Anyone else hate their job?

90lx

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I'm just venting basically. I live in a small town of maybe 10k and work as an automotive technician in a small shop. Just me and 3 other guys in the shop. Well, not really because 2 of them are brothers who own the business and do as little as possible and the most miserable people I've ever met. The other guy is a good parts changer, and that's about it. If it's a check engine light, he's screwed. So basically, a lot gets thrown on my back. Their all in their mid to late 50s and I'm 37. The 2 brothers are extremely weird. Never been married, no kids, girl friends, nothing. Lived with their parents until they died. The parts changer is a royal smart ass who thinks he knows all. All I hear everyday is "this car is known for this or bad about that". I've been in the trade for the last 10 years consistently and at the current shop for 6, but I'm about ready to get out of the trade all together. The only thing I keep holding on for is my wife and I are trying to buy a house the first of the year and without my length of employment, it won't happen. I'm grateful and blessed to have a job and 3 beautiful kids but I can't help but think it could be a little easier. Anyone else deal with similar experiences and if so how do you cope with the job ordeal? I've been biting my tongue for a while now, but damn it's getting hard.
 

MG0h3

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Sounds like you need to change professions or just get out of that shop. I understand a profession change at your age and 3 little ones can be tough.

I was a tech for about 7yrs and I burnt out on it even though I worked at an excellent shop.
 

PaxtonShelby

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Well I’m staying so I can get health benefits at retirement. Company will pay 83% of my & wife’s health insurance if I stay to age 60. A little less if I go to 55-56. So that’s a huge benefit I likely couldn’t make up with a higher salary somewhere else. On top of that, my commute is 5 miles each way and honestly the pay is good. So I just have to suck it up for a little while longer.

Going to bed now - tomorrow is my first day back after a week off. So I’m not too happy about that. :)
 

1wild-horse

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Quit that shit before it kills you. Walked away from being a Ford SMT, 20 years of pulling wrenches. Just couldn't stand being undervalued, unappreciated and expected to follow rules that management was unwilling to follow themselves. Not to mention all the b.s. that comes with a full commission job where its feast or famine.
Self employed now and much happier so far.
 

offroadkarter

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As of right now, I don't think I can say I flat out hate my job, but I dislike it because I don't feel like I'm a good fit for it nor am I really well versed in the field. I absolutely hated, hated, hated my last job to the point I was considering driving in front of trains or off bridges just to get it all over with.

I did tier 1 / 2 IT helpdesk stuff at various companies for the past 6 years, my last position I was a lead on the tier 1/2 helpdesk. We were under staffed and overworked, I was usually taking 30+ calls a day in a 4 hour span and mind you, this is an internal helpdesk for about 11,000 people, we had about 13 people total split between two locations. The other half of the day was working self submitted tickets unless the hold time spiked, then I had to drop what I was doing and get back to more phones. The pay was good, as were the benefits, and it got my foot in the door as an employee. I learned a lot that I had never learned at my prior IT jobs, but there was a lot of stress as well as animosity against the team in the south due to the NJ team doing the majority of the work.

My level of care reached such a low point during that job that I would come to work every day not giving a single **** about what would happen. I've told my boss in person in meetings, in front of the entire team how much "I f***ing hate this job". I would be brutally honest about things with end users who called in (which resulted in me having the highest customer satisfaction ratings funny enough) complaining about things, usually the VPN client we had to support. Usually when someone called in saying "This is the third time I've had this VPN client fixed and it's still acting up, why does this keep happening!?" my immediate reply would be "Well sir, it's because it's a f***ing trash program" and I'd be met with laughter over the phone "hell yeah brother you said it, it sure is!".

I ended up taking another position within the same company thanks to a co-worker of mine from my contractor days when I first started out at this company back in 2014. He helped get me into his group and I'm now working in risk management & compliance. It's not super difficult and I know a lot of what they're looking for since I came from a tech background in the company, but this is certainly not where I want to continue my career. I took it because the pay was even better and I had to get out of that last job or I felt I was going to be stuck in helpdesk hell for the rest of my life (some people have been there for 10+ years in that same position). I still keep in touch with my old team as I had nothing against them and I'd like to bring a couple of them into the new group I'm working for just so they can get off the sinking ship, but alas I don't think that's going to happen. I know 2 of the 6 who are left just applied for a package and will be leaving very soon.

After my year is up I'm going to start looking around inside the company and see if I can hop to something else, I figure this will at least look good on my resume and make me a little more rounded versus just doing IT support for 6 years. I just need to get back to finishing my 4 year degree and see if I can move into something like system administration or cyber security, who knows.


So my answer to that is, yes but to less of a degree than I had before. I truly believe an overwhelming majority of people hate their jobs, but we can't pay our bills with feelings now can we? Hopefully after you get your house you can try and find another job that you'll hate less like I did.
 

2011 gtcs

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I've been a Lexus technician for the last 12 years. I would love to do something else but I dont think I can find a job that pays as good so I'm kinda stuck.
 

90lx

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Quit that shit before it kills you. Walked away from being a Ford SMT, 20 years of pulling wrenches. Just couldn't stand being undervalued, unappreciated and expected to follow rules that management was unwilling to follow themselves. Not to mention all the b.s. that comes with a full commission job where its feast or famine.
Self employed now and much happier so far.
Quit that shit before it kills you. Walked away from being a Ford SMT, 20 years of pulling wrenches. Just couldn't stand being undervalued, unappreciated and expected to follow rules that management was unwilling to follow themselves. Not to mention all the b.s. that comes with a full commission job where its feast or famine.
Self employed now and much happier so far.
That's exactly how I feel too! My 2019 goal is to put us in a house and look for my exit. The biggest downfall is, there aren't a lot of decent paying jobs around here. I've noticed over the past few years a shortage of technicians so I could go to just about any shop and get a job but I see the direction the industry is going and I don't want any part of it. I'd be happy to take a small pay cut if it meant having benefits and being happy. Thankfully, my wife has a decent job with insurance so that helps. What is your self employment if you don't mind me asking?
 

James Snover

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Most of the jobs I've had were ok, and I love my current job; but a couple of them I hated. So much that if I woke up sick, I was happy. You hang in there, keep looking, keep plugging away. Something else is out there, but you have to find it. It almost never falls in your lap. Nothing lasts forever, if you are looking to change it.
 

FJohnny

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I'm just venting basically. I live in a small town of maybe 10k and work as an automotive technician in a small shop. Just me and 3 other guys in the shop. Well, not really because 2 of them are brothers who own the business and do as little as possible and the most miserable people I've ever met. The other guy is a good parts changer, and that's about it. If it's a check engine light, he's screwed. So basically, a lot gets thrown on my back. Their all in their mid to late 50s and I'm 37. The 2 brothers are extremely weird.

Have you thought of going on your own in the same business? Work is a lot more satisfying when you know your efforts are benefiting you and your family more than they benefit a couple of extremely weird brothers. From what you have described you would be very hard for them to replace (ie. fire or dismiss).

I am not suggesting quitting cold turkey and starting a shop. The slower path is less risky (but longer hours). Get to know the customers if you don't already. If you have the ability and a place to do it, start to take on small jobs at an attractive price outside of regular work hours. Bring your tools and do jobs at the customer's house if you don't have a suitable place.

People with vehicles that are beyond warranty love to 'have a guy' that's honest and competent. Word of mouth is a wonderful thing and you may just find your real path to job satisfaction working on your own. If you are really good, though, be warned that you might quickly become too busy. Be ready to up your hourly rate accordingly for new customers! When the customer base is big enough to justify it, time to start the shop!

Here's hoping you find happiness. All the best to you and your family.
 

90lx

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Do you hate your job or your boss?

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a little of both. I seem to be the only one that can do a job start to finish so they just lean on me that much more. And the more time goes by, the more dependent they are upon me. It just gets old because I don't want that kind of pressure unless it was my business. I can see the times passing them by almost on a weekly basis. I've given a lot of thought to start my own shop, but as I mentioned earlier, I really want out of the trade. I love my mustang, but I've lost my passion over the years and I miss it and want it back. The last thing I want to do when I get off work is work on my car. I just tell myself it will work out in the end and try to keep a positive attitude as hard as that is around the negativity that surrounds me at work. Outside of work, I love my life and have no complaints.
 

90lx

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I've got a good friend that's been on his own for 8 years in the same trade. I help him some on the side. We've talked some about going in together, but I have my doubts. I just don't want to mix business with a friendship. It could go well or horrible and I value our friendship more than that risk. He's been somewhat successful but I've seen his ups and downs. His biggest problem is trying to find help. It's scarce in this town finding good help and I know I would be faced with that too.
 

SonicDTR

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If you want to change paths then do it! Start working on whatever you want to move to. If a job was as bad as yours sounds I certainly wouldn't stay there. I also wouldn't be buying a house depending on the income of the job I hate. Never know if moving is the key to happiness or success!
 

Booky

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I was a Correctional Officer for 5 years at a County Correctional facility that held about 90 inmates. I worked the night shift from 7 pm to 7 am with 3 other officers, so a total of 4 officers for the entire facility.

Friday and Saturday nights were the worst due to all the drunks, disorderly conduct and domestics the City would bring in for us to process while maintaining the rest of the facility.
Since I was bigger than the other officers (6'-5" / 265 lbs.) on our shift it seamed I was always "elected" to be the one to deal with the real assholes.
It is not much fun to have to physically deal with a mean drunk who pissed or shit themselves and is trying to punch, kick or bite you. And the women could be worse than the men.

It was by far the worst job I have ever had due to the low life scum bags you have to deal with Every day on the job.
There was never any sense of accomplishment and you could never seem to catch up or meet all the demands due to being under staffed.

After I moved on I would come back from time to time to say hello and shoot the shit with some of the CO's I worked with.
Over the next couple years 2 Officers (both shift supervisors) committed suicide.
When I look back now I cannot believe I lasted 5 years and changing Careers was one of the best decisions of my life.
 

lOOKnGO

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Do you want your life to be a short story, or a book? Turn the page and start a new chapter. Shouldah, couldah, wouldah! Life is short!
 

CV355

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Oh boy, let me get out my soapbox, make some avocado toast and pretend I'm a soy-sipping blogwriter that doesn't have to work more than 2 hours a week and lives in a shed on wheels: (wouldn't that be the life)

We've all heard that "if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life." That is complete BS, sorry. At the end of the day, work is work. The body and mind start to agree on that after fatigue sets in, even if you find your work somewhat enjoyable. My job, for instance, is a lot of people's dream job. I get to work 50-60hrs a week (upwards of 120) designing machinery and robotic systems. It's like the adult equivalent of playing with Legos for a paycheck. Fun, right? It sure is, until you factor in everything else; meetings, unrealistic deadlines and budgets, last minute changes, bureaucracy, opinions-that-somehow-became-specifications... the list is endless. The grass is often greener on the other side. People get burned out in this industry, hard. Turnover rates are ridiculous because a lot of people simply cannot handle it.

So that brings me to the next topic- interviewing and perspectives. They say that for effective interviewing, you need to determine whether you are in "buy" or "sell" mode. Are you fishing in general, or are you pursuing the biggest bass in the lake? In the "selling" mode, you're enticing someone to join the team rather than vetting out a slew of potentials, so you need to have every positive aspect out on the table and mitigate the negatives. Sometimes this helps calm me down and makes me realize that I need to be grateful for the job opportunity I have- even if I'm not conducting an interview. Perhaps you'll think "hey, my job and current situation wouldn't be so bad if I could just solve this one issue..." Maybe it's a matter of poor work delegation, time management, stress management, etc. Would you sell your car because it needed an oil change? Or, maybe the issue is more severe and less simple to fix.

Once you have decided if the current situation is feasible for you, you can determine if you want to change it. Sometimes change isn't the answer, sometimes it is. If it is, what is the end goal? More pay? More satisfaction in the work you do? Less stress? Less commute? Rate those aspects, and any others you might consider- prioritize the ones you do. Also consider what your life goals are outside of the immediate future- upsizing, downsizing, investments, liquidation, etc. Doesn't matter what it is, but recognize it. Here's why, with yet another anecdotal lesson: A few years ago, I was living in a subdivision that I hated, and really getting into the firearm hobby. When we looked for a new house, I put "must have enough land to set up a 100yd range." About 6 months after we moved, my interest in firearms fell off a cliff and I started selling most of them. Point: Don't make huge life decisions based on short-term goals. Thankfully my wife talked sense into me and we got a house that fit other, more realistic expectations.

One other thing to consider- do you have the time/resources/energy to make the changes you want in the timeframe you want them in? If the answer is no, pause and plan. The last thing you want to do is find yourself in the middle of a maelstrom of changes and burning out. It's harder to pick up the pieces when they're strewn out everywhere, trust me. Smaller, more plentiful "wins" are a better path to victory than waiting for the planets to align to hit the grand-slam-hat-trick-bullseye-hole-in-one. (this is something I struggle with).

Best of luck though. I find myself asking the same question almost daily, so I can certainly relate. Just remember that no matter where you go, what you do, or when you do it, there will be idiots.
 
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noco5.0

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Don't hate it, but I am burnt out. I work with some really good people, but also a lot of duds. I'm in management and get paid well. We bought our house at the right time, so have a ton of equity. My wife also has a really good career that she loves. There are many days I want to make a change but can't because of the money and my wife's situation. We have talked about the possibility of living in two locations down the road when our daughter graduates. I think it would open up a ton of opportunities to change if I had the ability to live wherever the new job took me, but not sure if it would be worth it. I'm stuck for the next 5 years or so and then will see whats out there.
 

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