POLL: How's Your Job?

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I was under the impression that the pay for someone in the military was based on their rank, which is largely influenced by how long you've been in the military - so I'd say that your pay almost has to be average for someone with your rank and time in the military - whatever that happens to be. Also, while I didn't state it specifically, I certainly intended people to include benefits as part of their compensation. You also get a pension if you stay long enough, and since you're from the U.S., with 20 years you get a pension that increases with inflation after you retire - that definitely counts as compensation.

One of the things I like about my job is that for the personal cost of about three hours of work per week, I get full medical/dental/eye care coverage for myself, my wife and soon to arrive infant son. That's a benefit. My company also offers a match on your 401k fund up to 5% of your salary - that's another benefit that essentially increases your salary by 5% if you take advantage of it. Leave/sick/vacation also counts. So of course benefits count as part of your compensation.

Yeah, but from what I've seen most people who work more than 8 hours per day either have pretty good salaries to begin with, or are paid 1.5 times the normal rate when they work over 40. In fact, in the U.S., I believe this is required by law if you are paid hourly.

The thing that increases my time away from home is actually the commute. I travel about one hour each way to/from work. So while I typically only work eight hours per day, it's more like 10 when you figure in the drive time.

 

Hummph, Only get 1.25x overtime. I've done about 50 hours this month though. The industry has gone mad what with the Olympics

 

My job involves teaching the English language to immigrants, which is rather odd given that my political views kind of preclude that whole notion. That said, my students are mostly wonderful people and teaching adults is a pleasure. The pay sucketh the big one and there is little job security. But it beats working retail or as a server, though!

 

In the military your pay is based on your rank and the amount of time you've been in however when I said in my field what I was refering to was what my job would be in the civilian world. If I as working as a diesel mechanic I would be making about 2.5 times what I do now.

 

Hey, if you think your job is bad:

Be careful what you ask for.

 

Yeah, I saw that on msn a little while ago. Talk about a ticked off boss. (Note - that definitely doesn't count as a benefit.)

 

My parent tried to push me trough the roof to get the education and the big job and company car. a suit and a tie and now you have made it son.

But halfway it got messed up, so I ended up happy in a warehouse hauling heavy carparts from a to b, label them and get them ready to ship to c. Pay is okay, but scaled low due to a lack of needed education. We work 9 hours a day in a 40 hour week, so creating one day off every fortnight.

I can live whit the pay as long as I do not do something stupid like gambling. I can never go wild with money.

 

Don't give corporate Amercia any ideas, Aldeth.

 

ICU RN here as many of you may know, my hospital pays better than many in the area, and we have a pretty strong union. The work has much good and much bad, I get sick of being around death sometimes, but all in all it is rewarding work. I work 12 hour shifts, and 36 hours a week for full time with good benfits. I would like to get some more education and maybe find something that uses nursing and computers, but have no current plans to do so.

 

Maybe it's just in my circle of friends, but most people I know talk somewhat frequently about how they hate their job. So I find the results somewhat surprising, in that about 4 out of 5 people responding to the poll find their job enjoyable or tolerable, with over half rating it as enjoyable.

 

Work is work. My mind set is changing; instead of concentrating on getting a job I enjoy, I am concentrating on achieving the highest salary possible. We all go to work to earn a buck, might as well earn as much as you can. If someone right now offered me a position that would pay me twice what I did and told me I would be cleaning out houses I would take it. Yeah, my philosopy on work is changing. I plan on retiring sooner than later and the best way to get there is accepting any job that pays more than what you are making today.

 

Hmmmm, maybe it's a case of selective reporting? How often do you hear "I had a great day at work today" in your circle of friends? Is it because that never happens to your friends, or because they just choose not to talk about it? It might be interesting to figure out some way of presenting this poll to your friends...not that I can think of a method that wouldn't bias the sample...

 

That is a valid point. If you had a normal, OK day at work, you probably wouldn't mention it to many people, just because you don't talk a lot about any event that is unremarkable. And given that "bad days" at work would have to be more common than "spectacular" days at work, it makes sense that the remarkable days would be skewed towards the bad end. What would constitute a really good day at work? The only thing I can think of would be getting a raise - and that only happens at most a couple of times per year.

 

I think as workers we need to stop thinking of bad, good, great, etc... days at work. Instead we should all say, today I am making x an hour and I am proud of it, etc... Concentrate on why you are working and not the work itself. It makes work easier and not so stressful.

 

I think this mindset beautifully illustrates the difference between a job and a career. I freaking hate having a job...but I love my career. You have to go to your job, because it's just work and it sucks and you need it for money...but my career is what I do. It's what I'm proud to have achieved. It's what I look forward to and strive to become better at so that I can advance both financially and professionally.

It's all about your mindset, in the end. If where you work is "just a job" to you, then you're in the wrong line of work (beyond a certain age, anyway, because everybody's job sucks when your 16...unless you're one of those little Disney Channel bastards).

 

What is a career, it is a job; however the difference is a career usually means the person obtain higher education or has 10-15 years experience, etc... Not everyone enjoys their career and not everyone hates their jobs. One way to change how you feel, if you dislike your career or job, is realize that you are working for money and there are many ways to go about earning your salary and increasing your salary.

 

Right - but what I'm saying is, if you don't like what you do, and it is within your means to change your situation, by whatever degree, then you should. And no, I highly disagree that a "career" and a "job" are the same thing.

Coal miner? Carpet salesman? Security guard? Dental assistant? Legal aid? To me, these are jobs. These are things people do to make money, but not something anyone would necessarily aspire to be. No shame in any of these, mind you - I mean they could be picking up poop or mowing lawns. But hardly something a school guidance counseler would hear about, no?

Doctor, lawyer, carpenter, designer, scientist...to me, these are careers. Not because they all require extensive education, but because much preparation and contemplation is required before embarking on a career as any of them. You have to make a concerterd effort to be even modestly successful at any of these. And, again - if you're unhappy enough with what you do that you need to tell yourself things like "today I am making x an hour and I am proud of it, therefore I'll concentrate on why I'm working and not the work itself" to keep yourself from going insane, then that's a pretty good indicator to me that you should change jobs. If you have the means, of course - and I realize that not everyone does.

 

Dental Assistant a job?????

That is more of a career. Every dentist office I have been too the dental assistant do all the work and the dentist just verifies the work completed and says one of two things.. "Make an appointment for your fillings" or "Everything looks great!"

As far as career and job go - like I stated - a career usually requires a higher education or years of experience.

Job - Labor for electrical company
Career - Master Electrican for electrical company

Job - Teller
Career - Branch Manager at a bank

Job - Recepitionist in a law firm
Career - Paralegal or Lawyer

Job - Reporting Specialist
Career - Credit Analyst

All of the careers I listed almost require a degree or years of experience.

 

I guess I have a career since I have advanced degrees and special certifications, then.

My job gives me some flexibility on hours, which I like a lot, though it also requires being on call, which is less wonderful when I'm actually called.

As for pay, I'm in the lower tier of people in similar positions across the country. The specific place where I work has the most to do with that. I like the place OK but would consider a major move if it meant a major raise.

I find that as I get older I am more anxious about retirement and might consider moving to get a raise that would let me set aside more for retirement.