Dream Job spin-off

What’s your current job like? Pros and cons, and when do you plan to retire? Gripes welcome

I have a county job. The job sucks. I do have a pension and some vacation and sick time, weekends and holidays off. I started almost 3 years ago and will be able to retire in 17 years when I am 56, if I make it that long lol. I spent 15 years in retail and and also went to cosmetology school and worked in a hair salon before taking this job. I guess you could say I’m a jack of all trades, master of none

Re: Dream Job spin-off

I work in a school for the DOE
I’m a speech therapist
Good salary, insurance, pension, school days off and on Weds Thursday and Fridays I’m home early enough to pick up my kids from school. Monday’s and Tuesday’s I get home way later but not later than 530
I love what I do and I love the kids I work with-
Some of the adults in the building I could do without lol but I love my kids

Message edited 10/3/2019 7:39:56 PM.

Dream Job spin-off

I work for the state as a behavior analyst/ psychologist. In my current role I feel pretty unfulfilled but I’m hoping my role changes soon. Pros: state pension and health benefits for life. I only work 3 days a week and my boss is fairly flexible. Cons: politics and I don’t feel like I am as effective as I can be due to upper management placing constraints on many roles in my department, I have to work Saturdays and holidays (not all 3 a year). I don’t see my self doing this forever in my job and I’m hoping to find a different position within the next year

Message edited 10/3/2019 8:44:44 PM.

Dream Job spin-off

My job is very flexible, my boss is great, my colleagues are mostly nice.

Cons: I took a pay cut for the flexibility, it’s kind of boring and I miss the city.

Dream Job spin-off

I’m a school librarian and I love my job. The only major con is it took me a long, long time to get to this point. I spent a long time in different places unfulfilled for various reasons. I am so, so happy with where I am.

Message edited 10/3/2019 10:02:28 PM.

Re: Dream Job spin-off

Pros are that I have more flexibility than I could ever dream of. I can work from home, or from anywhere really, whenever I want. I haven't taken a sick day in the 9 years I've been here- I just work from home when I am sick. Or it's snowing. Or I have to go up to the school for some event for my daughter. Or it's Friday. lol
Yesterday I had to go speak to my DD's religion teacher before class at 4 pm. I just walked out of my office at 2:45, drove home, set up my laptop, took a call at 3:30 and drove over to the church.
I didn't ask anyone, I didn't tell anyone.
I love that I am treated as a responsible adult.
One thing I cannot handle is being micromanaged. So this is the perfect situation for me.
I make pretty good money and get bonuses as well based on the team's performance each quarter.


Cons are sometimes it's boring as heck, the work is not really fulfilling at all, and my boss can drive me up a wall- in an annoying brother/sister/old married couple who get on each other's nerves kind of way.
But that's because we have worked together for so long and have a comfort level with each other that I guess can be considered a pro.


In terms of retirement who knows? I have no pension so it's just a 401K

Re: Dream Job spin-off

I work for a Japanese conglomerate, been here for 24 years. It is very corporate, and not very open to change.
I am currently a sales analyst for the food department, specializing in exports of pork and beef to Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, and hopefully Taiwan and Vietnam. Prior to that I worked in fertilizer exports, prior to that in commodity trading for grain, coffee, cocoa, sugar exports (that was my favorite job here). Before joining this company, I worked in the fashion industry.
Being female American here is not easy, we have a rice paper ceiling. No one here mentors, Japanese managers are all about their own careers and growth. But I do have a reputation as a good worker with a lot of knowledge and that has saved me twice from being booted out the door when my previous departments closed.
Japanese staff rotate out every 5 years, therefore I know a lot of people. My previous manager was quite impressed that a lot of visitors would stop by my cube to say hello and sometimes bring me Japanese sweets as a small token. She was once asked by the head of a company we do business with what I did for our company, and she replied, I don't really know, but she does everything.
I play the game to make myself look good, and to pretty much be left alone to do my work.

I could have left a few times, but the benefits are really good, we have 14 holidays a year in addition to our PTO, and I get to leave work at my desk when I go home at night. It gives me a good work-life balance.

My target retirement date is in 2456 days, on 6/26/26. I will be 59 3/4 old. Waiting until June because that is when bonuses get paid out and I go on vacation the beginning of July.

Re: Dream Job spin-off

I'm an admin receptionist at a law firm. I started here when I was 19 and been here almost 15 years now. It's not the worst.

The pay/benefits are pretty good for what I do and it's a job I can leave at the office, I rarely if ever need to handle anything from home. And if I do, it's not expected of me, but rather just me doing a favor.

Some cons... there's not a lot of upward mobility. I've been in this position for 15 years and I like to think I'm a very good employee. I'm a fast learner, team player, excellent communication and technical skills. I've always gotten exceptional reviews and my manager says she wants to help me move up in the company, but yet nothing comes of it. I've nearly reached the salary cap for my position. When I started my position was very simple- answer phones, greet guests, book conference rooms. In my years here, I've always actively looked for more responsibility and with that I fought hard to get my title changed to administrative receptionist instead of just receptionist. I finally got it a few years ago and a nice bump in pay, but I still feel I deserve more advancement than that over the time period I've been here. I don't look elsewhere because I'm scared to lose the security I have here- I get along VERY well with my boss and I consider myself to be a valuable asset to my team so I feel very secure that I will at least be able to keep my position for many years to come, which is important considering I have two very young children.

Another con/pro... no time flexibility. I need to be here 8:00 AM- 4:00 PM. While I often get stuck a little late- maybe 4:30/5:00 PM to finish a project or cover a receptionist who may be out, I can never be late, which is hard with commuting from LI and doing multiple drop offs for my kids. I'm up at 5:00 AM and out the door at 5:50.

ETA: Retirement is just 401k for me. My firm does contribute to my 401K annually.

Message edited 10/4/2019 8:23:19 AM.

Re: Dream Job spin-off

Dream Job spin-off

I'm a program coordinator in higher education. I've been in higher ed for over 20 years - in Atlanta, Seattle, NC, LI, and NC again. I've had various jobs - web editor, event planning, registrar, and general umbrella of coordinator. I'm currently in the Provost Office and responsible for making sure all faculty appointments (hires, promotions, leaves, etc) are entered into the database.

Pros - benefits are really good if it's a private institution. I don't get as much vacation as I'd like, but I get 13 holidays plus 3 weeks vacation and 12 days sick. Health benefits are good and they match 401K. I really need to look into retirement b/c it got derailed when I divorced and I'm now a single income. It depends on the job and supervisor, but my current job is very flexible if my son is sick and comes to work or I have to work from home. I also have a lot of flexibility with being a little late, leaving a little early, whenever I want to take lunch. I'm in a back office so I don't have walk by traffic of people wanting to talk all day. And I leave work at the office and never have to think about it after 5pm (also no overtime).

Cons - higher ed pay is awful unless you're faculty or very high up on the food chain. It's not easy to move up if you're hourly or if you're a program coordinator without networking a lot and job hopping.

Re: Dream Job spin-off

At the moment my job situation is very complicated. They exploit workers in my field.

I am an EFL teacher (English as a Foreign Language). I’m currently doing freelance to make ends meet. I’ve also been on and off unemployment in the times I am not working. It’s very frustrating.

I had a great job at a university working full time on a 2 year contract (I freelance there now). That contract was temporary. These contracts are very difficult to find. When the contract was finished, I am not permitted to just go to another 2 year contract because the government wants to be fair to all of teachers, so that everyone gets a chance. I have to wait three years. Yet they still suffer from all these workers in my situation going on unemployment. It makes no sense. Government funding comes into a lot of it. I am permitted to get a permanent contract, but those are so difficult to find in my field. My “waiting time” is almost over in April and I have a few opportunities lined up for next year. That is one con.

Even though it’s freelance I’m doing at the moment, the one pro is the schedule is flexible and I can work from home marking papers in between time in the classroom. That’s a pro. When I was on a contract, I basically got 4 months’ paid time off a year. I had to take my 6 week vacation time off then, though, so time for vacations was limited.

Now, I do not get any benefits.

I’m hoping that things will change for me next year. It’s either that or I move back to the US (I don’t want to do that because it’s really expensive) or I will be homeless by the end of next year.

Re: Dream Job spin-off

I am an attorney.

Pros: With this particular job I have as much flexibility as possible given the job itself. If I need to, I can work from home. I don't come in until I drop off my kids at school and I'm usually out the door between 5-5:30. I use my brain and learn different things all the time.

Cons: Nobody likes lawyers. We are a necessary evil. My clients hardly likely me even when I bust my ass to bring them good results. Well, I shouldn't say they don't like me, they usually do like me as a person, but they hate the idea of me. It's a thankless job, really. Billing requirements are annoying. Contrary to what people think, you don't automatically make super high salaries. I make a good salary but my DH who has no college degree or student loans, makes more than I do at the LIRR. So that irritates me. He also has way better benefits and a pension. I get a 401K and that's it.

Re: Dream Job spin-off