Thoughts on Jobs

As opposed to Work You Enjoy, inspired by my stints in the World of Jobs. Not that I have had that much experience.  I have, in fact, done my level best to avoid work I did not enjoy, which is why I was at my last job for ten years. Life is too short to hate what you do for a large majority of it. Granted, this is easier when your only responsibilities are yourself and perhaps something small and furry, but I'm a firm believer that with some perseverance, finding good, honest, enjoyable work—or at least something that doesn't suck the life out of you—is possible. That it is necessary, I have no doubt. In that spirit, I offer first this, from The Idler, my favorite quotation about jobs:

'With a very few exceptions the world of jobs is characterized by stifling boredom, grinding tedium, poverty, petty jealousies, sexual harassment, loneliness, deranged co-workers, bullying bosses, seething resentment, illness, exploitation, stress, helplessness, hellish commutes, humiliation, depression, appalling ethics, physical fatigue and mental exhaustion.''

-Tom Hodgkinson

Of course, Hodgkinson's solution is to do nothing, or at least as little as possible, which is lovely if you have an independent income. As one of my friends from grad school used to moan, "Oh why wasn't I born Victorian landed gentry?" And, indeed, as another mutual friend pointed out, she'd have been perfect for the job: rising late, terrorizing the servants, then going out to the garden to do watercolors. Sadly, this is not an option open to most of us.

In the absence of reincarnation as landed gentry, I advise holding out for something you love, or just getting an innocuous day job to support your Real Life™. Jobs, by and large, suck, unless you have a life outside them and can leave them firmly behind in the building where they take place. This is particularly true if you are a smart, efficient person in a dumb job, as illustrated by this offering from Indexed, one of my favorite oddblogs:

Having a job of this sort is particularly difficult if you are surrounded by people who are either deeply invested in their work, or deeply resentful of your non-investment. Resentment is their problem, but it may come back to haunt you later if the boss hears enough whining about it. So sometimes just keeping your head down and doing your job well is not enough. Sometimes, you must appear to be sacrificing the way your co-workers are—or at least suffering to the degree they are. Sadly, you're never going to be able to sacrifice as much as they are, so I don't suggest trying.  Martyrs are always going to be better at suffering than regular schmoes. This is one of the problems with day jobs.

Far better to find something you love that you can also make a living doing. But this is often both tricky and risky, and/or takes a long time. I can only say, stick with it. It's worth it.

Comments

[Kristin]

Thanks for the reminder that it's worth making the effort to do something I love. I worry a lot if I'll ever get to earn a living doing something rewarding. Sure, I'm working on the writing, and I know it'll take some time, but I worked really hard on physics while I was in that field, and I did not feel like my efforts were rewarded there. It's really hard to keep faith sometimes, is all I'm saying.

(I noticed that you removed my old blog from the blogroll, which is cool. I'm exploring the issues of female geek identity and experience over at She's Such a Geek! now anyway, which is different from what Radioactive Banana was anyway. The art, science, and culture stuff I'd prefer to pursue in paid, edited venues, if I can get the work. Radioactive Banana served its purpose but has probably decayed long past its half-life.)

[Lee Kottner]

It's totally worth the effort to do something you love, and I'm always amazaed at how few people do it, and how many people just settle for something they can make a living at. Sometimes you're lucky enough to fall into something you love, or grow to love it, but I think if you've already got something you're passionate about, it's worth persuing.