Forget that I ever existed

MovingForwards

When I say list likes, dislikes and are ok, I meant every single thing within each job.

Start, end time, breaks, holiday, bonus, onsite coffee machine any other perks. Liked starting at 8am as I beat traffic. Liked X company as it had free coffee. Liked Y company as I could buy / sell holiday. Liked Z company as I got a bonus. Disliked A and B companies as it was open plan office. Disliked C company as the windows didn't open / had no windows.

What packages you used.
What you did with each package eg spreadsheets for finance - make it easier to monitor budgets or whatever,
Spreadsheets for tracking information - made it easier searching for information,
Word sending letters - made it easier to prepare the letter and alter what I wanted to say, didn't like using them as tables, preparing guides etc
PowerPoint making presentations - disliked these as X package works so much better,
Preparing how to guides - liked knowing my guides would help other people to do their jobs etc.

Photocopying, printing, scanning, opening post, sealing envelopes, going to the post office, taking letters round staff members - allows a stretch and walk away from the desk.

Driving 30 minutes each way to work and back - allows time for relaxing on the way in, de-stress / unwind on the way out.

Working at X was 2 buses and took 90 minutes to get home, disliked it as it felt like dead time, waiting for connecting buses and by the time I got in I was exhausted.

Every single detail, no matter how small, it all helps find what you want from a job. Saying you liked the driving job doesn't say why. 

Again though, as with all your other threads, you're pin pointing food is what you revolve your life around. 

Doubt whatever any of us post to try and assist you will be of any use until you resolve your stumbling block.

ACG

I once worked in a cinema... I like films but hated the job. I think it was more the people I worked with. The main manager thought he was god, the supervisors had brown noses and the people on my level were people with no ambition.

My first proper job was just a job I took because they were the first people to offer me a job. It happened to be with RBS. I never wanted to work in financial services but I took to it pretty well (2 promotions in 3 years) and I really enjoyed it. I had a think about the direction I wanted and started to work towards becoming a financial advisor. As I got closer to that role, I realised I did not enjoy pensions/investment, it was mortgages I preferred - so became a mortgage broker. 

I do not think it is specifically the industry you work in. You might like the industry but not the job, or you may enjoy the job but not the people. Looking at cars you have everything, Design, Manufacturing, Repair, Clean, Race. You then also have accountants, insurers, people who test the cars, sales, rentals, leasing, thieves (I suppose that is still technically a job)... You get the idea. 

AskAsk

ushjr said:

AskAsk said:

my first career could have been done in a few different industries but i never did change industry and stayed in one.  i did look to change as i got so bored with my job, but by that time it was difficult to do so as it would mean taking a big salary cut as i would need to get training if i were to move.

i did move away to a different career, but after a few years, i actually moved back, and i really liked the job.  the reason i liked the job this time round was the employer, so although the industry had not changed, the employer had. 

i think the employer is more important in whether you like the job or not, and i don't think the industry makes much difference, except possibly the mentality of different industries.  that is, some are more relaxed in their working life than others.

I've not found anything wrong with my employer so far except for the working hours. In my industry the vast majority of people work in it because they want to. I fell into it by accident i.e. I applied specifically for my occupation in the beginning and the job I was offered happened to be in this industry. As a result I find myself surrounded by people with enthusiasm for the industry which I don't have and I think that's taken it's toll over the years. I wonder if I was to work in the car industry surrounded by people interested in cars or maybe I'm just being idealistic.

i fell into my career by accident as well.  i chose it not because i like it, but it was easy to do for the money i got.  it was therefore a means to an end.  i don't enjoy the work, the enjoyment i get is from my interaction with other people and the respect i get from other people for the work that i do.  i am on a career break at the moment and i really miss that interaction.

it is difficult to find a career that you enjoy which also pays decent money.  anyone who has this is very lucky.  the sort of jobs that i would enjoy doing doesn't pay more than the minimum wage, if even that, so i am destined to be miserable  

AskAsk

ushjr said:

AskAsk said:

i fell into my career by accident as well.  i chose it not because i like it, but it was easy to do for the money i got.  it was therefore a means to an end.  i don't enjoy the work, the enjoyment i get is from my interaction with other people and the respect i get from other people for the work that i do.  i am on a career break at the moment and i really miss that interaction.

it is difficult to find a career that you enjoy which also pays decent money.  anyone who has this is very lucky.  the sort of jobs that i would enjoy doing doesn't pay more than the minimum wage, if even that, so i am destined to be miserable   

That's what stopped me leaving my last job really, I hated it but I thought I'm going to hate whatever job I go to next so better the devil you know. I wasn't exactly rolling in the money but it was enough to pay 40% tax so a lot more than the driving job I did many years ago which wasn't much more than minimum wage.

Maybe I'm just dreaming and a change in industry won't make a difference

i don't like working full stop and i only work because i have to.  so the way i see it is to put up with work to earn the money, and then retire early and do my own thing.  it is a lot easier to get a job that pays well than it is to get a job that you enjoy.

theoretica

ushjr said:

theoretica said:

I certainly find it helps to be interested in what I am doing, but it works both ways - very nice if I get to do things I am already interested in but if not then take/develop an interest.  There are some things I am actively negative about and wouldn't develop an interest in, but when it is merely neutral boredom I have usually been able to increase my interest.

I'd say the modern world and 'digital age' we're in has made me actively negative about it. It's just meant a bunch of nonsense words that don't really mean anything. It really annoys me when for example computer software is referred to as tools when they're just things on a computer than don't really exist and you don't carry them round in a box.

Few jobs have time machines and historical reenactment type jobs are not at all easy to make a living at, but lots of my friends have jobs which are far more away from digital than with it.  Many of them started out part time and developing skills and experience while working other jobs and then managed to move full time into what they wanted to be in.

Sandtree

ushjr said:
So basically all things being equal a more interesting industry is more beneficial but the company your work for overwrites that factor?

Take "more interesting industry" with a big pinch of salt.

I only scan read the thread so not sure if you have said what job you do but lets assume you are in FP&A... what may be an interesting industry on a front end basis doesnt necessarily translate to an interesting world of FP&A. I would argue cars are more interesting than large format printers and both are more interesting than insurance but the first two are manufacturing and so from an accounting perspective are going to be very similar to each other where as insurance is by far the most complex from an accounting perspective and so potentially more interesting even if you'd never want to talk about it down the pub with your mates.

Industries can influence more than purely the level of interest the role will have. In my career doing the same work in an investment bank is totally different than doing the same job in an insurance company or an operational outsourcer. This does come down to individual companies but there are strong parallels across companies in the same industry. 

ginger_chocolate

I think the individual organisation makes more difference than the industry. I've done a similar job in a couple of different industries, with a few different companies in the same industry. The thing that makes the biggest difference is your boss, colleagues and general company culture. 

Fighter1986

The industry I work in is far more important to me than the actual work I do day to day.

I've worked in IT for nearly 20 years in a variety of different guises and the work I do, in and of itself, is dull and unexciting. 

My career is made by the people I work with, their character, and the function my employer serves within society.

This is why I quickly moved away from the private sector (Yes, I've even worked for Capita...) into public sector roles. Local authority, NHS, and now I work as a regional field engineer for a charity looking after our infrastructure and staff IT issues in care homes, family support / resource centres, and other such facilities in my part of the country. I'm starting to learn BSL (British Sign Language) so that I can interact with our service users when I'm on site. I don't have to; it's nothing to do with my job, but I want to. 

Savvy_Sue

The thing I find makes the most difference is my manager. Good, competent manager = happy days. Manager who is too busy to really care about what I'm doing = stress and worry (not because I'm not competent, but I don't want huge responsibility). Incompetent manager = nightmare ... 

I've never worked for a private company, only local authority, education, charities. I suspect the same would be true there though.