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Around the Internet => Mustachianism Around the Web => Topic started by: kuchihige on August 22, 2017, 11:00:20 AM

Title: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: kuchihige on August 22, 2017, 11:00:20 AM
Some good FIRE motivation, and a reminder that as enjoyable as your career maybe now, the sheen can wear of.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-21/people-start-hating-their-jobs-at-age-35
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: I'm a red panda on August 22, 2017, 12:12:35 PM
Woo! Still doing well. 35 and am thrilled to get back to work after a 4 month break.
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: daverobev on August 22, 2017, 02:29:04 PM
Heh, I hated mine by 24. Maybe that was just the company.

Then the next company.

Then the next company.

Hmm. I think I just hate working.
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: Luckyvik on August 23, 2017, 05:19:51 AM
Heh, I hated mine by 24. Maybe that was just the company.

Then the next company.

Then the next company.

Hmm. I think I just hate working.
Me too!


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Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: Kuznec on September 06, 2017, 01:20:32 PM
I hated my work from the age of 16, when I got out on the first shift. But this hatred and discontent with my current position made me look for alternatives.
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: Cheddar Bob on December 09, 2017, 10:45:45 PM
I'm 27 and currently starting to hate work....
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: libertarian4321 on December 10, 2017, 06:40:28 AM
35?

Must be slow learners.

If you don't hate your job right from the beginning, you aren't doing it right.
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: pecunia on December 10, 2017, 08:06:00 AM
Which people don't hate their work?

Seems like a lot of cubicle workers hate what they do.  I guess it is not natural to be cooped up in a small area all day looking at a screen and typing.  Maybe, people in the future will look back at these times and shake their heads.

Now - I've noticed that most people who are actually doing varied work do not seem to hate the work as much.  These are people who work with their hands making, repairing, testing and analyzing.  There is always something new with these types of jobs.

I've noted cubicle workers often look down on those that work with their hands.  I guess it is a throw back to Victorian era ideals or something.

Managers step in and make work more miserable.  They sometimes want to split the work up so given individuals specialize in certain tasks.  They don't want "Jacks of all Trades."  This also makes work more limiting and much more boring.  It stifles creativity.  They also regulate hours and other work rules making work seem more like a prison.

Field jobs are less likely to have problems with managers.  They stay in the office and leave these folks outside alone.

I used to work in an office.  People thought I was crazy when I gave up my engineering job a few years back to become a tech.  It's still not perfect, but I haven't missed the cubicle.  Just another aspect of the thing.
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: Chesleygirl on December 10, 2017, 09:19:02 AM
I used to be astounded at how many backstabbers and malicious people there were in the workplace. Now that I work from home, I just hear about it from other people and I feel bad that they have to deal with all this in an office environment. My spouse told me the other day there's a guy named Gary where he works, that gossiped about the receptionist, causing her to lose her job. I told him "stay away from Gary".
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: Mississippi Mudstache on December 12, 2017, 07:05:36 AM
I hated all of my jobs, to varying degrees, from age 25-33. Last year, I started working for a small consulting firm. The entire team comprises 6 individuals. Everyone here has a great sense of humor. There are no pointless corporate buzzwords,  cubicles, or bureaucracy. We are all genuinely friends and socialize outside of work on a regular basis. Breath of fresh air. Honestly, I would probably never have found myself on the path to early retirement had I found this place earlier.

But...Now that I'm on the path, I can't help but think of all the things I would be doing if I weren't sitting in an office from 7 AM - 4 PM five days a week. Nope, even the best work situation imaginable doesn't compare to financial independence. I will say, though - there was a time when I honestly couldn't even bear the thought of staying in the workforce until I was 40. Now that I'm in a better work situation, I can imagine myself being perfectly happy just taking a step back, working two or three days a week, and doing my own thing the rest of the week. It is amazing what a difference your work situation has on your psyche.
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: meatgrinder on December 12, 2017, 10:06:57 PM
I think this video is a good depiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTy3lyrZ28Y
 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTy3lyrZ28Y)

Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: zolotiyeruki on December 15, 2017, 09:58:33 AM
It probably depends on the person and the job.  Here are some things that, for me, have made work awful at times:
--Lack of meaningful work to do
--Doing the same thing over and over (pecunia is right, management loves specialization, because it's easier to manage, like a robot)
--Lack of recognition of my contributions
--Poor performance review due to lack of management face time, not due to actual work product
--Travel away from family
--Lack of ownership/"nothing I do has an impact"/no influence
--Bureaucracy, oh the bureaucracy
--Drive-by management
--Stupid IT policies*

Things that make my job a joy:
--Short commute
--Plenty of meaningful work
--Being trusted/able to make decisions and recommendations
--Good compensation/benefits
--Varied and challenging work
--Rapid pace, no waiting around for a dozen stakeholders to get around to reading your email asking for their approval
--Company happily (and quickly!) provides the tools needed to get work done

* Where to start with this one, goodness.  How about:
--Having to use Lotus Notes (I like to call it "Slowtus Notes)
--Email storage limited to 100mb
--Stuck on Windows XP in 2011 when I left (just starting to roll out 7)
--IE6 was the only browser allowed.
--So many security checks that booting while connected to the company network took > 10 minutes (booting without a network connection still took 6 minutes)
--No wireless networks anywhere.
--Shortly after I left, they banned the use of USB flash drives, and disabled their use.
--No network shares.  Combined with the ban on USB flash drives and the limitations on email storage, it made life pretty hard for the engineers that needed to review hundreds of MBs of drawings.
--Byzantine IT procurement procedures.  I needed a new power adapter for my laptop.  My boss told me the regular channels would take a couple of months, and told me to just buy one and expense it.
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: pecunia on December 17, 2017, 06:32:09 PM
zolotiyeruki!  What type of organization was that rigid?  Sounds like the government or some heavily regulated organization.  I can't see how anyone could make a profit with all of that rigidity.

I am still working and fighting the IT Nazis.  (I actually try to be nice to them because it is a tough job.)  I identified with much of that.  Even though I am not in an office, there are certain aspects that follow you everywhere.

Good Post!
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: ysette9 on December 17, 2017, 07:00:34 PM
Sounds like a more old-school government contractor, perhaps some work involving classified work? Mine isn’t that bad but I certainly have experienced a ton of IT-related restrictions which make it hard to do work, all in the name of security.
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: Capt j-rod on December 17, 2017, 07:03:54 PM
From age 18-26 I worked construction and the trades... Loved it at first, then hated it. Went back to school and got an engineering degree. Went back to work in the office at age 31 and burned out quick. Bought a couple rental properties and started working the trades again to repair them. Now I love it again. Been doing it for 9 years and I look forward to starting the next house or project. The big difference is now I get to keep the product and make money from it. I help out friends with their remodels and enjoy that too. I even pick up a few side jobs here and there if it is something I want to do. Making other people money isn't very rewarding. Making yourself money and making your home nicer is very rewarding. Sadly I don't know if I could ever go 9-5 again.
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: speedofsound on December 17, 2017, 07:08:53 PM
I'm a desk jockey and I am looking to make a change...it's part of my FIRE plan. I want to go from CPA to land surveyor. I started taking surveyor classes to meet state requirements. I'll have to take a paycut - household income will fall about 40% but we have enough money to buy a small house and keep our cash flow in an awesome place to keep saving.


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Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: gerardc on December 17, 2017, 07:51:12 PM
From age 18-26 I worked construction and the trades... Loved it at first, then hated it. Went back to school and got an engineering degree. Went back to work in the office at age 31 and burned out quick. Bought a couple rental properties and started working the trades again to repair them. Now I love it again. Been doing it for 9 years and I look forward to starting the next house or project. The big difference is now I get to keep the product and make money from it. I help out friends with their remodels and enjoy that too. I even pick up a few side jobs here and there if it is something I want to do. Making other people money isn't very rewarding. Making yourself money and making your home nicer is very rewarding. Sadly I don't know if I could ever go 9-5 again.

Amen. Curious, when you work on a house and add value to it, is the gain taxed as income to you or only as a capital gain when you sell?
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: zolotiyeruki on December 18, 2017, 06:09:53 AM
zolotiyeruki!  What type of organization was that rigid?  Sounds like the government or some heavily regulated organization.  I can't see how anyone could make a profit with all of that rigidity.

I am still working and fighting the IT Nazis.  (I actually try to be nice to them because it is a tough job.)  I identified with much of that.  Even though I am not in an office, there are certain aspects that follow you everywhere.
Let's call it a Fortune 5 energy company :)  It seems like as companies get larger and larger (in # of employees), it gets harder to manage everyone, so you get an ever-increasing raft of company policies to make it easier for management.  A bad incident with one employee in one location (e.g. a virus-laden flash drive) leads to a new company-wide policy that affects tens of thousands of employees (no USB drives for you!).  In the wake of Deepwater Horizon and Stuxnet, it's understandable that control system security becomes a high priority.

Amen. Curious, when you work on a house and add value to it, is the gain taxed as income to you or only as a capital gain when you sell?
In the US, you're typically allowed $250k/$500k (single/MFJ) of appreciation in your home tax-free, as long as you've lived in it for 2 of the last 5 years.  And if you're over the $250k/$500k, you can deduct what you've spent on improvements.
Title: Re: "People Start Hating Their Jobs at Age 35"
Post by: Capt j-rod on December 18, 2017, 01:57:51 PM
RE GerardC... For my rental property, the gains would only be taxed if you sold it. Depending on the improvement it either is a minor or a major job. Minor stuff, paint, trim, landscape, faucets are deductions for that year. Usually projects under $1000. Majors are new roofs, furnace, deck, siding, windows. They fall under a depreciation schedule of different lengths depending on the job. It increases your depreciation. My own personal labor is sadly not deductible. Tools, miles, all get deducted as well. The rent is claimed as income. Depending on how long you have owned the property capital gains are paid on the difference of what you sell it for minus the depreciated value... UNLESS you buy more property with the gains.