What's your work...

[luke wilson]

Re: What do you do for your career/job?

I work in Pensions, on the lower end of the industry, doing various types of project work for different schemes. If I'm honest, I don't like it but I got myself now into a situation where it isn't stressing me out as much. I don't think it adds any meaning to my life like, oh look, I'm doing something that makes a difference, I don't think the skills I have through doing this sort of work is much to write home about and most of all, I hate worrying about finances and covering daily costs that should be guaranteed in any sane economy. Also interacting with colleagues who I came up with who have better jobs and more pay is pretty stressful. Sometimes I wonder why not just quit this industry and try something totally different but I figure there is no guarantee anywhere so it's a big risk to just say 'screw it, I'm out!'. The people that I work with currently are nice people but I surround myself with others who maybe aren't so nice as they embody what heimdallr said (they are the sort at least in my experience who are ahead of the economic curve). I think though, maybe one day I'll have a chance to do something better and stop worrying about the things I worry about now, just have to be patient and do some grafting.

 

[Meg]

Re: What do you do for your career/job?

I agree that your self-worth shouldn't be defined by your happiness at work, but what do people think about the idea that your job isn't who you are? I think it can be.

As machines, we can become identified with just about anything. A social pursuit, a hobby, emotions, our jobs, and especially our own thoughts. Machines are constantly identifying with one thing or another. Self observation is what is supposed to break us out of that state of identification. If we are those jobs, hobbies, emotions, etc., we aren't as able to step outside of ourselves and learn how our machine operates.

 

[lilyalic]

Re: What do you do for your career/job?

[quote author=T.C.]
...what do people think about the idea that your job isn't who you are? I think it can be.

I think it can be. Considering the setting here is the Work, one could, conceivably, dedicate themselves totally to their job - to be their job - if it serves Work aims and involves regular reflection. For example, after a period of time has elapsed and the fruits of a person's continual activity of reflecting on what they've been doing shows him/her that the way they've been thinking, behaving and working suggests that they have been unconsciously trying to work out the implications of some belief(s) or principles, then this new realization can be very useful to them!
[/quote]

With your experience T.C., and how much effort you put into getting the job you want, and how much you generally enjoy doing what you - it seems more of a hobby for you. So it's totally understandable why you see parts of yourself in your job. I don't think all of you can "be" your job - it totally depends what you're doing. That article was more about people who don't like their jobs so it was useful to remind those to dis-identify with their job.

 

[Buddy]

Re: What do you do for your career/job?

Interestingly, I agree with everyone's view in some way, but after giving more thought to the implications, I now think it'd be better to hold off on trying to define 'who I am' with any kind of static conceptualization.

 

[Deleted member 4320]

Re: What do you do for your career/job?

I work in customer service. I sell various odds and sods, like inkjets, USB memory and in the future probably I will sell UPC (US Liberty Global) products also. There is not much jobs. I am glad I have some. Is quite nice here. If I know, I'm from the beginning had develop myself in direction related to sales and trading. Here I can find myself without specific connections and education, otherwise I would work physically, probably.

I like corporate discounts for sport clubs. And trips on training courses.

 

[gottathink]

Musculoskeletal rehabilitation and massage therapy

 

[Xico]

I work in customer service as well, in Returns and credits department, we sell all kinds of lamps for home.
this is sometimes really frustrating but other times is quiet, in my spare time I read and I respond to posts like this one.... :D

 

[Tracy Anne]

I'm a self employed Carer in London and I get my work through a referal agency for private paying clients.

I had many years as a medical/clinical coder and a pharmacy technician. Had aways wanted to be a Carer and I started out by just answering a random ad in the paper placed by a 36 year old man who had broken his neck in rugby. He said it was important to get the right personality for the job as you can always teach people things but you cannot change their personality. He became my mentor and coached me to realise my goal, to leave New Zealand to live and travel in the UK. Answering that advertisement in the paper changed my life profoundly and I havent looked back. The best part of the job was helping when his 2 daughters were born. I had to be his 'hands' for the baby when he had one on one time with them.

Now I work with a lady who has quite advanced alzheimers, though she is still active and full of life and has a loving family around her.

 

[Goemon_]

I am a self employed dvd seller.

 

[bianca etezete]

I'm a chef at a restaurant, free lancer journalist and soon to be nutritionist.

 

[DougEE]

I'm a bit late to this thread but I'll add my two cents.
I'm a retired teacher of Mathematics and Computer Science for the 15 to 21 age group. Since I'm retired now, I enjoy growing nutritionally rich potatoes for a local French Country restaurant. I also do some volunteer work on a research farm growing tropical plants for sustainable farming practises. Moreover, I've been deeply involved in helping my wife overcome some serious infections so I'm learning a lot about autoimmune diseases, parasites, mycoplasmas etc thanks to this forum.
There's a great mix of people in this network and its enlightening to realize how we all contribute to life on this Big Blue Marble.

 

[herondancer]

May as well catch up on this. I've had quite a few jobs in the last couple of years, book store asst. manager, then manager of a different location, retail sales clerk, call centre for hotel reservations, and now retail clerk in a hardware store chain. They've all been interesting jobs, and I've learned a whole lot in each one. Growing where you're planted and all that. :)

I really liked the call centre job. It was like doing little five-minute theatre improvs all day long. A great way to work on external consideration, as you had to be prepared for whatever mood the caller was in. If you were able to satisfy their request then it was all good. If that was not possible you had to still make them feel you were doing your best for them. Sometimes it was possible to find good alternatives, sometimes not. And there were those who were never satisfied no matter how it went. Learning to shake that off in a hurry was good lesson. If the commute wasn't such a bear, I would probably still be there.

 

[Acaja]

Re: What do you do for your career/job?

Interestingly, I agree with everyone's view in some way, but after giving more thought to the implications, I now think it'd be better to hold off on trying to define 'who I am' with any kind of static conceptualization.

Well, after 4 years away from this forum (hello everyone!), that's exactly my thoughts at the moment. Because I figured the more I tried to define myself, the more it added constriction to my awareness.

Sure, I do this or that for a living, enjoying helping people making the necessary adaptations for the wave , but that doesn't totally defines me. Merely a reflection of my soul which tends to brighten as I abandon the limitations I've imposed on myself.

"What's there to discover ? " is a question I live by now. It opens space.

 

[ARC]

I worked various jobs while raising my children - waitress, bartender, telemarketing, collections, furniture sales, commission sales, retail sales, house cleaning, babysitting, etc. I was even a carhop at Sonic and Frisch's Big Boy when I was 15 thru 17. My favorite job I ever had was "fabric lady", not to be confused with a "material girl" as I often had to remind customers.

In 2000 I quit my job to deal with repressed memories that refused to remain buried any longer, and I dealt with them by forcing myself to remember - there was much screaming and gnashing of teeth but once I worked through the worst ones I was greatly strengthened and now they no longer have the negative effect on me they once had and I can think about them and talk about them without getting upset.

After about two years I was ready to go back to work but I had moved out to the country and it would be a long drive every day to make the sort of wages I was used to, so I decided to try to make a living using my many hobbies. I love working with fabrics and I have a thousand hobbies including sewing, making bead jewelry, candle and soap making, wood burning and various other small wood crafts, and I paint, carve, and burn designs on "twisty sticks", to name a few.

I had a blast doing this but never made any profit to speak of, so when my husband became disabled in 2013 I went back to college to earn a degree in computer programming but I wound up majoring in network administration. In college in the 80's I majored in Accounting but I took a lot of extraneous classes that didn't pertain to my degree and I also took architectural drafting at the vocational school and a home-study course in interior design. In May of 2015 I finally graduated with an Associates degree in Computer Information Technology/Network Administration. I have completed a total of 107 credit hours.

I'm in the process of updating my resume but I haven't yet decided where I want to work. I took the summer off to catch up on all the "free time" I've been missing out on while in college the past two years - it has been a summer of family cookouts, forums and computer games. Once I return to work I know I won't get much free time so I figured I better take it now while I still can.

ARC

 

[Ruth]

Very interesting mix of artistic, scientific and technical types here. I wonder if some of you who are unhappy with your jobs or looking for jobs could network with others in your areas for help or even collaboration?

I wonder what a map would look like with little dots for each forum member?

Did anybody ever do that? Of course it would have to be done in Cassiopaean Central and the info couldn't be published, or even posted. Because that would be too much information for the PTB! And I'm not in favour of giving them anything that they can cause trouble with.