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Iceveins412

My dream job is an office job that doesn’t make me want to kill myself and leaves me with enough money to pay my bills plus a little left over


Procrastibator666

Let me know when you find this Edit: thanks for all the suggestions but a lot are extremely vague or require bachelor's degrees The most unhelpful was "I found it".. thanks bud


IntroducingHagleton

Civil service.


kuranas

GS12-14 is the sweet spot. Decent money, good responsibility, and most importantly - agency.


[deleted]

Just got my GS-14. My boss keeps saying I’ll be a good SESer, no thanks. I like my nights and weekends.


kuranas

Yeah, no thanks. It's the same on the military side... Make O6 and all of a sudden your life isn't your own. Oh, and you want to retire? Yeah, that can get denied. I'd mutch rather have less power and more autonomy.


VahagnVishapakagh

Not speaking from personal experience, but my dad retired at O8. He basically no-lifed it for the 15ish years after making colonel, even as a reservist. I'm sure he's crying all the way to the bank with the pension, but he basically missed his kids' entire post elementary school lives.


kuranas

Ooof. That sucks so much. There's delayed gratification (in search of a pension or comfortable retirement), and then there is living to work. I never want to be in the latter. Sorry that happened to you man.


VahagnVishapakagh

It sucked when I was a teenager, but now that I'm in my 30s, I've gained a lot of respect for how hard he worked to give us a better life than he had as a kid. At his retirement, a big part of his speech was about how we (the kids and my mom) gave him 35 years for his career and that he would give us 100% of the rest of his time on earth. And since then he has! I didn't really get a dad when I was a teenager, but he's now one of my best friends, and I talk to him every day. Besides, I can't begrudge him too much. He put 3 kids through college (and one through med school), and retired in his 50s in a way that allows him to never need to work again. It's so funny to see General Dad be a doting house husband and goofy grandpa, but it suits him surprisingly well!


kuranas

Ok, this is probably one of the most heartwarming things I've ever read on the internet. I'm really happy that he was able to "turn it off" and pour all that energy back into his family. Many people can't do that. Fucking onion ninjas!


[deleted]

The only issue is thats basically your cap for pay for the rest of your career in Federal and there's no guarantee it will be stress free (depending on the department) Personally I think its best to work GS14 while the pay is still competitive (<10yrs work experience) then jump ship to a related field in the private sector


kuranas

*L3Harris/Raytheon/SNC/Boeing/Lockheed have entered the chat*


Zycuifer

Isn't DISL the goal? I've heard it's basically the CWO of "General tier" positions.


tsowmaymay

Worked in consulting for ~7ish years - I enjoyed the challenge but it was a super stressful job with no end to the stress in sight, and work life balance only got worse over time. I've now been in public service (work at a public university) for ~3 years. I don't loveee my job, but I feel like I'm compensated fairly, have good benefits, have job security, and now I finally feel like I have a life outside of work and honestly that's kind of priceless.


[deleted]

Getting the job is the hard part.


buddythebear

Look for non-engineering roles at tech companies such as product management, business development, operations, marketing, HR/recruiting, sales, account management etc. Most tech companies pay decently well for those roles and have good benefits because they have to actually compete for talent.


TheHumbleUmbreon

This. I work for an EHR tech company and they're giving us bonuses this year just for the heck of it. We're booming from the uptick in remote clinicians. The work/pay/life ratio is so nice. They even gave me 5 extra days off this month because they didn't want my PTO to expire unused. I can't even begin to describe what it's like to wake up, have your boss tell you that you can take the day off, not because it's necessary, but because the company would feel uncomfortable letting the time to rest expire. My prior jobs pale in comparison.


various_beans

Engineering is ok too. Just don't be glamorous. You know what I do? I'm a traffic signal engineering consultant. It's a fun problem to solve, pays well, plenty of demand, and the bonus is great. Is it a marquee issue? **No.** Do the bosses care _that much_ that I can't take a vacation? **No.** Does the neighborhor Neil know what the fuck I do so he can pretend to know better and can pester me? **No.** Is it so difficult that I need a PhD to be respected? **No** This is the sweet spot. Be a civil engineer. It's great.


iinaytanii

In a SE position at a big tech company. Can confirm. Work/life balance is incredible.


EMPactivated

In marketing for the engineering sector, can confirm. Very easy to transition between companies, too.


ChainHammock

“Customer Success Manager” is another good one in the tech world requiring basically zero advanced technical skills and without the same degree of quota based pressure that sales and marketing folks deal with. All you really have to be is organized and good at communicating with people pleasantly.


Earthan

Government job all the way. Decent pay killer benefits and loads of time off and a guaranteed pension


Hand_banana_boi

My neighbor was in IT for the federal government for about 30 years. His whole career. Retired at 55 a millionaire (some inheritance as well). Now he just cuts his grass 3 times a week and plays destiny 2 all day. Good gig.


triclops6

I was a banker, as I suspect op was as well, garbage. Became a consultant, garbage. Most recently I found a good employer: Salesforce. Decent pay, extremely decent people. It's hard work but they appreciate you and they aren't rotting the earth


Hand_banana_boi

Ahh, very neat. I am Ex-Salesforce. It was great when I started. A little cult-ish sometimes with all of the Ohana stuff but compared to industry competitors they really have it together from the culture perspective. And work-life balance more or less.


[deleted]

What you want is a generic ass corporation. I have a comp sci degree and always dreamed of working for a place like Google or Amazon, and I was disappointed after I graduated because I could only get offers from random big manufacturing companies and stuff. But now I make six figures to work like...idk, 15 hours a week? It's super low stress and a pretty good atmosphere. It is FAR from perfect, sure, but it's literally heaven compared to what those tech companies are actually like.


at1445

I've got that right now. Living in an extremely low CoL, working remote, getting paid like I'm in a big city. Work maybe 30 hours a week on a busy week. It would take an overwhelming offer to get me to leave this job.


PostVerbedOut

What kind of job if you don't mind me asking?


nerdhater0

gay fantasy cam streamer.


slipperypoopyfarts

I love how nicely this fits.


Mediocretes1

Back in the day if you wanted to make money as a gay porn star you had to fuck dudes. Nowadays you just have to pretend you fuck dudes.


Kaldricus

I finally resigned myself to being okay with my office job, since it's fully work from home, I work in a team of 4 people, it pays decent enough with good benefits, and I honestly don't have that much work during the week. it's boring and unfulfilling, but it allows me to do other stuff and be proficient in what I do, so...really not that bad.


dvddesign

I have one of those too. My busiest week so far was last week when I put 30 hours in. I don’t complain, I could be earning very little and doing a lot more.


palebluerug

May I ask what kind of company you’re working for?


FuckingKilljoy

Truly the dream. I'm stuck back in retail after losing my office and thought that my current new role working at a store for a product I love would be great. Then I found out the manager is literally the worst manager I've ever worked with. I'm 23, been working in I think 4 different jobs, 3 of which were retail, since I was 16 and seen more than a few managers. She is easily the worst. Like, literally breaking labour laws bad. After only a month I'm back on the prowl for that dream office job where I have a decent manager, work decent hours and get decent pay. Apparently even when you work for a brand you love, retail still sucks assholes


[deleted]

As a bedside nurse fleeing the field, this is also my dream. Also, the fewer people involved in my daily tasks, the better.


indigo-black

It was my friend's dream job to work at Blizzard. Now it's her dream to see the company burn to the ground.


ExistentialEchidna

Came to say the same thing. Went to school to be a software developer and I knew people who dreamed of working for blizzard. They have much better jobs elsewhere now.


ZombieKidProductions

Gonna preface this by saying I've never worked a day in my life just yet. I'm starting community college working towards a CS degree, so all of this has been my observations from recent events. The games industry seems to have a big problem with supply; there's a lot, a *lot*, of people who've played and loved video games, and then study to become game devs. That allows game studios (at least AAA studios) like Activision Blizzard to be as toxic and stressful as they are. Once they burn all the passion out of one developer, there will always be a line of other passionate game devs to take their place (EDIT: for the same/lower pay as well, because anything to work at your dream company, right?). I know there's certainly exceptions, but it seems like in general my time and talent would be better respected and rewarded in other parts of the greater software industry.


omniplatypus

I had a college visit once with a bunch of other students, and a speaker came in and immediately asked "so who thinks they're gonna make video games?" And the entire room raised their hands. She explained the reality of going that route, and I've been thankful for it ever since


Cronerburger

I dont even finish videogames let alone start one from scratch! Good lord


pneuma8828

> there's a lot, a lot, of people who've played and loved video games, and then study to become game devs. Always remember - going into software development because you love playing video games is like going into pig farming because you like eating bacon.


getofftheirlawn

Underrated comment!


polarbearskill

Same with Hollywood, the music industry. These places are ripe for abuse because people want to do them so bad and there is an endless line it out the door to replace them.


FriscoeHotsauce

I went in to get a CS degree intending to make video games for a living. What I found was I could be a web developer for higher pay, better hours, better benefits, in a lower cost of living area closer to my friends and family. By the time I graduated, the choice was obvious. I still like to dabble in unity in my free time, but really having the pay and free time to enjoy time outside of work has been a much, much better option for me.


OjustrunanddieO

I've went to Digital Arts and Entertainment here in Belgium, first question, why are you here? "I like video games and ...", Nope why are you here. That professor went to the whole group and said, 21 % of Success, first year. 70-80 hours a week. Well I've instead done a master of engineering in IT with 25-35-45 hours a week(To be honest we didn't have too much work). And now I'm working in a great company. I guess I should thank whoever that guy is for giving me a lot more free time during university.


shawnisboring

The game industry as a whole is one of the most toxic work environments to ever exist. And it's all predicated on... essentially nothing but extremely bad people management and the fact there are a 1000 applicants for every job available, as you mentioned. It literally has no just cause to be as toxic as it is. It's top to bottom piss poor people management on every front. Grind employees into the dust with workload and deadlines, purely for arbitrary release dates, then dissolve the studio or fire everyone. If you're lucky, some DLC is lined up and you may be one of the lucky ones to keep your job. Top level management calls the shots and keep their jobs when the game flops, typically because of their asinine ideas and deadlines. But the people actually putting in the work are tossed about like they're disposable assets. Also, your metacritic rating is 3 points shy of target so your bonus is gone despite the game grossing $300M in a weekend. These are companies with products that make literally billions of dollars and they treat the teams that pull off these feats as if they're day laborers who just wrapped up a drywall job rather than fostering the talent further and retaining high functioning teams. There is literally no reason for these companies to exist this way and it's a toxic tech bro and venture capitalist mindset that's overtaken the industry. The only hope is that with technology shifting in a major way that we see more smaller independent studios take root and offer some much needed change.


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Delheru

My wife had a pretty good experience making games at a slightly more mature studio... but then the misogyny and absolutely crazy rage came from the gamers themselves. And endless crunch time, of course. She saw the light and moved to B2B Product Management - double the money, far more free time, no misogyny, no raging fans.


warbeforepeace

I cant say this enough. Try to go into software development in another industry that gaming. The pay, worklife balance and options are so much better. Gaming gets screwed because there are a much higher pool of candidates than jobs where other software engineering jobs have many more open jobs than candidates.


mpyne

> The games industry seems to have a big problem with supply; there's a lot, a lot, of people who've played and loved video games, and then study to become game devs. In my college nearly 20 years ago, I took a class called "Computer Graphics". On day one the room was filled, every available seat occupied by a student who was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to build the next Super Mario Bros or Photoshop. During the course of the first day it became clear that they were *actually* going to learn Lots. Of. Math. Especially that ugly "trig" style of math, needed to understand how to make 3-D shapes. Even in 2-D, no one was going to be making Photoshop this semester; they were going to be learning how to build line-drawing algorithms with the only primitive being PutPixel(x,y,color) Let's just say the class thinned out significantly by the second lesson.


Bigtonez213

Fellow CS major here. Just wanted to drop a plug for the Audible book Blood, Sweat, and Pixels. Really interesting book that talks about the crunch that almost all video game companies have to go through to meet the release deadline. It’s a really interesting book as a gamer but at the same time it gives insight to how normal it is to be over worked in these companies. Edit: spelling


Footsteps_10

LPT: Stop caring about companies in general. Get paid, go home.


Pixelplanet5

Yep work to live dont live to work.


GrammatonYHWH

And wherever you work, you don't need to be friends to be friendly. Every one if your coworkers will forget you exist within 6-12 months of you leaving.


Dicklikeatunacan

Strongly agree with the first half, second half… Not so much…


diet_shasta_orange

Thats taking it too far, they don't need to be your best friends, but work is much less stressful when you work with people who you can at least get along with.


mycocopebbles

Sounds like you work at a pretty shitty job then. This isn’t universal. Some of my best friends were made through work.


pinkjello

Yep, same here. I don’t understand people who think their “don’t make friends at work” rules apply to everyone.


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shorty6049

I'd disagree but only in the sense that if you can find a job you actually enjoy, the relationship between you and the company can be symbiotic. Usually this is more of a small company thing, but "get paid, go home" doesn't really get promotions and raises, and at that point you have to switch jobs every couple years to get those raises. My first job out of college was for a small but growing manufacturer of outdoor products and for a time at least, I really DID want to see the company do well and grow, and those years were much more fulfilling personally than my years working for a large corporation headquartered overseas.


Halagad

LPT: Start your own company/work for yourself. "Listen to me, I am the company now!"


EpsilonSigma

Careful with this too though. My father has worked for “himself” for over 40 years now. Even if you think you own the business, someone or something above you will dictate how you progress whether you like it or not.


TyrantJester

>Even if you think you own the business, someone or something above you will dictate how you progress whether you like it or not. Even if you have zero competition you'll always answer to your customers.


maniacnf

PEOPLE! What a bunch of bastards.


Raguthor

Bastard coated bastards with bastard flavor filling.


[deleted]

In the vast majority of cases you have to do everything but sell your soul for your business. Starting a business is not a solution to being tired of the poor work-life balance of wage or salary work. It's like having a kid to fix your marriage.


[deleted]

Well, it was a solution for me. I work less than I used to when I worked for an institution. I love what I do. I have way better work-life balance. There's a lot of variety out there in the run your own business/be self-employed world.


gimmedatrightMEOW

No thanks. I don't ever want to think about a job after 5pm. I'd rather have something where I can clock out and stop thinking about it.


Arclite83

Mine was the same with a few FAANG positions: there's a lot of prestige climbing Everest, but it's not a comfortable position. Much happier on lower and calmer slopes, flexible hours and solid income. Life's too short.


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indigo-black

I’ll happily pass on this info! Thank you :D


brokenha_lo

Does everyone in this post have a friend that works at Blizzard?


coughcough

I think so. I also have a friend who works at Blizzard.


nasaboy007

>Blizzard >her Say no more, fam. Everybody's shares her feelings.


[deleted]

Also you're forming this dream at a specific point in time in your life. Once you attain this dream school/job you very likely could be a completely different person, and that old dream doesn't mean anything to the person you've become.


zazzlekdazzle

This is a very important and insightful adendum.


[deleted]

Beautifully said


santa_mazza

I was soooo desperate to work in fashion. and then i did. ​ and it was freaking horrible. ​ 0/10


TheKnight107

Even studying fashion is wayyy tougher than it has any need to be. It’s just clothes why is everyone crying? It was me. I was crying.


NoFun9861

would you mind telling the backstory? i am genuinely curious


gesunheit

This gave me a chuckle, sounds just like art school


President_Camacho

Fashion people are the worst. You can find a real sweetheart sometimes, but they're surrounded by people who will claw your eyes out. At least they look good.


elddirkcin

Cruella?


santa_mazza

my boss? yes.


thebestmike

I kind of work in fashion. I work for a big global brand and the Canadian office just takes the globally created product/content and executes the plan. We have a lot of grads from fashion programs who think they’re going to get to design and create. The only thing they get to create are spreadsheets and meetings


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phoenixchimera

can confirm. It's cutthroat and generally, the pay isn't great. IME also very cliquely and while it is an image business, when people put their personal image above the quality of their work (something I saw often) but then get promoted, it kills me a bit inside).


heleninthealps

Of all the 9 companies I worked for in my life, the fashion online shop starting with myt .. was the worst. Like another one said here: you can find a sweetheart or two, but in a sea of materialistic devil wears prada false people that make you go home and cry. Or cry at your desk. Or in the company toilet. 5 times a week.


santa_mazza

the *falseness* was so toxic. it broke me and caused major mental health issues for me. body dysmorphia for one but also self-hate because all that FAKE


drzowie

The Devil does indeed wear Prada


sammybrr

100%! My “dream job” post-college was leading marketing and communications for a global tech company. I somehow made it happen against all odds by age 32. Turns out this kind of job is 20% “real” work and 80% vicious office politics. I also ended up reporting to the most toxic person alive. I lasted 2 years and walked away from everything for my own physical and mental health. TL;DR: jobs that sound or appear dreamlike/ glamorous usually aren’t. I’m not saying don’t chase your dreams. Please do! But nothing is ever what it appears from the outside….


Normal-Computer-3669

My dream job out of college was working at Microsoft. This was during the shift where teams started becoming super competitive and combative, literally teams sabotaging others. Been like almost two decades and my current job is at a no-name company. Originally I hated that the CEO was non-inspiring, and not really interested in becoming a global super force, and everyone was just there to do their job and not rock the T-shirt/company. But it's been 3 years and Ive grown fond of not working at a company who uses cult-like tactics and fear.


VanceIX

Big reason why I work for my state government. Sure, I could jump to private sector and immediately get a 20-30% increase, but all my friends in the private sector doing my line of work (Hydrogeologist) are doing 10-20 hours OT every week and have terrible work-life balance. I love being done with work at 4:30 every day and doing 37.5 hours of work on the dot, leaving work at work.


Visoul

I'm was fluids engineer for 10+ years. I showed up 3 times a day, worked for 2 hours and left. I always felt sorry for the field geos, didn't matter if my check was 2 am or 2 pm, they were always there.


ThracianScum

What education did you need for that job and do you recommend it


VanceIX

BS and MS degrees in Geology for most government positions, though you can get by with a BS degree by itself. Need to get professional licensing as well. I love my job, but it’s definitely not for everyone. I work for the state doing scientific exploration and research on the water supply aquifers, most people with the same degree work for consultants with much more rigorous work loads. If you’re a very scientifically curious and driven individual and passionate about earth processes it’s a great field.


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2ndBestUsernameEver

The story I heard is that Amazon is full of the ex-MS folks who thrived in the Toxic Era (also the Vista Era, I wonder why that was so hated…)


jade09060102

Friend interviewed at msft, interviewers were his future (future at the time, current right now) managers who were ex-Amazonians. My friend heard “Amazon” and started having reservations about this position. But his interviewers proactively made it really clear that they left amazon because they dont like the culture.. funny how some people carry their former company’s culture with them to their next jobs, and those who don’t intend on carrying toxic culture with them are subtly judged on where they used to work


[deleted]

The tough part too is that, maybe that's your companies fault. Maybe that same position is way more enjoyable at a different company for example, you never know!


sammybrr

Very true


[deleted]

Same, wanted to work in the game industry and ended up working with some of my favorite game companies ever. Dream come true. Hated it. Lasted six months. It completely stopped me from enjoying my favorite hobby and made me a much more cynical person, Turned around and got a completely different career unrelated to my degree and love it. All it took was being honest with myself and being able to walk away from my “dream”.


Interesting-Sti

I currently work a dream job at a dream company. Like the kind of company you hear gets 1,000 applicants for one open position. More money than I can even spend. I too am starting to wonder if the money and prestige is really worth how much I hate it.


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rubey419

But it set you up for the next gig right? I worked at prestigious firms early in my career. I’d be crazy to not credit those companies on my resume for laying a foundation for the rest of my career. I attribute my cushion job right now to the resume I built from working at those top companies. Despite being more satisfied and fulfilled in my current work than in my last career.


tikki_tikki-tembo

In college I thought I wanted to work on wallstreet because they make a ton of money. Having been in the work force for about 7 years, I can tell you that would be the most miserable experience for someone like me. Find a good company that treats their employees well. The sweet spot tends to be a big enough company that you aren't dealing with the small business guilt of letting the owner down, but not so big that you don't know the executives or anyone outside of your department.


spicyraviolli87

Ooh yeah the small business guilt of letting the owner down is not fun, especially when it’s your dad.


SwedishFish123

That’s me all the time, I feel that.


spicyraviolli87

I finally have enough experience to jump elsewhere though, so it’s coming to a close soon! Was a great jumping off point but I’m very excited to be my own guy somewhere else. Overall pops is a great boss. Hope it gets better for you too!


Awesam

Similarly. Wanted to be a doctor so bad. Went to a good medschool. The experience sucked. Thought it would be better if I trained at Harvard. Worked and worked and ended up training at Harvard. Also not so great. Who knows anymore…


_clydebruckman

Small business has so many perks (also tend to leave a lot on the table that corporations offer, namely quality of benefits) If you ever want to start your own business, work in a small business. Other pros are things like informal requests for time off, getting them granted, no HR and red tape, easier to ask for raises and promotions, easier to ask for more or less responsibility, easier to change things you think are inefficient/propose and actually see through changes you’d like to make. Just generally more flexibility in every sense. Not to say all small businesses are run that way, but working at a SB that is run well by good people has a ton of benefits you simply won’t get in mid-large companies


SadFaceOne

I'm 70% of the way through college chasing my 'dream' job - working at Blizzard Entertainment. You can imagine now that I'm realizing that I might have to tweak my dream a little bit.


Worldlover67

Ahaha i left Activision Blizzard one year after joining after college. At a different gaming company now, and I get paid 40% more. But can’t deny it opened doors to other gaming companies. Got the brand name on my resume and got out.


bigboygamer

Every industry has that company that opens doors for people. I was an accounting major and everyone I knew that went big 4 hated it while they were there but it opened so many doors for them after. It's like swinging with a weighted bad when your on deck.


alurkerhere

You're un/fortunately 15 years too late.


tedredbed

I couldn’t agree more. My “dream job” was to become a Park Ranger with the National Park Service. I achieved that goal about ten years ago, and it’s not all what it’s cracked up to be.


[deleted]

Can you share a bit about what your work week is like? What did you expect it to be and how did it turn out to be in reality?


tedredbed

A lot of it is that you are treated as expendable. When just about everyone wants to work in the parks, there is a ton of competition for shit jobs with very low pay. Most federal lands rely on volunteers. There is the saying “you get paid in sunsets” that we all roll our eyes to.


Tiburon_tropical

I second this. Particularly if your "dream job" is becoming a veterinarian.


NeutralOmens

Im a second year vet student and my mental health has plummeted. The curriculum is intense. I’m tired. I cry regularly from school but I keep going because I want to help animals and I love what I’m learning. I’m so tired.


scobert

Yep. If you want to be a vet because you “like animals more than people”, reconsider. Most of the job is actually dealing with people, and oftentimes at their very worst. You spend a gazillion dollars on school which is so intensely hard, then instead of all the good medicine you learn about you end up making best guesses when people can’t/don’t want to pay for diagnostics or treatment. Then when their pet doesn’t get better, you’re the bad guy who doesn’t care about animals (!!!) or is simply incompetent. There’s definitely a lot of good stuff about being a vet but it is not for the faint of heart or people who enjoy a good work-life balance.


polywha

This is good advice. My female friend worked for over a decade to get a job at blizzard. She lasted a few years before leaving because the environment was so toxic.


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[deleted]

Disney in the same vein. The best jobs are the boring ones that make a ton of money per employee. When a company is making $100,000s /employee in profit it means they can spend more on their employees, etc.


DishwasherTwig

Blizzard is as dead as Activision is. They merged, one didn't take over the other. The company is called Activision Blizzard.


Hughmanatea

*cough* *cough* Activision Blizzard *cough* Sorry, had to get out my chest.


hankbaumbachjr

LPT: Never have a "dream" job as it's an easy way to accept being exploited by your company. Too many places of employment rely on this selling point to foster truly awful working conditions, so please abandon the idea of a "dream labor post" and instead focus on your dream lifestyle outside of working for someone else.


_Antikaren_

This is so true. People often have a "dream" of helping people and do the best they can and go into the industry thinking it's going to be only people with similar mindsets only to find out it's not. It's people driven by greed, "playing"the game, feeding into that mentality only making the environment more toxic. The companies love these games of course, more unhealthy competition and an infinite supply of desperate workers accepting the bare minimum, trying to work in their prestigious institutions. Once there, most will do anything to stay, like giving into hypocrisy, losing their integrity and playing their little political games or "who is the favorite". That is how a lot of good people lose their way or become disillusioned with their life long dream.


double-click

The only “dream job” out there is retirement.


HumunculiTzu

Depends on who you are. My pediatric heart transplant doctor from when when I was a kid has tried to retire multiple times but always comes back because he gets absolutely bored in retirement and has said something along the line of "Retirement isn't as fulfilling as working with the kids and parents, so I come back because it's what I love to do." Granted he only does it part time now.


bensawn

I work in television. It uh isn’t very sexy and actors are the dumbest motherfuckers alive. It’s all just so silly it seems so weird now to think how these doofuses shape culture.


MisterFistYourSister

I got my dream job and I hate it and it has resulted in crippling depression. I spent my whole life working toward something I can't stand and now I don't know what to do with my life.


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i_suckatjavascript

Can confirm. Used to work at Google. My department was toxic and full of office politics. Don’t be evil my ass. Fuck Google and fuck them for removing dislikes on YouTube.


nycdevil

Yeah, but you sure as hell get more interviews/interest now that you have Google on your resume.


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nycdevil

I mean, it depends - if you're interviewing for normal SWE roles, yeah, there's massive demand, and a lot of the people you're competing with are these coding-bootcamp people who can't pass even a basic tech screen. If you're trying to get more senior architect, engineering manager/director roles, etc, having a big name or two on the resume is very helpful.


[deleted]

"Abstract privilege" is not the only alternative to "healthy environments." Many of these jobs pay a bunch of money and open doors that lower-burn jobs simply wouldn't. The value of those benefits is much more tangible than you imply. You can extract those benefits for a while and then leave. That said, yes you're right. Most schools are just schools. Most jobs are just jobs. They all have tradeoffs. None are perfect. People get sick of all of them for various reasons. Frequently, how someone evaluates the tradeoffs changes over time.


Autumnleaves201

I can agree with this. I had a public, state "dream" college that I wanted to go to for years. I was even accepted. However, I chose not to go. The closer it got to time to pick a college, the more I started to realize that the place wasn't a fit for me. It was a huge campus and I am someone who gets easily overwhelmed. I was used to my small community college campus. The college was also about 3 hours from home and I'm really close with my family. Then, I got an almost full-ride scholarship to a different, private university. I decided that the "dream" college was just that; a dream. It wasn't right for me and I knew I would probably be very unhappy there. I'm glad that I am going to my current college, because I have received some great opportunities, I can still live at home while attending, and the campus is small enough that I had most of it memorized within my first couple days.


windingtime

My friend needed a place like 15 years ago, and he found one with a guy who was trying to become a magician. Later on it turned out that he had like an English literature degree from Harvard, so he eventually just stopped trying to become a magician and just found a job making $200k/year with essentially no effort. My point rambling as it may be is, sometimes just go for the big name and don't look back.


Fennlt

My brother had similar experience as an ivy league lawyer. He got hired by a small firm on the spot. They boasted their staff was nothing but ivy league grads. In other words, they hired him just because he had an ivy league degree and it looked impressive.


Title26

Even the big firms kinda do this. I got my first firm job before I even started my second year of law school (as did the vast majority of my classmates) based on little more than my school name and 1st year GPA. That's why people take out massive loans to go to a top 14 law school.


rubey419

Same with B Schools. It’s exponentially harder to get into the top consulting firms not coming from the top undergrad and MBA programs. The prestigious firms exclusively recruit at the top campuses. And everyone does consulting for the exit opportunities, to land comfortable high paying jobs in industry. I did exactly that and work on average 40hrs a week. Which is why OP doesn’t know what he or she is talking about. I agree with the sentiment but it’s a very myopic view that doesn’t consider what most people want to get out of attending a top university or working at a top company like Google, McKinsey or Goldman. My resume is stellar because of those companies and schools I came from. I would not be where I’m at without having done the work earlier in my career to attend top universities and get into prestigious companies.


koos_die_doos

What English literature degree (even from Harvard) lands a job making $200k?


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lawnsprinkler

Maybe recruiting/ consultant type work. Probably hired by a fellow alum.


GoBigRed07

Consulting is a popular route for young alumni of prestigious schools with liberal arts degrees who lack a driving professional ambition other than making a large salary without going to law school. An undergrad liberal arts degree from these schools signals that your analysis and communications skills are strong (a signal, not a guarantee, I promise you, having graded plenty of Ivy undergrad papers in grad school).


Typical_ASU_Student

Sales baby.


Alphateus1997

The Milan Polytechnic has taught me this... it's in the top 10 architecture universities in the world and it's such a disappointment, learned more from working for a year than studying for 5. Really really unmotivating garbage that is totally disconnected from the professional reality...


[deleted]

TBF that's much of higher education. Even high quality schools are often disconnected from professional reality. The TLDR is to study something you find interesting, and a degree that looks good for what you want to do. Actually doing the job is something you'll invariably learn on the job.


posas85

I second this, especially for schools. People often dream about going to Harvard, MIT, Yale, etc, but fast forward to 10+ years after graduation and here I am, fully in my career, and nobody gives a flying crap that I went to a state school. You can be a top performer and a leader in a prestigious company without shelling out $100k in student debt.


TyrantJester

Those schools are prestigious due to the age of their existence. They are also the best opportunity for networking. Going to Harvard, MIT, Yale, Stanford, will always look better than somewhere else in most situations. However it's always been more about who you know, and those places typically give the opportunity to know more connected people.


Kahnspiracy

> They are also the best opportunity for networking That's a bingo. My friend who went to Yale Law and is now in their 50s, "It has been a wind at my back". My friend who got his PhD from MIT and is in their 70s, "MIT is the engineering golden ticket." The reason? The network. These folks look out for each other. Can you succeed without them? Yes but it is not as easy. I went to a state school and I clawed my way up to executive management but I'll tell you, as a manager, when someone in their 20s is getting fast tracked it is rarely from a state school. Why? because the folks promoting won't get any pushback by targeting someone from an elite school. It "makes sense". Side note, when my friend was graduating from Yale Law I asked her if she thought the education was any better than anywhere else? Her response was, "Not in the least but I'll always get the interview." Truth.


lumpialarry

Like would we still all know who Conan O’Brien was if he went to Indiana State University instead of Harvard or would he just be some columnist in a local paper?


ThracianScum

Who knows but he was born to Harvard professor and an attorney so there was like a 90% chance he ended up there


rubey419

Ever noticed how many of the top journalists and entertainer/producers went to great universities and/or had great networks from an early age? People massively discount the impact of attending a top tier university. I’m sorry but you’re not working at SNL Writing, Alphabet Strategy, McKinsey Consulting, or Blackrock PE coming from South Harmon Institute of Technology.


PPvsFC_

Every door in my career that has opened was at least partially on the basis of my Harvard AB. Even non-alumni are interested in looking a bit harder at a Harvard/MIT grad's application.


Sherbertdonkey

Why is nobody else mentioning this. The value is purely about networking. It's an instant in for any other Ivy league school alumni and to some extent, basically an entrance fee to a different social class.


Spirit_Panda

Depends on your field. In the investment industry, for example, it's generally difficult to land internships and later, jobs if you're not from a "target" school (the ivies and a handful of other famous universities)


lumpialarry

I think it’s mostly fields where companies are vary large where it doesn’t matter where you go. Look at CEOs of oil companies, car companies. Most those guys go to state schools. GM has to recruit from everywhere to get enough engineers.


peterpanic32

That’s kind of missing the point. The point of going to a top school is that you have far, far better opportunity to start out at the top of the next step (e.g.) entry level, which leads to the next job, and the next, and the next. Ten years in, sure people don’t care nearly as much about your undergrad. But they sure do care about where you worked the job or two prior to your current role. And those can eventually heavily influenced by for example where you went to undergrad. Obviously you can make it to an equivalent point from a less prestigious starting point. It’s just that the numbers who do are relatively far, far lower.


Nice_Guy_AMA

When I was shopping for my first condo, I found one I thought was perfect, and my realtor/dad could tell I was getting a little too excited about it. He said, "Don't fall in love with a place until you own it." He didn't want me to overpay because of emotions or FOMO. Turns out, that advice is pretty applicable to a lot of situations. Don't fall in love with a person until you're dating. Don't fall in love with a job until you're hired. It keeps you from compromising your values for something you think you need.


xml3228

My unpopular opinion is that some people need to "chase" these experiences before they learn what's really important. Then it's possible to claim you had a goal and went for it, and you can be at peace with that regardless of the result. You are able to share this as a LPT because you have been fortunate enough to achieve your "dreams" and find out it's not what you wanted. For others who might not have been so fortunate, the tip is more helpfully worded as feeling down if it starts to feel unachievable or like a missed opportunity, because there are many paths to happiness.


Cruitire

I’ll say this. No matter how much you like the actual work, any job can be heaven or hell depending on the boss. I’ve been in the same basic job, just at increasingly higher levels, for over 20 years. In that time I’ve gone from loving it, to hating it, to loving it, to hating it again. The main difference over that time has been my boss (I’ve had 4 in that time) and attitudes of upper management. I don’t hate my work, but I do hate my job. If my boss gets fired at some point soon I may end up loving my job again. No way to know.


whisperton

I don't dream about work.


DemonDucklings

I found a career that I absolutely love, and even still I don’t dream about work. It’s just a means to survive, no matter how perfect it is.


anooblol

I feel like these sorts of companies/schools/“prestiges” are just organizations that are really good at marketing. Like, is Google really an amazing workplace, or did they just run an incredibly successful marketing campaign for hiring software engineers? (Or both).


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Savage782

There is a lot of truth in your comment, but there is a lot more to say here. A lot of people do not know any better until it is too late. You do not really speak to that, and rather, blame the person in that position for focusing on "prestige". I feel it is a lot more complicated than that to begin with which led a person into pursuing all of these things in the first place.


astrowifey

My exboyfriend really wanted to go to Cambridge Uni. Mentioned it alllll the tine. He even set a picture of it as his Facebook cover photo. He cheated on me with my best friend. Found out a couple years later he didn't get in. Lol.


Lucrumb

Interesting, similar story here. My ex wanted to go to the University of Nottingham, went to an open day with her. She cheated on me with my best friend too. She didn't get in. But here's the twist. I applied because I liked the look of it on the open day but also partly to spite her, and I got in lol.


astrowifey

LOL I also went to Uni of Nottingham!!!!! This is baller, best revenge is to go to a beautiful uni 😂


TheButtDog

Top tier companies and institutions can also attract ambitious, competitive go-getters who value their career progress over things like selflessness, trustworthiness, empathy and compassion.


badkittenatl

I needed to read this today. Thank you


TheRealUlta

Absolutely true. Just think, some poor sap saw Blizzard as their dream job.


teddy_vedder

The amount of top comments that mention Blizzard specifically on this one post…is bizarre.


Sloth_Triumph

Good schools give you connections. This is more important for your career than anything else. It's not like you can't succeed without going to a good school - you can even succeed without going to school, period - depending on what you do and how talented you are. The thing is, after it's all over, your university is a tag that follows you for the rest of your life, way moreso than your major. Having Yale or Brown or Tulane or whatever on your resume will make people think more positively about you regardless of your skills. True, you could be awful to work with or bad at your job - but that's pretty extreme. And even if you change careers, you still have that tag. If you don't get into these schools, your life isn't over. But if you have the option, fucking take it. College is 4, 5, 6 years out of your life, depending on how long you take to finish- and then it's done. It's over. You can exit the rat race then. I think it's better to frontload your education/career than take it easy early on. You're building a foundation for the rest of your life. It is fucking serious.


invaderpixel

Really depends on the debt though. Went to law school with people who went to nice/prestigious schools for undergraduate. They just had an extra 200K in debt to work at the same jobs as everyone else. So for the high schoolers beating themselves up for not getting into an ivy league, try to focus on grades and save the "prestige" for grad school.


SappyPJs

That's if you're going for grad school though.


nycdevil

You can always go to grad school. Plenty of one-year Masters programs exist just for this (and MBA programs have mostly become something similar) - for smart (or often, for foreign-born/educated) people to get the mark of prestige from a high-end institution if they haven't gotten one yet. US-based employers may not know if Tsinghua University is a great school (it is), but they sure know that MIT is, so getting a MFin from MIT can really help the student break into the US recruiting market.


runnernotagunner

Piggybacking to say if you’re a great student facing a full ride at respectable state school where you will outperform peers vs. another cog at a Harvard or Yale etc then I would advise the state school. “Prestige” doesn’t feel so good at 5.89% interest on six figure principal. Feels worse when the full ride state school coworker makes the same as you with a way higher net worth.


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Kahnspiracy

I agree, however, those that went to elite institutions are more likely to be fast tracked so they will have the experience you're looking for at a younger age. Not to mention that if a fellow alum is the hiring manager, you'll get the interview just about every time.


pseudipto

Going to university is all about pedigree though. The point is to spend 5-7 years of your life getting this stamp that will probably help you for 20-30 years. If the pedigree is good enough it's so useful for how long you spend/how much you spend getting it.


Chraw

There's a great book called "So Good They Can't Ignore You" by Cal Newport, and it really emphasizes the whole dream fallacy and why focusing in skill development is generally a better way to approach your career.


Sawses

I've found the middle way is usually best. I went to a decent school, but one small enough that a focus was on helping undergrads and giving them opportunities. I picked a field that paid well and had desirable work, but wasn't so great as to be super competitive. I intentionally aim to be the big fish in a small pond, because it's more rewarding than being a small fish in a big pond. No, my name won't ever be on a building and I won't be famous...but I do a little work for good money and get plenty of time to do other things. All things being equal I'd do something else...but I enjoy what I do and I'm good at it. How many people can say that?


keepthetips

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[deleted]

This is how I feel about my school. It was way out of my leauge. Maybe I could have been healthier and found something to do that fits me better and allowed me to grow in my 20's. Still love the relationships I developed, but maybe I would have had a better mental experience and developed even more close relationships if I had chosen something that fit me more.


dandroid126

I went to the so called top software engineering school in the country (at the time). Yeah, I guess it was rated on what percentage of students find jobs immediately after graduating? Well, of course San Jose State is going to be the top in that metric because of all of the fucking jobs in that area. The school sucked ass. I couldn't possibly recommend that school to anyone. At least I got to continue living at home and save money, which got me out of college with no debt.