Work - what to do?

[nagal]

Lately my job has become something I am not looking forward to. I know that work is work and the majority of us do not enjoy it but waking up everyday and just the thought of going in is really bumming me out.

I have sort of idenitified the issue as I feel my talent/abilities are not being utilized anyway near what I am capable of. A couple leads of new jobs have come up but they are even lower level work than what I am currently doing so I doubt they could give any kind of satisfication.

Has anyone else been in this situation and what have you done to solve it?

[goodtimes]

Yup. I'm there right now. I have spent the last year or so looking around at options (going into a partnership with a local auto repair shop, starting my own business, finding a different job, etc.), and I have pretty much decided that I am going to quit my job, and be a bum.

Seriously....I'm gonna be a bum. Food stamps here I come!

At the end of this year, I am going to quit my job, sell my house, possibly sell my jeep (still not sure on that...despite it being posted for sale on a couple of websites), and go to school full time. I'm working full time and going to school part time now, and it sucks. My GPA is suffering because of it, I am bored and frustrated at work (talent not being used), despite the large sum of money they throw at me every 2 weeks. After talking with engineering managers at Ratheon, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and a couple other large engineering firms, finishing my degree (Electrical Engineering) seems to be the quickest way to get where I want to go. By quitting work, I can concentrate on school, and by selling my house, I can eliminate most of my monthly overhead, and will have more time to enjoy life, with far less stress.

Yes, it is kind of a extreme step to take, and at times it is hard to swallow the decision to leave a good paying job when they are so hard to come by (especially in this town)....but once I do it, I know life will be better, and 2 years from now, I will be in a much better position to get a job that will challenge me, and pay me enough to live comfortably, while having enough time off to go 'wheeling every now and then.

[Black & Tan TJ]

Constantly. I think most of us feel the same way at some point reguardless of what we do. Maybe it's time for a change, a change is a change after all.

Good luck, don't be affraid of risk, life's too short.

Tom

[nagal]

Thanks for the input it is nice to know I am not the only person to go through this.

I agree some kind of change is needed but making my wife see that will be another issue. I do believe I am very limited in my choices with my current career but don't know if changing careers is a viable options right now.

Time to post that resume on Monster and start to read the classifieds everyday.

[Dukes69]

Start your own business, thats always fun

[Navy-Jeepster]

I guess this very same issue is what I like about the military.
About every three years, I have moved on to a different type of job. So, about the time that I have gotten bored with what I was doing, it was time to move to someplace new, and learn new things.
As for money though, as a young person in the military, and low on the totem pole, they do not make great money. It is enough to get by, and they have to have a good budget.
Some of the new kids are getting some pretty good bonuses to stay in the Navy. We are even paying some people extra each month to go to places that people do not want to go to. Like Lemoore here.
When you get to the senior paygrades, you make pretty good money. These are the people that make the big day to day decisions.
Other people not in the military can work overtime to help make extra money. I get paid the same if I work 3 hours a day, or 15. When I go out to the ship, I work anywhere from 12 to 15 hours a day. No overtime for that.

Now, the military is not for everyone though. I do support the kids that only want to do their 4 years for some extra college money.

Now this is not a plug for the military. If you all ready have a family, and wanted to join, things would be tight on the budget, and the wife would most likely have to work to have some extra spending money.

Navy-Jeepster
Gold Digger

[goodtimes]

The one thing I liked about the military (navy specifically), is that no where else will you get to have the kind of responsibility you do in the military. It is great experience that would be nearly impossible to duplicate in the civilian world. Of course, I have filed more than one tax return with a AGI under $10k.....that sucked....

[TrAvELAr]

I've been there Michael. While I tried to let my boss know how I felt, he just didn't seem to get it. The job market in my area sucked, so I wasn't really looking for anything else. Now and again I would ping my friends to see if they had anything available, and eventually, there was something. I had to relocate, but I'm very happy with my decision.

I've learned over the years that if you aren't happy with your job, it just isn't worth it. Yes, I know, work is work and you aren't supposed to be happy, so shoot for content.

The other opportunities that you have looked at, is there room for advancement to get to where you want to be? And can you get there in a reasonable amount of time? It may be worth it to switch if you can get to a better place faster than where you are now.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck and I hope that things work out.

[goodtimes]

Life is too damn short to be stuck in a job that you hate.

If you hate your job so much that life isn't enjoyable, then why the hell are you working so hard?

--just a couple of thoughts that keep going through my mind about my job.

[nagal]

Thanks again everyone. One thing I truly regret in life is leaving the Air Force but I am a bit old to go back in

I do not hate my job. I have been at jobs that I truly hate (boy taking anti-depressants just to make it through work was fun) and this job is no where near that or could I ever see it getting to that point. Sadly there is no room for advancement as its a small company and I am literally employee #1 (just below the president and ceo). It is growing and there are now 2 other people working here and another to start soon.

I have found an area I am interested in (GIS programming) and I am going to hang at work til the end of the year just in case a nice little bonus comes my way like last year. After that it will be a full fledge job hunt. If I happend to find something before then, great but I am not going to sweat it.

Too bad Rock-it-man Fab isn't hiring

[Dukes69]

Too bad Rock-it-man Fab isn't hiring

Will Work For Peanuts?

[aston]

If you are not completely fulfilled while at work my advice is to start looking for a job now. Get your resume updated, reviewed and double checked. Start using every resource available to you, including:

jobsites
recruiters
former colleagues
local companies
interesting companies
trade shows
seminars
consultants
regulatory agencies
forums
friends

The goal, at this point, is to generate options. Maybe things will work out at your present job, if not you are already in the game. Also knowing what's out there will better able you to evaluate your present position.

[Jeri Lyn]

Hey Michael, I totally know how you feel. I quit my job in December to go back to school and I don't regret it. (but ask me in a year when the loan payments start ) Going in every day to a job you don't like sucks big time. Good luck!