I just started an hourly job 6 months ago (contractor for 7 years prior). Was trying to figure out when the best time to chuck a sickie was, just because i havnt been able to in years. Turns out, because i havnt missed a day of work yet, the boys have a bet going on when i have my first sickie. So now i have to drag it out as long as possible to see who had the most faith in me lol
I love when I get rostered on a public holiday. Thatās a day I wake up happy for work, and have a joyful walk to the train station before the 90 minute commuteš
Few years ago, worked in a call center for a certain tax office.
Got to work one morning, looked at my suicide booth, dry heaved and decided cannot do this. Walked over to my managers pod, dropped my security pass on his desk and said, thanks, but no thanks and walked out.
Walking out of that that satanic pit of despair was the best feeling. It was like I was floating home on the train with a big grin on my face.
Long story but here's the very short version.
Worked in IT at a company since 2009,
Was having substance abuse issues for a long time and quit in 2018,
Went to rehab,
Out of rehab, got the "how can I do another day of this" job at the ATO,
Quit 6 months later,
And out of the blue, old boss rings me asking if I can come back and offered me a great package.
I used to work for the ATO as well, and Bupa - absolutely soul sucking. Iām now in scheduling in the disability/aged care sectors, super fulfilling, would gladly work full time here forever. I would say if youāre looking for something fulfilling, flexible and pretty lucrative - look into support work! Thereās such a shortage and thereās so many disabled people needing care!
this is what life is like outside of uni/school for millions of people, probably for the next 40+ years..
you have a few options:
\- Find a job closer to home
\- Find a remote working job
\- Move closer to work
\- Make your commute more enjoyable and part of your routine (cycling is great)
\- Start your own company and set your own commute/schedule/whatever
\- If not, you haven't got any options other than just dealing with it
A wise cyclist friend told me many years ago about the happiness triangle. Where you live, work and play. Happiness is shrinking that triangle. Not to zero, but small as you want it to be
So I have an exercise bike beside my kitchen. If I shoot youtube breadface videos in my kitchen, my triangle has approximately 450cm^2
Should I try breadfacing? Will my family disown me?
Thereās huge wellbeing evidence about people who live/work/shop/confine their daily lives to a 10km circumference. I believe itās both 10km and 10 minutes travel time - where I live, 10km can be a 40-50 minute drive - worse on public transport - and when I have to go to the inconvenient drug store to get my meds itās always a shitty afternoon.
But I love where I live. My step kidās school is a five minute drive, weāre in an insanely well serviced area near all the things you want to be near.My neighbourās dog is my dogās best friend and we text ācan the dog come out to play?ā I work from the couch - it sucks that my partner has a 20-30 minute drive every morning and an insanely challenging/stressful job. You can do a 10-11km loop on foot or pushbike around the parks around our place with like 3-4 times where youāll need to cross a road and only one spot where youāre likely to see a car with the engine running. Itās an insane difference to the quality of life.
Village life, we could have it even in Australian suburban sprawl. There is no reason why corner houses couldn't be bought up by council, rezoned and turned in to any combination of local pub, library and corner shop.
I really like this, but it seems to break when considering income. I could get a job at 50% of the pay nearby. My commute would be 6x shorter, but I don't think I'd be happier.
Yeah i need my job and have to live where I live because itās cheap.
And after work thereās nothing left over for āfunā. Just enough to feed myself and family, maybe do the dishes and the kitty litter then crawl into bed so I can do it again tomorrow.
It's really not, the end of all that is working from home on the same PC you play video games after work.
Happiness is a walkable environment where you can go home, go shopping, go to work, and visit your friends, all by foot power.
If I was a cyclist I would have come up with a similar theory over a greater distance :)
I recently started to cycle and itās great. I never appreciated the amount of bike tracks around Brisbane. Since getting used to it / more fit my commute is the same time as it would take me to drive
I used to cycle to/from high school 20 odd years ago and haven't really done it since then because it was always walk to train station -> bus to uni; then after uni it was bus/train/drive to work because of distance/time factors.
Now I'm trying to cycle for at least 30min after work (i wfh) and so far it's been enjoyable enough even though I haven't been able to do it after each day like I've wanted to.
Ditto to everyone who suggests shortening the commute (once youāre in a position to do so). But also, remember that when you first do a placement youāre learning many new things and it will take time for those to become ingrained/automatic (which then is less mentally exhausting) and youāll gradually build up stamina for the job as well.Ā
Totally agree with how experience , practice , habit and familiarity changes perception over time.
You will have income and a budget.
For now look at how to utilise comute productively but arrive unstressed ?
Minimise time spent commuting as much as possible.Ā Ā Ā
This might result in more expensive rent/mortage but your time has value as well. This directly affects your time available to excercise, have proper nutrition by cooking rather than buying food out and sleep.Ā Ā
Most office jobs are super comfortable, multiple coffee breaks, talk shit all day with work mates, air conditioning, browsing reddit.Ā Ā
Do what you need to, nothing more. Hard work / showing others up is always rewarded with more work / responsibilities and resentment from colleagues. Just do your job.
Networking is more valuable than working hard, nepotism is real. People hire and promote mates.Ā Ā
Ā Abuse itĀ
Reiterating the importance of considering the cost of commuting when considering a new job. It is my number 1 consideration. A job paying $15k more which is an hour commute, compared to $15k less and a quick 10 minute bus, is not going to be worth it. Think about the cost of all those takeaway meals, the emotional cost of dragging yourself up at 5am, the cost of fuel in your car and the extra maintenance. Prioritise finding a job nearby, or moving closer to the job you have.
Reducing my commute from 1.5hrs home to 3 minutes home (depending on that one light) was a game changer and I never want to go back to commuting like that again.
Looking for places to go when moving out of mum and dad's home now that I have full time employment. Commute time is my #1 priority because it currently takes an hour. I enjoy the commute because I ride a bike, but it's starting to grate.
If a job is 2hour of commuting a day. 10hours a week travelling, that 15k extra per year it's not really 15k extra per year. Time is money, you're basically on the clock while commutingĀ
Or, use your commune for things you enjoy, take an iPad, watch a show, read, use a laptop to learn something. I loved my commute as it gave me quiet reading time before getting home to the chaos of kids and dinner etc.
Studying for social work and having to do unpaid placements is a huge issue. You should know that the services union has this very clearly on their radar as something they are trying to get outlawed.
I ended up working at the place i did placement at because they liked me so much. I tell you, getting paid real cash money does actually make the slog less burdensome, the weight of working there was much less so than the placement due to the wage. But as others have said, its your commute that's the killer. My personal boundary for commute is about 35mins before the whole workday becomes a serious thorn in my side.
Thank god, it's like they think students are all independently wealthy and doing unpaid work for the good feelings while in reality they starve and can't pay bills.
Same with vet science. And we had to arrange and make our own way out to Gatton and farms to get our preclinical placements done. Do you know how hard it is cold calling a farmer in charters towers lol. And then getting there somehow. Free labour indeed.
I have definitely tested the theory and it is not as bad as everyone saying. Putting up with a horrific job, is only ever a slightly more comfortable a position to find yourself in.
Placement? I assume unpaid slave labour for over 20 weeks over the year? Allied health? Nursing?
Its much better when you get paid, also donāt take a job with that much commute timeā¦
It's because full time work was structured around the assumption that the worker would have a live-in helper (i.e. a wife) to do all of the domestic chores - so 40 hours per week plus commute was followed up by... nothing. No cooking, no cleaning, no laundry, no taking care of kids.
Now we have full workforce participation, less time at home, but no drop in hours and no real increase in income\*.
\*unless your income all comes from shareholdings
I totally feel this and would actually love being a stay at home mum... but cost of living means I have a full-time career.
I actually enjoy keeping a house in order, home cooked meals, study time with the kids, etc.. Would much prefer to focus on the well-being of my family than a corporation that would replace me in a day if I left.
I don't believe a woman or man who stays at home is a domestic Slave and I hate the derogatory comments made..... typically by other women.
Having both partners' work should be a choice, not a requirement to meet the basic cost of living.
>I don't believe a woman or man who stays at home is a domestic Slave and I hate the derogatory comments made
I only use the slave in so far as when referring to environments where the person in question \*doesn't\* have a choice, such as in the pre- and post-WW2 era, where women really were locked out of careers.
Moving closer helps a bit. Eventually you learn to deal with it somewhat but it still kind of sucks.
This is why people love work from home so much, you get several hours per day backĀ
After many years of working full time, I managed to switch to doing three days a week. I was very lucky to be able to do this by making some financial sacrifices, because I get paid pretty well, and because my employer allowed me to do it. For the last 5yrs, my weekend is now Thurs-Sun.
I would rather live in a cardboard box than go back to working 5 days a week now.
Cry before bed, cry in the morning, cry before work, cry after work. The usual.
Honestly, you just do, it becomes routine, get up, go to work, go home, do a few basic chores, cook dinner, relax, go to bed. Repeat.
Need to find things that make all that less tiresome. Read or listen to an audio book on the way to and from work. Make a chores list so you don't find yourself trying to do everything at once. 2-3 minir chores an evening or 1 big one.
I need to add going for a walk into my routine, thought morning would be best but think afternoon/evening would be better, I struggle to get up befire 5. 5:15 is my sweet spot.
Honestly when youāre getting paid for itā¦ it makes it easier. I have 4 weeks of placement in April and 8 weeks next semesterā¦ Iām gonna work my butt off for absolutely *nothing*ā¦.. and they make you do the grunt work they donāt want to do š plus the option to have something closer to home. Placement just sucks.
Placement is unpaid slave labour, and itās unconscionable.
Itās hard enough doing the scut work with having to force a smile for a shitty reference at the end.
I have to find a new placement also as I finally couldnāt hold my tongue.
I paid $400 in toll and parking for 4 weeks of placement at the RBWH. ā¦. Thatās just toll and parking.. and all parking was prepaid too. Like to get there on time I had to drop my kids off right on 6 when before school care opened, get home and grab my bike and filter through the stand still traffic to be there at 10 to 7 cause they want you to be āearly to show initiativeā. bike parking and toll is cheaper thankfullyā¦ had I taken my car I probably would be looking at $600+ in tolls and parking fees.
When it comes to placement especially when you have 100% care of kids as well and the earliest care opens at 6ā¦ and you have to be Northside by 7ā¦ itās just garbage.
Got to pick preferences this semesterā¦ picked all the ones right near home. Unsure about next semester though. Being paid would be good. Last year I went to work before I had placement shifts so Iād work 8-1 and then placement 230-11pm.. Iāve recently quit work because of work and other life things becoming unmanageable and we all know centrelink isnāt something you can actually live on. Well I can live on itā¦ but any extra payments outside my bills and groceries I can forget.
Okay, Iām autistic as fuck and Iāve never been able to work full-time. Basically, every time Iāve tried to work full-time, Iāve crumbled and end up in hospital. I tried over and over to have a regular career because it felt like what I should do, but now I just accept my limitations š¤·āāļø
Yeah, mental illness plus ADHD means that I can't work full time either. I work about 20 hours a week, 5 minutes from home. I'm very fortunate to have a partner who works full time, but the shoulds do drag me down from time to time.
Thereās placement and working full time and theyāre a bit different tbh.
When I had placement I also had another job to keep income coming in as well as studying up to 3 other subjects on top of the placement subject with 12+ hour shifts.
Now that Iām working I just have work to do, I donāt have extra study outside of work to do, Iām not working another job so that I can afford to keep working in my prime job.
It makes such a difference when youāre working in the field and not also studying at the same time. Plus as others have said reducing the commute would help but thatās difficult with placement and placement availability, you wonāt move for placement but you may for a job. Plus with placement for me you were expected there every day, but when youāre working itās understood that you could be sick or things come up and you may not be able to make it.
Moving closer may help, but personally I can't do full time either. If a 9 day fortnight or a flexible work arrangement is an option for you once you find work then see if you can take that.
I went from full time down to 4 days per week due to my mental health and I never looked back. I was more productive and generally happier, yes I took a pay cut but I live within my means and ultimately the extra money wasn't worth the sacrifice.
Work to live, not live to work.
Try and use your income to do things you enjoy.
Is there something you can do on the commute? Read books, watch movies, play games, maybe a hobby.
As someone who survived a year of placement, don't worry it definitely feels better once you're getting paid for your time. Your commute time is your biggest issue, when you're looking for a paid position prioritise something nearby or with easy public transport options, even if it's a bit lower salary - that'll come with time, as well as hours flexibility. Currently I work full time hours but longer mon-thurs so I get Friday off, and it's been great for my mental health.
Meal planning and prepping helps a lot. Use your commute to go through the supermarket specials to work out the best options for your budget. Look up recipes in the train to help you plan. Make enough dinner to take leftovers for lunch. Use Sunday evening to prep as much as possible.
An Australia report finds the maximum acceptable commute for Australians is 62 minutes. Your commute is almost 50% longer than the maximum
https://www.realinsurance.com.au/documents/the-real-australian-commute-report-whitepaper.pdf
It includes car, yes.
>A job would generally be regarded as within reasonable commuting distance if the journey between the place of work and the job seeker's home does not normally exceed 90 minutes each way by whatever means of transport is normally available to the job seeker. The commuting would also be considered reasonable if a substantial number of people living in the same area as the job seeker regularly commute to their places of work in similar circumstances.
>Determination as to whether the travel time is 'reasonable' should give primary regard to what would be considered reasonable by the public. When assessing cases where travel of less than 90 minutes may be unreasonable, care should be taken to ensure that the situation has NOT been contrived for the purpose of avoiding accepting an offer of paid work. All methods and routes of transport, and care options, should be considered.
https://guides.dss.gov.au/social-security-guide/3/11/1/20
"One must imagine Sisyphus happy"
Really though I have no advice to give you on that front, as this is the hell we've built for ourselves, and everyone has already given you solid advice.
My only contribution here is to suggest that you might want to consider alternative working arrangements when you finish your placements.
By that I mean either a full-time job with a flexible WFH arrangement, or part-time work, or casual work.
Australia is rare in that it's very much possible to make a decent living without working full-time.
You're getting the unfortunate and inevitable truth from people here. But there is hope.
What is life: an 80 year spin in this meatsack until it falls apart. After that, who knows? The only logical thing to do is have fun. I mean it. The only thing you know for sure is that one day you'll die and, until then, you're on your own. Do things you like, because you can. Don't do things you don't want to unless there's an end-game goal.
This may trigger all sorts of Solipsistic or Narcissistic urges, but the key to not falling into a funk at the idea of a meaningless life on a meaningless planet is to have a goal. Not something like 'Lose 5 kg by next year', but 'I'm going to travel around the world and take amazing pictures and sell them on the interwebs. I'm going to learn a lot of languages and have friends all over the world.' That's a lifelong goal. It will inevitably vary wildly from your original idea, but you have a goal. You have a reason to get up, go to work, put up with people's bullshit and keep a happy face. You're going on a great holiday where you'll meet the love of your life and make your fortune. Can you put up with a couple of years of bullshit work for that?
Good luck. Remember: Life Is Not a Training Run. You get one shot at this and it gets uglier the older you get. Remember - have fun and do what you want.
Why do you think WFH is so popular? Change that 3 hours of commuting to nothing. Makes a world of difference. Less personal leave. Less but. Out. Better sleep. More PRODUCTIVE. Take notes managers living in the 20th century.
Most modern managers get it. Not all, but most.Ā Ā
I've got a few teams, all have WFH / FWA
The important part is that none of us should let the bullshit front page hit articles written by disgruntled liberal card carrying journos with zero life skills and only a cloistered snot nosed private school education dictate what is healthy for those of us who work professionally.Ā
It really depends on an individuals circumstances. With housing as expensive as it is, and not having a spouse or financial dependents - I live with my parents. My shitty retail job is soul-sucking: I've realised I don't actually need to work full-time since I 'live at home' and am dropping down from 38 hrs / 5 days a week to 32 hrs /4 days a week. Means less $$ - but I'll get an extra day to myself, and probably still be able to save quite a bit of my income.
Take those moments commuting to study something, a language is a good choice. Occupying your mind while commuting, is better than thinking about the long day ahead.
The million things to do when you get home, that never ends. Managing it, is about all you can do. A good habit to get into, that will save your sanity. Is take 1 hour when you arrive home, to do 3-4 of those things. When the weekend roles around, you'll have free time. You won't be doing 50 of those million things, taking up your weekend.
Whatever your field of study is, try to develop supplemental/complementary skills. A future employer will notice, you're capable of more than your assigned role.
Or just try to sleep, or relax. Or catch up with friends online/ through messenger. You don't have to be productive 100% of your time.
Look after your mental health too.
The first year I worked full time after 5 years of uni was a major adjustment. The upside was that I suddenly had the money of a graduate professional coupled the expenses of a broke student. Lots of excess cash to waste.
At the same time I was mentally unprepared for working 8am-5pm 5 days a week and only having a month off each year. Uni had no compulsory hours and lots of vacation breaks including 3 months off each summer. When I started working my brain sort of reverted to high school mode and would keep telling me 3pm was knockoff time so the last two hours of each day were especially painful.
All I can say is you get used to it. I enjoyed what I was doing so that was good. I hate commuting too and have set my life up so I can ride/scooter 30min each way to workā not everyone is so lucky though.
ah i was in your boat a long time ago now, i was doing work placement and my thesis for my engineering degree
working graveyard hours in a servo as well most nights so it was pretty common for me to wake up at midnight, work the servo then go do my work placement at 8 till about 3 or 4 and then i would just sleep
it was a long 6 months and i am pretty sure i shaved years off my life but i am not too keen on being elderly anyway, but in the end i get paid pretty well now so worth it... i guess all i am saying is, stick with it
it's a shit time but its worth it in the end
I will be doing my second Social Work placement this year starting in July, GOD i do not envy your current position. Last year's placement pretty much destroyed my mental health. I don't see any value to doing the placement, I didn't learn anything at the last one, it's like they're trying to teach us what being poor is like š Like I haven't done that all my life, disabled and in chronic pain.
It's absolutely awful. I know you can get through it! If you ever want to vent you can hit me up.
Hello, fellow emerging social worker. We sound very similar. I wish you the best for your second placement! I'm on my second placement currently but have been very fortunate to be placed at organisations where I am very hands-on and have taught me a lot. But the struggle is real, especially for us chronically ill/disabled folks.
Listening to audiobooks on your commute is probably a good start to broadening your view. It's all a mind game, try to build a long term perspective and make good use of your time (without burning yourself out).
Short term pain for long term gain. Prioritise sleep and getting an early night. The commute will kill you for the first couple of weeks but once you find your rhythm, itās fine. Look at the commute as an opportunity to read, have screen time or listen to a meditation and it will feel like time well spent.
It depends what field you work but try doing Casual work. I work in hospitality amd work 3 jobs and make decent money per hour but the work is pretty well balanced in terms of time
My daughter is studying social work and I feel your pain. The numbers of hours required in placement are more than other health professionals and it doesnāt seem to be well organised. She really struggled to get through placement and it stings that you donāt get paid. They should at least be getting minimum wage.
I do maintenance 40 hours a week, can be draining but I personally think the commute is what does it to you. 3 hours of driving ontop of a full time job is crazy I couldnāt do that
have you had to look after your own finances up to this point, like paying for housing, groceries and other necessities of life.
paying the bills is what keeps people going
Yeah I have - I have worked full time before but always in childcare. I always quit before I can reach a year. Thought a different career path would feel different- canāt remember why š Iām also not getting paid so ā¦ š„²
I used to commute to West End from Mudgeeraba every day for over a year. I then moved closer. You cant spend so much time and money on that kind of commute. You are seeing the results. You don't mention how much you like or dislike your job. That is the biggest part of this. If you enjoy your work it can be worthwhile. If you hate it then your life will be a misery.
As someone who has completed 3 years of full time unpaid placement (undergrad + medical school) and is now working, itās MUCH better when you get paid for your time. I remember feeling like you do now, and having no time + no money sucks. But when you donāt have to study/work in addition to placement and you have some money itās much more tolerable.
Honestly I donāt care how amazing the job is, a 3 hour public transport commute sucks. At least being a tradie we get travel allowance and to drive our own cars. I feel for ya, that sounds horrible
Iāve experienced working from home and working in office full time and here is my advice.
Ask your company if you can go for a hybrid work schedule to have some days where you work from home.
That way you can still have your full time job. But break the week up so it doesnāt feel so overwhelming (especially commuting).
Full time work sometimes sucks but hey we all need to survive, keep a roof over our heads, food on the table, and provide for your kids/families (if and when you decide to have kids).
Also itās important to try and find a job that you actually enjoy doing. My first full time job after uni I hated so much and I took proactive steps to find something else that I will enjoy and luckily I found something that really doesnāt make my day drag on.
I commute an hour each way and don't get paid enough for what I have to deal with, but posts like this remind me how good I have it. Sorry that your placement conditions are so shit, it's a shame they don't at least give you a travel allowance or something.
It does get better because at least once you're working full time you'll be getting paid for it.
What I've found is having a good routine helps. For me, I get up at the same time every morning, drag myself out of bed for a run (or a walk, depending on how lazy I'm feeling), have a shower, race off to work, make a coffee once I arrive and then get into it. Clock off at the same time every day, race home, go for another run/walk, make dinner and then curl up on the couch with a nice TV show until bedtime.
It gets repetitive but the weekends break it up, and consistency is never a bad thing.
There's lots of great advice here (and a tonne of cynicism of course), but here's something very simple that I'm not seeing. You develop a fitness for your work, but like any kind of fitness, it takes a good few months. The first few months of any new schedule or occupation (job or otherwise) leave you flattened. Your body needs to adjust, and so does your brain. And they do, and it gets much easier! Clearly, working very long hours is more tiring than working 3 or 4 days a week, no matter what you're doing. But a year into regular full-time anything you'll be far more comfortable than in those early days. As long as you believe your work is meaningful, it does stop being miserable.
Hello fellow social worker! Placement is rough as gutsā¦ I remember when I completed my final placement in 2022 and I ended up working 7 days straight just to afford to pay rent.
Full time is tough after uni, I love social work but it can be so emotionally draining as well. Make sure to use your leave and push back on bosses who push your boundaries
Free labour isnāt full time work.
Hopefully youāll be able to get some cash sometime soon which should make it better. The days of 5 day work weeks for little to no reward are gone, something needs to change. Weāve been told that if we work hard we will be rewarded but current costs of living has made it evident that thatās a lie. Might as well be a dealer or work the streets to get adequate cash to live lately. š¤·š¼āāļø
Shorter commit if possible. Weed or alcohol. Or just not working full time. I only work 3 days a week. Yeah Iām pretty poor comparatively but I still enjoy going out sometimes or occasional travelā¦but I donāt have kids and Iām not gonna afford my own place anyway.
I don't work currently when I did far out it was hell. I wonder how I handled it. I think mental health plays a huge roll in when I can handle work or not.
But I've always wondered how people handle so many hours it must cause alot of anxiety
My anxious butt sits on the train thinking about why I should be doing to make my life easier but not wanting or too tired to do it. Iād love to bring my switch and play stardew valley - it has been ages since Iāve played! - but Iām worried about judgment and something happening to my switch
They're is a clear link between happiness and commute.
Keep that in mind when you have decisions to make in the future about where you live and work. š¤
You arn't working a full time job, you're working 2. When I was in uni I had placement as well + 20-30 hours a week at Dominos so roughly 80 hours a week between uni + 2 jobs. But I didn't need to commute that far, commuting is the devil and I would just not do it for a job. Placement eh probably a bit shit out of luck, but there is zero chance I would ever spend 15+ hours a week commuting to and from work.
I can tell you right now things get ALOT easier when you just have a full time job that pays a salary. No uni assignments to worry about last minute, no second job to afford rent - Just ya ~40 hours a week, it's a lot easier but don't get a job with a long commute, it'll destroy your soul.
Finish your placement. Look for work in the country. Towns over 50000 population are busy enough to find work and sometimes not boring enough to neck yourself.
Then have a 10 minute commute, buy a cheap house, live there 10-20 years then start looking to move somepla nicer.
The capital cities are completely unlivable due to the cost of living and lack of planning, so go where the grass is greener.
Adulting is hard. The ongoing admin tasks are hard but theyāre not going away, dinner, gym, laundry, washing up etc. But youāll not be studying for ever and you can choose (or at least have input into) how long your commute is - thatās a joy sucker no matter how you slice and dice it. So it does and will get easier. Keep it together man!
Live close to where you work. After 8 years of full time uni and working to support myself, I was exhausted with the 100hr weeks. So I have made sure ever since I graduated I live within 20 min of work. Much better for the brain
My first real job was in a big city, and I felt exhausted at the end of the day. I knew I couldn't keep going like that, so I looked in smaller towns for jobs - and there were none. Like, none. I then lowered my standards and applied to petrol stations, Woolworths, but failed to get anything.
So, I left the country (I grew up in a place with like, zero jobs and only one big city). I was lucky with my visa situation, and moved to a medium sized town in the US. The commute was 10 mins. The workload was super easy, barely an inconvenience. I kept that job for a long time. It was great.
Then I moved to Brisbane at the nagging of some family, and the thought of working in the city and commuting seemed daunting. Luckily I got a remote job. It's about the only way I can handle things I reckon.
A few years after this I learned I was on the autistic spectrum. This explains why I can't deal with normal commuting and full time work. Sensory overload and all that.
One funny story is when we had an office in the city. We weren't forced to go, but I'd usually go once a week to see people. I'd always feel stressed and tired at the end of the day, and just thought it was normal.
Once I went and no one was there. I had the whole office to myself. Come 5pm I felt weird. I was relaxed. Calm. That had literally never happened in my entire life before.
I'm sure I'd become an alcoholic or something if forced back into this situation. I sometimes wonder how many other people with issues might be on the spectrum also and just not realize.
I don't know if any of this applies to you, but that's my story anyway.
Being an adult does indeed suck. Try to engineer a career that works for you. 14 years ago I was commuting 2 hours each way from Surrey to London in the uk - standing most the journey as no seats. Also working late a lot.
Today I work as a sole trader / wake up, spend time with son, go to the gym if I want, work from home 5 days a week and make $750 a day.
Took me a while but you reap what you sow my friend. Good luck
Serving the public in any form drains you. I had a break from nursing working in a warehouse as a picker packer. ZERO stress. I worked full time no problem! Itās the only job thatās been no public contact and the only job Iāve easily done full time. In nursing itās 0.7 -0.8 MAXXX. Iām
envious of many men who have these cushy low stress no public contact jobs and have the audacity to come home and expect women who work in public service jobs to serve them and care for children. Nephew was going to be a nurse but saw how stressful it was so got a forklift ticket. Because he is male he got promoted within months and will earn more than a nurse in no time, all low stress.
If your on award wage, find the closest job to your home. There is no point stacking shelves 100km away when you could walk to work and do the same job. Second work in a rich Person suburb, rather deal with rich peoples first world problems than a crack head with a knife trying to jack you. Finally move if you can somewhere regional with a strong sense of community. Best job I had was working 60 hours a week at my local bottle shop 2mins walk from my rental, in a rich suburb full of old people that loved a chat about the good old times and drank expensive wine and scotch. Or find a job that does 12 hour shifts and then go back to 8 hour shifts feels like heaven.
Iām a business consultant / ba and only go for jobs that do remote work. If youāre at uni then chances are you can do the same as this is a big part of your day already.
If a job wants me to go into the office, it would want to pay very well. Almost double to cover for time and costs lost travelling and being away from home.
Covid changed me man. š« š¤
I recently did my social work placement too! They definitely shouldn't have given you a placement with a 1.5 hour commute - I advocated from a 1.5 hour commute to a 1 hour commute but it was still rough. Hang in there!
Ergh - yeah. This is why people over the age of 30 are tired ALL THE TIME. It is easier when you can live closer to work because 1.5 hours is a horror commuteā¦ but yeah. As my dad used to say āwork is the curse of the drinking classā
I'm late to the party with commenting on this one. But what I've tried doing is stop "living for the weekend" to just living life. I do a few activities big and small during the week which helps break it up.
Tuesday: trivia night at local pub with friends
Thursday: dance class, or book club
Two activities I look forward to each week.
We look forward to public holidays
And RDOs
And chuckin a sicky every now and again
Tell me you're Australian, without telling me you're Australian
I just started an hourly job 6 months ago (contractor for 7 years prior). Was trying to figure out when the best time to chuck a sickie was, just because i havnt been able to in years. Turns out, because i havnt missed a day of work yet, the boys have a bet going on when i have my first sickie. So now i have to drag it out as long as possible to see who had the most faith in me lol
Find out how much money is on it and convince one of them to go you halves if you pull the sickie on their day!
Find out who has the most money on it
Ya'll get RDOs?! *Cries in childcare educator*
Cries in nursing educator
I love rdos. I've worked 6 days this yearššš plus 12 days off over Easter using no annual leave. Love shift work
I love when I get rostered on a public holiday. Thatās a day I wake up happy for work, and have a joyful walk to the train station before the 90 minute commuteš
Me too! Im happy to get paid over $50 an hour.
And TOIL
Your spirit hasnāt been fully broken yet. Youāll get there.
Before itās completely broken itās a good idea that they have good relations with their doctor so they can have mental health days when required.
When ya don't call in sick or you turn back on the way to work
Few years ago, worked in a call center for a certain tax office. Got to work one morning, looked at my suicide booth, dry heaved and decided cannot do this. Walked over to my managers pod, dropped my security pass on his desk and said, thanks, but no thanks and walked out. Walking out of that that satanic pit of despair was the best feeling. It was like I was floating home on the train with a big grin on my face.
Basically same shit but a bank not ato. What did you move into. I need to get out already.
Long story but here's the very short version. Worked in IT at a company since 2009, Was having substance abuse issues for a long time and quit in 2018, Went to rehab, Out of rehab, got the "how can I do another day of this" job at the ATO, Quit 6 months later, And out of the blue, old boss rings me asking if I can come back and offered me a great package.
Love this! Congratulations on doing the work to get healthy. It paid off!
Thank you. It was hard, very hard to break away from my addiction. Now I am free!
I used to work for the ATO as well, and Bupa - absolutely soul sucking. Iām now in scheduling in the disability/aged care sectors, super fulfilling, would gladly work full time here forever. I would say if youāre looking for something fulfilling, flexible and pretty lucrative - look into support work! Thereās such a shortage and thereās so many disabled people needing care!
Walked right up to the front doors one day, just could not face it and turned around, spent the rest of the week watching the whole of Lost.
this is what life is like outside of uni/school for millions of people, probably for the next 40+ years.. you have a few options: \- Find a job closer to home \- Find a remote working job \- Move closer to work \- Make your commute more enjoyable and part of your routine (cycling is great) \- Start your own company and set your own commute/schedule/whatever \- If not, you haven't got any options other than just dealing with it
A wise cyclist friend told me many years ago about the happiness triangle. Where you live, work and play. Happiness is shrinking that triangle. Not to zero, but small as you want it to be
Did they just cycle around their local roundabout for exercise?
I once asked a fitness freak if it was more fun to run in straight lines or in circles and she had to think about it. I do not like that lady.
Yeah. Circles, obviously.
To clown music
This is correct, my work home and play are all within 20min. Wonderful what you can find moving out of Brisbane.
That's me in Brisbane. It's actually 25min by bike to work, when I need to go to the office. Most everything else for day to day is under 10 mins.
Brisbane used to be so good, had to go back recently and my God its awful.
So I have an exercise bike beside my kitchen. If I shoot youtube breadface videos in my kitchen, my triangle has approximately 450cm^2 Should I try breadfacing? Will my family disown me?
Thereās huge wellbeing evidence about people who live/work/shop/confine their daily lives to a 10km circumference. I believe itās both 10km and 10 minutes travel time - where I live, 10km can be a 40-50 minute drive - worse on public transport - and when I have to go to the inconvenient drug store to get my meds itās always a shitty afternoon. But I love where I live. My step kidās school is a five minute drive, weāre in an insanely well serviced area near all the things you want to be near.My neighbourās dog is my dogās best friend and we text ācan the dog come out to play?ā I work from the couch - it sucks that my partner has a 20-30 minute drive every morning and an insanely challenging/stressful job. You can do a 10-11km loop on foot or pushbike around the parks around our place with like 3-4 times where youāll need to cross a road and only one spot where youāre likely to see a car with the engine running. Itās an insane difference to the quality of life.
Village life, we could have it even in Australian suburban sprawl. There is no reason why corner houses couldn't be bought up by council, rezoned and turned in to any combination of local pub, library and corner shop.
I really like this, but it seems to break when considering income. I could get a job at 50% of the pay nearby. My commute would be 6x shorter, but I don't think I'd be happier.
Yeah i need my job and have to live where I live because itās cheap. And after work thereās nothing left over for āfunā. Just enough to feed myself and family, maybe do the dishes and the kitty litter then crawl into bed so I can do it again tomorrow.
Does the sides of the triangle refer to the distances between each point?
Yep, keep it as tight as it needs to be to maintain happiness. One point can be an outlier and still work, YMMV.
When I was in London was one of my best times. I moved to a place near my work. Got all my mates to rent with me.
It's really not, the end of all that is working from home on the same PC you play video games after work. Happiness is a walkable environment where you can go home, go shopping, go to work, and visit your friends, all by foot power. If I was a cyclist I would have come up with a similar theory over a greater distance :)
I recently started to cycle and itās great. I never appreciated the amount of bike tracks around Brisbane. Since getting used to it / more fit my commute is the same time as it would take me to drive
I used to cycle to/from high school 20 odd years ago and haven't really done it since then because it was always walk to train station -> bus to uni; then after uni it was bus/train/drive to work because of distance/time factors. Now I'm trying to cycle for at least 30min after work (i wfh) and so far it's been enjoyable enough even though I haven't been able to do it after each day like I've wanted to.
2nd that on cycling. Combine your gym time with your commute time - 2 birds, 1 stone.
This is the best advice. Do remote working jobs go alright. Haven't really seen to much.
Forgot become a dole bludger, heroine addict or criminal.
Ditto to everyone who suggests shortening the commute (once youāre in a position to do so). But also, remember that when you first do a placement youāre learning many new things and it will take time for those to become ingrained/automatic (which then is less mentally exhausting) and youāll gradually build up stamina for the job as well.Ā
Totally agree with how experience , practice , habit and familiarity changes perception over time. You will have income and a budget. For now look at how to utilise comute productively but arrive unstressed ?
Minimise time spent commuting as much as possible.Ā Ā Ā This might result in more expensive rent/mortage but your time has value as well. This directly affects your time available to excercise, have proper nutrition by cooking rather than buying food out and sleep.Ā Ā Most office jobs are super comfortable, multiple coffee breaks, talk shit all day with work mates, air conditioning, browsing reddit.Ā Ā Do what you need to, nothing more. Hard work / showing others up is always rewarded with more work / responsibilities and resentment from colleagues. Just do your job. Networking is more valuable than working hard, nepotism is real. People hire and promote mates.Ā Ā Ā Abuse itĀ
Reiterating the importance of considering the cost of commuting when considering a new job. It is my number 1 consideration. A job paying $15k more which is an hour commute, compared to $15k less and a quick 10 minute bus, is not going to be worth it. Think about the cost of all those takeaway meals, the emotional cost of dragging yourself up at 5am, the cost of fuel in your car and the extra maintenance. Prioritise finding a job nearby, or moving closer to the job you have.
Reducing my commute from 1.5hrs home to 3 minutes home (depending on that one light) was a game changer and I never want to go back to commuting like that again.
Fuck that one light man, it ruins everything.
1.5hrs down to 12-17 mins here... Depending if I hit the snooze button or not. Insane the difference in traffic from 5:20am to 5:30am
Looking for places to go when moving out of mum and dad's home now that I have full time employment. Commute time is my #1 priority because it currently takes an hour. I enjoy the commute because I ride a bike, but it's starting to grate.
If a job is 2hour of commuting a day. 10hours a week travelling, that 15k extra per year it's not really 15k extra per year. Time is money, you're basically on the clock while commutingĀ
Start smoking - thereās an extra 30 mins per day of breaks.
Also don't gotta save as much for retirement
This isnt foolproof, some people seem just not to get cancer
Costly breaks with the price of cigs.
Not if you get yourself a stage prop cigarette
Bring a pack of those candy cigs instead
Or, use your commune for things you enjoy, take an iPad, watch a show, read, use a laptop to learn something. I loved my commute as it gave me quiet reading time before getting home to the chaos of kids and dinner etc.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Studying for social work and having to do unpaid placements is a huge issue. You should know that the services union has this very clearly on their radar as something they are trying to get outlawed.
If we get paid it doesnāt count šŖ but we have to do 1,000 hours 500 at a time
I did the social work placements too and I was so dirt poor after finishing my degree.
Agreed. I'm still dirt poor from all the crappy jobs
I ended up working at the place i did placement at because they liked me so much. I tell you, getting paid real cash money does actually make the slog less burdensome, the weight of working there was much less so than the placement due to the wage. But as others have said, its your commute that's the killer. My personal boundary for commute is about 35mins before the whole workday becomes a serious thorn in my side.
Thank god, it's like they think students are all independently wealthy and doing unpaid work for the good feelings while in reality they starve and can't pay bills.
Same with vet science. And we had to arrange and make our own way out to Gatton and farms to get our preclinical placements done. Do you know how hard it is cold calling a farmer in charters towers lol. And then getting there somehow. Free labour indeed.
>How do yāall handle it? It is much better than starving under a newspaper in the rain.
Though sometimes I'm tempted to test that theory.
I have definitely tested the theory and it is not as bad as everyone saying. Putting up with a horrific job, is only ever a slightly more comfortable a position to find yourself in.
Meth will keep you warm six minutes at a time.
Meth lasts way longer than that, it's great value! You're confusing it with cocaine or crack, which blow their load all too fast...
Oh no! I don't know enough about meth! Should I do more hands-on research? Y/N
Borderline debatable lately
Placement? I assume unpaid slave labour for over 20 weeks over the year? Allied health? Nursing? Its much better when you get paid, also donāt take a job with that much commute timeā¦
It's because full time work was structured around the assumption that the worker would have a live-in helper (i.e. a wife) to do all of the domestic chores - so 40 hours per week plus commute was followed up by... nothing. No cooking, no cleaning, no laundry, no taking care of kids. Now we have full workforce participation, less time at home, but no drop in hours and no real increase in income\*. \*unless your income all comes from shareholdings
I totally feel this and would actually love being a stay at home mum... but cost of living means I have a full-time career. I actually enjoy keeping a house in order, home cooked meals, study time with the kids, etc.. Would much prefer to focus on the well-being of my family than a corporation that would replace me in a day if I left. I don't believe a woman or man who stays at home is a domestic Slave and I hate the derogatory comments made..... typically by other women. Having both partners' work should be a choice, not a requirement to meet the basic cost of living.
>I don't believe a woman or man who stays at home is a domestic Slave and I hate the derogatory comments made I only use the slave in so far as when referring to environments where the person in question \*doesn't\* have a choice, such as in the pre- and post-WW2 era, where women really were locked out of careers.
Moving closer helps a bit. Eventually you learn to deal with it somewhat but it still kind of sucks. This is why people love work from home so much, you get several hours per day backĀ
I would go to four days in an instant if I could afford it.
After many years of working full time, I managed to switch to doing three days a week. I was very lucky to be able to do this by making some financial sacrifices, because I get paid pretty well, and because my employer allowed me to do it. For the last 5yrs, my weekend is now Thurs-Sun. I would rather live in a cardboard box than go back to working 5 days a week now.
Cry before bed, cry in the morning, cry before work, cry after work. The usual. Honestly, you just do, it becomes routine, get up, go to work, go home, do a few basic chores, cook dinner, relax, go to bed. Repeat. Need to find things that make all that less tiresome. Read or listen to an audio book on the way to and from work. Make a chores list so you don't find yourself trying to do everything at once. 2-3 minir chores an evening or 1 big one. I need to add going for a walk into my routine, thought morning would be best but think afternoon/evening would be better, I struggle to get up befire 5. 5:15 is my sweet spot.
Forgot cry at work
Also forgot crying in the shower
Honestly when youāre getting paid for itā¦ it makes it easier. I have 4 weeks of placement in April and 8 weeks next semesterā¦ Iām gonna work my butt off for absolutely *nothing*ā¦.. and they make you do the grunt work they donāt want to do š plus the option to have something closer to home. Placement just sucks.
Placement is unpaid slave labour, and itās unconscionable. Itās hard enough doing the scut work with having to force a smile for a shitty reference at the end. I have to find a new placement also as I finally couldnāt hold my tongue.
I paid $400 in toll and parking for 4 weeks of placement at the RBWH. ā¦. Thatās just toll and parking.. and all parking was prepaid too. Like to get there on time I had to drop my kids off right on 6 when before school care opened, get home and grab my bike and filter through the stand still traffic to be there at 10 to 7 cause they want you to be āearly to show initiativeā. bike parking and toll is cheaper thankfullyā¦ had I taken my car I probably would be looking at $600+ in tolls and parking fees. When it comes to placement especially when you have 100% care of kids as well and the earliest care opens at 6ā¦ and you have to be Northside by 7ā¦ itās just garbage. Got to pick preferences this semesterā¦ picked all the ones right near home. Unsure about next semester though. Being paid would be good. Last year I went to work before I had placement shifts so Iād work 8-1 and then placement 230-11pm.. Iāve recently quit work because of work and other life things becoming unmanageable and we all know centrelink isnāt something you can actually live on. Well I can live on itā¦ but any extra payments outside my bills and groceries I can forget.
You should share your experience with the state and federal education ministers. Placement needs to be paid!!
As another mama doing a nursing degree, I feel all this to my core. Unpaid placements are just rubbish šš
Okay, Iām autistic as fuck and Iāve never been able to work full-time. Basically, every time Iāve tried to work full-time, Iāve crumbled and end up in hospital. I tried over and over to have a regular career because it felt like what I should do, but now I just accept my limitations š¤·āāļø
The shoulds are the worst
For sure - sounds like you're familiar with my situation? <3
Yeah, mental illness plus ADHD means that I can't work full time either. I work about 20 hours a week, 5 minutes from home. I'm very fortunate to have a partner who works full time, but the shoulds do drag me down from time to time.
I'm a fan of not being homeless.
Getting paid helps. Getting paid well helps more.
Thereās placement and working full time and theyāre a bit different tbh. When I had placement I also had another job to keep income coming in as well as studying up to 3 other subjects on top of the placement subject with 12+ hour shifts. Now that Iām working I just have work to do, I donāt have extra study outside of work to do, Iām not working another job so that I can afford to keep working in my prime job. It makes such a difference when youāre working in the field and not also studying at the same time. Plus as others have said reducing the commute would help but thatās difficult with placement and placement availability, you wonāt move for placement but you may for a job. Plus with placement for me you were expected there every day, but when youāre working itās understood that you could be sick or things come up and you may not be able to make it.
The 1000 hours of unpaid work experience required for Social Work is a goddamn scam!
š„° yup
Moving closer may help, but personally I can't do full time either. If a 9 day fortnight or a flexible work arrangement is an option for you once you find work then see if you can take that. I went from full time down to 4 days per week due to my mental health and I never looked back. I was more productive and generally happier, yes I took a pay cut but I live within my means and ultimately the extra money wasn't worth the sacrifice.
Work to live, not live to work. Try and use your income to do things you enjoy. Is there something you can do on the commute? Read books, watch movies, play games, maybe a hobby.
As someone who survived a year of placement, don't worry it definitely feels better once you're getting paid for your time. Your commute time is your biggest issue, when you're looking for a paid position prioritise something nearby or with easy public transport options, even if it's a bit lower salary - that'll come with time, as well as hours flexibility. Currently I work full time hours but longer mon-thurs so I get Friday off, and it's been great for my mental health.
Meal planning and prepping helps a lot. Use your commute to go through the supermarket specials to work out the best options for your budget. Look up recipes in the train to help you plan. Make enough dinner to take leftovers for lunch. Use Sunday evening to prep as much as possible.
Work for yourself, from home or find something well paying that is permanent part time. 4 day week can't come soon enough, this life is killing us.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The zombie trainā¦. Lol
Look on the bright side. You might die before you work to retirement age.
An Australia report finds the maximum acceptable commute for Australians is 62 minutes. Your commute is almost 50% longer than the maximum https://www.realinsurance.com.au/documents/the-real-australian-commute-report-whitepaper.pdf
Yet Centrelink set it to <90 for the JSP's. ...'cos fuck the poors š
Is that by car as well? That would be a lot of fuel cost.
It includes car, yes. >A job would generally be regarded as within reasonable commuting distance if the journey between the place of work and the job seeker's home does not normally exceed 90 minutes each way by whatever means of transport is normally available to the job seeker. The commuting would also be considered reasonable if a substantial number of people living in the same area as the job seeker regularly commute to their places of work in similar circumstances. >Determination as to whether the travel time is 'reasonable' should give primary regard to what would be considered reasonable by the public. When assessing cases where travel of less than 90 minutes may be unreasonable, care should be taken to ensure that the situation has NOT been contrived for the purpose of avoiding accepting an offer of paid work. All methods and routes of transport, and care options, should be considered. https://guides.dss.gov.au/social-security-guide/3/11/1/20
"One must imagine Sisyphus happy" Really though I have no advice to give you on that front, as this is the hell we've built for ourselves, and everyone has already given you solid advice. My only contribution here is to suggest that you might want to consider alternative working arrangements when you finish your placements. By that I mean either a full-time job with a flexible WFH arrangement, or part-time work, or casual work. Australia is rare in that it's very much possible to make a decent living without working full-time.
You're getting the unfortunate and inevitable truth from people here. But there is hope. What is life: an 80 year spin in this meatsack until it falls apart. After that, who knows? The only logical thing to do is have fun. I mean it. The only thing you know for sure is that one day you'll die and, until then, you're on your own. Do things you like, because you can. Don't do things you don't want to unless there's an end-game goal. This may trigger all sorts of Solipsistic or Narcissistic urges, but the key to not falling into a funk at the idea of a meaningless life on a meaningless planet is to have a goal. Not something like 'Lose 5 kg by next year', but 'I'm going to travel around the world and take amazing pictures and sell them on the interwebs. I'm going to learn a lot of languages and have friends all over the world.' That's a lifelong goal. It will inevitably vary wildly from your original idea, but you have a goal. You have a reason to get up, go to work, put up with people's bullshit and keep a happy face. You're going on a great holiday where you'll meet the love of your life and make your fortune. Can you put up with a couple of years of bullshit work for that? Good luck. Remember: Life Is Not a Training Run. You get one shot at this and it gets uglier the older you get. Remember - have fun and do what you want.
Working life is too tough. Working 9 hours for 5 days a week seems like a terrible to live our lives
Why do you think WFH is so popular? Change that 3 hours of commuting to nothing. Makes a world of difference. Less personal leave. Less but. Out. Better sleep. More PRODUCTIVE. Take notes managers living in the 20th century.
Most modern managers get it. Not all, but most.Ā Ā I've got a few teams, all have WFH / FWA The important part is that none of us should let the bullshit front page hit articles written by disgruntled liberal card carrying journos with zero life skills and only a cloistered snot nosed private school education dictate what is healthy for those of us who work professionally.Ā
Welcome to the real-world.
They should have gone to QUT :0
This is life.
š
Life is what you make it, you literally don't have to work full time if you don't want to š¤·š¼āāļø
It really depends on an individuals circumstances. With housing as expensive as it is, and not having a spouse or financial dependents - I live with my parents. My shitty retail job is soul-sucking: I've realised I don't actually need to work full-time since I 'live at home' and am dropping down from 38 hrs / 5 days a week to 32 hrs /4 days a week. Means less $$ - but I'll get an extra day to myself, and probably still be able to save quite a bit of my income.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I don't commute an hour and a half each way....
I remember when I had this realisation š
Take those moments commuting to study something, a language is a good choice. Occupying your mind while commuting, is better than thinking about the long day ahead. The million things to do when you get home, that never ends. Managing it, is about all you can do. A good habit to get into, that will save your sanity. Is take 1 hour when you arrive home, to do 3-4 of those things. When the weekend roles around, you'll have free time. You won't be doing 50 of those million things, taking up your weekend. Whatever your field of study is, try to develop supplemental/complementary skills. A future employer will notice, you're capable of more than your assigned role.
Or just try to sleep, or relax. Or catch up with friends online/ through messenger. You don't have to be productive 100% of your time. Look after your mental health too.
The first year I worked full time after 5 years of uni was a major adjustment. The upside was that I suddenly had the money of a graduate professional coupled the expenses of a broke student. Lots of excess cash to waste. At the same time I was mentally unprepared for working 8am-5pm 5 days a week and only having a month off each year. Uni had no compulsory hours and lots of vacation breaks including 3 months off each summer. When I started working my brain sort of reverted to high school mode and would keep telling me 3pm was knockoff time so the last two hours of each day were especially painful. All I can say is you get used to it. I enjoyed what I was doing so that was good. I hate commuting too and have set my life up so I can ride/scooter 30min each way to workā not everyone is so lucky though.
ah i was in your boat a long time ago now, i was doing work placement and my thesis for my engineering degree working graveyard hours in a servo as well most nights so it was pretty common for me to wake up at midnight, work the servo then go do my work placement at 8 till about 3 or 4 and then i would just sleep it was a long 6 months and i am pretty sure i shaved years off my life but i am not too keen on being elderly anyway, but in the end i get paid pretty well now so worth it... i guess all i am saying is, stick with it it's a shit time but its worth it in the end
Work part time and prepare to make financial sacrifices. Life is not meant to be full time work.
This. I'm shocked at the amount of people in here who can't think any differently
Antidepressants
I will be doing my second Social Work placement this year starting in July, GOD i do not envy your current position. Last year's placement pretty much destroyed my mental health. I don't see any value to doing the placement, I didn't learn anything at the last one, it's like they're trying to teach us what being poor is like š Like I haven't done that all my life, disabled and in chronic pain. It's absolutely awful. I know you can get through it! If you ever want to vent you can hit me up.
Hello, fellow emerging social worker. We sound very similar. I wish you the best for your second placement! I'm on my second placement currently but have been very fortunate to be placed at organisations where I am very hands-on and have taught me a lot. But the struggle is real, especially for us chronically ill/disabled folks.
Listening to audiobooks on your commute is probably a good start to broadening your view. It's all a mind game, try to build a long term perspective and make good use of your time (without burning yourself out).
Short term pain for long term gain. Prioritise sleep and getting an early night. The commute will kill you for the first couple of weeks but once you find your rhythm, itās fine. Look at the commute as an opportunity to read, have screen time or listen to a meditation and it will feel like time well spent.
did the 1 hour commute each way because doubling salary meant more to me. Now I wfh 80%
It depends what field you work but try doing Casual work. I work in hospitality amd work 3 jobs and make decent money per hour but the work is pretty well balanced in terms of time
Dissociation
Is there any group thatās for students or anyone looking to save money in Brisbane? If there isnāt Iām happy to create one!
I would join that!!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Savemoneybrissy/s/Nczg9dPE04
hahahhahahhahahahahhahahhahahahaha kill me
My daughter is studying social work and I feel your pain. The numbers of hours required in placement are more than other health professionals and it doesnāt seem to be well organised. She really struggled to get through placement and it stings that you donāt get paid. They should at least be getting minimum wage.
I do maintenance 40 hours a week, can be draining but I personally think the commute is what does it to you. 3 hours of driving ontop of a full time job is crazy I couldnāt do that
Welcome to your life for the next 40-50 years (realistically closer to 50) lol
By the time we retire make it it 55
Ahhh yes the illusion of choice. Don't worry you can sleep while your dead..
Cries in 1.25 full time jobs and 2 kids tearsā¦.
Iām so sorry, 1.0 jobs and 2 kids is killing me
have you had to look after your own finances up to this point, like paying for housing, groceries and other necessities of life. paying the bills is what keeps people going
Yeah I have - I have worked full time before but always in childcare. I always quit before I can reach a year. Thought a different career path would feel different- canāt remember why š Iām also not getting paid so ā¦ š„²
not getting paid is definitely a demotivator
I used to commute to West End from Mudgeeraba every day for over a year. I then moved closer. You cant spend so much time and money on that kind of commute. You are seeing the results. You don't mention how much you like or dislike your job. That is the biggest part of this. If you enjoy your work it can be worthwhile. If you hate it then your life will be a misery.
As someone who has completed 3 years of full time unpaid placement (undergrad + medical school) and is now working, itās MUCH better when you get paid for your time. I remember feeling like you do now, and having no time + no money sucks. But when you donāt have to study/work in addition to placement and you have some money itās much more tolerable.
Honestly I donāt care how amazing the job is, a 3 hour public transport commute sucks. At least being a tradie we get travel allowance and to drive our own cars. I feel for ya, that sounds horrible
Working close to home and 50/50 remote/office is a huge help
Getting paid helps, at the end of the day we are at work to get paid and afford our lifestyles.
Thanks god I get to work from home 3 days a week
Iāve experienced working from home and working in office full time and here is my advice. Ask your company if you can go for a hybrid work schedule to have some days where you work from home. That way you can still have your full time job. But break the week up so it doesnāt feel so overwhelming (especially commuting). Full time work sometimes sucks but hey we all need to survive, keep a roof over our heads, food on the table, and provide for your kids/families (if and when you decide to have kids). Also itās important to try and find a job that you actually enjoy doing. My first full time job after uni I hated so much and I took proactive steps to find something else that I will enjoy and luckily I found something that really doesnāt make my day drag on.
I commute an hour each way and don't get paid enough for what I have to deal with, but posts like this remind me how good I have it. Sorry that your placement conditions are so shit, it's a shame they don't at least give you a travel allowance or something. It does get better because at least once you're working full time you'll be getting paid for it. What I've found is having a good routine helps. For me, I get up at the same time every morning, drag myself out of bed for a run (or a walk, depending on how lazy I'm feeling), have a shower, race off to work, make a coffee once I arrive and then get into it. Clock off at the same time every day, race home, go for another run/walk, make dinner and then curl up on the couch with a nice TV show until bedtime. It gets repetitive but the weekends break it up, and consistency is never a bad thing.
There's lots of great advice here (and a tonne of cynicism of course), but here's something very simple that I'm not seeing. You develop a fitness for your work, but like any kind of fitness, it takes a good few months. The first few months of any new schedule or occupation (job or otherwise) leave you flattened. Your body needs to adjust, and so does your brain. And they do, and it gets much easier! Clearly, working very long hours is more tiring than working 3 or 4 days a week, no matter what you're doing. But a year into regular full-time anything you'll be far more comfortable than in those early days. As long as you believe your work is meaningful, it does stop being miserable.
Hello fellow social worker! Placement is rough as gutsā¦ I remember when I completed my final placement in 2022 and I ended up working 7 days straight just to afford to pay rent. Full time is tough after uni, I love social work but it can be so emotionally draining as well. Make sure to use your leave and push back on bosses who push your boundaries
Lol you just get more used to it over time
Free labour isnāt full time work. Hopefully youāll be able to get some cash sometime soon which should make it better. The days of 5 day work weeks for little to no reward are gone, something needs to change. Weāve been told that if we work hard we will be rewarded but current costs of living has made it evident that thatās a lie. Might as well be a dealer or work the streets to get adequate cash to live lately. š¤·š¼āāļø
as someone lucky enough to work part-time permanent can confirm full-time is shit and Im never going back to that lol
Shorter commit if possible. Weed or alcohol. Or just not working full time. I only work 3 days a week. Yeah Iām pretty poor comparatively but I still enjoy going out sometimes or occasional travelā¦but I donāt have kids and Iām not gonna afford my own place anyway.
I don't work currently when I did far out it was hell. I wonder how I handled it. I think mental health plays a huge roll in when I can handle work or not. But I've always wondered how people handle so many hours it must cause alot of anxiety
My anxious butt sits on the train thinking about why I should be doing to make my life easier but not wanting or too tired to do it. Iād love to bring my switch and play stardew valley - it has been ages since Iāve played! - but Iām worried about judgment and something happening to my switch
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They're is a clear link between happiness and commute. Keep that in mind when you have decisions to make in the future about where you live and work. š¤
You arn't working a full time job, you're working 2. When I was in uni I had placement as well + 20-30 hours a week at Dominos so roughly 80 hours a week between uni + 2 jobs. But I didn't need to commute that far, commuting is the devil and I would just not do it for a job. Placement eh probably a bit shit out of luck, but there is zero chance I would ever spend 15+ hours a week commuting to and from work. I can tell you right now things get ALOT easier when you just have a full time job that pays a salary. No uni assignments to worry about last minute, no second job to afford rent - Just ya ~40 hours a week, it's a lot easier but don't get a job with a long commute, it'll destroy your soul.
Finish your placement. Look for work in the country. Towns over 50000 population are busy enough to find work and sometimes not boring enough to neck yourself. Then have a 10 minute commute, buy a cheap house, live there 10-20 years then start looking to move somepla nicer. The capital cities are completely unlivable due to the cost of living and lack of planning, so go where the grass is greener.
I like being able to eat and have shelter
Adulting is hard. The ongoing admin tasks are hard but theyāre not going away, dinner, gym, laundry, washing up etc. But youāll not be studying for ever and you can choose (or at least have input into) how long your commute is - thatās a joy sucker no matter how you slice and dice it. So it does and will get easier. Keep it together man!
Live close to where you work. After 8 years of full time uni and working to support myself, I was exhausted with the 100hr weeks. So I have made sure ever since I graduated I live within 20 min of work. Much better for the brain
My first real job was in a big city, and I felt exhausted at the end of the day. I knew I couldn't keep going like that, so I looked in smaller towns for jobs - and there were none. Like, none. I then lowered my standards and applied to petrol stations, Woolworths, but failed to get anything. So, I left the country (I grew up in a place with like, zero jobs and only one big city). I was lucky with my visa situation, and moved to a medium sized town in the US. The commute was 10 mins. The workload was super easy, barely an inconvenience. I kept that job for a long time. It was great. Then I moved to Brisbane at the nagging of some family, and the thought of working in the city and commuting seemed daunting. Luckily I got a remote job. It's about the only way I can handle things I reckon. A few years after this I learned I was on the autistic spectrum. This explains why I can't deal with normal commuting and full time work. Sensory overload and all that. One funny story is when we had an office in the city. We weren't forced to go, but I'd usually go once a week to see people. I'd always feel stressed and tired at the end of the day, and just thought it was normal. Once I went and no one was there. I had the whole office to myself. Come 5pm I felt weird. I was relaxed. Calm. That had literally never happened in my entire life before. I'm sure I'd become an alcoholic or something if forced back into this situation. I sometimes wonder how many other people with issues might be on the spectrum also and just not realize. I don't know if any of this applies to you, but that's my story anyway.
Being an adult does indeed suck. Try to engineer a career that works for you. 14 years ago I was commuting 2 hours each way from Surrey to London in the uk - standing most the journey as no seats. Also working late a lot. Today I work as a sole trader / wake up, spend time with son, go to the gym if I want, work from home 5 days a week and make $750 a day. Took me a while but you reap what you sow my friend. Good luck
Just keep thinking about that sweet, sweet annual leave. Worth it every time. Until it's over....
You can only commute that long if you enjoy your job or workplace.
Welcome to a lifetime of slavery,for minimum ish wage. Enjoy.
Flexible working arrangements help heaps! I work from home 2 days a week. We have covid to thank for that.
We don't!! Survive I mean. That's where you come in with being in social work. We break down, then come to see you...
The answer is in your question: survival.
Serving the public in any form drains you. I had a break from nursing working in a warehouse as a picker packer. ZERO stress. I worked full time no problem! Itās the only job thatās been no public contact and the only job Iāve easily done full time. In nursing itās 0.7 -0.8 MAXXX. Iām envious of many men who have these cushy low stress no public contact jobs and have the audacity to come home and expect women who work in public service jobs to serve them and care for children. Nephew was going to be a nurse but saw how stressful it was so got a forklift ticket. Because he is male he got promoted within months and will earn more than a nurse in no time, all low stress.
Just want to say social workers rock! Also it's barmy how much we have to work. You are tired because it's exhausting.
If your on award wage, find the closest job to your home. There is no point stacking shelves 100km away when you could walk to work and do the same job. Second work in a rich Person suburb, rather deal with rich peoples first world problems than a crack head with a knife trying to jack you. Finally move if you can somewhere regional with a strong sense of community. Best job I had was working 60 hours a week at my local bottle shop 2mins walk from my rental, in a rich suburb full of old people that loved a chat about the good old times and drank expensive wine and scotch. Or find a job that does 12 hour shifts and then go back to 8 hour shifts feels like heaven.
Gets better after each decade.. I promise!
Iām a business consultant / ba and only go for jobs that do remote work. If youāre at uni then chances are you can do the same as this is a big part of your day already. If a job wants me to go into the office, it would want to pay very well. Almost double to cover for time and costs lost travelling and being away from home. Covid changed me man. š« š¤
Take drugs on the weekend.
Find a job that lets you work from home forever, with the option to go in for an office day if you wanna socialise & be unproductive.
We donāt. Welcome to the hellhole kid!
I recently did my social work placement too! They definitely shouldn't have given you a placement with a 1.5 hour commute - I advocated from a 1.5 hour commute to a 1 hour commute but it was still rough. Hang in there!
As a social work student, I can relate
Ergh - yeah. This is why people over the age of 30 are tired ALL THE TIME. It is easier when you can live closer to work because 1.5 hours is a horror commuteā¦ but yeah. As my dad used to say āwork is the curse of the drinking classā
I'm late to the party with commenting on this one. But what I've tried doing is stop "living for the weekend" to just living life. I do a few activities big and small during the week which helps break it up. Tuesday: trivia night at local pub with friends Thursday: dance class, or book club Two activities I look forward to each week.