in with an accepted (NT) way of working.

I am so sick of a society where so many people spend the majority of their lives doing something they are either apathetic about or actively hate.

I spent YEARS working towards being a psychologist. At school I was convinced it was the only job for me and I literally couldn't imagine myself doing anything else. I overcame many obstacles to achieve it.

Once I got there, I was bored to tears. Don't get me wrong, I still love the field and find it fascinating, got ridiculous research abilities (as per many a feedback) and love teaching it. But actual practice I find equal to an anaesthetic device.

I now work in civil service, on a level that is half my old salary, but I get to handle data and research and I'm loving it.

Yeah, sometimes it can get a bit repetitive. And I do feel guilty frequently about taking a training spot that someone else could have put to good use in helping people directly. But sweet jaysus, I'm a happier woman now.

I've worked in the charity sector for 20+ years and have enjoyed each job I have had and felt that I was contributing to great causes and making a difference.

Note thought that there are some bad employers in the charity sector like every sector.

I sort of fell into my work (like most of my jobs) and it’s been good fun. I like what I’m doing. But, I’m not rich. I don’t have all the nice things, like a house, car or holidays. So, that’s the pay-off…

It's perhaps quite rare to achieve your "dream job". But there's certainly a spectrum between working your dream job, and absolutely despising your job. If you're somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, I think you're doing okay. The worst job I ever had impacted my mental health so badly, I was left feeling suicidal. No one should ever have to go through that with a job, or be expected to just suck it up and get on with it when it's at a point of making them mentally unwell. I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect there to at least be some positive and enjoyable elements to your job.

Would you be willing to share what it is you used to do? Perhaps we could help you come up with ideas for a new path?

It depends on the person. Some people are irritatingly enthusiastic about even the shittiest jobs. It's bad enough having to go in each day and do something you don't want to do, but having a colleague who really enjoys the job is enough to tip you over the edge. I had a job in a supermarket once, and can remember some idiotic supervisor telling a new employee that he was 'making progress' and that if he kept trying hard one day he'd make a great shelf stacker!! I didn't know whether to scream or burst out laughing.

I can't think of many jobs I'd say were truly fulfilling. Maybe something creative – like journalism or acting. But even then you've got vicious competition, and even within those sectors most jobs are still unfulfilling. I mean, who would fulfil their creative yearnings on a local newspaper or in a rubbish TV show? If I was an actor, I'd be ashamed to star in two-thirds of the garbage churned out by Hollywood or the BBC. And writing articles on a proposed new bypass hardly makes you Virginia Woolf.

I suppose doing research into cures for breast cancer or dementia would be fulfilling. But to do that you'd need a first class mind. And that's the painful truth – the best jobs go to those with exceptional talent or intelligence. The rest of us just make do.

I have been a school manager for years. Absolutely hated it.

Took the opportunity at the start of covid to retrain as a midwife. I qualify at the end of this month and I love it.

Yes, there are negative points but the joy and fulfilment is immense. I love my job and I love how I can make a difference every single day I am at work ❤️

I worked as an engineer. Loved my job, but after having children it was not very child/nursery friendly hours and I felt like I was putting my job as a priority over my DC.

I then retrained as a secondary school teacher 10 years ago and LOVE my job. I teach in a state comprehensive and although it can be tough and frustrating at times (and certainly requires thick skin!), it's very rewarding. The long holidays are also great for me and my kids!

It's NEVER too late to change career.

My aunt in another country changed career at 60 and works in schools doing art and crafts with children that are neurodiverse as it helps them talk about how they are feeling when they are relaxed. She LOVES it.

Thankyou for these success stories - it gives me a bit of hope. @yellowsmileyface I worked in the TV and Film industry in a creative role

Were you an producer/director? I know lots of edit producers in particular really struggling to get work atm.

You'd be brilliant at a comms/strategic role if so, or anything to do with keeping stakeholders happy. I moved out of TV years ago and haven't ever had to do a logistics heavy role.

If you did want to retrain then I reckon occupational therapy looks like a really good fit with TV skills, it is very much about looking for pragmatic solutions.

@DeborahVance yes - PD and more recently Edit Producer! Thankyou for these suggestions - I will check out comms/strategic things and also occupational therapy, I've never considered that before.