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OP is only 22 and hasn't had the pleasure of being beat down after decades of soul-sucking jobs.
Fortunately, I haven't had this issue.
I don't really know if I'll miss working... there are pro and cons to it.
That's the issue with turning a favorite hobby in to a job. It's no longer a hobby, it's a job!
Great post. You're right about the age thing. I'm 59 years old, and my part-time job is from home. I do my work in the morning to knock it out of the way. Every morning, I look at my desk and let out a "gotta make the doughnuts" sigh, and then get to it.
No, I don't miss working. I don't miss the office drama at all.
When I volunteered I found that some of the women who had been in management positions while working felt that they could continue to give orders to other volunteers. Being given commands as though I was a dog, being yelled at, and not being treated as an equal took a lot of pleasure out of the experience.
I’ve always looked forward to retirement since it didn’t take me long to realize I hate work in general. I hate self-employment and standard employment for different reasons I won’t go into. Now that I’ve settled into a career I tolerate fairly well, I go to work and do my duties as well as I can with the thought in the back of my mind I can go home and enjoy my toy poodles. I save religiously for retirement and am constantly makimg decisions towards what will net me a higher standard of living in retirement. I’m 22, and if I play my cards right and am diligent with my planning and changing my plan as needed, I can retire when I’m 62 (I had a bumpy start but am netting good money, now). I look forward to taking my retirement money some place with a low cost of living (likely abroad), so I can stretch the retirement longer. I bottle up my bitter feelings all day, and it will be nice to finally escape from stress. The only way I could maybe plan better for retirement is taking better is taking better care of my health since my other relaxation activity besides poodle time is cramming my face with junk food and sitting around. I expect my personal reaction to leaving work will be more of a “good riddance” feeling, but I’ve heard otherwise from some people. I was curious how common it is to miss work once you retire?
Its funny, in a way. I’m the guy at work everybody thinks loves his work, since I compartmentalize so much. Nobody ever sees how bitter and upset I stay the vast majority of the time.
I haven't worked since mid-2015. I don't miss working at all. I'm so grateful I have freedom to sleep in on bad weather days, Mondays, etc. I have so many hobbies and interests that work would be a real imposition, lol. Having said that, we are not wealthy by any means. We have been frugal our entire lives and still are. My hobbies and interests cost hardly any money or no money.
When I was working I was lucky enough to enjoy what I did and enjoy the people I worked with, so it wasn't that I couldn't wait to leave all that. But now that I'm gone, I'm grateful.
If you cannot imagine not working, then you are likely best to continue working part-time.
I thought the point was you want to have time to do whatever you want to do.
So if you feel you have that time, that's all that counts really
An office job, we'll I'd likely completely quit doing that at retirement
Otherwise it wouldn't feel like retirement
Get into something else, anything else, but that
I liked my job, but I wouldn't say I miss it. I'm too busy living in the present to think much about it one way or the other. That seems like a whole different life to me now.
No, I don't miss working. I don't miss the office drama at all.
When I volunteered I found that some of the women who had been in management positions while working felt that they could continue to give orders to other volunteers. Being given commands as though I was a dog, being yelled at, and not being treated as an equal took a lot of pleasure out of the experience.
My first time being treated like a dog or yelled at as a volunteer would be my last as I would run out the door and not look back. I put up with that kind of behavior while I was working, but it was only because I was being paid well.
I'm too busy living in the present to think much about it one way or the other..
The problem is that that is exactly what the OP isn't doing. Fixating on a distant dream (which may never be achieved) in order to endure today is no way to live.
Long post coming if you have the time--it's slow at work anyway. I can understand how the OP feels. I'm almost 37 and have gone from job to job, and none have been really great. (FWIW, those of you that know me on here recently, I changed my username for more anonymity...started with a J and ended with an L). Here's the rundown of all the stuff I've done in only half of my working life trying to find my niche but still haven't.
I've always loved traveling and staying in hotels, so during college, I became a front desk clerk so I could get in the industry and have a job that allowed flexible hours and me to study during the down time. It was a love/hate job. I'm an introvert but got used to dealing with people, but it got old fast. The hospitality industry doesn't pay well, nor did I want to constantly relocate for positions, so I got out of that when I graduated.
I took the 1st corporate job out of college I was offered, even though I didn't want it. It paid insultingly low, but I needed health insurance (back then you were booted off your parents' policy when you graduated). I stayed there 6 months so I could find a job while I had one. That was my first distaste of corporate hell, and I wanted nothing to do with it. Then, I decided I wanted to pursue my interest in cars. I didn't want to sell them, working on them is a hobby (and something I'm not very good at!); so I found a job working in the service department for a dealership. It paid more than the corporate job, and I loved not being stuck in cubicle prison. It was the most stressful job I've ever had, but I loved being around cars all day. I dealt with rude clients as it was a high-line dealership. I had meltdowns daily, hours were long, good boss, but nobody is happy to take their car to the shop; so I got out of that. Then, I went to work doing part office/part field work at an engineering company. I really liked that job, but work slowed down; it was a dead-end job with low pay. I had the layoff fear looming.
Next, I got my first "real" job with a large company in audit work. I traveled all over the US, met a lot of great people and coworkers (still friends with several). I got raises and huge bonuses. I stayed in fancy hotels and ate well. I thought I was finally "making it" in my career, but I had the boss from hell. She ruined that job, but I stuck with it for 6 years since I felt like I was finally doing well. Finally, air travel burnt me out (it's hell), and the company got bought out. I saw the writing on the wall and left--taking, yet, another job I didn't want but I had no other offers. Good thing I did because that department vanished. Stayed at that job a year, terrible commute, didn't like the work, and found a job closer that I liked--in procurement. I discovered during audit that I liked that area of business. I didn't mind that job, but the company was rapidly growing and my job duties transitioned; then I was laid off. I went to work for a small construction company afterward. I loved the coworkers, the work itself, and the flexible schedule, but the owner was crazy and about bankrupted himself. No one stayed there more than a year except only a few people. There are now less than 10 in the office, so I'd have gotten laid off there too. Owner was late on bills, had office up for sale, etc. Left there and am at my current job in cubicle prison for, yet, another large company. I'm left alone, but I'm bored out of my mind.
OP, I've been fortunate to be able to jump around to various careers and industries, and I still don't know what I want to do, other than being retired. Work is a means to an end, but see if you can find something tolerable. Also, know that no job is secure. You can see that from my various job history, plus I refused to stay somewhere if I was that miserable. Constantly running away from layoffs and buyouts is no fun either. I've suffered depression my whole life as well, so I understand how you feel. My price tag on my personal time is exponentially higher than my wage rate. I focus on spending time with my wife and doing things I enjoy on my time off.
What I've gathered from my experience is that I've found out that I don't like working at large companies due to dumb rules, politics, unnecessary red tape, etc. Small companies give you the chance to stand out, accomplish more tasks, challenge you, and have more autonomy. I like having a flex schedule, and I like working in a position where I'm part office/part field. I can't stand sitting in one place all day. Some interaction with others is good, as long as it's not dealing with the general public. Not sure if I can ever find this arrangement again, but I've learned to know what I absolutely hate. I still can't wait until I retire, though. Good luck. You're young, so experience as much as you can to find out what you like. It's taken me this long, and I still haven't totally figured it out. It's probably too late because I'm at the age where I have to quit job-jumping, so that's going to be tough.
Last edited by AlwaysBeachin; 12-10-2018 at 07:30 AM..
Long post coming if you have the time--it's slow at work anyway. I can understand how the OP feels. I'm almost 37 and have gone from job to job, and none have been really great. (FWIW, those of you that know me on here recently, I changed my username for more anonymity...started with a J and ended with an L). Here's the rundown of all the stuff I've done in only half of my working life trying to find my niche but still haven't.
I've always loved traveling and staying in hotels, so during college, I became a front desk clerk so I could get in the industry and have a job that allowed flexible hours and me to study during the down time. It was a love/hate job. I'm an introvert but got used to dealing with people, but it got old fast. The hospitality industry doesn't pay well, nor did I want to constantly relocate for positions, so I got out of that when I graduated.
I took the 1st corporate job out of college I was offered, even though I didn't want it. It paid insultingly low, but I needed health insurance (back then you were booted off your parents' policy when you graduated). I stayed there 6 months so I could find a job while I had one. That was my first distaste of corporate hell, and I wanted nothing to do with it. Then, I decided I wanted to pursue my interest in cars. I didn't want to sell them, working on them is a hobby (and something I'm not very good at!); so I found a job working in the service department for a dealership. It paid more than the corporate job, and I loved not being stuck in cubicle prison. It was the most stressful job I've ever had, but I loved being around cars all day. I dealt with rude clients as it was a high-line dealership. I had meltdowns daily, hours were long, good boss, but nobody is happy to take their car to the shop; so I got out of that. Then, I went to work doing part office/part field work at an engineering company. I really liked that job, but work slowed down; it was a dead-end job with low pay. I had the layoff fear looming.
Next, I got my first "real" job with a large company in audit work. I traveled all over the US, met a lot of great people and coworkers (still friends with several). I got raises and huge bonuses. I stayed in fancy hotels and ate well. I thought I was finally "making it" in my career, but I had the boss from hell. She ruined that job, but I stuck with it for 6 years since I felt like I was finally doing well. Finally, air travel burnt me out (it's hell), and the company got bought out. I saw the writing on the wall and left--taking, yet, another job I didn't want but I had no other offers. Good thing I did because that department vanished. Stayed at that job a year, terrible commute, didn't like the work, and found a job closer that I liked--in procurement. I discovered during audit that I liked that area of business. I didn't mind that job, but the company was rapidly growing and my job duties transitioned; then I was laid off. I went to work for a small construction company afterward. I loved the coworkers, the work itself, and the flexible schedule, but the owner was crazy and about bankrupted himself. No one stayed there more than a year except only a few people. There are now less than 10 in the office, so I'd have gotten laid off there too. Owner was late on bills, had office up for sale, etc. Left there and am at my current job in cubicle prison for, yet, another large company. I'm left alone, but I'm bored out of my mind.
OP, I've been fortunate to be able to jump around to various careers and industries, and I still don't know what I want to do, other than being retired. Work is a means to an end, but see if you can find something tolerable. Also, know that no job is secure. You can see that from my various job history, plus I refused to stay somewhere if I was that miserable. Constantly running away from layoffs and buyouts is no fun either. I've suffered depression my whole life as well, so I understand how you feel. My price tag on my personal time is exponentially higher than my wage rate. I focus on spending time with my wife and doing things I enjoy on my time off.
What I've gathered from my experience is that I've found out that I don't like working at large companies due to dumb rules, politics, unnecessary red tape, etc. Small companies give you the chance to stand out, accomplish more tasks, challenge you, and have more autonomy. I like having a flex schedule, and I like working in a position where I'm part office/part field. I can't stand sitting in one place all day. Some interaction with others is good, as long as it's not dealing with the general public. Not sure if I can ever find this arrangement again, but I've learned to know what I absolutely hate. I still can't wait until I retire, though. Good luck. You're young, so experience as much as you can to find out what you like. It's taken me this long, and I still haven't totally figured it out. It's probably too late because I'm at the age where I have to quit job-jumping, so that's going to be tough.
I had a similar experience, I worked in broadcasting for the first 10 years out of college. It is a horrible business, and I did not make much money or save for retirement. Then another 10 years at several other jobs. I finally found a job that I have worked for the last 21 years but it has not been all that great. It has been tolerable and I was able to contribute to a pension. But over all I can't say working was any kind of great thing for me. Bad bosses, no raises, obnoxious co-workers, office politics, having to work weekends, getting passed over for promotions, and endless other BS. I am looking forward to retirement and closing the books on working. When somebody asks what I do, I want to just say "retired" and leave it at that.
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