mad_scientist Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 Why do you think this job was particularly detestable?
Phi for All Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 I've never done work I didn't love, ever, so I've never had a bad job. I've worked for bad people though. 1
mad_scientist Posted June 13, 2017 Author Posted June 13, 2017 I've never done work I didn't love, ever, so I've never had a bad job. I've worked for bad people though. ok then, of all the jobs you've ever had, which was your least favourite?
hypervalent_iodine Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 When I was a kid I had a newspaper delivery job and a couple of pamphlet ones. The latter was okay, because you could do that on a weekend and the walking was good. The newspaper delivery job I detested. Starting work at 4am (two hours before the sun was up) on Wednesdays and Fridays before school and having to drag my little sister along with me was not my idea of a good time. It all came to a grinding halt when one morning someone tried to coax said sister into their car as we were finishing up for the morning. I saw it just in time to intercept and run with her to an open gas station until they were gone. There were no more newspaper delivery runs after that.
imatfaal Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 after I was booted from Uni I did temporary work to make ends meet - I had hurt my index finger and could no longer type so had to do manual work. I spent four weeks cleaning out the compacted grapes from the bottom of huge boilers after the manufacture of sone sort of ginger wine. Ridiculously hot, full noddy suits, overpowering smell even through face mask, back-breaking and cramped - and the temping agency went bust and I never got paid for the last ten days.
Silvestru Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 I don't really know the pain of manual, hard physical work but I hate office jobs where I have nothing to do. I used to have jobs where I was literally doing nothing 7 out of 8 hours. I could feel my brain numbing.
mad_scientist Posted June 13, 2017 Author Posted June 13, 2017 There were no more newspaper delivery runs after that. How long did you stay in the job for? Ridiculously hot, full noddy suits, overpowering smell even through face mask, back-breaking and cramped - and the temping agency went bust and I never got paid for the last ten days. Oh no! That's not fair. I don't really know the pain of manual, hard physical work but I hate office jobs where I have nothing to do. I used to have jobs where I was literally doing nothing 7 out of 8 hours. I could feel my brain numbing. What was your actual job title? Two weeks making concrete blocks. Why was it your least favourite job?
hypervalent_iodine Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 How long did you stay in the job for? Oh no! That's not fair. What was your actual job title? Why was it your least favourite job? A year I think.
mad_scientist Posted June 13, 2017 Author Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) A year I think.But I bet it gave you something else to compare your current role with. I bet it increased your gratefulness when you compare how difficult this other job was to do. Seems really stressful and probably involves a lot of walking. How many kilometres do you think you walked when doing this work for your deliveries? Do you think it was a good stepping stone and opened up opportunities for you in other areas (e.g. If you wanted to be a courier as you grow older and get your car licence)? What skills did you gain from doing this sort of job? Edited June 13, 2017 by mad_scientist
hypervalent_iodine Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 But I bet it gave you something else to compare your current role with. I bet it increased your gratefulness when you compare how difficult this other job was to do. Seems really stressful and probably involves a lot of walking. How many kilometres do you think you walked when doing this work for your deliveries? Do you think it was a good stepping stone and opened up opportunities for you in other areas (e.g. If you wanted to be a courier as you grow older and get your car licence)? What skills did you gain from doing this sort of job? I couldn't really say if it's fed into my current role at all. It did give me a good work ethic. No idea about mileage either, but I also don't drive and don't have a licence currently. The walking and cycling I do has kept me fit, and given me a love for hiking.
mad_scientist Posted June 13, 2017 Author Posted June 13, 2017 No idea about mileage either, but I also don't drive and don't have a licence currently. Oh yeah. Why not? I don't have my full licence as well because I live near the city and dont really need a car at the moment to commute. I couldn't really say if it's fed into my current role at all. What line of work are you currently in? Do you enjoy your current job?
hypervalent_iodine Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 Oh yeah. Why not? I don't have my full licence as well because I live near the city and dont really need a car at the moment to commute. What line of work are you currently in? Do you enjoy your current job? Moved out of home pretty young. Didn't have money or anyone to teach me when I got my learners permit. You get used to it. I live in a big city now and public transport is pretty good, so it's never been a huge issue. I'm finishing off my PhD in medicinal chemistry currently. I love it.
mad_scientist Posted June 13, 2017 Author Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) Moved out of home pretty young. Didn't have money or anyone to teach me when I got my learners permit. You get used to it. I live in a big city now and public transport is pretty good, so it's never been a huge issue. I'm finishing off my PhD in medicinal chemistry currently. I love it. In regards to driving, can't your parents teach you? At what age, did you move out from home? What was your motivation for moving out? Do you think you became more independent through moving out and if so, what skills did you gain and how did it change you? Also, why did you choose to do a PhD in medicinal chemistry? What was your major during undergrad? Edited June 13, 2017 by mad_scientist
mad_scientist Posted June 13, 2017 Author Posted June 13, 2017 Are you a bot? Are you asking me? If so, why you ask?
hypervalent_iodine Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 In regards to driving, can't your parents teach you? At what age, did you move out from home? What was your motivation for moving out? Do you think you became more independent through moving out and if so, what skills did you gain and how did it change you? Also, why did you choose to do a PhD in medicinal chemistry? What was your major during undergrad? This is getting bizarrely personal. What are you hoping to glean from all this?
Silvestru Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 This is getting bizarrely personal. What are you hoping to glean from all this? Probably aiming to become a molecule haha.
KipIngram Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 Once I took a job with a small down-hole oil tools company. I was hired to manage the electrical engineering group, but the owner hadn't told them he was hiring a manager (formerly he'd managed that team himself) so he had me interview as though I'd be joining the team as their peer. I thought that was a bit strange, but not just entirely unreasonable. When I showed up for the first day of work, though, he STILL hadn't told them - he held a meeting after lunch to announce it. So things were just weird there from the start. The real problem, though, is that in my former management jobs I'd overseen people who you could think of as "specialists" (analog circuit design here, digital there, software there, PCB layout there, etc.) I worked very well in that environment - I was good at "project planning" their work and also at making sure the overall technical architecture was sound and so forth. But at the new company each engineer handled a full project, end to end (except for the PCB layout, which was farmed out). These guys didn't need any help "seeing the big picture" or plan their project. So a) they weren't really happy about having a new boss in between them and the owner, b) that new boss was introduced in a strange way, and c) they didn't really "need me." I was there for about a year and felt pretty much useless the whole time. I did have one really positive experience when I helped a guy find a race condition in his FPGA design, but otherwise, meh. After the year or so the phone rang and it was a headhunter trying to fill a VP of engineering slot at a seismic startup, so I went and did that instead. That and other experiences in my life have led me to recognize that I truly enjoy a job when I feel that I'm truly needed and make a unique contribution. If I'm just a cog in the machine or (worse) irrelevant, it's no fun at all.
mad_scientist Posted June 13, 2017 Author Posted June 13, 2017 This is getting bizarrely personal. What are you hoping to glean from all this? Was just interested. They seem like normal questions to me that I could ask anybody in real life. Don't really have a motive, just interested in gaining insight and knowledge from the life experiences of others. Both my parents lack life experience and many have often mistook me as someone a few years younger due to lack of a variety of experiences I have compared to others typically people my age have experienced. That and other experiences in my life have led me to recognize that I truly enjoy a job when I feel that I'm truly needed and make a unique contribution. If I'm just a cog in the machine or (worse) irrelevant, it's no fun at all. Generally speaking, would you prefer, to be paid a higher wage but "being a cog in the machine or irrelevant" or making a unique contribution but being paid a lower wage? In the former case above, would you feel guilty being over-paid?
KipIngram Posted June 13, 2017 Posted June 13, 2017 Generally speaking, would you prefer, to be paid a higher wage but "being a cog in the machine or irrelevant" or making a unique contribution but being paid a lower wage? In the former case above, would you feel guilty being over-paid? Well, that is the question, isn't it? I am likely an overpaid cog in the machine now. I was the software engineering manager for a small company in 2012, and earned a salary compatible with that. Late that year a major American corporation acquired the company. They installed new management, so now I'm an individual contributor again. But they lowered no one's salary. So I still have a management grade salary for a job that has much less responsibility. Much less stress too. I miss the intense, "get it done" type atmosphere that I experienced in my earlier small company leadership roles. Miss it quite a lot. But at the same time I'm not in my 30's or 40's anymore, and the level of stress that I carried around with me in those roles would probably be a lot harder for me to handle now. So I recognize the positives of the situation; I don't have too terribly many years to go before retiring, so I console myself about the "lack of fulfillment" by trying to note the advantages of my current situation. Do I feel guilty? No, not in the slightest. I've got four college educations left to pay for - I'll take it any way I can get it.
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