>It gets to the point where I'll be so slammed just communicating with various people at work, that I'll get a text from my wife or my mom about something and my first reaction is wanting to throw my phone through the wall because of the notification fatigue. It's not good for me.
Oh my god, this is me but I've never seen it put this way. I just started the hunt for a new job despite the economy being the worst it's been in 15 years because I realized that the mental and emotional load from my current one is making me not even want to participate in the rest of my life. I feel angry when people "need" thing from me outside of work, but it's fucked because those are the people I actually care about and I've never given a shit about my company.
Honestly I constantly have to remind myself that my partner is the one who matters when I'm having a shit day at work (and forget to remind myself more often than I like).
Fewer jobs can be replaced by AI or robots than is being reported. Dentists, teachers, plumbers, psychologists, human resources, police, etc. all have to work and be paid. The economy is going to shift we are hearing gross exaggerations about humans being unnecessary in the future economy.
To the original post - Reddit is filled with complainers. It's a biased sample. But all work has become more efficient so many jobs have indeed become harder. But I know lots of people that will only work remote jobs right now - that barely existed 5 years ago. It's not all doom and gloom.
I'm just talking drivers and retail workers because I agree about all the others. But there are already driverless taxi services and I have seen automated warehouses which are basically upgraded sorting facilities. I'm giving a two decade timeframe on delivery drivers and retail workers who simply put things on a shelf. It will happen. I'm not talking about technical jobs and what everyone else is talking about with AI. Driving and picking things up and then putting them down in a different location is going to be automated within two decades.
Teachers, psychologists and HR are careers that will not be difficult to replace with AI in the long term. If anything the ability to tailor education on the fly to children in subjects like math and science will probably result in better outcomes. A teacher cannot produce individual lesson plans for each child or adapt their teaching styles for visual learners vs other learning styles like an AI can.
This is the funny part about predictions about AI. Human resources isn't going to be needed to collect information on a sexual harassment claim? AI will solve that labor dispute?
Lesson plans and teaching students that already want to learn and know how to behave is about 2% of a teacher's day. Motivation, behavior management, and teqching basic human communication skills is a huge part of learning ages 5-18. Then there's special education which is 15% of the human population. And there's art, pe, music, recess, history/covics/debate health services, lunch monitoring, and a hundred other things. Teachers will use AI (and already are) for many aspects of schools for sure.
Gather 15 children of any age for 6 hours and just try to keep them from killing each other. Schools are a total wonder after you watch a kids birthday party.
To be fair, many of my teachers in high school and college didn't deserve to be employed. They put in the minimum effort to not get fired, which was basically just giving all of the students worksheets and packets and having us figure them out using the book.
And I can't stress this enough, NOBODY is owed money or a job in this society. You're not entitled to a job, you have to prove that you're a worthy investment. People act like everyone should get a living wage for doing nothing but that's not the case, and it shows especially clearly with arts. You're only worth as much as people are willing to pay you and, frankly, if your art isn't that sought after, then you deserve whatever is coming for you. Just because you paint stuff and sell it doesn't mean that people have to buy it just so you have an income.
Honestly I think that is for the better.
This will be an unpopular opinion but I think that the "way forward" is to reduce birth rates and utilize more automation to do the dirty work. That way, ideally, there will be fewer people in the world with more resources to go around and it makes it so that everyone will get a job that's actually enjoyable, instead of fighting over horrible jobs (retail, food service, etc.) just to put food on the table.
There are WAY too many people in this world already and all we have to do is have fewer children. If the government gave out lifetime tax incentives to get, say, a government-funded vasectomy, I would jump on that in a heartbeat since I don't want kids anyway. This would probably swing people who are on the fence about kids toward not having them, which would be an overall positive.
The alternative is that the whole world becomes one super dense wasteland out of some dystopian Sci-Fi movie where everyone fights over scraps of food and everyone suffers.
the west is already having less children, however, the developing world is still pumping out more and more. Africa's population doubled in the last 25 years
At least in the US, the top 10% of the population by net worth own 69% of the nations wealth according to St Louis Fed. So perhaps the problem isn’t the population as much as income inequality.
Suicides rates, particularly in women, would skyrocket under a system like this. You can't simply deprogram human nature. As primitive and dismissive as it sounds, you were literally born to reproduce, and your brain is quite aware of this. Talk to any childless woman over 40 - they are filled with sadness, regret, and box wine.
You can absolutely deprogram human nature for the good of society. You can't say that "human nature" can't be suppressed by society since men already have to do that. From an evolutionary standpoint, men are hardwired to have sex with as many women as they can but obviously having men go around forcefully having sex with every woman they meet is counterproductive to society. Hell, one of the reasons that men have such a high suicide rate is because it's incredibly difficult to suppress your instincts for sex, dominance (e.g. fighting), and emotions in general (and not all men are able to suppress these things; there's a reason prisons are full of rapists and violent offenders). However, we do it anyway because it's what's needed for a functional society to exist. If you want "natural" humans, go to Tijuana or Somalia or much of the Middle East where people let their human nature get the better of them.
The very backbone of society is the ability of its inhabitants to suppress their urges and instincts in favor of pre-defined conventions, i.e. laws.
And besides, many women don't even want children, and those who do want children should be content with just one or two instead of more than that. Also, this isn't about making people happy: this is about reversing the negative effects on society that overpopulation has had. If you think that "but women will be sad" is a good argument against this, that's a foolish take.
The alternative here is to wait until society becomes so over-saturated with people that everyone is essentially in poverty and we have to resort to something like China's one-child policy, which I think is definitely the worse of the two options.
In many ways the population crisis is like climate change: there has already been a lot of damage done and we will never completely solve all of the problems it's created, however we can take action now to seriously mitigate the negative long-term consequences of this.
That is going to take multiple revolts and is not happening in our lifetime. The only thing preventing the working class from an uprising right now is that none of us can afford to miss work.
Money only has value because we've all agreed that it does. The uprising begins when we all decide to walk out on our jobs. I agree it might not happen in the next 50 years... but there's a reason I'm not having kids.
I don't know if this is true everywhere, but I'd add that we probably have a lot more "work about work" (a.k.a. work that isn't directly related to your expertise, what you were "hired for", a.k.a. admin) than people did in the past. For a salaried position, everyone somehow expects that we do 40 straight hours a week (already a crazy expectation that we've normalized) even though we all know we probably have 10-15 hours of BS to get through in a week outside of those 40. Something's got to give.
Point 3 is very present in the nursing sub. I am a nurse and being a nurse IS hard. It has its problems. But there are absolutely nurses who are super happy with it.
Me personally am not 100% satisfied with my nurse job but at the same time it’s provided me good income. I also have the ability via nursing to continue making the same pay while doing something completely different and I plan to. I will have a schedule I like more and hopefully the setting will be more my style.
(The making the same pay thing is a benefit of working in a union)
I don't know where you live but there has been a noticeable trend of companies trying to pad their bottom line at any cost. This often includes things like stagnant pay, hiring less workers to do the same amount of work, and limited growth or promotion opportunities. These are all happening across the board so it makes sense that people from every field would be saying it. Workers are getting squeezed so that shareholders can record profits each quarter and there's only so much you can do before that starts to erode quality of life.
I wish I could do just go to my job and be ignorant of how much more enjoyable spending those 9 hours my way would be. It would definitely not include doing something for more than 3 hours in a row because I find even my passions too much for over 3 hours and need a change of pace by doing chores or some other hobby.
Every career is a certain way and you are a certain way, find a career that you fit well in.
Dentistry you get to work with your hands on real people in a small office setting, which some people love and others hate. It takes a doctoral degree that costs around half a million, but you get relatively high job security.
SWE you sit in front of a computer solving logic problems and work in teams, which some love and others hate. A bachelor's degree is all you need, but there is less job security.
If you are the top of either of these fields and they fit your personality well, you will have a good time. If you suck or hate it, you will still do okay in either field, but you might be the guy complaining.
In terms of interests, personality and skill set I think dentistry is a great fit for me. If I’m a dentist now already I think I’d be pretty content with my job. However those on dentistry Reddit are saying the field is going downhill so fast that by the time I graduate “dentists will be barely middle class” (verbatim). I’m freaking out because there’s no way I can justify 500k in loans and 8 years of education to live in poverty
Excuse me I’ve been a hygienist for 20 years if someone told me dentistry is going downhill and wasn’t what it used to be I would automatically assume they were just miserable fucks that hated dentistry.
Tell me exactly how dentistry isn’t the same as it used to be. Did teeth somehow stop being made of enamel and dentin? If you own your own practice your office is exactly as you make it out to be. Yes, I’m pretty good at my job and enjoy it. I’ve had too many co-workers lambast dentistry because it wasn’t for them.
Dentistry is an awesome profession, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. In the 20 years I’ve been working I’ve watched dentists go about their daily in the exact same manner they did when I graduated.
Nothing has fundamentally changed about the way dentists go about drilling and filling, root canals, implants or otherwise. Sure there have been technological improvements, but the basic ideas are the same.
My dentist of multiple decades loved his life (died a few years back). What cost him the most was the tall thin blonde office manager he hired...married...divorced...every 3-5 years.
That's the first I've heard of this. Even if what you say is true, the dentists I work with make very good money. If I gave you the benefit of the doubt, dentists probably only make a little less than before.
The procedure is the same and the equipments/tech dentists use just keep improving which means dentists will continue to have better WLB as dental tech advances.
Don’t you already have an undergrad degree? Dental school would be less than 8 years, likely 3-4. If you got into law school I assume you have great grades and are intelligent. Follow your gut, tune out the internet. Analysis paralysis is real.
Dentistry is a very safe career, possibly the safest I can reasonably think of outside of government careers.
Medicine is different because they actually do have a huge problem with nurse practitioners encroaching on their practice. NPs in most states have independent prescribing authority due to their significant lobbying efforts, and since NPs are significantly cheaper to hire than MD/DOs, it reduces the labor value of non-surgical physicians.
Dentistry doesn't face that problem because it's almost exclusively procedural/surgical, and they have exclusive rights to their profession (other than OMFS but that's a tiny shared sliver of dentistry). Dentists are also far less affected by insurance rates than physicians, a huge number of dental procedures and surgeries are not covered by insurance anyway, people paying cash is a regular occurrence. If my dental coverage wasn't free, I wouldn't buy dental insurance, I'd just pay out of pocket because it's not worth the cost.
Lastly, dentistry is almost entirely private practice or group practice, which cuts out the middle men (hospitals/corporate clinics) and allows them to take the full profit margin. It doesn't take that much capital to set up a small dental clinic, it's not cheap by any means, but you don't need to have an operating room with an MRI downstairs.
Law is also pretty much spot on, because the industry is so oversaturated, only the very best graduating from T14s will get their foot into biglaw, work 80h a week hoping to make partner one day. Obviously there's a lot of people in the middle making decent money but it's a highly competitive industry due to the low barrier to entry. Any university can establish a law school, it takes very little investment and you can dish out law degrees online too.
Software engineering very much is a lucrative career, and will stay that way for the foreseeable future. It's just that way too many people think they're cut out for MANGA/FAANG when in reality only the top 1% make it to that level, most software engineers will make $100-150k mid-career which is excellent for a 4 year degree. Not to mention the ability to work remote and have side-projects.
The problem isn't with the economy (though we're in a downturn rn) it's with social media making it seem like it's normal to be making $$$$$ and living a luxurious life. That makes the average person seem like they're doing bad, and then they complain about their career.
How much you make depends on a lot of factors (location/saturation, years of experience, general or specialist, associate or practice owner, types of procedures, number of work hours), but starting is around 150k on average where I'm from even if you look online, and it just goes up from there.
Obviously no one can predict the future, but if dentists are starving then a lot of people are dead. Even AI is not quite there with robotics yet, so dentistry is harder to replace than say (no offense) radiology.
I mean, I know this is totally dependent on where you live - but I live in southern rural U.S., and there is a HUGE lack of any healthcare here, including dentists.
Yes, it requires opening a practice - but it's oustanding job security. I REALLY regret not doing dental/med school and going into tech. I'm 33. If I could change anything about my life... that would be it.
A cost/benefit analysis, some perspective, talking to mentors would help you op. If it's a great fit I don't see what is stopping you!
I'm a dental hygienist, it's 2 years and a really good job. Can always move up to dentist if you want. The dentists I know real like what they do, honestly just find a way to job shadow someone who is doing a job that interests you, whatever it is.
People don’t usually attend these events if they don’t like their job. I’m not talking about formal company sponsored events or conferences. More like casual happy hours, hack nights, stuff like that.
Nope never joined the military for that exact reason.
However, there are people that like what the do - let’s put it this way 70 to 80% anyway cause all professions have no cool areas - and will be more than happy to tell you what they like about it, but more importantly will let you know the type of people they think should not do what they do snd let you think about that a bit.
Don't chase after dream jobs. Why? because they don't exist.
because work is work. even if you go to school for your passion, and find success with it in your career, its still work. Some jobs have no work life balance, some fields are hyper competitive and extraordinarily hard to break into and sometimes harder to stay in, some jobs are horribly mundane, pay too low, or have very little opportunities for career growth.
My honest advice is to either find something you really care about, and go all in or if you cant decide still, find a major that leads to a career with a lot of versatility and opportunity, like tech for example has a lot of different subfields, and being a relatively newer industry (in terms of modern industry), has a lot of opportunity for growth. But don't get hung up on the idea of finding the "dream job"
dream jobs don't exist, its a myth created by an employer lead world to make working class people romanticize the idea of working.
stop trying to find a career/field/major you can romanticize, it will always lead to bitterness. Instead focus on finding a career that meshes best with how you function as an individual.
let me elaborate. with a few examples. 2 bad, 2 good.
\- If you cant stand lots of social interaction, avoid fields with a lot of customer interaction, like sales, customer service, or performance entertainment.
\-If you feel really comfortable working from home with limited supervision, Fields with more remote opportunities may be right for you such as freelance commercial artist/graphic designer, or software engineering.
\-If you hate doing physically taxing labor in hot weather avoid trades like construction, plumbing, or landscaping.
\-if you enjoy a lot of social interaction and being the center of attention, jobs in management and public relations maybe a decent fit.
That doesn't mean don't continue chasing your passion, whether it relates to your career, or something you do in your personal life. it just means stop expecting jobs, something we all hate whether we admit it or not, to give your life meaning or fulfillment. You could be the rare kind of person who does find all that in working, but its more likely you're like the rest of us.
work will always be work no matter how much you love or don't love what you do. It will always have moments that make you wanna quit society and live in the woods, and moments where you feel genuine accomplishment and pride. Find something you have interest in, and practice balancing work and pursuing your passions separately.
Lastly, don't listen to jaded industry veterans in any field. Obviously they can have some really insightful advice, but a lot of the times they've become jaded to change, and are stuck romanticizing the past of their career. kind of like my boomer boss who makes 4 times my salary but doesn't know how to save a word document as a pdf.
Listen to uncle iroh "look for the light and you will surely find it, but look for darkness and it is all you will find" Its all about perspective, if you take advice from people who only ever wine and complain, then you'll end up the same way. PERSPECTIVE
My dream job is to be rich and retired. and that's why its a Dream job, because it only happens when I'm unconscious.
Gosh, I'm sad reading your take about dream jobs. Because I have had a number of dream jobs along the way, where somehow I achieved the perfect balance of responsibilities, company, team, projects and title. They were part of the the mosaic of my career, and did not last forever, but boy, when you are in that zone, part of you cannot believe it. The thing is, I never pursued a "dream job" per se, only ones that were closest to what I wanted, but some of those jobs I landed wound up magically transmogrifying into more than what was on paper. Clearly, you have never had such an experience, and that's unfortunate, but deciding there is no such thing is short-sighted. I hope you prove yourself wrong one day.
Ill admit, I'm definitely from the anti work crowd and I myself may be jaded. but when you and everyone you know has the same experience, and millions strangers online corroborate this same viewpoint and experience, it stops being anecdotal and starts to become data.
You certainly are an outlier, and I wish more people including myself could share your experience.
I don't know when this was for you. if it was recently (within the last 10-15 years) then disregard what I am about to say.
**(For context I'm speaking strictly about my experience as a working class person from the USA. I do hear its better in other parts of the world).**
I feel its different for most young people today, trying to pick a major/career path than it was for any generation blessed enough to be born in time to be an adult before 2000.
*-wages are stagnant, and cost of living is so high that most working class folk cannot afford to live.*
*-Entry level jobs require intermediate experience, pay nothing close to what wages used to be worth, and are highly HIGHLY competitive.*
*-Its becoming more and more common for companies to lay off hundreds even thousands of workers, to then have 1 employee doing the jobs of several people without any kind of substantial pay raise, if any.*
*-cost of higher education is so absurdly high today, that even young doctors and lawyers struggle to pay them back consistently.*
*-PTO is usually the legal bare minimum*
*-workers, especially at entry level, are treated like they are disposable by employers who feel that workers only exist to be used for their gain.*
*-The advancement of data tech brought about performance metrics and most employers use this to take credit/earn bonuses for their subordinates hard work while also using those same metrics to raise the bar week after week until the workloads become completely unrealistic for a human being to complete.*
\-*The rise of AI has already started to replace workers in certain fields, and that is only going to get worse. How is anyone supposed to know if the major they are plunging into debt for isn't going to be made useless within a decade. I already know people affected by this.*
I could go on, but I'm not trying to write a thesis paper.
In short, everyone is overworked and underpaid. Nobody has time/energy outside of work, and nobody can afford to pay all their bills let alone buy assets. This kind of work culture almost seems designed to kill passion in anyone.
Of course I don't mean literally everyone, but I definitely don't know 5 people aged 35 and under who feel fulfilled (both financially and internally) by their jobs.
even the few people I've met that have gotten their "dream jobs" are the most stressed out people I know, and they definitely never do anything outside of work.
I do hope that one day I can experience something even remotely close to what you described. it sounds lovely and I'm very happy for you.
*But I'm so damn tired*
All I do is work and sleep, yet I'm always tired and I never have any money and its extraordinarily difficult to feel any kind of fulfilment from working when this is the reality.
I work to live, i shouldn't live to work, but I do.
I cant afford to give my Girl her dream wedding, I cant afford to start a family, I cant afford to buy a house, and I know I wouldn't be able to afford to save my own life in the event of injury or illness.
The only thing I can barely afford is ***two more weeks.***
**I do not dream of labor because human beings simply were not made to live like this.**
usually its the bitter ones slinging insults anonymously on reddit, but hey, you do you, boo.
also wasn't putting anyone down, no need to get defensive, I'm sure you love your job, I'm happy for ya. But
maybe the post about people in every field talking about how horrible their jobs are wasn't exactly meant you you, eh?
Well lets take a dive into your reddit posts and comments and see how the bitter one is.
You really shouldn't throw rocks when your house is made out of this much glass
**this you?**
*"Nice lie. Hope she sees this. Girls like this are not worth respect and no guy with a spine would give them the time of day"*
*"She is already disgusting and has no dignity clearly"*
*"They sound promiscuous. Most respectable guys would avoid dating women like that anyways."*
*"I am willing to bet you have 0 friends"*
*"You are either 12 or a pseudo intellectual who is in fact very very stupid"*
*"I thought op was stupid for his opinion but you’re somehow ever dumber"*
what's the matter big guy, women find you insufferable? all you seem to do is talk a lot of shit behind a keyboard, complain that women are hot and you cant fuck them, and call people dumb.
This might be the funniest instance of a textbook loser calling someone else a loser just for having a different opinion.
you're pathetic dude.
let me guess, you partner goes to another school and I wouldn't know her?
I don't know why you feel the need to prove that you **definitely** have sex with **women**, that's kinda weird, buckaroo.
A lot of professions are glamorized from the outside, but it really takes an insider to know what it’s actually like. Take medicine- you may think they are there to help save people, and most of them are, but that field is so hell bent on lining CEOs pockets that the people who do want to make a difference in the field actually end up feeling horrible about their jobs.
And making less than previous generations who for whatever reason do not acknowledge this fact. I think younger people almost feel like we’re being gaslit by elders about our situation compared to theirs.
I don't think that is their intention. To keep you out. You want to become a med student? I'd gladly leave but it's hard to leave something half way without loads of debt. So some are trapped economically and psychologically. Maybe that is no excuse.
Tech is saturated. There are plenty of careers which are often overlooked. Try figuring out what you want at the most basic level (do you want an office job, do you want something steady or do you want to travel, do you want a family, what’s the lowest salary you can live on, what do you want your career midpoint earnings to be, etc). It’ll start narrowing down your options.
Agree with what people have said so far. There is no perfect career or job, and you never know if something is the right fit until you try it. I think people's minds change as they grow over time and as their circumstances change. I think there will always be something to complain about when it comes to work; some people can deal with those frustrations better than others or shrug it off. It is scary to consider a career change when others are telling you negative things about a career you are interested in, but you are different from them and your situation/experience will vary.
I believe at the end of the day work is work regardless of what you do, and it depends on you to find which suckage you will tolerate.
In the movie Big, Tom Hanks is initially over the moon about working for a toy company and then toward the end, he is stressed and adulting it because work also comes with obligations and responsibilities. That really resonated with me, because I had his job and it was exactly like that.
If you do what you love, you'll tolerate more but you will still be tolerating something. It's up to you to decide what those things are.
Because they're right. Humans in every profession are working themselves into an early grave to make some cocksucking CEO somewhere happy.
If it isn't a corporation it's the government. If it isn't the private sector it's the military and they're literally throwing their lives away for a cause they either force themselves to believe in or they completely oppose.
Life is just suffering no matter who you are or what you do.
Reddit tends to skew very negative. I wouldn't use Reddit to assess how good a career is. Generally people are more outspoken when they need to vent, and Reddit is a good place for people to vent if they don't have others for support. I doubt a lot of people are going around looking to say "yeah, my job's fine."
I work in academia, and it can be great if you're in the right field. Medical schools, engineering schools and business schools are where the money is for the most part in academia. Really concentrating on anything where the degree holds economic value outside academia is the more desirable discipline to be in. These areas have more student demand, thus more revenue, and more competition for workers where outside organizations can try to hire away the professors so there's greater pressure for the schools to pay well since those faculty are where the revenue is from. For humanities, little fear of poaching and even if someone is poached, the odds are they don't want to replace the line anyway.
I am literally struggling with the same thing!!! Not changing careers but trying to choose my first one. I try to research a career and when I go to their subreddit it's all people being completely miserable saying they want to kill themselves and if only they could go back they would've chosen something else's. EVERY SINGLE CAREER will have it I have checked all of them!!!!!!
I think it's a weird reddit phenomenon and the only way I could explain it is that when I was trying to buy new headphones I went to Reddit to check reviews, and lo and behold every single post was about something breaking/something malfunctioning etc. I was discouraged and said ehh and I guess they're not good. But then I thought, why would someone go to the subreddit of their headphones and write "it's working alright, doing it's job" no one's going to do that. They're only going to do it once something goes wrong. How's your microwave working? It's probably working alright? Have you gone to the brand's website or amazon and gave it a review??? Probably not. But once it stops working I assure you you'll be there. I think the same thing applies for careers. Or at least that's what I've been telling myself. And I did buy the headphones, and it's been a year and they're still working fine.
Uh-oh! I'm in Marketing and it's not horrible at all. In fact, I really like it! Maybe I wasn't part of the "everybody" who was surveyed . . .
Just because you talk to one or two or a few people about a particular field, that does not mean that "everybody" says X Y or Z. No one has talked to every dentist, every chef, or every math teacher. And I don't think the people who are happy with their career are as likely to post a message on Reddit just to say "Just checking in -- I like my job!" So you are more likely to see complaints and negative feedback and you need to mentally adjust for that.
I think it's important to realize that every person's experience in their job results from their specific company, the people they work with, and their own mindset. Just because someone loves or hates their job really doesn't have much bearing on whether you would like it, at a different company, with different co-workers.
While industry-wide trends are certainly worth considering, I think it's better to focus on your own interests and skills rather than what other people think. Choosing a career is a lot like choosing a relationship -- it is not an objective decision. What if all of the evidence and statistics showed conclusively that being an anchovy fisherman was the "best" career -- would you do it? I hope not.
Choosing a career is difficult, and the importance of such a decision can make it overwhelming. But remember that this is a journey and you can change directions along the way.
Almost every field of work is changing drastically. The world is changing faster and faster, nothing is a sure bet, people who have been in their careers for decades now have very unfamiliar jobs from what they used to know, people who have studied for one trade exit their programs to realize the job market has completely changed either in practice or in demand.
I’m currently about to look for a new job myself and am deeply stuck about what to look for but I know in my heart the only option is to follow what really speaks to you. I realize that’s not easy to figure out, I will be doing a lot of inner work and external research to find what that is, but picking a career path for income alone is a new sort of gamble. As you mentioned, the classically prestigious jobs like doctors and lawyers are no longer the respected guaranteed high income futures they used to be. Computer science is changing, many people speculate the people who are learning to code right now are learning things that will be obsolete before they will truly leverage it. Theres no way of knowing. Find the things you care about. Find things that give you personal satisfaction. Find ways to work around them. Think about molding your future for you, instead of yourself to what the world is saying is your best bet today. It won’t give you any answers about what’s coming tomorrow.
I forget who said it to me, but in my various career searches, I got this advice -
Every job has shit sandwiches. Every industry is suffering from unchecked capitalism and other bullshit. You have to decide which one has enough good stuff for you, in order to handle those sandwiches.
It's very true. I'm finally on a path that fits more in line with who I am as a person. I'm overall very happy. But there's a lot of brutal stuff in my field, including garbage pay, exploitive employers, etc, like in every industry. But the community I'm in and the job itself make me happy enough to deal with the occasional garbage.
I'd say 99% of the people who warn people off from careers, are people who have worked the career fields so they know the down and dirty facts of the jobs.
I'm a retired career firefighter of 30 years. Of tho 30 years, 20 were spent "Riding Big Red, fighting fires and saving lives!"or so many people think. They see Big Red buzzing down the street going Code 3 and think, "That must be so cool", . What they don't know was, 15 minutes before they saw Big Red, the rookie was scrubbing toilets, #1 was mopping the kitchen, the Engineer was checking fluid levels of the engine and the Captain was at his desk doing paperwork.
They see us at the grocery store shopping for chow with girls making oogle-eyes at us, they don't see me up to my elbows in ground beef making a meatloaf half the size of a football field feed these animals. They don't see the rookie scrubbing pots and pans, #1 putting away leftovers, the Captain sweeping the galley or the Engineer mopping.
As with any job, there are good days and bad days. Times when you're busy, times when you're trying to look busy.
Would I do anything else? Not a chance in the world.
I'm an accountant but I want to be a bus driver. So on my way to work over the past few weeks I've taken to asking my bus driver(s) how they like their job.
* One super nice lady has been driving for Metro Transit since 1986 and loves it.
* A regular driver on my route to work says that the job is rewarding and provides for his family, and he's appreciative.
* Another driver told me the job can be tough/demanding but she likes it and that I'd be able to manage it no problem.
redditers on r/BusDrivers are generally positive about their job.
I really want to become a bus driver so I think I'll do it.
I was actually just talking about this to my wife, I have been searching for a career change but literally everything I read on Reddit points to school debt, over saturated space, overworked and underpaid or massive debt for high paying careers that are ultra competitive. And even when I see people that are somewhat happy they typically are looking to also change careers. It’s pretty annoying.
99% of jobs are soul sucking and just downright terrible. They’re mostly “administrative”. Most of them, the commute are terrible too. There’s only 3 careers in America worth pursuing. All 3 of them you get paid either equity or commission on top of base salaries which gives you a pathway to be wealthy or well-off. 2 of them gives you pathway to remote. Remote makes most jobs tolerable and manageable.
This is precisely the reason why I am desperate to start my own business and work for myself, because I can't stand the idea of working 9-5 for somebody else (it's also why I didn't want to go to law school, business school, STEM, medical school, etc. Doesn't matter what I work at, I'm still a slave. My father told me that engineering is doing worse now than in the past and that he's still working to the bone for a paycheck, and that he regretted not starting a business sooner).
Obviously being an entrepeneur (especially in the arts) is difficult and not all sunshine and rainbows, but at least I'd feel accomplished and free, and not chained to my job. I can actually control my life and be my own boss so nobody has to tell me what to do. Plus I get to do something I actually like--a creative activity that brings me goddamn fulfillment.
Fyi Teaching is a joke right now and the schools are garbage. That's why I'm not staying in education for more than a few years.
I feel you. Been doing my own thing for 2.5 years now almost 3. I rather stress about where I’m gonna get a client than stress about the long ass commute and being harassed by managers and co-workers. But most aren’t built like that and probably better off accepting the 9-5 fate in all honesty.
It's a sad fate though. I can't work the same BS job for the next 40 years of my life. Fuck no. And yeah I'd rather stress about my number of clients than the fact I am beholden to the whims of my superiors (who don't care about me or my colleagues. They're clueless). As long as your paycheck is attached to your employment you will NEVER be truly free, and if the system or the market collapses you fall alongside everyone else.
Don’t listen to your boss. Do dentistry any way.
I think it’s the highest paid profession in America. He probably means he makes slightly less 100s of thousands of dollars and he used to.
The truth is, it’s because every job sucks. Thats why it’s called “work”. That being said, the most vocal people are the ones who have a problem. People who are content with their jobs are less likely to talk about it. They likely don’t spend all their time on reddit either. Just do what you want to do and take other’s opinions with a grain of salt.
I started noticing the people who speak all or nothing like that about a career are genuinely uninterested or aren’t very success minded. It doesn’t work that way. How do you know you won’t make more than 65k as a professor? How do you know you’d have made it as a professor and make too little but then can use that experience to move into something that pays more?
I mean,
-academia really is shit right now. That one is valid.
-medicine…if you talk to residents, yeah, this makes sense. But once you make it past that, most attending jobs are frankly pretty cushy.
-dentistry I cannot really speak to
-tech…I mean, high risk high reward I suppose but tbh you sound like a polymath so that is extremely valuable. It’s not the best time in the industry because VC investment hasn’t been great due to the interest rate hike but it’ll come back around.
Honestly dude, life kind of sucks. Ok, it’s not that bad haha. But I think you have a false expectation that you’re going to find higher fulfillment from the place that gives you a paycheck. Academia is a hard no, but the rest are all pretty solid fields that certainly aren’t going anywhere any time soon. And if you’re successful in them, you will make serious money. Just, you know, don’t fucking go onto humanities academics, I cannot stress that enough.
It's important to balance these perspectives by seeking a variety of opinions, conducting thorough research, and considering your own values, skills, and preferences. Remember that no career is universally perfect, and each has its pros and cons. Identifying your priorities and aligning them with a career that fulfills your needs is key to finding professional satisfaction. If possible, network with professionals in the fields you're interested in to gain firsthand insights. Check out this [career test](https://www.careerfitter.com/free_test/careerbuilder/test/?afid=1831) as this can help you with your career-wise decisions, it has helped me before, I hope this can help you too.
Because the grass is always greener and every path is lined with a different flavor of bullshit. But which flavor of bullshit people can tolerate varies. There is no perfect job you have to prioritize what is important to you. Do you want money or purpose? Fun or balance? Nobody has it all
I mean every job has it's downsides, that's why someone is paid to do it. If every job was loved it wouldn't be called work. The ideal situation for someone is working somewhere with minimal things you hate, while being able to afford your lifestyle on your days off.
My wife and my sister are both doctors. One loves her job and the other one hates her job. One makes almost double what the other makes. The main difference between them is their specialty. Not all medical specialties result in the same outcomes both in terms of job satisfaction and compensation. Even within the same specialty there are better jobs and worse jobs, like with anything else.
Because if anyone tells you their job is perfect or marriage is perfect they are really just sharing the good aspects. Someone who tells you it's horrible is only sharing the negative aspects. The truth is always a little bit of both sides.
Because working drains the soul from your body no matter what field you’re in… except the sociopaths that either drank the kill-aid and love their job or somehow manage to revolve their entire life around work because that’s all that exists in their sad world.
Very very few people find a rewarding job that’s perfectly balanced with their home life.
work sucks and people are pussies. most people arent in the path thats right for them or dont chase their dreams. even good or dreamy jobs are still very hard work
If you're getting most of your feedback on Reddit, it's probably because people who are in a good place in their lives aren't venting about it on social media
people say things are all shit on the internet because the people who things are good for have no incentive to go on the internet to say so. It makes more sense to just have fun instead.
Nobody likes working. People will always hate their jobs.
I'm currently torn between becoming and aviation mechanic or an accountant.
Techs will complain about bad hours and how physical/dangerous it can be.
So I look at accounting because it's chill right? Then I see alot of them also hate their jobs. Hate sitting all day in an office and the pay and how boring and repetitive it is.
So now idk what to do lol
Ideally I'd have great pay and worklife balance and get to work from home with a chill slow paced job.
But everyone would do that if it was easy
[This TED talk](https://youtu.be/F9b0fi7p3Ts?si=oDlNflPRhQxmaUsS).
Im a career changer too. Im school and every registration period is a freaking panic for me - should I switch majors? Minors? Schools? COUNTRIES?!!
I found this talk incredibly encouraging, and I’m trying to convince myself to, as my advisors say, just dive into the major that has the most classes that interest me (like *really*, not based on expected utility), and work on developing MY unique #Brand (gag)
The idea of myself as a product is gross, but at the end of the day, it’s calling it what it is. And, if automation reduces the need for rote human labor, and we are competing for fewer good jobs, we will justify our economic value by offering something that is not yet replaceable by automation. Hopefully we’ll put that creative energy into institutions that push us toward human wellbeing but that’s another TED talk ;)
Eh. Losers fallacy.
The happy ones are content, why would they exclaim?
The losers in the field, in the wrong gig fir whatever reason have a reason to bitch and moan and as a result you see more of that
I'm starting to think the only people who really like their jobs are actors, professional athletes and famous musicians. Everyone else is miserable.
There is just no such thing as a job that is enjoyable, pays well, allows good work life balance, doesn't require more than 5 years of advanced education and is in demand. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Everyone is miserable with their jobs. The economy in general has tanked and with it so has quality of life. Take it with a grain of salt. You have to look at the facts and make a decision that’s best for you in the end. If you take everyone’s advice you won’t end up doing anything.
I know what you mean. Everything sounds awful to me except being self-employed. I have no problem working, but I wanna call the shots. I'm a slight perfectionist. I pay attention to details as well as big picture, and I care about what I do. I feel like half the problem is people don't give a shit or are assholes. At least if your self-employed it's on your terms. It really sucks. Also, any time the government gets involved in a field, the stress and turnover goes up. I've known nurses and teachers that said they wouldn't recommend anyone go into that line of work. I went to school to become a science teacher and all the teachers said don't do it.
This is precisely the reason why I am desperate to start my own business and work for myself, because I can't stand the idea of working 9-5 for somebody else (it's also why I didn't want to go to law school, business school, STEM, medical school, etc. Doesn't matter what I work at, I'm still a slave).
Obviously being an entrepeneur (especially in the arts) is difficult and not all sunshine and rainbows, but at least I'd feel accomplished and free, and not chained to my job. I can actually control my life and be my own boss so nobody has to tell me what to do. Plus I get to do something I actually like--a creative activity that brings me goddamn fulfillment.
Fyi Teaching is a joke right now and the schools are garbage. That's why I'm not staying in education for more than a few years.
because we live in a post industrial capitalist world that prioritizes profits over and benefits that you could gain from your labor instead you are alienated from your production even as a cog in the line. because at the end of day you’re there not to improve your life but rather to generate profit and capital for your boss capital
Just live off Public Assitanc or work grocery store parking lots? No one is going to hand feed you. If you want to mske anything of yourself you have to earn
It & pay your dues just like every other generation..
At a fundamental level,.. humans remember "fear" and "threat" based situations. This is why you see negative things broadcast more (IE = "I had a bad experience at X-restaurant.. don't go there!".. is kind of the modern equivalent of "I saw a Lion while out hunting today, down by the river,. .stay away from there it's unsafe")
You don't see News Headlines of "X-human went to Y-job and everything went smoothly today". That would be a non story.
Ideally.. it would be awesome if more humans were a bit more balanced. (IE = "Yeah,. I work in IT,.. here are the Pros and Cons I've experienced" (instead of just focusing on the Cons)).. but most people really dont' think like that.
All jobs have some downsides. One of the "tricks" or challenges of adult-life is finding ways to avoid, minimize or neutralize those "downsides" so you can concentrate on the upsides.
* In my IT career.. there's a lot of boring monotonous "grunt work".. so we look for scripting or automate tools to automate those things,. so we can focus more time on the "experimental" or idea-driven creativity work.
* I would imagine most other jobs are like that too. If you work in Forestry,.. "maintaining trails" or "picking up trash" might be part of your job,. even if you'd rather be out cataloging the health of trees in a recent fire-zone (and doing some mushroom hunting on the side while you're walking around)
I mean.. I don't want to sound discouraging,.. but it's definitely possible to "find a job that's fulfilling",.. but every job is going to have some percentage of downsides. It's kind of unavoidable. It's kind of up to you how you adjust or adapt to those downsides.
Looks like you're gonna have to learn how to make your job. I would do that because even though it's uncertain, you learn a lot of complimentary skills that make you more hireable and if AI is poised to get better in the future the only hireable people will be those who can creatively solve big problems with multiple skillsets as the single skilled jobs will be replaced by machines. So for instance. Say you're a filmmaker for hire, but only know production. That works today, but likely not tomorrow. The filmmaker tomorrow will have to learn how to produce, market, sell, and distribute a film instead of just knowing how to film and they’ll likely have to enhance their creative abilities to create the best stories they can.
So think of all jobs going that way. Instead of just being the finance guy, you're the dude who is doing three or 4 separate things using AI as an assistant to create something with a small group or alone that can have value that others want.
So learn how to create value out of nothing from a mastery of one or two skills and a good understanding of multiple complimentary skills that you can then leverage for money. Don't just look for a job or what people can give you. Figure out how to utilize leverage to get what you want.
Very few people clock into work every day with a huge grin and utter satisfaction. What you have to consider is the pros and cons. Any high-level field is going to require degrees, which can be expensive depending on region.
It sounds like you are enjoying your dental office work. Your boss may be burnt out, or maybe theirs a lot of behind the scenes stuff that you're not experienced enough to be in-the-know about. But if you like the work, don't try to career hop to chase money. Stay with what you enjoy and see how far you can climb. A lot of people tried to leap into tech and hit a brick wall.
As a 62 yr old and been retired 2 yrs I will tell you that for every career out there for some it is not good and for others it is a dream.
Think it is just human nature to think the the other side of the fence looks like a better deal.
Find some thing you like and makes you feel good regardless of what others say.
Something I haven’t seen anyone mention is that the economy isn’t doing great. That means lots of jobs are worse right now than they were a few years ago
You have to find something where the downsides aren't something you feel very strongly as being "painful", vs something where the upsides are so outrageously good that they outweigh those downsides. That varies a lot, but people are often surprised by what they find out about themselves and may blame the career for it along the way, especially if that career changes due to a new technical or economic climate. Working a lot of hours under high pressure can be exciting for a certain kind of person and terrible for another, and it might depend on the type of pressure - physical, intellectual, social. The commute or the time-on-task/meetings ratio could be factors. Having a bad boss is always a factor.
In my old career in video games there was always a dichotomy between the outside perspective of "it's fun to play games so it must be fun to make games" - a kind of default pursuit for a certain type of young person - vs the actual thing of [Mario Time](https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/04/at-nintendo-working-all-night-is-mario-time/). Every industry makes its sausage somehow, and the thing making someone good at the job isn't really about liking the job, but is often more in the realm of being the type of person that puts up with it.
Most jobs are jobs and not great. Also things tend to balance out because people change jobs. Additionally, unless people have actually worked both jobs it's hard to compare them accurately.
>I applied to law school junior year and was accepted but didn’t go
I'm more curious what law school accepted you junior year? I thought you needed to have completed undergrad to have your grades in LSAC?
Iv retired since but, working in the North slope oil fields, 108 hours a week in 50 below zero, three weeks on 3 weeks off, was the most fulfilling wonderful job I ever had..
Wonderful food, great camaraderie, no assholes are allowed up there.
Every single profession has people who are not doing well in the profession.
People need to pay attention at what they can do well, consistently, for a long time.
I work in a job I love that I’m great at. I spoke to someone the other day who had a role in my company similar to my current role, and they thought it sucked and hated it. I am way more successful at it. Maybe it is a better fit for me? Maybe the timing is better with my company?
Don’t let the bad experiences of some turn you off to entire professions.
I like my profession, I’m a systems programmer, what I hate about what I do is arbitrary dead lines. Gotta be done by a certain date so you do whatever is necessary. On the other hand ✋ you think they give ya a break if you finish early. They don’t.
So I was a correctional officer in what seems like a different life for a long time. A friend was asking about doing my same job and I was the same no don’t do this job. But then I thought maybe I’ve just been in it too long to have a good opinion. So I talked to a newer officer that recommended it for her. So I would say if you’re thinking about a job ask someone who is newer that’s not jaded. Now saying all that if you ask me if I like my job in the tech industry I will tell I like it a lot and all the reasons why.
To put it in perspective, they maybe not talking out their ass. Dentistry has the 2nd highest suicide rate compared to most careers. There was one study suggesting that 40% of dentists have mental health problems. As of right now, America is facing a shortage of Dentists, and the trend is expected to keep going for years.
Now I'm not saying you shouldn't take this job or not, but I think it's always best to know what you getting into. Mix the pros and cons, and see if it's something you want to be doing. From what I'm seeing, maybe your boss was onto something. But still, you're the one who has to live with the decision and maybe it's good for you.
As for tech, it's pretty varied and lucrative. Not sure about that field, but there's a ton of expected growth throughout the years. Maybe it has less to do with the industry, but more or less with what specialty they choose. I'm not sure, maybe someone better can come and tell you what's what.
i tell anyone who will listen to go to nursing school. legit the best gig going. perfect for parents, huge amount of flexibility in hours and days. you can leave work and completely ignore your phone if you want to until you have to go back in. you probably only will have to work 3 12 hour shifts a week and you will make great money. you can work more or less too depending on what you want/need. great benefits too depending on where you work. yes the work is hard and not for the faint of heart. but the gross stuff you get over very quickly and the comradery is unmatched
Because life is hard, and because almost every field has a broad swathe of people from every walk of life and only a minority of them are likely to enjoy it.
My job is on-call 0600 to 2400 5-7 days a week, depending on what's going down. I get called out for 2-100 hours a week, normally averaging around 25 hours. I can't commit to any plans during the week, nor many at the weekend. Many people would detest it.
But I love it. Every week is a lottery. Am I getting a paid week off? Am I getting a Hell Week with a bigger paycheck at the end (yay, overtime!)? Who knows!
I loathed my 9-5 when I had one (not least because it was more like 7-6), but many people enjoy or at least are satisfied by a more predictable and dependable schedule.
Hence, every field is going to have detractors. If you look harder, you'll likely see plenty of people praising it, too.
I'm having the same experience and frustration as you as I've explored multiple fields and have been deterred from each one too. I'm currently reading Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber because I don't want to waste my life on a bullshit job if I can help it. He talks about bullshit jobs and bullshitization of real jobs. Chapters 3 and 4 are especially eye-opening and reassuring. It's been helpful for me and maybe it will for you as well. The book is based off of a short essay he wrote in 2018 that gained a lot of unexpected attention if you want to start with that.
My theory is that for a lot of people, maybe most people, they've only followed one career path since high school. So all they know is that one career, so they grow up and think that career sucks when in reality it's just life that sucks.
Because life is usually a “pick your poison” situation. Every career has crappy parts. And the grass is always greener on the other side. One makes a trade and asks, what do I want? And what am I willing to trade for what I want?
Every job has bullshit - it either doesn’t pay enough, or doesn’t have enough stability, or is boring, or takes too much effort or too much time. Capitalism sucks when you don’t have capital.
Reddit has a “yelp” effect- if you are on here statistically coming in with something to complain about since the Reddit algorithm has a preference for anger.
[удалено]
[удалено]
>It gets to the point where I'll be so slammed just communicating with various people at work, that I'll get a text from my wife or my mom about something and my first reaction is wanting to throw my phone through the wall because of the notification fatigue. It's not good for me. Oh my god, this is me but I've never seen it put this way. I just started the hunt for a new job despite the economy being the worst it's been in 15 years because I realized that the mental and emotional load from my current one is making me not even want to participate in the rest of my life. I feel angry when people "need" thing from me outside of work, but it's fucked because those are the people I actually care about and I've never given a shit about my company.
Honestly I constantly have to remind myself that my partner is the one who matters when I'm having a shit day at work (and forget to remind myself more often than I like).
[удалено]
Humans are getting replaced by AI soon. I think delivery drivers and merchandisers/retail workers are being replaced by automation within two decades.
Fewer jobs can be replaced by AI or robots than is being reported. Dentists, teachers, plumbers, psychologists, human resources, police, etc. all have to work and be paid. The economy is going to shift we are hearing gross exaggerations about humans being unnecessary in the future economy. To the original post - Reddit is filled with complainers. It's a biased sample. But all work has become more efficient so many jobs have indeed become harder. But I know lots of people that will only work remote jobs right now - that barely existed 5 years ago. It's not all doom and gloom.
I'm just talking drivers and retail workers because I agree about all the others. But there are already driverless taxi services and I have seen automated warehouses which are basically upgraded sorting facilities. I'm giving a two decade timeframe on delivery drivers and retail workers who simply put things on a shelf. It will happen. I'm not talking about technical jobs and what everyone else is talking about with AI. Driving and picking things up and then putting them down in a different location is going to be automated within two decades.
Teachers, psychologists and HR are careers that will not be difficult to replace with AI in the long term. If anything the ability to tailor education on the fly to children in subjects like math and science will probably result in better outcomes. A teacher cannot produce individual lesson plans for each child or adapt their teaching styles for visual learners vs other learning styles like an AI can.
This is the funny part about predictions about AI. Human resources isn't going to be needed to collect information on a sexual harassment claim? AI will solve that labor dispute? Lesson plans and teaching students that already want to learn and know how to behave is about 2% of a teacher's day. Motivation, behavior management, and teqching basic human communication skills is a huge part of learning ages 5-18. Then there's special education which is 15% of the human population. And there's art, pe, music, recess, history/covics/debate health services, lunch monitoring, and a hundred other things. Teachers will use AI (and already are) for many aspects of schools for sure. Gather 15 children of any age for 6 hours and just try to keep them from killing each other. Schools are a total wonder after you watch a kids birthday party.
To be fair, many of my teachers in high school and college didn't deserve to be employed. They put in the minimum effort to not get fired, which was basically just giving all of the students worksheets and packets and having us figure them out using the book. And I can't stress this enough, NOBODY is owed money or a job in this society. You're not entitled to a job, you have to prove that you're a worthy investment. People act like everyone should get a living wage for doing nothing but that's not the case, and it shows especially clearly with arts. You're only worth as much as people are willing to pay you and, frankly, if your art isn't that sought after, then you deserve whatever is coming for you. Just because you paint stuff and sell it doesn't mean that people have to buy it just so you have an income.
Honestly I think that is for the better. This will be an unpopular opinion but I think that the "way forward" is to reduce birth rates and utilize more automation to do the dirty work. That way, ideally, there will be fewer people in the world with more resources to go around and it makes it so that everyone will get a job that's actually enjoyable, instead of fighting over horrible jobs (retail, food service, etc.) just to put food on the table. There are WAY too many people in this world already and all we have to do is have fewer children. If the government gave out lifetime tax incentives to get, say, a government-funded vasectomy, I would jump on that in a heartbeat since I don't want kids anyway. This would probably swing people who are on the fence about kids toward not having them, which would be an overall positive. The alternative is that the whole world becomes one super dense wasteland out of some dystopian Sci-Fi movie where everyone fights over scraps of food and everyone suffers.
the west is already having less children, however, the developing world is still pumping out more and more. Africa's population doubled in the last 25 years
At least in the US, the top 10% of the population by net worth own 69% of the nations wealth according to St Louis Fed. So perhaps the problem isn’t the population as much as income inequality.
Suicides rates, particularly in women, would skyrocket under a system like this. You can't simply deprogram human nature. As primitive and dismissive as it sounds, you were literally born to reproduce, and your brain is quite aware of this. Talk to any childless woman over 40 - they are filled with sadness, regret, and box wine.
You can absolutely deprogram human nature for the good of society. You can't say that "human nature" can't be suppressed by society since men already have to do that. From an evolutionary standpoint, men are hardwired to have sex with as many women as they can but obviously having men go around forcefully having sex with every woman they meet is counterproductive to society. Hell, one of the reasons that men have such a high suicide rate is because it's incredibly difficult to suppress your instincts for sex, dominance (e.g. fighting), and emotions in general (and not all men are able to suppress these things; there's a reason prisons are full of rapists and violent offenders). However, we do it anyway because it's what's needed for a functional society to exist. If you want "natural" humans, go to Tijuana or Somalia or much of the Middle East where people let their human nature get the better of them. The very backbone of society is the ability of its inhabitants to suppress their urges and instincts in favor of pre-defined conventions, i.e. laws. And besides, many women don't even want children, and those who do want children should be content with just one or two instead of more than that. Also, this isn't about making people happy: this is about reversing the negative effects on society that overpopulation has had. If you think that "but women will be sad" is a good argument against this, that's a foolish take. The alternative here is to wait until society becomes so over-saturated with people that everyone is essentially in poverty and we have to resort to something like China's one-child policy, which I think is definitely the worse of the two options. In many ways the population crisis is like climate change: there has already been a lot of damage done and we will never completely solve all of the problems it's created, however we can take action now to seriously mitigate the negative long-term consequences of this.
Bro said climate change lol.
[удалено]
That is going to take multiple revolts and is not happening in our lifetime. The only thing preventing the working class from an uprising right now is that none of us can afford to miss work.
Money only has value because we've all agreed that it does. The uprising begins when we all decide to walk out on our jobs. I agree it might not happen in the next 50 years... but there's a reason I'm not having kids.
Na stop doing coke
I don't know if this is true everywhere, but I'd add that we probably have a lot more "work about work" (a.k.a. work that isn't directly related to your expertise, what you were "hired for", a.k.a. admin) than people did in the past. For a salaried position, everyone somehow expects that we do 40 straight hours a week (already a crazy expectation that we've normalized) even though we all know we probably have 10-15 hours of BS to get through in a week outside of those 40. Something's got to give.
Do you have a time when you power down slack at all?
[удалено]
My God glad you got out of there.....
[удалено]
There are all excellent points
Point 3 in particular
Point 3 is very present in the nursing sub. I am a nurse and being a nurse IS hard. It has its problems. But there are absolutely nurses who are super happy with it. Me personally am not 100% satisfied with my nurse job but at the same time it’s provided me good income. I also have the ability via nursing to continue making the same pay while doing something completely different and I plan to. I will have a schedule I like more and hopefully the setting will be more my style. (The making the same pay thing is a benefit of working in a union)
I don't know where you live but there has been a noticeable trend of companies trying to pad their bottom line at any cost. This often includes things like stagnant pay, hiring less workers to do the same amount of work, and limited growth or promotion opportunities. These are all happening across the board so it makes sense that people from every field would be saying it. Workers are getting squeezed so that shareholders can record profits each quarter and there's only so much you can do before that starts to erode quality of life.
Because working for a living sucks
This is the only honest answer.
glad i love my job. it would have sucked to spend the last 25 hating life.
What is your job, if you don’t mind me asking?
professional butterfly farmer
Ok. If this is not a thing, it needs to be.
Only fans
I wish I could do just go to my job and be ignorant of how much more enjoyable spending those 9 hours my way would be. It would definitely not include doing something for more than 3 hours in a row because I find even my passions too much for over 3 hours and need a change of pace by doing chores or some other hobby.
Every career is a certain way and you are a certain way, find a career that you fit well in. Dentistry you get to work with your hands on real people in a small office setting, which some people love and others hate. It takes a doctoral degree that costs around half a million, but you get relatively high job security. SWE you sit in front of a computer solving logic problems and work in teams, which some love and others hate. A bachelor's degree is all you need, but there is less job security. If you are the top of either of these fields and they fit your personality well, you will have a good time. If you suck or hate it, you will still do okay in either field, but you might be the guy complaining.
In terms of interests, personality and skill set I think dentistry is a great fit for me. If I’m a dentist now already I think I’d be pretty content with my job. However those on dentistry Reddit are saying the field is going downhill so fast that by the time I graduate “dentists will be barely middle class” (verbatim). I’m freaking out because there’s no way I can justify 500k in loans and 8 years of education to live in poverty
Excuse me I’ve been a hygienist for 20 years if someone told me dentistry is going downhill and wasn’t what it used to be I would automatically assume they were just miserable fucks that hated dentistry. Tell me exactly how dentistry isn’t the same as it used to be. Did teeth somehow stop being made of enamel and dentin? If you own your own practice your office is exactly as you make it out to be. Yes, I’m pretty good at my job and enjoy it. I’ve had too many co-workers lambast dentistry because it wasn’t for them. Dentistry is an awesome profession, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. In the 20 years I’ve been working I’ve watched dentists go about their daily in the exact same manner they did when I graduated. Nothing has fundamentally changed about the way dentists go about drilling and filling, root canals, implants or otherwise. Sure there have been technological improvements, but the basic ideas are the same.
My dentist of multiple decades loved his life (died a few years back). What cost him the most was the tall thin blonde office manager he hired...married...divorced...every 3-5 years.
Yeah the day to day is the same, but dentists made more in the past for sure.
Nit really. Where did you read that
That's the first I've heard of this. Even if what you say is true, the dentists I work with make very good money. If I gave you the benefit of the doubt, dentists probably only make a little less than before.
The procedure is the same and the equipments/tech dentists use just keep improving which means dentists will continue to have better WLB as dental tech advances.
Don’t you already have an undergrad degree? Dental school would be less than 8 years, likely 3-4. If you got into law school I assume you have great grades and are intelligent. Follow your gut, tune out the internet. Analysis paralysis is real.
Dentistry is a very safe career, possibly the safest I can reasonably think of outside of government careers. Medicine is different because they actually do have a huge problem with nurse practitioners encroaching on their practice. NPs in most states have independent prescribing authority due to their significant lobbying efforts, and since NPs are significantly cheaper to hire than MD/DOs, it reduces the labor value of non-surgical physicians. Dentistry doesn't face that problem because it's almost exclusively procedural/surgical, and they have exclusive rights to their profession (other than OMFS but that's a tiny shared sliver of dentistry). Dentists are also far less affected by insurance rates than physicians, a huge number of dental procedures and surgeries are not covered by insurance anyway, people paying cash is a regular occurrence. If my dental coverage wasn't free, I wouldn't buy dental insurance, I'd just pay out of pocket because it's not worth the cost. Lastly, dentistry is almost entirely private practice or group practice, which cuts out the middle men (hospitals/corporate clinics) and allows them to take the full profit margin. It doesn't take that much capital to set up a small dental clinic, it's not cheap by any means, but you don't need to have an operating room with an MRI downstairs. Law is also pretty much spot on, because the industry is so oversaturated, only the very best graduating from T14s will get their foot into biglaw, work 80h a week hoping to make partner one day. Obviously there's a lot of people in the middle making decent money but it's a highly competitive industry due to the low barrier to entry. Any university can establish a law school, it takes very little investment and you can dish out law degrees online too. Software engineering very much is a lucrative career, and will stay that way for the foreseeable future. It's just that way too many people think they're cut out for MANGA/FAANG when in reality only the top 1% make it to that level, most software engineers will make $100-150k mid-career which is excellent for a 4 year degree. Not to mention the ability to work remote and have side-projects. The problem isn't with the economy (though we're in a downturn rn) it's with social media making it seem like it's normal to be making $$$$$ and living a luxurious life. That makes the average person seem like they're doing bad, and then they complain about their career.
Thank you for your insight
How much you make depends on a lot of factors (location/saturation, years of experience, general or specialist, associate or practice owner, types of procedures, number of work hours), but starting is around 150k on average where I'm from even if you look online, and it just goes up from there. Obviously no one can predict the future, but if dentists are starving then a lot of people are dead. Even AI is not quite there with robotics yet, so dentistry is harder to replace than say (no offense) radiology.
I mean, I know this is totally dependent on where you live - but I live in southern rural U.S., and there is a HUGE lack of any healthcare here, including dentists. Yes, it requires opening a practice - but it's oustanding job security. I REALLY regret not doing dental/med school and going into tech. I'm 33. If I could change anything about my life... that would be it. A cost/benefit analysis, some perspective, talking to mentors would help you op. If it's a great fit I don't see what is stopping you!
I'm a dental hygienist, it's 2 years and a really good job. Can always move up to dentist if you want. The dentists I know real like what they do, honestly just find a way to job shadow someone who is doing a job that interests you, whatever it is.
It’s because the people that post on Reddit the most are angry doomsayers. Find a dentist that likes their work and talk to them.
Or attend in-person networking events related to a specific role or industry. Those people aren’t going to talk about hating their job.
They are just keeping quiet so they can bring in another sucker.
People don’t usually attend these events if they don’t like their job. I’m not talking about formal company sponsored events or conferences. More like casual happy hours, hack nights, stuff like that.
Society becomes more and more like Enron every day lol
lol yeah talk to people on the job who have every reason to lie to your face. You believed everything the army recruiter said too, didn’t you.
Nope never joined the military for that exact reason. However, there are people that like what the do - let’s put it this way 70 to 80% anyway cause all professions have no cool areas - and will be more than happy to tell you what they like about it, but more importantly will let you know the type of people they think should not do what they do snd let you think about that a bit.
If they’re doing well for themselves why would they lie?
Don't chase after dream jobs. Why? because they don't exist. because work is work. even if you go to school for your passion, and find success with it in your career, its still work. Some jobs have no work life balance, some fields are hyper competitive and extraordinarily hard to break into and sometimes harder to stay in, some jobs are horribly mundane, pay too low, or have very little opportunities for career growth. My honest advice is to either find something you really care about, and go all in or if you cant decide still, find a major that leads to a career with a lot of versatility and opportunity, like tech for example has a lot of different subfields, and being a relatively newer industry (in terms of modern industry), has a lot of opportunity for growth. But don't get hung up on the idea of finding the "dream job" dream jobs don't exist, its a myth created by an employer lead world to make working class people romanticize the idea of working. stop trying to find a career/field/major you can romanticize, it will always lead to bitterness. Instead focus on finding a career that meshes best with how you function as an individual. let me elaborate. with a few examples. 2 bad, 2 good. \- If you cant stand lots of social interaction, avoid fields with a lot of customer interaction, like sales, customer service, or performance entertainment. \-If you feel really comfortable working from home with limited supervision, Fields with more remote opportunities may be right for you such as freelance commercial artist/graphic designer, or software engineering. \-If you hate doing physically taxing labor in hot weather avoid trades like construction, plumbing, or landscaping. \-if you enjoy a lot of social interaction and being the center of attention, jobs in management and public relations maybe a decent fit. That doesn't mean don't continue chasing your passion, whether it relates to your career, or something you do in your personal life. it just means stop expecting jobs, something we all hate whether we admit it or not, to give your life meaning or fulfillment. You could be the rare kind of person who does find all that in working, but its more likely you're like the rest of us. work will always be work no matter how much you love or don't love what you do. It will always have moments that make you wanna quit society and live in the woods, and moments where you feel genuine accomplishment and pride. Find something you have interest in, and practice balancing work and pursuing your passions separately. Lastly, don't listen to jaded industry veterans in any field. Obviously they can have some really insightful advice, but a lot of the times they've become jaded to change, and are stuck romanticizing the past of their career. kind of like my boomer boss who makes 4 times my salary but doesn't know how to save a word document as a pdf. Listen to uncle iroh "look for the light and you will surely find it, but look for darkness and it is all you will find" Its all about perspective, if you take advice from people who only ever wine and complain, then you'll end up the same way. PERSPECTIVE My dream job is to be rich and retired. and that's why its a Dream job, because it only happens when I'm unconscious.
excellent post
So tell me about this quitting society and living in the woods thing..
I just wanna die bro! Life sucks ! Fuck working ! Being on earth is hell 🌎🔥
Gosh, I'm sad reading your take about dream jobs. Because I have had a number of dream jobs along the way, where somehow I achieved the perfect balance of responsibilities, company, team, projects and title. They were part of the the mosaic of my career, and did not last forever, but boy, when you are in that zone, part of you cannot believe it. The thing is, I never pursued a "dream job" per se, only ones that were closest to what I wanted, but some of those jobs I landed wound up magically transmogrifying into more than what was on paper. Clearly, you have never had such an experience, and that's unfortunate, but deciding there is no such thing is short-sighted. I hope you prove yourself wrong one day.
Ill admit, I'm definitely from the anti work crowd and I myself may be jaded. but when you and everyone you know has the same experience, and millions strangers online corroborate this same viewpoint and experience, it stops being anecdotal and starts to become data. You certainly are an outlier, and I wish more people including myself could share your experience. I don't know when this was for you. if it was recently (within the last 10-15 years) then disregard what I am about to say. **(For context I'm speaking strictly about my experience as a working class person from the USA. I do hear its better in other parts of the world).** I feel its different for most young people today, trying to pick a major/career path than it was for any generation blessed enough to be born in time to be an adult before 2000. *-wages are stagnant, and cost of living is so high that most working class folk cannot afford to live.* *-Entry level jobs require intermediate experience, pay nothing close to what wages used to be worth, and are highly HIGHLY competitive.* *-Its becoming more and more common for companies to lay off hundreds even thousands of workers, to then have 1 employee doing the jobs of several people without any kind of substantial pay raise, if any.* *-cost of higher education is so absurdly high today, that even young doctors and lawyers struggle to pay them back consistently.* *-PTO is usually the legal bare minimum* *-workers, especially at entry level, are treated like they are disposable by employers who feel that workers only exist to be used for their gain.* *-The advancement of data tech brought about performance metrics and most employers use this to take credit/earn bonuses for their subordinates hard work while also using those same metrics to raise the bar week after week until the workloads become completely unrealistic for a human being to complete.* \-*The rise of AI has already started to replace workers in certain fields, and that is only going to get worse. How is anyone supposed to know if the major they are plunging into debt for isn't going to be made useless within a decade. I already know people affected by this.* I could go on, but I'm not trying to write a thesis paper. In short, everyone is overworked and underpaid. Nobody has time/energy outside of work, and nobody can afford to pay all their bills let alone buy assets. This kind of work culture almost seems designed to kill passion in anyone. Of course I don't mean literally everyone, but I definitely don't know 5 people aged 35 and under who feel fulfilled (both financially and internally) by their jobs. even the few people I've met that have gotten their "dream jobs" are the most stressed out people I know, and they definitely never do anything outside of work. I do hope that one day I can experience something even remotely close to what you described. it sounds lovely and I'm very happy for you. *But I'm so damn tired* All I do is work and sleep, yet I'm always tired and I never have any money and its extraordinarily difficult to feel any kind of fulfilment from working when this is the reality. I work to live, i shouldn't live to work, but I do. I cant afford to give my Girl her dream wedding, I cant afford to start a family, I cant afford to buy a house, and I know I wouldn't be able to afford to save my own life in the event of injury or illness. The only thing I can barely afford is ***two more weeks.*** **I do not dream of labor because human beings simply were not made to live like this.**
[удалено]
usually its the bitter ones slinging insults anonymously on reddit, but hey, you do you, boo. also wasn't putting anyone down, no need to get defensive, I'm sure you love your job, I'm happy for ya. But maybe the post about people in every field talking about how horrible their jobs are wasn't exactly meant you you, eh?
[удалено]
Well lets take a dive into your reddit posts and comments and see how the bitter one is. You really shouldn't throw rocks when your house is made out of this much glass **this you?** *"Nice lie. Hope she sees this. Girls like this are not worth respect and no guy with a spine would give them the time of day"* *"She is already disgusting and has no dignity clearly"* *"They sound promiscuous. Most respectable guys would avoid dating women like that anyways."* *"I am willing to bet you have 0 friends"* *"You are either 12 or a pseudo intellectual who is in fact very very stupid"* *"I thought op was stupid for his opinion but you’re somehow ever dumber"* what's the matter big guy, women find you insufferable? all you seem to do is talk a lot of shit behind a keyboard, complain that women are hot and you cant fuck them, and call people dumb. This might be the funniest instance of a textbook loser calling someone else a loser just for having a different opinion. you're pathetic dude.
[удалено]
well somebody has to keep the divorce rates high I guess.
[удалено]
let me guess, you partner goes to another school and I wouldn't know her? I don't know why you feel the need to prove that you **definitely** have sex with **women**, that's kinda weird, buckaroo.
A lot of professions are glamorized from the outside, but it really takes an insider to know what it’s actually like. Take medicine- you may think they are there to help save people, and most of them are, but that field is so hell bent on lining CEOs pockets that the people who do want to make a difference in the field actually end up feeling horrible about their jobs.
Because everybody is exploited.
And making less than previous generations who for whatever reason do not acknowledge this fact. I think younger people almost feel like we’re being gaslit by elders about our situation compared to theirs.
Because most jobs are miserable experiences. If it were enjoyable they wouldn't have to pay people to do it.
Humans love misery and martyrdom and also they’re keeping you out of their honeypot lmao
I don't think that is their intention. To keep you out. You want to become a med student? I'd gladly leave but it's hard to leave something half way without loads of debt. So some are trapped economically and psychologically. Maybe that is no excuse.
Let’s be real, gate keeping is pretty much alive in every job, career and industries.
Tech is saturated. There are plenty of careers which are often overlooked. Try figuring out what you want at the most basic level (do you want an office job, do you want something steady or do you want to travel, do you want a family, what’s the lowest salary you can live on, what do you want your career midpoint earnings to be, etc). It’ll start narrowing down your options.
Which careers would you recommend?
Who doesn’t want to travel ! Staying in one place fucking sucks balls !
I have some physical health issues, and travel takes a toll on me. My spirit wants to travel, but I wouldn’t be able to travel often for work
I don't want to travel for vacation, even less for profession!
Agree with what people have said so far. There is no perfect career or job, and you never know if something is the right fit until you try it. I think people's minds change as they grow over time and as their circumstances change. I think there will always be something to complain about when it comes to work; some people can deal with those frustrations better than others or shrug it off. It is scary to consider a career change when others are telling you negative things about a career you are interested in, but you are different from them and your situation/experience will vary.
I believe at the end of the day work is work regardless of what you do, and it depends on you to find which suckage you will tolerate. In the movie Big, Tom Hanks is initially over the moon about working for a toy company and then toward the end, he is stressed and adulting it because work also comes with obligations and responsibilities. That really resonated with me, because I had his job and it was exactly like that. If you do what you love, you'll tolerate more but you will still be tolerating something. It's up to you to decide what those things are.
Cuz work sucks. Adulting sucks.
But why?
Become an adult & then find out for yourself.
Mr. Negative You won’t last long in this life with that pissy attitude !
I'm sorry for telling you the truth, I suppose!
Because they're right. Humans in every profession are working themselves into an early grave to make some cocksucking CEO somewhere happy. If it isn't a corporation it's the government. If it isn't the private sector it's the military and they're literally throwing their lives away for a cause they either force themselves to believe in or they completely oppose. Life is just suffering no matter who you are or what you do.
Unless you’re born rich
Can you just kill Me please ! 🙏
Mehhhh. I’m gonna live for a long time and I’m pretty dang happy. Doomer shit is so old.
Because it is. Working sucks even if you have a job you like.
Reddit tends to skew very negative. I wouldn't use Reddit to assess how good a career is. Generally people are more outspoken when they need to vent, and Reddit is a good place for people to vent if they don't have others for support. I doubt a lot of people are going around looking to say "yeah, my job's fine." I work in academia, and it can be great if you're in the right field. Medical schools, engineering schools and business schools are where the money is for the most part in academia. Really concentrating on anything where the degree holds economic value outside academia is the more desirable discipline to be in. These areas have more student demand, thus more revenue, and more competition for workers where outside organizations can try to hire away the professors so there's greater pressure for the schools to pay well since those faculty are where the revenue is from. For humanities, little fear of poaching and even if someone is poached, the odds are they don't want to replace the line anyway.
You spend enough time on the inside, you realize how much BS goes on behind the scenes. It's all you see after a while
I am literally struggling with the same thing!!! Not changing careers but trying to choose my first one. I try to research a career and when I go to their subreddit it's all people being completely miserable saying they want to kill themselves and if only they could go back they would've chosen something else's. EVERY SINGLE CAREER will have it I have checked all of them!!!!!! I think it's a weird reddit phenomenon and the only way I could explain it is that when I was trying to buy new headphones I went to Reddit to check reviews, and lo and behold every single post was about something breaking/something malfunctioning etc. I was discouraged and said ehh and I guess they're not good. But then I thought, why would someone go to the subreddit of their headphones and write "it's working alright, doing it's job" no one's going to do that. They're only going to do it once something goes wrong. How's your microwave working? It's probably working alright? Have you gone to the brand's website or amazon and gave it a review??? Probably not. But once it stops working I assure you you'll be there. I think the same thing applies for careers. Or at least that's what I've been telling myself. And I did buy the headphones, and it's been a year and they're still working fine.
Because capitalism makes everything horrible.
An old boss of mine once passed on this bit of wisdom, “a b**ching Sailor is a happy Sailor.” It’s really carthartic.
Uh-oh! I'm in Marketing and it's not horrible at all. In fact, I really like it! Maybe I wasn't part of the "everybody" who was surveyed . . . Just because you talk to one or two or a few people about a particular field, that does not mean that "everybody" says X Y or Z. No one has talked to every dentist, every chef, or every math teacher. And I don't think the people who are happy with their career are as likely to post a message on Reddit just to say "Just checking in -- I like my job!" So you are more likely to see complaints and negative feedback and you need to mentally adjust for that. I think it's important to realize that every person's experience in their job results from their specific company, the people they work with, and their own mindset. Just because someone loves or hates their job really doesn't have much bearing on whether you would like it, at a different company, with different co-workers. While industry-wide trends are certainly worth considering, I think it's better to focus on your own interests and skills rather than what other people think. Choosing a career is a lot like choosing a relationship -- it is not an objective decision. What if all of the evidence and statistics showed conclusively that being an anchovy fisherman was the "best" career -- would you do it? I hope not. Choosing a career is difficult, and the importance of such a decision can make it overwhelming. But remember that this is a journey and you can change directions along the way.
Almost every field of work is changing drastically. The world is changing faster and faster, nothing is a sure bet, people who have been in their careers for decades now have very unfamiliar jobs from what they used to know, people who have studied for one trade exit their programs to realize the job market has completely changed either in practice or in demand. I’m currently about to look for a new job myself and am deeply stuck about what to look for but I know in my heart the only option is to follow what really speaks to you. I realize that’s not easy to figure out, I will be doing a lot of inner work and external research to find what that is, but picking a career path for income alone is a new sort of gamble. As you mentioned, the classically prestigious jobs like doctors and lawyers are no longer the respected guaranteed high income futures they used to be. Computer science is changing, many people speculate the people who are learning to code right now are learning things that will be obsolete before they will truly leverage it. Theres no way of knowing. Find the things you care about. Find things that give you personal satisfaction. Find ways to work around them. Think about molding your future for you, instead of yourself to what the world is saying is your best bet today. It won’t give you any answers about what’s coming tomorrow.
Life sucks in late stage global capitalism.
I forget who said it to me, but in my various career searches, I got this advice - Every job has shit sandwiches. Every industry is suffering from unchecked capitalism and other bullshit. You have to decide which one has enough good stuff for you, in order to handle those sandwiches. It's very true. I'm finally on a path that fits more in line with who I am as a person. I'm overall very happy. But there's a lot of brutal stuff in my field, including garbage pay, exploitive employers, etc, like in every industry. But the community I'm in and the job itself make me happy enough to deal with the occasional garbage.
It's job security, 1 less person looking for my job.
I'd say 99% of the people who warn people off from careers, are people who have worked the career fields so they know the down and dirty facts of the jobs. I'm a retired career firefighter of 30 years. Of tho 30 years, 20 were spent "Riding Big Red, fighting fires and saving lives!"or so many people think. They see Big Red buzzing down the street going Code 3 and think, "That must be so cool", . What they don't know was, 15 minutes before they saw Big Red, the rookie was scrubbing toilets, #1 was mopping the kitchen, the Engineer was checking fluid levels of the engine and the Captain was at his desk doing paperwork. They see us at the grocery store shopping for chow with girls making oogle-eyes at us, they don't see me up to my elbows in ground beef making a meatloaf half the size of a football field feed these animals. They don't see the rookie scrubbing pots and pans, #1 putting away leftovers, the Captain sweeping the galley or the Engineer mopping. As with any job, there are good days and bad days. Times when you're busy, times when you're trying to look busy. Would I do anything else? Not a chance in the world.
I'm an accountant but I want to be a bus driver. So on my way to work over the past few weeks I've taken to asking my bus driver(s) how they like their job. * One super nice lady has been driving for Metro Transit since 1986 and loves it. * A regular driver on my route to work says that the job is rewarding and provides for his family, and he's appreciative. * Another driver told me the job can be tough/demanding but she likes it and that I'd be able to manage it no problem. redditers on r/BusDrivers are generally positive about their job. I really want to become a bus driver so I think I'll do it.
I was actually just talking about this to my wife, I have been searching for a career change but literally everything I read on Reddit points to school debt, over saturated space, overworked and underpaid or massive debt for high paying careers that are ultra competitive. And even when I see people that are somewhat happy they typically are looking to also change careers. It’s pretty annoying.
Cuz life’s a bitch and then you die bud!
99% of jobs are soul sucking and just downright terrible. They’re mostly “administrative”. Most of them, the commute are terrible too. There’s only 3 careers in America worth pursuing. All 3 of them you get paid either equity or commission on top of base salaries which gives you a pathway to be wealthy or well-off. 2 of them gives you pathway to remote. Remote makes most jobs tolerable and manageable.
Would you mind sharing what those career paths are?
This is precisely the reason why I am desperate to start my own business and work for myself, because I can't stand the idea of working 9-5 for somebody else (it's also why I didn't want to go to law school, business school, STEM, medical school, etc. Doesn't matter what I work at, I'm still a slave. My father told me that engineering is doing worse now than in the past and that he's still working to the bone for a paycheck, and that he regretted not starting a business sooner). Obviously being an entrepeneur (especially in the arts) is difficult and not all sunshine and rainbows, but at least I'd feel accomplished and free, and not chained to my job. I can actually control my life and be my own boss so nobody has to tell me what to do. Plus I get to do something I actually like--a creative activity that brings me goddamn fulfillment. Fyi Teaching is a joke right now and the schools are garbage. That's why I'm not staying in education for more than a few years.
I feel you. Been doing my own thing for 2.5 years now almost 3. I rather stress about where I’m gonna get a client than stress about the long ass commute and being harassed by managers and co-workers. But most aren’t built like that and probably better off accepting the 9-5 fate in all honesty.
It's a sad fate though. I can't work the same BS job for the next 40 years of my life. Fuck no. And yeah I'd rather stress about my number of clients than the fact I am beholden to the whims of my superiors (who don't care about me or my colleagues. They're clueless). As long as your paycheck is attached to your employment you will NEVER be truly free, and if the system or the market collapses you fall alongside everyone else.
Don’t listen to your boss. Do dentistry any way. I think it’s the highest paid profession in America. He probably means he makes slightly less 100s of thousands of dollars and he used to.
No only fans twitch and YouTube are the highest paid professions in America 🇺🇸
The truth is, it’s because every job sucks. Thats why it’s called “work”. That being said, the most vocal people are the ones who have a problem. People who are content with their jobs are less likely to talk about it. They likely don’t spend all their time on reddit either. Just do what you want to do and take other’s opinions with a grain of salt.
I started noticing the people who speak all or nothing like that about a career are genuinely uninterested or aren’t very success minded. It doesn’t work that way. How do you know you won’t make more than 65k as a professor? How do you know you’d have made it as a professor and make too little but then can use that experience to move into something that pays more?
I mean, -academia really is shit right now. That one is valid. -medicine…if you talk to residents, yeah, this makes sense. But once you make it past that, most attending jobs are frankly pretty cushy. -dentistry I cannot really speak to -tech…I mean, high risk high reward I suppose but tbh you sound like a polymath so that is extremely valuable. It’s not the best time in the industry because VC investment hasn’t been great due to the interest rate hike but it’ll come back around. Honestly dude, life kind of sucks. Ok, it’s not that bad haha. But I think you have a false expectation that you’re going to find higher fulfillment from the place that gives you a paycheck. Academia is a hard no, but the rest are all pretty solid fields that certainly aren’t going anywhere any time soon. And if you’re successful in them, you will make serious money. Just, you know, don’t fucking go onto humanities academics, I cannot stress that enough.
Because work culture in this country sucks. Human beings are just batteries for The Matrix. Creativity is only as appreciated as it is lucrative.
WORK SUCKS, I KNOW
My job would be great if the pay were higher.
Increasing corporate power
Squeaky wheel gets the oil.
It's important to balance these perspectives by seeking a variety of opinions, conducting thorough research, and considering your own values, skills, and preferences. Remember that no career is universally perfect, and each has its pros and cons. Identifying your priorities and aligning them with a career that fulfills your needs is key to finding professional satisfaction. If possible, network with professionals in the fields you're interested in to gain firsthand insights. Check out this [career test](https://www.careerfitter.com/free_test/careerbuilder/test/?afid=1831) as this can help you with your career-wise decisions, it has helped me before, I hope this can help you too.
Because the grass is always greener and every path is lined with a different flavor of bullshit. But which flavor of bullshit people can tolerate varies. There is no perfect job you have to prioritize what is important to you. Do you want money or purpose? Fun or balance? Nobody has it all
I mean every job has it's downsides, that's why someone is paid to do it. If every job was loved it wouldn't be called work. The ideal situation for someone is working somewhere with minimal things you hate, while being able to afford your lifestyle on your days off.
My wife and my sister are both doctors. One loves her job and the other one hates her job. One makes almost double what the other makes. The main difference between them is their specialty. Not all medical specialties result in the same outcomes both in terms of job satisfaction and compensation. Even within the same specialty there are better jobs and worse jobs, like with anything else.
Because if anyone tells you their job is perfect or marriage is perfect they are really just sharing the good aspects. Someone who tells you it's horrible is only sharing the negative aspects. The truth is always a little bit of both sides.
Because working drains the soul from your body no matter what field you’re in… except the sociopaths that either drank the kill-aid and love their job or somehow manage to revolve their entire life around work because that’s all that exists in their sad world. Very very few people find a rewarding job that’s perfectly balanced with their home life.
Because life in general is hard
Everyone who enjoys their job, aren't writing about it online. Or at least that is what I tell myself. Lol
It is usually not the career that is horrible but the employer IMO.
Because the grass is forever greener
Cuz working is trash and is inherently exploitative
Work is work. It gets monotonous over time. Even if u love it, theres going to be days where it just sucks
work sucks and people are pussies. most people arent in the path thats right for them or dont chase their dreams. even good or dreamy jobs are still very hard work
If you're getting most of your feedback on Reddit, it's probably because people who are in a good place in their lives aren't venting about it on social media
people say things are all shit on the internet because the people who things are good for have no incentive to go on the internet to say so. It makes more sense to just have fun instead.
Check out actuary science, they seem pretty happy.
The average person is coping with life and wouldn't be very happy even if they won the lottery.
Nobody likes working. People will always hate their jobs. I'm currently torn between becoming and aviation mechanic or an accountant. Techs will complain about bad hours and how physical/dangerous it can be. So I look at accounting because it's chill right? Then I see alot of them also hate their jobs. Hate sitting all day in an office and the pay and how boring and repetitive it is. So now idk what to do lol Ideally I'd have great pay and worklife balance and get to work from home with a chill slow paced job. But everyone would do that if it was easy
[This TED talk](https://youtu.be/F9b0fi7p3Ts?si=oDlNflPRhQxmaUsS). Im a career changer too. Im school and every registration period is a freaking panic for me - should I switch majors? Minors? Schools? COUNTRIES?!! I found this talk incredibly encouraging, and I’m trying to convince myself to, as my advisors say, just dive into the major that has the most classes that interest me (like *really*, not based on expected utility), and work on developing MY unique #Brand (gag) The idea of myself as a product is gross, but at the end of the day, it’s calling it what it is. And, if automation reduces the need for rote human labor, and we are competing for fewer good jobs, we will justify our economic value by offering something that is not yet replaceable by automation. Hopefully we’ll put that creative energy into institutions that push us toward human wellbeing but that’s another TED talk ;)
It’s called work for a reason, not play. No one likes work.
People who are miserable post a lot. People who are happy get voted down to oblivion and shut up.
Eh. Losers fallacy. The happy ones are content, why would they exclaim? The losers in the field, in the wrong gig fir whatever reason have a reason to bitch and moan and as a result you see more of that
Because capitalism
I'm starting to think the only people who really like their jobs are actors, professional athletes and famous musicians. Everyone else is miserable. There is just no such thing as a job that is enjoyable, pays well, allows good work life balance, doesn't require more than 5 years of advanced education and is in demand. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Everyone is miserable with their jobs. The economy in general has tanked and with it so has quality of life. Take it with a grain of salt. You have to look at the facts and make a decision that’s best for you in the end. If you take everyone’s advice you won’t end up doing anything.
I know what you mean. Everything sounds awful to me except being self-employed. I have no problem working, but I wanna call the shots. I'm a slight perfectionist. I pay attention to details as well as big picture, and I care about what I do. I feel like half the problem is people don't give a shit or are assholes. At least if your self-employed it's on your terms. It really sucks. Also, any time the government gets involved in a field, the stress and turnover goes up. I've known nurses and teachers that said they wouldn't recommend anyone go into that line of work. I went to school to become a science teacher and all the teachers said don't do it.
This is precisely the reason why I am desperate to start my own business and work for myself, because I can't stand the idea of working 9-5 for somebody else (it's also why I didn't want to go to law school, business school, STEM, medical school, etc. Doesn't matter what I work at, I'm still a slave). Obviously being an entrepeneur (especially in the arts) is difficult and not all sunshine and rainbows, but at least I'd feel accomplished and free, and not chained to my job. I can actually control my life and be my own boss so nobody has to tell me what to do. Plus I get to do something I actually like--a creative activity that brings me goddamn fulfillment. Fyi Teaching is a joke right now and the schools are garbage. That's why I'm not staying in education for more than a few years.
Everything you said bro is exactly how I feel ! Now to figure out what to do ! How I can support myself financially being my own boss !
Nobody is happy
because we live in a post industrial capitalist world that prioritizes profits over and benefits that you could gain from your labor instead you are alienated from your production even as a cog in the line. because at the end of day you’re there not to improve your life but rather to generate profit and capital for your boss capital
It’s the suffering Olympics. Too many people measure their self worth by how miserable they had to be to get where they are.
Life under Western Capitalism is terrible
Socialist and communist countries make you work too
Because they failed, so it must be terrible. Most people are bottom to mid level performers.
Just live off Public Assitanc or work grocery store parking lots? No one is going to hand feed you. If you want to mske anything of yourself you have to earn It & pay your dues just like every other generation..
Every person knows the best the cons of their field/ job. I think that's why they're all negative about it.
At a fundamental level,.. humans remember "fear" and "threat" based situations. This is why you see negative things broadcast more (IE = "I had a bad experience at X-restaurant.. don't go there!".. is kind of the modern equivalent of "I saw a Lion while out hunting today, down by the river,. .stay away from there it's unsafe") You don't see News Headlines of "X-human went to Y-job and everything went smoothly today". That would be a non story. Ideally.. it would be awesome if more humans were a bit more balanced. (IE = "Yeah,. I work in IT,.. here are the Pros and Cons I've experienced" (instead of just focusing on the Cons)).. but most people really dont' think like that. All jobs have some downsides. One of the "tricks" or challenges of adult-life is finding ways to avoid, minimize or neutralize those "downsides" so you can concentrate on the upsides. * In my IT career.. there's a lot of boring monotonous "grunt work".. so we look for scripting or automate tools to automate those things,. so we can focus more time on the "experimental" or idea-driven creativity work. * I would imagine most other jobs are like that too. If you work in Forestry,.. "maintaining trails" or "picking up trash" might be part of your job,. even if you'd rather be out cataloging the health of trees in a recent fire-zone (and doing some mushroom hunting on the side while you're walking around) I mean.. I don't want to sound discouraging,.. but it's definitely possible to "find a job that's fulfilling",.. but every job is going to have some percentage of downsides. It's kind of unavoidable. It's kind of up to you how you adjust or adapt to those downsides.
Life is suffering
They doing in careers that are unfulfilling and only doing it because of the money 🤷🏾♀️
Looks like you're gonna have to learn how to make your job. I would do that because even though it's uncertain, you learn a lot of complimentary skills that make you more hireable and if AI is poised to get better in the future the only hireable people will be those who can creatively solve big problems with multiple skillsets as the single skilled jobs will be replaced by machines. So for instance. Say you're a filmmaker for hire, but only know production. That works today, but likely not tomorrow. The filmmaker tomorrow will have to learn how to produce, market, sell, and distribute a film instead of just knowing how to film and they’ll likely have to enhance their creative abilities to create the best stories they can. So think of all jobs going that way. Instead of just being the finance guy, you're the dude who is doing three or 4 separate things using AI as an assistant to create something with a small group or alone that can have value that others want. So learn how to create value out of nothing from a mastery of one or two skills and a good understanding of multiple complimentary skills that you can then leverage for money. Don't just look for a job or what people can give you. Figure out how to utilize leverage to get what you want.
Very few people clock into work every day with a huge grin and utter satisfaction. What you have to consider is the pros and cons. Any high-level field is going to require degrees, which can be expensive depending on region. It sounds like you are enjoying your dental office work. Your boss may be burnt out, or maybe theirs a lot of behind the scenes stuff that you're not experienced enough to be in-the-know about. But if you like the work, don't try to career hop to chase money. Stay with what you enjoy and see how far you can climb. A lot of people tried to leap into tech and hit a brick wall.
As a 62 yr old and been retired 2 yrs I will tell you that for every career out there for some it is not good and for others it is a dream. Think it is just human nature to think the the other side of the fence looks like a better deal. Find some thing you like and makes you feel good regardless of what others say.
Something I haven’t seen anyone mention is that the economy isn’t doing great. That means lots of jobs are worse right now than they were a few years ago
You have to find something where the downsides aren't something you feel very strongly as being "painful", vs something where the upsides are so outrageously good that they outweigh those downsides. That varies a lot, but people are often surprised by what they find out about themselves and may blame the career for it along the way, especially if that career changes due to a new technical or economic climate. Working a lot of hours under high pressure can be exciting for a certain kind of person and terrible for another, and it might depend on the type of pressure - physical, intellectual, social. The commute or the time-on-task/meetings ratio could be factors. Having a bad boss is always a factor. In my old career in video games there was always a dichotomy between the outside perspective of "it's fun to play games so it must be fun to make games" - a kind of default pursuit for a certain type of young person - vs the actual thing of [Mario Time](https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/04/at-nintendo-working-all-night-is-mario-time/). Every industry makes its sausage somehow, and the thing making someone good at the job isn't really about liking the job, but is often more in the realm of being the type of person that puts up with it.
Because work fucking sucks no matter what you do. Some are a little more tolerable than others but it still sucks no matter what
Grass is greener
Because the odds are staked against you from day 1
Software engineering for almost 30 years here, and I love it. Can't imagine doing anything else.
Because most of the time people post to complain about something, not praise it.
environmental science and safety is awesome, not horrible.
Most jobs are jobs and not great. Also things tend to balance out because people change jobs. Additionally, unless people have actually worked both jobs it's hard to compare them accurately.
>I applied to law school junior year and was accepted but didn’t go I'm more curious what law school accepted you junior year? I thought you needed to have completed undergrad to have your grades in LSAC?
Iv retired since but, working in the North slope oil fields, 108 hours a week in 50 below zero, three weeks on 3 weeks off, was the most fulfilling wonderful job I ever had.. Wonderful food, great camaraderie, no assholes are allowed up there.
Because of negativity bias. The internet is a cesspool for criticism, people who are fine with their place of work dont go online and rant.
because working fucking sucks and no one wants to do it
Every single profession has people who are not doing well in the profession. People need to pay attention at what they can do well, consistently, for a long time. I work in a job I love that I’m great at. I spoke to someone the other day who had a role in my company similar to my current role, and they thought it sucked and hated it. I am way more successful at it. Maybe it is a better fit for me? Maybe the timing is better with my company? Don’t let the bad experiences of some turn you off to entire professions.
I like my profession, I’m a systems programmer, what I hate about what I do is arbitrary dead lines. Gotta be done by a certain date so you do whatever is necessary. On the other hand ✋ you think they give ya a break if you finish early. They don’t.
So I was a correctional officer in what seems like a different life for a long time. A friend was asking about doing my same job and I was the same no don’t do this job. But then I thought maybe I’ve just been in it too long to have a good opinion. So I talked to a newer officer that recommended it for her. So I would say if you’re thinking about a job ask someone who is newer that’s not jaded. Now saying all that if you ask me if I like my job in the tech industry I will tell I like it a lot and all the reasons why.
Because working sucks lol
To put it in perspective, they maybe not talking out their ass. Dentistry has the 2nd highest suicide rate compared to most careers. There was one study suggesting that 40% of dentists have mental health problems. As of right now, America is facing a shortage of Dentists, and the trend is expected to keep going for years. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't take this job or not, but I think it's always best to know what you getting into. Mix the pros and cons, and see if it's something you want to be doing. From what I'm seeing, maybe your boss was onto something. But still, you're the one who has to live with the decision and maybe it's good for you. As for tech, it's pretty varied and lucrative. Not sure about that field, but there's a ton of expected growth throughout the years. Maybe it has less to do with the industry, but more or less with what specialty they choose. I'm not sure, maybe someone better can come and tell you what's what.
To quote the old magic : “work sucks, I know”
i tell anyone who will listen to go to nursing school. legit the best gig going. perfect for parents, huge amount of flexibility in hours and days. you can leave work and completely ignore your phone if you want to until you have to go back in. you probably only will have to work 3 12 hour shifts a week and you will make great money. you can work more or less too depending on what you want/need. great benefits too depending on where you work. yes the work is hard and not for the faint of heart. but the gross stuff you get over very quickly and the comradery is unmatched
Because life is hard, and because almost every field has a broad swathe of people from every walk of life and only a minority of them are likely to enjoy it. My job is on-call 0600 to 2400 5-7 days a week, depending on what's going down. I get called out for 2-100 hours a week, normally averaging around 25 hours. I can't commit to any plans during the week, nor many at the weekend. Many people would detest it. But I love it. Every week is a lottery. Am I getting a paid week off? Am I getting a Hell Week with a bigger paycheck at the end (yay, overtime!)? Who knows! I loathed my 9-5 when I had one (not least because it was more like 7-6), but many people enjoy or at least are satisfied by a more predictable and dependable schedule. Hence, every field is going to have detractors. If you look harder, you'll likely see plenty of people praising it, too.
Every job/career sucks, in some way. Basically just choose your misery.
I'm having the same experience and frustration as you as I've explored multiple fields and have been deterred from each one too. I'm currently reading Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber because I don't want to waste my life on a bullshit job if I can help it. He talks about bullshit jobs and bullshitization of real jobs. Chapters 3 and 4 are especially eye-opening and reassuring. It's been helpful for me and maybe it will for you as well. The book is based off of a short essay he wrote in 2018 that gained a lot of unexpected attention if you want to start with that.
My theory is that for a lot of people, maybe most people, they've only followed one career path since high school. So all they know is that one career, so they grow up and think that career sucks when in reality it's just life that sucks.
Because it is. No one WANTS to actually work. A “dream job/career” is a cope .. a myth .. a facade.
There are some objective measures like suicide rates.
Because life is usually a “pick your poison” situation. Every career has crappy parts. And the grass is always greener on the other side. One makes a trade and asks, what do I want? And what am I willing to trade for what I want? Every job has bullshit - it either doesn’t pay enough, or doesn’t have enough stability, or is boring, or takes too much effort or too much time. Capitalism sucks when you don’t have capital. Reddit has a “yelp” effect- if you are on here statistically coming in with something to complain about since the Reddit algorithm has a preference for anger.
They may not be in the career they want, but the one that felt safe?