Jobs, Life and All That Jazz

So, I'm becoming increasingly worried that jobwise I have no real contingency plan. I was never one for thoroughly plotting out my life step by step, and though I have based my life around getting a job with high satisfaction yet middling to low pay (a chemical researcher) it seems like from an early evaluation that my degree this year isn't going to finish as well as I thought it might - effectively pulling the rug from under me. What I'm after here is not so much advice, but experience; how things shaped up for people compared to what they were originally intending to do and how much they are satisfied with life now. From that I hope to be better informed, and hence steer myself in a certain direction.

I pose the problem here as I don't think anyone I know would have a particularly insightful perspective; my friends still at uni are unconcerned about what they'll do after it's over, my friends who have left uni with a bachelors have all landed the jobs they want, my eldest brother is a bum on welfare who plays board games all day (he let's his wife go to work) and my other brother is in the army so his life has been planned rigorously from the age of 16. I don't choose to talk to my parents about it, partially because they are giving me some money (not a great amount, but certainly a help I'm very grateful for) to be at uni in the first place and partially because I don't want to worry them - as most people wouldn't. My fiancée's degree seems to be on track, I'm pretty sure she'll get the job she wants, which means she doesn't really have many thoughts to give on the subject either.

The situation I'm in is that my last year has become more difficult than I imagined in would be; my project in particular that will comprise a quarter of the total mark for my degree seems like a non-starter, and even though I have just under two thirds of my time left to work on it I don't think it's going to end well (as I said, it's not even started yet). Granted it could fully turn around soon and things will be great and I’m going to work my balls off to try and make it happen, but if it doesn't I think it's better to start forming ideas sooner rather than later. Part of me wishes I'd finished last year because I would have finished with a first (not my year mark last year, but what I would have averaged) - instead of persevering for another year to fall short of what I was hoping for (most doctoral places are held for first students) and to have a degree that comparatively I'd imagine would look worse on a CV (bachelors version of a degree but higher > masters version of a degree but lower - at least I'd think so as the former looks like you left of your own volition being one of the better students at your university whereas the latter makes you sink to a perceived lower tier). Plus, more debt. I think it goes without saying no one ever likes to feel like the weak link in a relationship (unable to provide a decent income), or disappoint either their parents or more importantly themselves.

The only thing I wanted to be when I was younger was an author, but at secondary school I just didn't feel like doing a humanities degree was very goal orientated (not to disrespect anyone who did them - I was sorely tempted to do one - but I just couldn't see where it would lead). I've tried writing recently, and massively enjoyed it, but still to think that could amount to anything is a pipedream - at the very least it's something that should always remain on the backburner until the point where you actually make money off of it. The only other thing I've ever really considered doing is becoming an OCD therapist - having only put it to bed myself in the last maybe 8 months it's something that I'd really feel passionately about helping other people with. I've begun trying to help people out over the internet with it, and my advice from having first hand experience has been taken really quite well. Still, training for that requires investiture - of both money and time - something I don't really feel like I have in abundance right now. I also don’t think I’m personable to become a chemistry orientated salesperson or chemistry patent lawyer (two other common career paths for people on my degree), so apart from the ill defined “I’ll work in an office or a factory somewhere” I’ve got nothing.

I'm not after a pissing contest of who earns more than who, or who because of their job is implicitly more intelligent (honestly I believe intelligence is completely arbitrary - plenty of people I know who wouldn't be considered intelligent in an academic setting are vastly more intelligent than I could ever hope to be in their workplace; and that's not because I condescendingly think "well I'm not very practical" like some people might - which reading between the lines means "because when I say practical I mean only good at manual labour" - it's because they have a whole host of skills I couldn't ever replicate, a lot of which can involve using technical software and the like that I would take me a very long time to master - but I'm going off point) - I'm after real perspectives and experience. I'm not forcing anyone to give information about their circumstances they don't feel comfortable in sharing, and I'm not after treading on anyone's toes either. My motives are as simple as they appear.

Plus I made a poll, so you get to submit options and stuff, which anyone knows is great fun.

 

I plan to start working directly after I've finished my bachelor's in geology. My goal is to get into the mining industry, which generally means a rather high salary, but we'll see how it goes. When it comes to satisfaction versus salary, if I wanted a high salary, I'd be better off looking for jobs off-shore but with mining, especially if I can get a position as a exploration geologist doing the initial surveys, I get lots of time out in the open. Also, if someone asks me what I work with, I can say that I'm a professional gold digger.

I really love getting home from work knowing that you simply do not have to any physical exercise on your free time, since you've already been out walking for eight hours.

 

I chose a job I would enjoy instead of money, police don't make a lot of money... Legally.

 

Well, I kinda wanna choose two options. The last two. Kinda. So yea. Went with the last one. But also second last.

 

Whoa, that's a fair whack of anxiety there, old boy.

You're an entertaining writer, and it's also great that you're helping others with ocd. That's good karma.

The question of CVs and degrees and particular career paths does not compute with my feral autism, so I'll just say this: It's more important that you begin your family with a relaxed spirit than a fat wallet.

Good luck, old bean.

 

I'm enjoying my first week of freedom now that my time in the army is FINALLY OVER!

Now I guess I have to find a real job.

 

"Intelligence is the ability to solve any problem"
Dear Mr. jjbb, in my opinion, you've got plenty of stuff to do yet, since your writing is good, you could consider working as an article writer in a small magazine/paper.
In my case, i'm just a student, whose passion lies in Theater/Drawing, so currently my aim is less on finishing my studies and more on doing my loved profession. As expected, arts are underrated, so the income is sometimes lower than the outcome.
Of course, i live in a place owned by family, so i have no real need paying for a living place, and my hobo-like habits make feeding, bathing, cleaning and many things an almost inexpensive task.
Given that, my only advice is to keep trying.

Also Jungle japes:
Lots of congratulations for you! enjoy the freedom.

 

Jobs is dead. This conversation is irrelephant.

That said, I didn't take any of those options. I took a job working for low pay, and have stuck with it because it's been enjoyable. There's been a recent shake-up in management, however, and the tune at work is changing, so I'm looking for a new job. I've a lead on one that'll double my current salary, and it sounds enjoyable. I've interviewed (and been offered) jobs that would pay me triple my current rate, but I'd be doing 70+ hour weeks (as opposed to my current 32, and the job I'm hoping for would be 40).

At the end of the day, I won't be rich. None of these pay enough to buy me a Ferrari, or even a new Audi. I enjoy what I'm doing, I get by, and I'm more-or-less happy (sans the current lack of getting tail). I get up, and, most days, I'm happy to go to work. It's enjoyable. I'll take that over a huge paycheck any day.

 

I'm a sculptor right now, which is enjoyable (but tiring and on certain days, painful work). Pay is good when I'm selling regularly, but I'm aiming to earn enough money to pay my own way through college. I don't care how much time it takes.

 

When I left university I went for the high job satisfaction, low pay route, though I was part of a start-up software company, so it was actually high job satisfaction, low pay with the possibility of striking it rich and becoming extremely well off. The lure of the money wasn't the motivating factor though - I would work from 9am to midnight every day because I loved what I was doing. When that didn't work out, I tried a few more tech start-up type things, but my heart wasn't in it, and eventually I threw the towel in and got a proper job. I guess it's fairly middle of the road - the pay is good, but I could be earning more, but then the work isn't too taxing either, which is why I'm able to post on here during the day. In some sense it's a good balance, getting paid a comfortable salary for sitting at a desk pressing keys all day, but in another sense I'm just treading water and dream of jacking it in and going back to the high-stakes high-risk world of sitting at a desk pressing keys all day.

So, to sum up, I haven't helped you at all, but at least I was able to talk about myself for a paragraph or so.

 

Went the money route. In fact, I went at it so hard I'm starting to debate pulling back a bit in hours, but I have very little regrets so far. Better to make the cash now, pay off all debts (only out of school 3 years and I'm more than halfway done with EVERYTHING), and then live life on your own terms slightly later.

Money can't buy you happiness. This is undeniably true. If you are a sadsack piece of shit loser being a rich sadsack piece of shit loser isn't much of an improvement. What money *can* do is buy you time. Time to be with friends/family and time to do the things you love. After all, isn't time the most finite resource that we all have?

 

Interesting stuff all told, and thanks for the feedback. It seems like the consensus is it is better to do something you enjoy, but obviously money can be used to enjoy yourself too. I guess I might just try and hedge my bets, I should know by May or March (can't remember which without checking) whether or not I'd have scholarship for a doctoral place and hopefully I'll have a better feel for whether or not I'll get the results to get onto the place too - if it all falls apart then that should give me a window to find work elsewhere; even if it isn't quite the same as applying for work right now like a lot of people I know are doing.

Honestly, it's hard to accurately gauge how enjoyable a career in chemistry is - working in a lab all day with lots of toxic things that might kill you (just today I used something that is fatal by inhalation) isn't a great amount of fun but getting a result you were really after and making headway with your research is rewarding. At the same time I've heard stories of people working in the pharmaceutical industry for 10 years on the same project and then not have it make it through clinical trials - I can't imagine how soul destroying that would feel, but probably quite. Although I'd imagine enjoyment of quite a lot of jobs hinges on whether you do well or don't do well, quite a few probably don't have the same all or nothing factor to them.

As a slight ulterior motive, I was interested in what people do as a job too - and though I already knew the situation for some of you I don't know it for all. I guess sincere conversations about real world things that aren't depressing can sometimes be just as entertaining as the more common frivalous and amusing threads that crop up here, at least for me.

 

I remember when in one of my classes while studying psychology we had to debate whether or not money could buy happiness. A proud moment in my life when I was the only person who said it could and then had to argue my point against twenty-four others. Suffice to say I actually won the debate and managed to convince ten of those mouth-breathers that money will in fact buy you more avenues to seek happiness and therefore can be considered as being directly correlated to buying happiness. There were heart strings pulled and people claimed that all they needed was the minimum to survive and family would provide true happiness, but when I explained to them that food to feed that family, clothing to cover their backs and a house to protect them from the elements was in fact provided by money in this modern society all they could do is say it isn't so in the wilderness. Of course the very notion that any of them would be able to survive off the land and hunt their food while maintaining "happiness" was quickly dismissed when I asked them if they had any experience with hunting using crudely fashioned weapons and living in leaf huts.

Next they'll be saying gay marriage should be legalised.

 

Re:

Even thought I'm still a student, the recent months I've been working as a field geologist. During the summer I was employed as a summer geologist, helping out with mapping of outcrops, writing reports and also getting some education (mostly since the main owner fucked up the whole company). During the fall, I've been working as a field geotechnician (also known as "Digger-of-holes"), which more or less meant I walked around collecting till samples for a regional geochemistry survey. Just walking around in nature, all on your own, as a full time job is certainly something I can imagine working with later on. The company also paid for food, flights home and a bed to sleep in. It was fucking amazing.

 

I've been a digger-of-holes in my time too.

High five! Anyone? No?

 

Shut up, Dwarf.

 

Sounds pretty fun. My sister-in-law is a geotechnician and she really enjoys it too (well she's currently a housewife whilst my nephew is young but I think she's looking to get back into work pretty soon), as far as I know the last thing she did was take samples to evaluate whether an area would be suitable to build a major bridge on or not - which I always thought sounded like an interesting and worthwhile thing to do.

 

Yes, it's a shame the situation with teachers.
In my local uni, teachers earn hourly less than half than street acrobats/jugglers.
My father's been a teacher and he earned almost nothing.
In my opinion it is a shame that things like that happen, especially in a such humble and respectable profession.