There's a lot of chatter around the male-interest about "soul-crushing jobs" and whatnot so I was curious who's willing to say they're satisfied with their professional life.

I am, for my part. I've worked in technical research labs and startups, and I've always enjoyed going to work. There are some bothers, particularly around short-sighted organizational politics, but generally I've gotten a huge rush out of helping to create new things, and I've worked with lots of brilliant people (including a few red-pill types comfortable talking about our kind of stuff in person). My employers have paid me pretty well and encouraged me to take care of my health and wellness rather than working me to the bone.

Quote: (07-25-2015 01:57 AM)BadgerHut Wrote:  

There's a lot of chatter around the male-interest about "soul-crushing jobs" and whatnot so I was curious who's willing to say they're satisfied with their professional life.

I am, for my part. I've worked in technical research labs and startups, and I've always enjoyed going to work. There are some bothers, particularly around short-sighted organizational politics, but generally I've gotten a huge rush out of helping to create new things, and I've worked with lots of brilliant people (including a few red-pill types comfortable talking about our kind of stuff in person). My employers have paid me pretty well and encouraged me to take care of my health and wellness rather than working me to the bone.

In my opinion, when people are saying that they work in "soul-crushing jobs", they find the jobs soul crushing for mainly two reasons- firstly, it is just that they do not like being tied down to a particular workplace and crave the freedom to do things at their own pace and secondly, they often report to "asshole" bosses (who have been elevated to that place simply owing to access to people that matter or who have licked asses to the top or got just plain lucky). As for me, while I do not hate my job, there are lots of things I dislike. What keeps me going is the belief that luck eventually evens out and that if I am going through hell right now, the good times must not be far away.

Asshole bosses is definitely a huge problem that will kill your work life. I know it's easy to say on a forum but people should tolerate less of that shit. It's like a dude saying all the girls he dates are bitches - go find some other chicks. I've gone so far as to tell folks in job interviews that I didn't enjoy working for assholes. Or, game up and become the boss yourself and do it the right way (just like with chicks, getting promoted in most organizations is a game that can be played).

It takes time to find a new job. I do not know about other countries, but in India, searching for a job before the end of 1 year at your current work place is taken as a sign that you are not doing too well in your current job. Hence, you have to take it patiently. Similarly, promotion is a function of loyalty and you will have to spend some time before a promotion comes around. Job continuity is an important factor too, it is very difficult to explain why there is some time gap when one remained unemployed and thus, people keep plugging away. The interviewers in general do not interpret the reason (that you left because of an asshole boss) very well. It may be because they then think of themselves! The official rationale that is given though is that it is your difficulty to adjust that is the problem and not the other way round.

Try the Army. Not as badass as you would think unless you're in SPEC OPS. Instead of training on cool shit like weapons systems and tactical maneuvers, most of our days consist of performing menial tasks such as, mowing the lawn, sweeping the motor pool or just standing around staring at our phones. Good pay and benefits - yeah. Would I rather be doing something else - hell yeah!

I think much of the problem is this tunnel-vision attitude that 'work equals job'. It permeates the whole of society. "If you want money, you must get a job", as though the two are basically the same thing.

But this is deliberate. People are beaten into being robots from the day they are born, and set on the treadmill of "born, elementary school, high school, exams, university, send out resumes, job, retire, die". In this system, bosses merely provide the next "guy who tells you what to do" after your parents / priests / teachers / professors. It's sickening. Its kind of like the 'hazing effect', whereby hazing traditions continue because the previous generation feels attached to them only because they had to do it themselves. It's moronic, sheep-like, robotic, unquestioning behaviour that demeans the human spirit.

The reason most people hate their jobs is because they can't dial into the center of the stress / boredom spectrum. They have little control, it's all up to their bosses. Either the job is boring bullcrap that never ends, or it's highly stressful demanding work that pushes the workers physical and mental limits. And in either case, his actual payoff has little to do with what he is actually doing. Someone landing in the sweet spot of 'not too challenging, but challenging enough, and rewarding' is such a fluke that it's no wonder than most people hate their jobs.

I think contracting is going to become much more of a thing. For a start off, it's easier to evade the capricious and malicious fist of the state when you contract. It can get around various regulations, wage limits, firing limits etc, so the market is more free. It also means people are buying and selling based on actual results and for actual contracted work, instead of a 'part-time slave' style system. Then there is the fact that the contractor can control how much he wants to work and earn. There is also more flexibility in the type of work he chooses to do, and in how he does it, and in when he does it, and in where he does it. It will also cut the slack of workers who waste work hours surfing the net.

The system is completely against this though. The system wants everyone to fall in line as robots who do what they are told. Everyone being depressed and trapped and despondent is fine to the system - it's the opposite of a revolution. For this reason it's not surprising that kids aren't taught about business, sales, marketing, accounting, finance, and practical skills. All of those things are to the personal benefit of the student, his future, and his freedom. The system has no interest in that. The system would much prefer he is demanded to pass exams on pointless but difficult nonsense that gives him no useful knowledge, and which he will never use again, because that is consistent with what the system wants. Not joy, but obedience.

I enjoy my job. It's the perfect mix of all my skills. The fringe benefits make it even more amazing (wfh, boss located in another city, gym discount).

We're in a massive lull right now before new projects get started so it is sort of a forced vacation. Once things start rolling out it's full days again.

People who are miserable in their day job don't have side hobbies, don't work out, and have retarded commutes.

Sommelier. Professional Alcoholic. What's not to love?

Online poker player checking in. It's probably not going to make me rich, but I love doing it and it's a means to travel the world and have adventures with foreign women!

Quote: (07-26-2015 12:46 PM)KeepMovingForward Wrote:  

Online poker player checking in. It's probably not going to make me rich, but I love doing it and it's a means to travel the world and have adventures with foreign women!

Women and Traveling?
How do you start in this crazy poker thing?

I love my job and I can't imagine anything better. I also make a ton of money and work about 10 hours a week. But it took me 12-15 years to build my career after school and 7 of them were Hell on Earth.

I loved being a writer. I HATED being around other writers and especially hated milquetoast editors.

One year when our building was being renovated, the editorial department moved me -- and me alone -- upstairs to where the graphic designers and computer operators sat. This was easily the happiest time of my life. I got to do a job I loved and do it around a bunch of cool guys. It's the closest I've come to the manosphere atmosphere in real life.

I enjoy my job. It pays well and for an American company, the amount of vacation time I get is pretty good. It's challenging, which is good. I also have some decent exit opportunities, so when I am ready for something new, it will be there.

My professional life is progressing but I don't like my job.

When I read about the freedom some guys on the forum I am totally jealous.

The old adage applies "In North America live to work, in Europe they work to live".

I do. I legitimately LOVE my job. I am an airline pilot. Did various other types of flying, all of them crazy dangerous and exciting. Spent a lot of years getting here, some of it has sucked, most of it has been amazing. But I have incredible memories and some crazy stories. Got a bad case of AIDS from it. Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome.

Quote: (07-26-2015 06:22 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  

My professional life is progressing but I don't like my job.

When I read about the freedom some guys on the forum I am totally jealous.

The old adage applies "In North America live to work, in Europe they work to live".

Then its not progressing. You just lulled yourself into inaction with this post. Jealousy is ok if you take steps toward what you want.

And forget that crap about Europe. Most professionals work for under 2k a month and are hopelessly stuck to the job and entitlement systems

i enjoy my job, im a programmer and I can change jobs at will, which means I dont have to take much bullshit
and i work remotely in parts, my next job will be a 100% remote one, then I'l travel all the time

^ What kind of programming is it?

I've liked my job for a long time as it was/is mentally stimulating, helped build a good skill set, grown personally and professionally, bonded with my team, and is well paid.

But I've already gone past the point of diminishing returns in this position, and there is really no room for advancement. For many years, I've learned something new every day. Now I learn something new maybe once a week or longer.

It will be a difficult goodbye as I execute my exit strategy, but it's (hopefully) for the best.

Quote: (07-27-2015 12:32 PM)Phoenix Wrote:  

^ What kind of programming is it?

backend&frontend web development, I'm working towards getting out of it and into quant stuff

Quote: (07-25-2015 07:19 PM)Tengen Wrote:  

Sommelier. Professional Alcoholic. What's not to love?

This is the kind of creative approach I love. You can become almost anything if you get the right credentials and experience.

Model Photographer, Sommelier as above, Lifeguard, Sailboat Captain.

My friend's daughter went to maritime school and now she's working on an oil rig, if she wants she probably has a fucking stable of guys.

You just have to separate yourself from the people with an "interest" in something and become a pro at it.

I myself have never had a job I really liked-- I like my job AT TIMES but the idea of being someplace on someone else's schedule , even on a 6 months contract eats at me.

From reading through it seems

1. Anybody with a normal job hates it.

2. People who like their jobs would rather have absolute freedom (and money)

Quote: (07-25-2015 04:52 AM)Phoenix Wrote:  

Its kind of like the 'hazing effect', whereby hazing traditions continue because the previous generation feels attached to them only because they had to do it themselves. It's moronic, sheep-like, robotic, unquestioning behaviour that demeans the human spirit.

Hazing exists not only because of a vicious circle. It makes you appreciate, value and commit to the thing you are applying, creates strong bonds with the other applicants. These are what keep the organizations existing. There was an experiment in the book Influence The Psychology of Persuasion. When they stopped hazing, students started dropping their memberships or simply stopped giving a crap about fraternities and its events.

Quote: (07-26-2015 05:30 PM)Days of Broken Arrows Wrote:  

I loved being a writer. I HATED being around other writers and especially hated milquetoast editors.

One year when our building was being renovated, the editorial department moved me -- and me alone -- upstairs to where the graphic designers and computer operators sat. This was easily the happiest time of my life. I got to do a job I loved and do it around a bunch of cool guys. It's the closest I've come to the manosphere atmosphere in real life.

People vastly underrate this when thinking about tech jobs.

Most developers and graphic designers are pretty cool, they just want to get work done be left the fuck alone.

My friends in law, finance, and medicine all have tons of complaints of the people they work with.