Being in low paid work in your 30's?

sidefx

1irishninja wrote: »

At the moment I am working in a small family run firm, when I say small there are 6 of us. I have worked in larger companies 100+ employees, the !!!!!ing and back stabbing really annoyed, money really did bring out the worst in people, sure there was potential to earn a decent living but at the expense of being a horrible person and if I am honest I dreaded going to work.

At the moment I like my work, I like the company, I like the people I work with, pay is not great but I am happy, but as I say I just feel everyone looks down at me.

Having a job you enjoy and working with people you like, is worth thousands in my book!

I'd rather be on a low salary but look forward to going to work than earn more but dread every working day.

If you think your friends are looking down on you because you are on minimum wage, then frankly they aren't worth knowing.

1irishninja

sidefx wrote: »

Having a job you enjoy and working with people you like, is worth thousands in my book!

I'd rather be on a low salary but look forward to going to work than earn more but dread every working day.

If you think your friends are looking down on you because you are on minimum wage, then frankly they aren't worth knowing.

Even my own mother is at it. "When are you going to get a buy a house" she doesn't realize times have changed and its just not so easy these days. I live with my partner and we have 3 kids, I feel for them as they come home telling tales about such and such has gone to Florida or where ever and we're lucky if we can have a day at the sea side. But yes we definitely have family member who do this, they've forgotten their humble up bringings and are quite frankly job snobs now.

missbiggles1

1irishninja wrote: »

Even my own mother is at it. "When are you going to get a buy a house" she doesn't realize times have changed and its just not so easy these days. I live with my partner and we have 3 kids, I feel for them as they come home telling tales about such and such has gone to Florida or where ever and we're lucky if we can have a day at the sea side. But yes we definitely have family member who do this, they've forgotten their humble up bringings and are quite frankly job snobs now.

Perhaps you mother knows that you're cabable of better things and would just like you to achieve your potential.

1irishninja

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Perhaps you mother knows that you're cabable of better things and would just like you to acheive your potential.

Possibly, but with 3 small kids, more study etc is not something I am really up for, I did my Open Uni courses before we had children, I simply could not manage both, my Mrs also works evenings when I come home so we can avoid childcare costs.

GothicStirling

1irishninja wrote: »

Even my own mother is at it. "When are you going to get a buy a house" she doesn't realize times have changed and its just not so easy these days. I live with my partner and we have 3 kids, I feel for them as they come home telling tales about such and such has gone to Florida or where ever and we're lucky if we can have a day at the sea side. But yes we definitely have family member who do this, they've forgotten their humble up bringings and are quite frankly job snobs now.

All this is, is materialism. It's a game that is guaranteed to make you miserable. My Dad has not long passed away, and we never took holidays abroad. Do I think I missed out? No. We had some lovely day trips to the beach or walks in country parks. Who knows what those kids families are having to sacrifice to pay for those holidays. I just said to my Mam that I would pay for her to go to the Isle of Wight for a week to visit an elderly aunt, it was like I had just given her a cheque for £1 million.

Torry_Quine

sidefx wrote: »

Having a job you enjoy and working with people you like, is worth thousands in my book!

I'd rather be on a low salary but look forward to going to work than earn more but dread every working day.

If you think your friends are looking down on you because you are on minimum wage, then frankly they aren't worth knowing.

Well said, many people are in jobs they hate but earn good money which is far worse.

To put into context my husband is older than you and in a low paid job but he is getting a lot of satisfaction which is worth more than pure financial rewards.

alibean121

I definitely accept that job satisfaction is worth considering, maybe other people have had nicer jobs than me, but minimum wage jobs I've had in the past have normally not been particularly enjoyable jobs in their own right.

Even if you do enjoy your work at present, I definitely understand wanting to get into something higher paid. I always thought what would I do if I retired and hadn't been able to buy a house, makes a massive difference to your living expenses. I don't think it's materialistic to want some more security financially.

Do you know what sector you want to work in? Maybe try and arrange some work experience in the relevant sectors. Might introduce you to some useful contacts.

pmduk

I'd suggest you become more positive about your OU courses. They require a great deal of commitment, organisation, self-motivation and a belief in your own future. These are all skills which any employer should value. Make sure your CV is trumpeting these skills!

moneyistooshorttomention

1irishninja wrote: »

At my stage in life (35) most of my friends/relatives have progressed in their careers and are earning a decent salary. Myself I have been unlucky enough to have been made redundant 3 times and sent right back to square 1 and am now back to earning just over the minimum wage again. Earning such a low salary effects things like the ability to get a mortgage which I also do not have.

So my question is, someone in their mid 30's in low paid work what does it say about them? I can't help but feel that others are looking down their noses at me. Its acceptable in your late teens, 20's but I feel in your 30's I should be further along in life.

I only ever had low-paid work:(. I guess it was easier for me - as I am a woman and therefore wouldn't expect people to think anything bad about me for that situation (though maybe that's down to the generation I am in - ie Baby Boomer one). I would probably think differently about that if I were the next generation down - but, in my own generation, there were a lot of other women who "didn't fulfil their potential" either when it came to paid work - so I was far from the only one.

It was something that upset me to be on such low income and it was hard to manage financially and some of it was down to the redundancies/"redundancies" I had and consequent periods of unemployment. It was a blimmin' nuisance on that low income having to be very "creative/lateral thinking" indeed in order to be able to buy a house as a single person.

The way I coped re my self-esteem was to tell myself that I had the proof that it was nothing to do with my intelligence level on the one hand and get myself "decent level" voluntary work to do in my spare time. I proved conclusively to myself - and others - that I was pretty capable, etc, etc by the level of work I was undertaking in leisure time for nothing and it was obvious I was "more than" the job level I got paid for iyswim.

If your job is a "lower level" than you personally are iyswim - then perhaps you could get higher level work outside it (though...darn it...on the same voluntary basis I had to) in order to show "your level".

missbiggles1

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I only ever had low-paid work:(. I guess it was easier for me - as I am a woman and therefore wouldn't expect people to think anything bad about me for that situation (though maybe that's down to the generation I am in - ie Baby Boomer one). I would probably think differently about that if I were the next generation down - but, in my own generation, there were a lot of other women who "didn't fulfil their potential" either when it came to paid work - so I was far from the only one.

It was something that upset me to be on such low income and it was hard to manage financially and some of it was down to the redundancies/"redundancies" I had and consequent periods of unemployment. It was a blimmin' nuisance on that low income having to be very "creative/lateral thinking" indeed in order to be able to buy a house as a single person.

The way I coped re my self-esteem was to tell myself that I had the proof that it was nothing to do with my intelligence level on the one hand and get myself "decent level" voluntary work to do in my spare time. I proved conclusively to myself - and others - that I was pretty capable, etc, etc by the level of work I was undertaking in leisure time for nothing and it was obvious I was "more than" the job level I got paid for iyswim.

If your job is a "lower level" than you personally are iyswim - then perhaps you could get higher level work outside it (though...darn it...on the same voluntary basis I had to) in order to show "your level".

Ye gods - if I didn't know you were younger than me I'd think you were born before WW1!