Office Jobs: The Tipping Point
I think the point has almost come where I have had enough with the office jobs. I cannot stand sitting in cubicles pretending to be busy all day. I hate sitting in meetings pretending to care. I hate the fact I get paid for the time I spend here, rather than the amount of productivity I provide.
I swear, some weeks I do 40 hours of work and others I do 5. Either way I have to sit here for a minimum of 40 hours just to get a full paycheck. Not exactly the ideal work situation.
Now I know a lot of people may say I wish I had a job like this, which is fine. But honestly, I feel like I am wasting my life away by sitting here bored all day thinking of things I would rather be doing and places I would rather be. Everyone says you only get one shot at life, so why should I spend mine this way.
Sure It Pays Well
I know the job may pay more than other jobs, but I am not a money driven person my any means. Matter of fact, I am sick of the whole rat race. It seems like people here in America keep trying harder and harder to make more money so they can accumulate more stuff they don’t even need.
I barely own anything since I move so often, but I still feel like I own a lot of stuff I don’t need. Things like televisions and cable boxes are something I never need. I barely watch TV, so why have one. I am perfectly happy with the two suitcases I moved out to Hawaii with. A few sets of clothes, my MacBook, and a few other essentials. So in the next few months, I plan to sell more of my stuff. The only tough thing is going to be the car, which I only bought so I could commute to work with.
Time To Say Goodbye
So at some point in the very near future, I am going to kiss this “perfect” job away as some would say. I would rather work a job I enjoy and just be happy with what I have. The only stress in my life is caused by the combination of getting up early, commuting to work, sitting at work, and commuting home from work. Other than that, I am a very outgoing and happy person.
Back in college, I was broke almost the entire time. But you know what, I was never stressed out about anything, not even money. I used to give plasma just to have some beer money to go party with my friends. I lived off of oatmeal and rice and am willing to do it again if necessary. So obviously money is not the problem, but the fact I spend so much of my waking hours at a job that I have no motivation to perform well at.
I Don’t Even Want To Be Promoted
What is even worse about this job is when I look at the people of above me and realize I wouldn’t even want their position. So if you do not even want to move up to your supervisors position, why stick around? I never want to get a promotion or I’ll probably go even more crazy.
I am not real sure exactly what type of job I am looking for just yet. I would like to work outside that is for sure. Maybe a surf stand or cleaning boats or windows, who knows, just anything outside of an office. I used to do freelance work and loved it since I could set my own hours and wages. I also enjoy writing and hope to make some income off of this blog at some point.
My post yesterday about Living Situations brought some very positive feedback. Most importantly, Abbey posted some information about Australia.
I have been thinking about moving their since I met a few people from their while living in Hawaii and I really miss the sun and ocean. It sounds like a great country and I am really ready to just get out of America for awhile.
Stick around and see what happens as I try and sort this all out by June…
PS. Anyone else feel the way I do?
Photo Credit: darkpatator
This post was published on April 3rd, 2008.
PS. Don't forget to check out Life After the Cubicle.
Now, who didn’t give plasma in college?
lol thats true Josh, there used to be lines of college kids trying to give plasma for some pocket change.
You’re in the same set of mind I was in a few weeks back when I quit cube farm inc.
One of my happiest friends lives in Hawaii and works on a farm and doesn’t get paid! He works for a place to live and food to eat. He has not debt and no concerns and is learning a valuable skill instead of pushing papers around.
Working outside is great too. My most satisfying job was working for my step-dad at his small construction company. Going home and knowing I got my day’s exercise, sun, and helped make someone’s home better was an exhilarating feeling. A much, much better feeling than going home knowing you helped rich and powerful corporations get more rich and more powerful.
Make sure you are prepared for the jump though, meaning your bills are paid and you’ve got a little bit of a financial safety net so that you don’t spend all your free time worrying about money.
Good luck and let us know how it goes. Oh, and enjoy it. Quitting a cube farm is wicked liberating.
Good for you! The decision to jump ship is not easy, and the realization that you don’t need money to be happy even harder. You have joined the ranks of an elite and empowered few; revel in it.
Dude, I feel ya on this one. Life is too short to spend in a cubicle, or working at all for that matter. The key is finding a job that doesn’t feel like work..and making it work for you. I’ve been thinking about this very same issue a lot myself lately and plan to write a post in the near future…stay tuned
Hey, this post was super-refreshing. I felt like someone had written down all the thoughts that I have in my head. I want an outdoor job too, maybe you could do a post about types of outdoor jobs, or something like that. It would be amazing
Also, have you ever seen Into the Wild? It’s a great movie and based on your recent posts, I think you would find it exhilarating.
Thanks for writing, good luck with everything.
Yeah Into the Wild is a great movie (and book). A few people told me to check it out and I must say I loved it!
If your serious Justin check here
http://jobsearch.gov.au/harvesttrail/
http://www.stonedcrow.com/default.htm
http://www.backpackingaround.com/
http://www.bugaustralia.com/
The first one is the fruit picking guide…alot of back packers do that to supplement their cash…we get heaps here in the Gap year..
well that should get you started on your dream…hang in at work cause you are going to have to save to get here…:)
I couldn’t agree with you more! I feel the exact same way about my office job right now. I go to work, and sit behind a desk all day, then go to sleep at night, just to wake up the next day repeating the same cycle! I feel like my life has become one big monotony… and I do feel like I should be doing something else with my life right now. I feel like there’s so much I’m missing out there stuck to this boring office job. The problem is, I’m not sure what I really want to do with my life either. Sucks, huh?
Good for you, coz you can go anywhere you like. Hey, if you’re looking for another place to explore, maybe you could try the Philippines. Lol. Although I can’t see why you want to leave Hawaii. I’ve always wanted to visit that place!
I hear it’s amazing!
Well, good looking out. And I’ll be tuning in, to see what updates you have.
HI Justin,
Wow..very inspiring!!! Everything you just wrote is exactly what I have been thinking and feeling for the last few months. I work in Manhattan as a Fashion
Designer/Graphic artist. I sit in a cubicle all day. I hate it!!! I am very stressed out with deadlines all the time for multiple buyers and production timelines. My job is not creative at all. I have become a robot.
We just merged with another company and have new corporate rules.
We cannot eat at our desks, they have video cameras above our desk.
We have to scan our finger prints to get in and out of the building.
Plus we have no 401K, bonuses or raises. Only 1 week vacation …. it sucks!!!!
I am not a materialistic, superficial person and don’t care about having the latest Coach bag. I dont fit in this industry.
I am trying to think of a new career to go back to school for.
Teaching sounded good b/c of the two months off a year. I love to travel in the spare time. It takes too long to b/c a teacher.
Kind Regards,
Sandy Shelton
I wish they paid you money for giving plasma here in Australia. Here in Australia you donate, but you don’t get paid.
So you’re telling me I’ve been getting ripped off all this time? I’m going to demand some cash next time
Here’s a quote from Tim Ferris, who you had better read if you haven’t yet!!
“The objective is to fix mistakes of ambition and not make mistakes of sloth.”
Hey when you get to Bali, look me up. It’s pretty much Australia anyway! ; )
yes. Yes. YES!!!
Yes I feel like this. I live in Hawaii too. It’s hard to be inside all day. I think of work outside and I am trying to work on boats. Slowly learning. Office jobs suck in general. I look at my superiors and definitely don’t want their jobs. But they’re really nice people.
I hear you! I’m the same exact way, I feel like the office type jobs are ridiculous and I’m wasting my life away. It gets so frustrating dealing with the whole work place environment thing, when I overlook the coast from my job. I mean don’t get me wrong, the view is great. Although like you I wanna be OUT exploring the world, not like it is now.
I know exactly how you feel. I went to college to get a degree in accounting, but now that I am done with college I realize that I can’t stand sitting in an office for 8-10 hours a day. The thing is when you are in college you don’t have to sit 8-10 hours at a desk. I admit it just plain sticks and is not what I want to do with the rest of my life. I have so much energy that I go home and run 5 miles or so everyday, but I find that I am constantly squirming in my chair or bouncing my legs at work. Boy, I wish I could find something that is interesting to do and requires some physical exertion. I agree that money is not everything in life. I am happiest when I am working out or playing tennis for the day, but I realize I can’t get paid for doing either of those things. It is just difficult to find a balance at this point in my life. Maybe when I get much, much older I won’t mind sitting all day long. But what to do now????
I’m taking the jump myself soon, can’t stand it anymore. What’s the point of making decent money if you hate your job? I mean, who cares if I can buy a new car if I hate myself 8 hours a day? I can’t stand sitting down all day in front of a computer inside a little room interviewing people 8 hours a day. It takes me a few hours to ‘calm down’ after a day of feeling bad about myself that by that time its off to bed and start all over again. I’ll give an update myself, but hear this, I am gone from this job in 09!
Ok I am back, and yes still at this office job. In my last post I meant to say I am gone from this job in 2010, not 2009, and gave myself a year and a half, so I am still on track (I hope).
I put a lot of resumes out there and have some good looks so I still think I am ‘gone’ from the office life this year.
It has been really tough this last year, I tell ya. Getting worse everyday, feeling down, only sometimes feeling OK during the weekend but of course feeling bad on Sunday because I know its soon to go back to the cube.
I took a vacation in Hawaii and just about cried every night since. It is so nice and peaceful over there, I would work for free to live there, and I think I just may. Anyways update again coming soon. Good luck to all
John
Mate…I have these exact same thoughts every single day. I hope you take the risk and quit your shit job soon. I hope I do too.
I am sooo with you. I am about to finish a Master’s degree in something that I’m not interested in just for the sake of making money. I’m job hunting right now since I’ll be done with my degree in two months, and the idea of being done with college and sitting around working on a computer all day makes me want to jump off a bridge, honestly. Problem is, now I have roughly $55,000 in student debt to pay back, which means I probably can’t just decide to do something I like that makes less money AND be able to pay back these loans. I feel stuck and frustrated. I’ve been seeking advise from any and everyone who is willing to give it around me, but have come up empty handed. I guess most people I know hate their jobs and figure everyone should just deal with it, pay your bills, then one day if your lucky, retire. So, what? I get to live all the days of my life hoping I’ll live to be old enough to have built up enough money to retire? I don’t want to settle for that.
So, I got a job at a finance firm and have been here for nine months now. It’s challenging, so I’m not exactly bored yet.. but the feeling that life is passing me by is with me daily. I am pretty sure that if I had it to do all over again, I would have not gotten my masters degree so that I could avoid the student loan debt that’s forcing me to have to make a certain amount of money to survive. I would be in the exact same financial situation if I would have skipped the higher education (and the debt that goes with it) and gotten a job at Whole Foods working 20 hours a week and bartending on the weekends. I dream of that life now.. and I’m stuck with this. I’d love to have a job where I don’t sit in an office all day, and I am actually making a positive contribution to the people of this world. I want to be out and about… active.. engaged.. Not sitting here all day with my face stuck in a screen.
It’s only been 9 months and I can feel myself changing. I’m less energetic, less motivated to have fun and be happy, I’m getting more and more out of shape, and I don’t see a solution.
Being a single mom of two puts exaggerated stress on the situation and adds to the idea that I should just be glad to have a job in this economic climate. But, how long will that excuse suffice? Before I’m obese from sitting in a chair all day, and clinically depressed I hope.
I feel exactly the same. The only difference is that I do know what my ideal job would be. Right now I currently work 9 hours every day to make money. But like you I also realize that I don’t need all this stuff that most people worry about. That is, I do not need to sacrifice 80% of the amazing opportunity that I have, my life, to have material things. I would much rather live humbly, and do something that I truly enjoy. I know what I want. A good job, the perfect job, would be a job that I wake up every day wanting to do. It is a job where I challenge myself intellectually to strive for better results. For example, I remember working on a project in college that I gave my all. I remember working hard to research everything that encapsulated designing a lunar rover. To me this project illustrates exactly the type of job I would like to do. It is challenging and in some ways it is also akin and close to my desire to help not just myself, but ourselves, in furthering and advancing our knowledge. I do not wish to attain any idealistic goals, but I do wish to be happy, not unhappy. Our lives are short, and we are blessed to be alive. I am very much a naturalist and appreciate the natural means by which I exist. And I sure as hell do not wish to waste it away. What a shame that would be. To that aim, I hope to lift the baton handed to me by all the human beings that have walked on this planet, even by the first initial impetus, the big bang.
I now look at it from this point of view. What good am I doing myself, for that matter, what good am I doing anyone by sitting in front of a computer mindlessly waiting for time to pass. Even if I were the most knowledgeable and productive person where I work, I would be doing virtually nothing for anyone. I would just rot, decompose, and wilt away, with little to no effect. Fuck that.
I must say I basically did exactly what you described. I ended up getting rid of a lot of my possessions (car, cable, iPhone) and reducing my expenses substantially. Once I did that, I was able to say screw my office job and now it’s been well over a year since I’ve had a “real job.”
Wish you the best of luck!
It is almost scary reading this…I feel like I am reading a script from my own brain! I, too moved to Hawai’i with only two suitcases and should have been perfectly happy waiting tables and going to the beach everyday/enjoying the simple things in life. But I felt that, having spent five years in college and with all the pressure from my family/society, I ‘deserved better’. So I moved from Hawai’i and am currently living in DC, doing fundraising work for a non-profit.
While I’m proud of the work that this non-profit does, my job is incredibly boring. It’s my first office job and I absolutely dislike it. I feel like I spend every day waiting for the day to end, only to spend another day waisting my time. I need stimulation and action in my life–I am very energetic and outgoing and the worst thing I could possibly be doing with my life is sitting behind a desk for 40 hours a week not talking to anybody. I am only 25 and I’m worried that after a couple years of this I’ll feel like I’m 40. I get so bored here I’m begginning to lose my short term memory and concentration and find myself getting incredibly irritated and aggravated over things that used to not bother me at all.
Sorry to write so much, I guess I really needed to get all that off my chest! Well, good luck to everyone out there with boring office jobs..hope you all find what makes you happy.
I am SO glad I found this posting and website! It’s validating to read that others are in the same boat. David’s updated post is so inspirational. I have been finding myself in Davinia’s situation and it’s a hard one: working at an organization you believe in, but the work is totally boring. Davinia, please quit! You are too young. That coupled with nice colleagues, safe feeling of being in a cocoon, solid paycheck, and a nice cafeteria kept me at my last non-profit job for many years, oh, yeah, and the fear of what’s next, even though I looked and looked for a new job but couldn’t find one.
So a few months ago I finally decided to take a big leap and quit and move overseas to volunteer at a small company. This was a huge decision but felt I needed to make a big change both personally and professionally and get out of my rut. My parents’ were totally against it for the sole reason that I wasn’t getting paid, but I thought it would be good professional experience even though I was scared of taking a risk.
Well, it has been the same scenario I described above, and I am not learning much and I am paying my expenses. I am a people person and I am sitting at the desk all day feeling like life is going by and I can’t get motivated. Days are sooo long. I’d quit now if I knew what I wanted to do, and don’t want to return home unemployed. I am so glad I quit my other job and tried this adventure, and hope this is just a stepping stone.
The biggest learning is that I CAN’T sit at a desk all day anymore no matter how great the mission is. At least on the weekends I explore and talk to people and have adventures. Perhaps I should do something with cultural tourism or teaching, but the latter requires going back to school and loans. Thanks Justin for sharing your story and I am glad you found work you love. I like blogging too!
hey man I hear where your coming from. I work in the wine and spirit industry. I work for the biggest company and represent the best brands. At 25 I was given a six figure job. Around 120,000. My job was outside sales. Working with nightclubs, restaurants,bars and liquor stores. I was outside and not stuck in a office all day. I do not have a college degree and did it all with networking with the right people. Even though this sounds good to lots of people I hated it. I am married and love my life. My wide is not at all materliastic and the best thing in my wife is spending time with her. I could not in this job. Working long nights and stressed out on weekends. So I worked their for a year and stepped down to a posistion less demanding that gave me more time in my day and am currently going back to school and searching for my passion in life. Life is short and I think it should be a adventure not walking these security line that society creates. I feel wierd in my company when I see past co workers and new ones at meetings and feel like I have been black balled. If so that’s ok I don’t want to end up like any of these guys. Married multiple times and pure alcholics and just DoWn right lost and evil people. I know they are just playing their part in this movie called life. I need to find my role or even better write it own movie. I have so much tIme now and more time to reflect and I sometimes think did I make the rift decision? Should I have just endured it for 10 years and invested well and just retired at 35 and moved wherever I wanted and opened up my own business or not and just live within my means. So I keep going back and fourth on did I do the right thing chasing my passion. My wife and parenths support me and I am thankful. I love writing and feel so free. I feel like I have so much to give to this world and great changes to make. Not sure how but feel like maybe through my writings. Still my business sense don’t be stupid and get a English degeree it wot pay nothing if you are not the best writer. On the the other hand I want to do patent law because it trains you and deals with all aspects of thing I like such as you have to be a great speaker,writer,business,techonlogy I just don’t know about their lifestyles. If I am making great money supprting my famly and love what I do. The last is be $150,000 in debt from law school and still hate what I do. I also think have my degree I can travel anywhere inthe world and find a great job if I have too. I have lots of family in australi and have thougt abpub always moving their and lots of tlother places. I hope I made the write decision. Losing the fact of my peers and family looking up to me as the 25 year old kid they said might not be much was making more than their lifetimes and quit. More than anything I feel like inthis bad economy people are losing jobs and I am thankful to still to have one but quit a even higher paying one.
I never really car
Sorry about all the typos. Got published before I could spell check. Nice talking to you.
Not a problem. Thanks a ton for stopping by and sharing your story. It’s crazy how many people feel exactly the same way.
I hate computers too. I am sick of certifications, whining users, broken systems, updates and upgrades breaking everything that worked, mailbox limits and everything else. I worked at night so I was accused of stealing (I didn’t). I just did stupid computer operator stuff but I never finished college, I just started doing this when I was a teenager. If I had known what a mess all of these systems were going to be I would have never gotten into this in the first place. I’m taking some courses at the college and I would really like to be able to work in earth science but I don’t have the money to finish (1K for two courses at just the community college). I’m too old. I was trying to get some college courses in at the last place I worked but of course there was yet another big lay off (manufacturing, F them) and now I don’t qualify for financial aid to go back to school because I made too much money. I’ve been unemployed and living on what little severance I have left. You wouldn’t think a retail job would be so hard to get would you? Now, they want the four years of college just to answer the stinking Help Desk phone again? F that. But I don’t know what to do now. Oh and one of my former employers removed the tall cubicle walls (so everyone is visible), there are just short ones now and the manager actually wants people to IM each other from cube to cube. I would really love to have that 120K wine sales job right now because I could sure use the money, I don’t have kids but I still have family.
I’m also very stressed about my job….I used to play the piano and then I started working and lost some of my interest in life…I only look forward to weekends….even if I do get my 8 hours of sleep, because I stare at the monitor all day, my eyes are red when I wake up and puffy….as soon as Im away from the monitor and take time off I start to look healthy again, I feel great, my mood starts to elevate back to my outgoing crazy self, making people laugh and generally being happy with just being outside and being around friends… for most people I have a ‘great’ job, a Benz (not showing off… just enjoy cars and it makes me happy), pretty lucky in life, own my own condo but Im stuck in a job that I see no future in because Im in a cubicle….and 8 hours of my daily life is spent here…I need to do something creative, in music or something else… the bills are tying me down and its depressing me…
The stress maintainance is easy if you try, you can work with humor sense with the collegues who sitting with you, you can tell a joke or you can discuss about the important event in the country with humor way etc… you may have work like mountain but also please allot time for humor with your office friends, then see you will finish your work soon with full relaxation………
This post describes exactly how I feel. I was employed at a state agency for two years as a software developer. I didn’t even have my own cubicle most of the time – just a cramped conference room shared with 3 other employees and no windows (there’s just something fundamentally wrong if, for most of your life, you can’t even see natural sunlight!). Often, whole months would pass before there was any work for me. Once, after waiting for so long for something to do, another team in our department assigned me to upgrade and add new features to some in-house employee timekeeping application. I jumped at the chance and began work. My boss, however, came in later and said I shouldn’t work more than 10 hours total on that project and reminded me of that twice again the next day. Yes… it’s okay for me to sit there with NOTHING to do for a MONTH (and still get paid in full, mind you), but God forbid I work a minute longer than 10 hours, on a small in-house application. Why you ask? Our financial department didn’t want to bill themselves for more hours than that.
Of the few projects I did have there, most were just tedious busywork, but one I think might not have been legal (at least it could be used for illegal purposes).
I used to love software development… but because of that job, I am thoroughly, completely, utterly burnt out. If I ever touch a compiler again, it’ll be too soon. I quit that job to save my sanity, but now I’m lost because programming is the only well-developed professional skill I have. If I could afford it, I’d go back to college, earn a Ph. D. (in what? I don’t know. In some sort of natural science, at least) and become a scientist/professor. I did very well getting my computer science degree so I know I can succeed academically. But, unfortunately I’m 25, have no money, unemployed, living with my mother, and disgusted at the prospect of another programming job.
Last time I wrote on this post I felt helpless. My life was just rotting away before my very eyes. And I could see the days, the months, the years passing by, and I was just miserable. Since then, I decided to change that, so I quit my job. I moved back in with my parents and I started my own tutoring business. I have a passion and deep desire to help people and do something that is productive to society and me. Tutoring is just that kind of job.
Since then, I also got into salsa dancing, and I am now a proficient dancer. I am also in the best shape of my life. I no longer have a beer belly. I kayak, I bike, I run, I swim, I workout, and I am a triathlete. What a blast! I do all this and still balance it with work I love!
I went from a daily routine of waiting for the 9 hours to wilt away……to wondering why there are just not enough hours in the day to do all the things I want to do…….
I now have so many friends and my social life is just remarkable. Before, I would be lucky if I could talk to myself. I no longer live a repressed life. I am gearing my life to achieve all my dreams. I may not be working for NASA or developing rovers at the moment. But I sure as hell am putting myself on a good path to achieve that goal. And hell maybe one day if I’m successful in all my business ventures I can start my own aerospace corporation. I am content with every day of my life. And at the moment this is what truly matters to me. I now love who I am and love what I do!
Hey David, that’s awesome to hear! Glad you were able to quit your job and head down a better path. Wish you the best of luck!
Wow, I just feel the same. Exactly the same.
I’m a one man IT department in a small business. The bosses are from the same family. It’s so boring, there is no challenge. I’m sick of computers now. Through the years, I worked for 4 different companies before realizing that each time I left a company, I was getting sick of computers. Computer jobs may not be suited for me. No, they are definitely not!
I work 35 hours a week and I need my paycheck. But I also don’t want to work for another IT company because I completely lost interest in computers so it would be the same story. I would like to work with tools, in construction, as an electrician or plumber. I would need to go back in school to complete a 2-year formation 25 hours a week. But I’m planning to buy my first house in about two years… don’t really know what to do… i hate computers.
Yeah I know the feeling of being a 1 man IT department. Everyone expects you to be able to do everything, even if it’s something you shouldn’t even be doing.
I know exactly how you feel. I hate the office politics, sitting at a desk all day, the monotony, the feeling that the work I do isn’t noticed or appreciated unless something goes wrong. I could go on and on. I’m actually going back to school for nursing (I hope). Even though I’m just finishing up prerequisites now, I’m excited about kissing my days of office dronery goodbye and moving on to something that is not only intrinsically interesting but can benefit someone else’s life. I think an active job where I get to meet different people (even if they are sick and very cranky) will be a nice change from my current job. My pay will drop by about $20K to $30K but I don’t care in the least. I too am not motivated by money.
YES YOUR WHOLE ARTICLE DESCRIBES EXACTLY HOW I FEEL but there’s nothing I can do about it. Quitting is not an option unless I want to beg on the streets, which isn’t an option either in my rat-racing-zero-welfare-city-country of Singapore.
Oh btw, I’m in my office right now and I googled ‘I hate office job’ and your page came out top.
Cheers
The article is a reflection of what the majority of intelligent office workers think daily. I had changed one office job for another office job with a higher salary a year ago, moved to another city. It was a great boost for me, but kept me interested only for 6 months. Now, after a year has passed, I am as bored with my new office job as I was with the previous one. This makes me think I’m just not psychologically fit for working in the office. I have pretty high salary, which the majority of people in my country could only dream of & getting this job required some very influential guys’ recommendations. Many people in my country would think that I’m a spoiled rich guy who simply complains for no reason. But I’m not happy with my job, although I like my co-workers, they are very nice people indeed. It’s just that I’m not motivated enough by money, cause I can’t see the real results of my work, which is basically nothing more than some senseless paper-pushing. I’m constantly thinking about quitting & getting a real job in construction or agriculture. The problem is that here in Russia people engaged in those kinds of jobs get so little money, that they cannot afford even the basic things like healthcare, renting an appartment, not to mention travelling abroad, which I love very much. You have to give bribes everywhere simply to get what you must be given for free. While here in Russia a person’s life doesn’t mean anything in general, a person without money and connections is basically nothing & is as good as dead. Office jobs at huge beaurocratic state corporations or oligarch businesses are the only jobs, where it is possible to earn a decent salary without getting involved in corruption or crime. If I ever have an opportunity to move legally to a free country like the USA, I would without a doubt work eagerly as a waiter, builder, even janitor (surprisingly, I might even be getting more or unsignificantly less money for that kind of work than I’m getting now for “prestigious” work in Russia). So people if you are living in free countries like the USA or Australia and hate your office jobs, try to quit. I don’t have that option here, cause I would simply let down my family & condemn my loved ones to humiliation & constant fear for their lives.
I also hate office jobs, so I left my previous job and got trained as a certified nursing assistant. My current job as a nursing aide is physically more demanding, but I like to be on the move and love the challenge of this job.
I’m glad to hear you were able to pursue something you enjoy! Wish you the best of luck.
Congratulations! I’m currently in a class to be a CNA! I will finish up next month and then apply to nursing school this July. I can’t wait!
A ton of people feel the same way you do, it’s just too bad they’re not all in our local social circles. It would make for a better support system, for sure.
I had an office/i.t. job meltdown last year. I quit it to drive big rigs around last summer. I didn’t like being gone from home for 3 weeks at a time so it didn’t work out in the beginning, but now I’ve found a local route job in the meantime while I contemplate my next move.
Here’s an appropriate quote that popped up on my tumblr page today:
“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives.”
— Fight Club 1999
it is a bit dated since we have had several wars and a borderline depression since, but the basics are still there.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! Yeah it’s almost overwhelming to see how many people feel this way. I’m glad to hear you quit your job to try something else. I’ve also managed to quit my job and have never looked back since.
For everyone feeling like this, I highly recommend giving something else a shot. Just plan ahead and you’ll have no problems pursuing your passions.
The trick is to find your dream job. Analyze your passions then find jobs that fit what you enjoy. Plan your work around your life rather than planning life around work.
This is the article I was looking for, thanks for sharing
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
I feel exactly this way!!! Thank you so much for posting and for everyone else for sharing – it makes me feel a little better!
I hate this life – the 8 hours+ sitting on my backside staring at a computer screen filling in pointless forms some pompous twit desinged to justify their own pointless job in one of the most staggeringly incompetent companies i have ever encountered (and i am a business analyst!). I spent all of those years getting a degree and Master’s degree for THIS? To be a glorified secretary tapping away in a booth????!
I can’t afford to give it up though
i have thousands of pounds of debt that keep me shackled in this hellish cycle of barely sleep; drag self to work; fidget and sigh and count the seconds until i can leave and then go back home nad wait for it all to begin anew the next day.
I just don’t care about my job in any way, shape or form other than it keeps me from sleeping in a cardboard box.
I go to the gym or dance class most evenings after work and i live for this – for the feeling of being active and having the rush or moving! I have taken sick days this year to go appear in films and TV not caring what happened with work because there is so much that i would rather do! If i could just get out of debt… i don’t care about money, i just need to be able to put a roof over my head – i don’t have a partner or parents to ease the burden, i just have to keep on this hamster wheel of office drudgery until i die
Hi, I came across this blog today and i feel the exact same way! I am right now sitting at my computer “wasting” my time at work. I am working the job i went to school for (graphic design) and a lot of people say i have a “good” job. i however hate it and feel like I’m wasting my PRECIOUS time! I know we have a short life to live even if we live to be 100.
I am just like you, Justin. I want to be OUT THERE. traveling, seeing all there is to see. I’m 27 and I’ve never even been to the ocean WTF?!!!
Well the good news is, I have been planning my “way out” for a few months now, and hopefully in a year or so I’ll be posting on here again with my success story.
I am very passionate about music and about GOD and I love traveling and meeting new people. So my plan is to travel and do shows and play christian music, sharing God’s love with people and seeing all that this beautiful world has to offer.
I DONT CARE if it dosent pay much and i may have to live out of my car but i dont care anymore!!! I’m tired of this.
So to everyone else reading this i say – do what you want. we only live once. a great quote on this is “THE BIGGEST RISK IN LIFE IS NOT TAKING ONE”
So here soon I’m gonna take my risk. I’ll let you know what happens! =)
Hey Paul, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I wish you the best of luck at ditching your job and hitting the road. I have a feeling you would be happier living in your car if it really came to it. Funny thing is, it probably never will and things will work out perfectly for you.
Cheers to your success!
Many blessings on the path of your new life.
I googled ‘Office jobs suck’ while I’m here in the office. Funny. Office jobs do suck! but I’ve finished some scripts…
Hey man im glad i ran across this blog, It doesnt completely make my decision for me but it helps. I have 2 job offers at the moment. One is an office job the other is a videographer at a news station. I was considering the office job since it pays more with benefits and so on. BUT the other job is in the field in which I went to school for. its only temporary but could possibly turn to full time. But atleast I would get to get out of the office a couple times a day and see whats around the city shooting video, lol. I think you have helped me sway in the way of the videographer job. Im not motivated by money either but sometimes when its there for you, you have 2nd thoughts!
Hey Justin,
yup feel the same you did, great writeup, articulating what i had in mind and from the comments what we all had in our minds but dare not spit it out. Here is my understanding after being laid off, yes re-org, the corporation so as to show less head count and pad the quarterly results 3 or 4 is good enough to get the stock moving, and the bonus cheques pouring in while we stand in line to collect unemployment cheques and ponder our life thinking what a loser i am.
I read somewhere which gave me a bit of comfort here is how the author framed and i hope i can articulate as well as him, really find your Hawai anywhere you currently live:
The list based on satisfaction is this -
1. Vocation if you find this you have achieved Nirvana
2. Career the next best thing you may not love it as much but if you put in the time the $$$ make it worth the effort [Lawyers, Doctors, Dentist and such]
3. Job don’t care to define, anything goes, get up punch the clock hate the cubicle and other keyboard monkies who have outlasted the dinosur and still keep the job, yet get promotions ! well its 40 hours of death in slow motion, yes it pays the bills, all the bills one could live with out, iPhone, iPad, iPoop, with voice plan and add the data plan then the subscriber fee, then wipe your hiny fee and govt fee and taxes nonsense for every one service we think we can’t live without.
Forget it i say find the vocation otherwise don’t bother, just show up and fuck up, don’t worry they need you more than you need them as long as you have no illusions of climbing the food chain.
cheers
Thank God for finding this post today, right at the point where I’m sitting in my cube thinking a breakdown is not far from happening. It’s SO nice to hear other people feel this way!
I majored in psychology in college and couldn’t really do anything with that so since graduating, I have worked as an Administrative, and currently now, Executive Assistant since college. I did have an office job that I really loved (actually I didn’t love the job but LOVED my co-workers), however I got laid off over a year ago and was completely devastated. Not only did I lose my job, but I lost connection with my friends there too. The first thing I said when that happened was “I do not want another job sitting behind a desk being bored all day.” And of course, due to pressures of my family and society, that is exactly what I ended up with. And everyone was so thrilled for me because it is with a major, HUGE US firm (which obviously I cannot name) and it sucks!!!! Nobody talks here; you could here a pin drop. And I have to pretend to be busy 8 hours a day. Meanwhile, I am slowly losing my mind and feel so lost. I am in my early 30′s and most of my friends have families, etc…..but I am on my own due to a divorce from an abusive husband. My parents live near me and have been hugely supportive emotionally and financially, but they love the way it sounds when they tell people I work for this company, and meanwhile I could care less.
I don’t know what to do now, because I have to keep the income. I am way in debt and need to keep my condo. I only make $50,000/year which sucks. So I feel it probably shouldn’t be that hard to find a “real” job that I like and could make close to that amount. I would rather run my ass of as a waitress in a good restaurant, as long as I could interact and actually talk to people and feel like I’m living. Hell, I’d rather bag groceries as long as I can be outside of my cube. I don’t care about the image that comes with this company or working in an office. I hate it and my depression is positively overwhelming at this point.
Sorry for writing so much, but I finally found some people who could understand. I even was in therapy for a while, but had to drop her as she didn’t get it either. I used to be very active with working out and running, even did a couple of marathons, but now I’m so down on myself that I don’t even have the energy to run. I feel like I’m wasting my life away and my once energetic and outgoing personality have now become completely withdrawn. But I know it’s still in me – I just have to find myself again.
I live in the DC area and need to stay here as my parents live here and are elderly and I want to be around them. So if anyone has any ideas for someone who loves being outside and mostly, just loves helping and interacting with people….please let me know. Thanks for reading, and again sorry for the length but it did feel good to get it all out.
Hi, Kathy–
Nursing is not an outdoor career, but it’s one where you get to be active, talk with lots of different people, help them, and feel that you’ve truly made a difference in someone’s life. You could maybe even be a nurse on a cruise ship or at a camp and be able to work outside the traditional hospital environment. There is so much you can do with a nursing career. Once I pass my nurse aide state licensing exam, I’ll be working as a CNA until I get into nursing school. I am so excited about this career change. I’ve been a CPA for the past 10 years and hate it with a passion. I’ll be taking a HUGE pay cut to be a CNA and also initially as a nurse fresh out of school but I don’t care. I did my clinical CNA training at a nursing home, and while that environment wouldn’t be my first choice for working, it was SO much more rewarding than all of my years working at a desk.
I hope you are able to find work you enjoy. My advice would be to not be so caught up in how much money you make. If you hate what you do, money doesn’t matter. I made over $70K at my last job, and I still hated the work. I’ll be making $9 to $10 to start as a CNA, and I can’t wait. I’m getting really excited.
Oh, and nothing is wrong with you. Depression can often steer you away from harm in your life. This career path you’re on is not working for you, and you know that. You are obviously a strong person to be able to leave an abusive relationship. It takes a lot of courage to do that. I predict you will one day leave the job/career path you’re in too.
In the meantime, my advice is to try to make yourself do some kind of exercise to help ease the stress. It can be very effective. I started doing yoga after leaving my last job, and the stress relief it provides is incredible. I had always heard that but didn’t really believe it until I tried it.
I wish you the absolute best of luck. Know that there are many people who feel just as you do and who also deal with the same family pressures. You at least are willing to acknowledge the things in your life that need fixing. That takes courage!
Hi Kathy,
I thought everybody on here was in their early to mid twenties!! Good to see somebody on here who is closer to my age (29). Anyways, being 29 and seeing my friends, people I went to school with etc. having families and stable jobs definately bums me out. Now I’m not ready to get married yet or have kids, but the fact that I’m living in my mom’s old house (and the one I grew up in) with my sister (we rent it from my Mom) because I can’t find a decent paying job to buy my own place, while friends and such have thier own places and careers is depressing. However, it’s by my own choosing.
I too was stuck in an office job that I hated. I worked as a marketing assistant and I got laid off last month. However, I was so miserable that I was happy that I got laid off.The point I’m trying to make is I’m living the life the way I am now because I refuse to settle for a job that I’m miserable in just so I can settle down and buy a house, start a family, etc. Do you understand what I’m saying? In other words, I’m trying to find a job/career that I will truly enjoy and I’m wiling to live with my sister at age 29 in a rented house cheaply in order to give me a chance to find what I truly love to do. Because the thought of being miseralbe in a job I hate, but pays well just so I can live a “normal” life (house, family, etc.) is truly depressing.
I’m also sick of the office jobs and working in the corporate world and discovering this site and people like you and others on here that feel the same way is just truly satisfying. After I got laid off, I took an awesome road trip out West (I live in Ohio) because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I was so happy with myself with just taking the risk and getting up and going. I withdrew some money, rented a car for 10 days and hit the road. It was the most gratifying thing I’ve ever done. I saw some amazing places and met some amazing people. The most amazing thing was visiting the Grand Canyon. It was awesome!! And because of this, I think I’ve truly found my passion. I love nature and the outdoors. I’ve started volunteering for my local park district to try to worm my way into a job there, but also because I love my local parks and I’ve also been applying for jobs working at national parks. I’ve received about 5 rejection letters so far, but I’m gonna keep trying. Because I do believe working outdoors in nature is what my passion is. Sorry about this being so long, but just had to get things off my chest and it’s nice to talk to people who feel that there’s something better out there than miserable office jobs and we just need to follow our own passions.
It is very cool to see so many people feel the same way. I have been in IT for 10yrs now and basically stare at a laptop all day and weekend nights when they make me. My situation reflects a good deal of the others posting here — hours sitting at a desk feeling dead waiting for the clock to hit 5 — However, my big difference, from what I can see, is that I am 35 with wife and kids. I am the primary income for the family and do not have a dream job identified. There are many things I believe I would enjoy but many of them require returning to school and accruing more debt. My wife and I have discussed some options to own our own business and hopefully that will work out. I do not want to look back 20 years from now thinking how I wasted 10 hours a day for all those years. On my parting note let me offer some advice to those younger and not responsible for others yet: Make the change you want. Dont settle for a day to day existence waiting for the weekend. Make the change to do something that you love. I am already teaching my children that very thing. It isnt about the money you make and the things you own but whether you enjoy getting out of bed each day. Make it count.
I thought I hated reading until I went through all of these posts! Haha. Honestly, I am currently an intern and when I walked into that office the first day it gave me a nasty crawl up my spine. My instinct yelled, get the hell outta there! But I had no choice because I was desperate for an intern position or I would of failed and realized my misery 1 year and a half later. Don’t get me wrong, the people are super nice but I always find myself looking out the window & wanting to jump on the beautiful tree outside…pretty much:) I feel like my insides are screaming and I find myself fidgeting all the time. I even experienced headaches this year for the first time and almost had a panic attack plus my body twitches in different areas man! WTF???? lol for real, there are no words to describe the feeling. You just have to tell people to see for themselves and you can feel your soul slowly deteriorating knowing that what you are about to do for a living supports powerful companies and fools people into purchases. I felt horrible knowing that this is it. I couldn’t stand coming home, eating a bit and then like 2 hours later going to bed to do the whoooole thing again with 2 week vacation only? HAHAHAHA! I’d rather pick up poo on the street. At least I would see life than white and gray walls with blue carpet and inspirational quotes that people don’t even follow or fake plants. WAKE UP!!!!
So, I turned to my mother who has an office job and asked her: “Mom…are you happy for real? She likes it so whatever floats your boat, but for meeee? HELLL NOOOO and thank goodness it’s just an internship. Honestly, even if they offered me a job, id say no thank you. I’m so glad to see more people feel the same. I honestly thought for a minute I was being negative and that I actually got a really good thing going for me but nope!!! listen to your gut. It’s always right! What matters in life is the people you come across, family, love, food, my cat, music, cultures and laughter…oh lets not forget about chocolate! That’s my life.
I’m OUT!
Office jobs are not for everyone. I got my college degree in accounting recently. The thing is there is a huge difference between college and sitting for 10-12 hours a day in a cubicle. I have always been a high energy person and can’t sit for long periods of time. I realize now the huge mistake I made going into office work. I would be ten times happier doing something physical.
I recently got a decent job at a public accounting firm. I lasted two months before I realized there was no way that I could do this for a living and be happy. 60 hours a week in a cubicle is not the life for me. I don’t understand how people can work 12 hour days for 30 years and be happy. I bad thing is I don’t know what I am going to do with the rest of my life. But I realize that I am not alone with this thought.
Hi, John–
I have been a CPA for over 10 years, and I have hated it. I’m now going into healthcare. Like you, I need a physical job. I’d suggest looking into a health-related career. If you think blood and guts are icky, there are LOTS of high-level tech jobs that pay VERY well and don’t require getting your hands dirty.
Kudos to you for figuring out you hate office life right off the bat. I figured something was wrong with me for the longest time.
Good luck!
I’ve just read this blog entry and every single comment here. All these thoughtful, interesting people wasting the hours of their lives doing meaningless work, often shackled by debts and the fear of the consequences of trying to break away.
Here’s my story. I’m late 40′s, live in England, worked for years in IT. I hated it but was making good money, and I thought that once I’d paid off my mortgage I’d be free and things would feel different. They didn’t of course, because fundamentally I hated the work (which wasn’t really work at all – I was just killing time in order to get paid). It got to the point where I just couldn’t do it – when there was work to do, it was hard to perform because I could no longer concentrate.
I retrained into teaching but found I didn’t enjoy it (here in England the majority of high school teachers seem to feel overworked and stressed and would quit if they could, but feel tied to the pension they will eventually get!). A period doing private tutoring followed which was OK but didn’t generate enough money to support my family so I went back into IT on a fixed-term contract. That finishes in a couple of weeks.
What next? I don’t know, but in case it helps anyone else, here are a few things I’ve learned along the way:
- It’s unnatural to sit in an office all day, not talking to people, having no fresh air and no natural light
- A job with people provides more stimulation but can also be more stressful. However, in teaching I felt overworked but never bored.
- You’d have to be nuts to spend your life doing something you hate. One day you’ll be old and infirm, saying to yourself ‘If only I had done…’
- Doing some good for others makes you feel good
- The most important things in your life are relationships and health. A loving family is the key, and having good friends to talk to is priceless
- Eating well and taking regular exercise help me feel good. I lift weights and cycle, but if I couldn’t afford the gym fees or a bicycle I’d just go out for a run. If I couldn’t do that I’d just walk.
I’ve probably not added much to what others have already said, but I wanted to post just so that others know… you’re not alone!
Steve, I agree with many of your points. I have done many types of work in my life, and I can say that the most satisfying work I have done is working for Lucent Technologies as a tech installer before the technology industry had massive layoffs that caught me. I wasn’t able to find another job in the technology field so I decided to begin college in my 30′s. For me to be happy in a job, it has to have the right balance of moving around and interacting with people you get along with. I have worked in offices where I get along with everyone, but still sitting in front of a computer for 10 hours makes me lose my mind. I lose all concentration and just watch the clock after a couple of hours.
When I was a kid I used to want to be like my dad who was a purchasing manager. He worked 60-65 hours a week his entire working career for the same company. As I got older I thought I could handle sitting all day, but I guess I am just not old enough yet because I can’t deal with it. I love physical fitness and go crazy if I gain a pound over the winter. In the office jobs I have held the people look at me like I am a crazed nutcase if I turn down something high in empty calories. I am always obsessed with my mile time and increasing my strength with free weights. If I could do it all over again I would have gotten my college degree in exercise fitness or something related. Sadly at this stage of my life I don’t want to go back to college again. And most jobs in the fitness industry require at least a bachelor’s degree. The one thing I have learned over the years is that you are never too old to follow your dreams. Life is just too short to sit back and do something that isn’t in your heart. Best of luck to you in your career.
Justin, I had to weigh in on this subject. Perhaps I’m just another whiner, but reading some of these posts only increases my anxiety over being stuck in a cubicle staring at a computer for 8 hours a day doing something I could care less about just for a paycheck. At least I know there are others like me and I’m not crazy. I wanna be outside, actually appreciating nature daily, moving my body. I gained 50 pounds over the years at this job and had to have weightloss surgery just to get me body back to how it used to be. I was so sedentary and ate to get through the work day. 3 of the 3 1/2 years I’ve been doing this job I couldn’t even see outside (no windows). To me that’s simply a jail. I feel like I check into a jail cell everyday. I feel bad because I could have made so many choices that could have led me elsewhere had I known how this would feel. What is worse is I’ve made the same mistake as many others by strapping myself with debt that keeps me on this hamster wheel, getting nowhere and I have a child to support who will be off to college in 2 years. If I jump ship I’ll be punishing her for my mistakes. I don’t know how to get out without damaging my credit or becoming too reliant on other people. I had a career as a realtor for a while and I was happy but the market tanked and I had to take this job and now I’m miserable but God is good and I know my life WILL NOT stay this way.
@Asha – make yourself a plan so that you’re moving towards where you want to be. You know how it is, once you make a start on solving a problem you start to feel better about it almost immediately. You could start with the fitness thing, exercise is so good because it gives your mood a lift. How about looking at your diet? Could you change to healthier eating habits? All the healthy stuff tends to be cheaper too, so maybe you could save some money and start to pay down the debts. Like you said, you are not alone, there are loads of us who know we are wasting good years of our lives doing something we hate!
Hi like so many others I found this page while surfing the net at work. I’m from Ireland and I’m a mechanical engineer with a degree and a masters. I’ve worked in research for a few years and the tedium gets me down. Months can go by and I literally do nothing. I spent so much of my time on the net. At times I feel very isolated.
I found my most satisfying job was working in a large hardware store while in college. Mainly because of the social interaction, independance and the DIY projects I could work on.
Here in Ireland there is a lot of prestige about going to a certain college or working at a certain job and its bred into us by society. I think theres a lot of pride and snobbery concerning what others do for a living and it stops people from doing what really suits them. They work in these jobs for the money and status. I know I’ve been affected by it for years. There are so many careers I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing out of pride, thinking I’m better than that. I’m finally waking up to the fact that what you work at doesn’t define you. Having a more prestigious job isn’t everything. I’m not a better person because I have a certain career.
I am actively looking to change career at the moment and would like something that is mentally challenging but with more social interaction. If anyone has any suggestions that would be great.
I agree with an earlier post that people aren’t meant to sit at desks all day long. I think modern society is making people less social and more isolated.
That’s a great post Dave. I was at a party yesterday and I heard a guy telling someone else that your job is very important because it’s central to your identity – when you meet someone, they always ask ‘what do you do’. I kind of resent that question, and I try to avoid asking it, because I’d prefer people to think that the things that define me are that I’m a good husband to my wife and father to my children… not that I’m a great employee. When I die I hope people think “I’ll miss Steve, he was a good guy”, rather than “I remember Steve, he worked with computers”.
Steve, I completely agree with you about wanting to be remembered for who I am, not what I did for a living. I feel the same way about the “what do you do” question and always try my best to avoid it. I’d prefer it if people asked me “what do you want to do” instead, at least that way I can give them my goals and ideas for what I hope to accomplish in my life.
Just read through all these posts and am ready to make the change my life deserves. I’ve basically spent 12 years of my life at a job i fell into really,
how i’ve been there for so long is another story. I started in 1998 at the age of 19 and i’m now 31. Most Sundays i feel physically ill at the thought of going back into the office on Mondays(Anbody else suffer with this horrific condition)? I already feel as if i’ve wasted part of my life, 8.5 hous a day starring into a black hole of insanity(computer screen).
My motivation has now but all evaporated and if i don’t get out of the office life, i think it will truely push me over the edge, we are human beings not machines and we need fresh air and sunlight. I’m so pleased some people on here have made the move and broke off the ball and chains. hehehe. Office life can feel like a prison sentence in my opinion, i would happily take a pay cut to do something stimulating. Anyways, enough off my ranting, i’m gonna quit this July,
and do you know what, i have this feeling of freedom which is overwhelming, i’m glad i found this page as i know i’m not alone. Good luck and peace to all of you.
James
Hello,
Glad I found this website! I found this during my boring job. I also have this boring deskjob and after all those years It really made me a dead person. These comments give me strenght to give my life a change. I also studied very hard to get a degree. I’m an engineer. The problem is when you work with engineers and high educated people everything is getting really serious…
Smiling and laughing is almost forbidden. If I walk around at my work and pass the corner of the graphical designers, my stomach turns. They’re all looking very serious at their screen or looking outside the window. They hardly speak to eachother. In my eyes they’re already dead without knowing. The years has made them so passive. It’s tragic to see how people change with their work. Me too. before I went working, I was a very sportife outgoing person. Now I feel like 50 years old, I’m 29…
I’ve had really depressed feeling in the past and really tought I was going crazy. Is this it? I also admit, when I came from university I never had done any drugs, yeah maybe some marhuana but that was it. After these years of boredom I recreationally started using coke and speed and other rubbish for at least have a good time in the weekends. Now that I decided this can’t go on no longer and looking for a new job, I’m feeling beter, even a bit excited! A new start in life. Maybe I should’ ve done it earlier but OK, It’s never too late. At least I’ve got the experience of knowing what I don’t want. I wanne feel more like a child again. Beeing excited about things, being really interested in things. Not pretending. I wanna thank everybody who put a comment, it made me feel like I’m not the only one who has problems whit his professional career (God, I hate that word!)
Cheers to everybody, just follow your heart and don’t listen too much to others opinion I
Bart I’m in the same situation. I’m 29 and an engineer too, and although I work in research (where you seem to be able to slack off as much as you want!) everyone is glum and humourless. I work in a large office with about 50 other researchers and the place is as quiet as a tomb!
Currently I’m looking at alternative careers. Something without a desk. But its hard to stay in engineering as so much of it is desk based now. I’ve been looking at tech work in hospitals, radiography and such, and thats one possibility. Let me know what you’re looking at doing, I’m open to all suggestions at the moment
Hello all of you,
I made a bachelor degree, 3 years, in international studies and modern languages, got a job last monday for a freight forwarder I applied for. The whole “international freight forwarding” brought me there, it must be related I thought.
Turned out to be a job where you input data 9to5 in a computer.
I did this for 4 days. I quitted today. And believe me, the last 2 hours felt like 50.
HOW CAN PEOPLE STAYS THERE FOR YEAR, BEING STUCK IN A FUCKING CUBICLE ENTERING DATA, HAVING CLOSE TO NO-INTERACTIONS WITH COWORKERS, SPENDING ABOUT 10 CALORIES PER DAY (When they move their ass to have lunch or I don’t know) AND ACTUALLY ENJOYING THIS !!!
Well, I am a die-hard ADHD and I must move all the time and badly need a great ammount of physical exercice each day that it is possible.
At least, I know I have a body, muscles and lungs and that they must be in action.
BRAIN + MUSCLES = WOW GREAT JOB.
Really.
Office jobs annoy me for the following reasons:
1. Virtually no exercise throughout the day.
2. Air conditioning
3. Fluorescent lighting.
4. Being chained to a desk.
5. Too silent ( not enough background noise ).
6. Pretending to be busy/interested.
7. It’s hard to keep motivated.
8. Drinking too much coffee just for something to do.
9. etc, etc, etc….
To sum up: Living life through an office job just seems to be just an endless cycle of shit. I have done 10 years in office jobs now and I have NEVER liked them, it’s just a totally unnatural environment. I am at the point now where I am willing to do an outdoor job/have no job/go back to studying/ do anything for a change. I watched “Koyaanisqatsi” the other day, and one point from the film that can certainly be applied here is that doing time in an office is “Life out of balance”.
Well, talk about looking into a mirror. I’m a little older, 40. I have been in my government office job for only 9 months. Previously I worked as a school teacher and part time in hospitality. My teaching career consisted of contract placements of 2, 4, 6, months, so I was always worried about getting the next job. So I kept up my hospitality job to fill the gaps. I’m a perfectionist too, and have always found teaching a very stressful vocation, always putting in all of myself. With a young family I yearned for stability and just having one job. Getting a secure, safe, permanent government job became my dream. After trying for a very long time I finally got my dream last July. Everything I prayed for -permanent, safe, secure. AND I HATE IT!!! The first week was Ok and it’s been hell after that. I really miss the kids for one thing, but the office environment is just not natural or normal. It’s so quiet and I can’t believe the mentality of the people that work here. Everything I ever heard about government workers IS TRUE! – You know what I’m talking about. I can’t believe that I wanted this. At the end of each day I feel as though I haven’t achieved anything. There is no satisfaction of a job completed or job well done. Others from the office have drinks on a Friday, but I don’t feel like taking part, because I don’t feel that we have done any work to deserve any form of celebration. I have to continually bite my tongue. I want to tell them to get into the real world, do some real work. Shuffling paper around and hitting a few keys on a keyboard is not work and makes no difference to the world. I can’t believe I went from stress to death. I got to get out of here soon. I’m just glad that it hasn’t taken me 10 years to realise it. Thank you for the outlet.
Some people hat office jobs due to pressure of work. But I think it is not good.
You have summed up EXACTLY how I feel in my job. I could pretty much sit here all work, do nothing and still have people think I’m busy.
I used to think a job would be great if I could do anything and get paid a lot for it but now i’ve learned that being bored at work and not being able to learn will soon the drain your soul.
Hope your managing to earn a bit of money from your adsense on your blog anyway
Stan
wow I still can not believe how many people there are out there with the same thoughts. I say we all stand up and do something about to end this. More play. Less work demanded!!!!!!!!!
Back again. Since my last post i’ve had two disciplinaries for turning up 10 mins late to work (come on what a joke!)I’m 4 weeks away from handing in my notice and the tension is mounting. I really can’t wait to leave the office non-life and take a chance, because life really is way too short. For anybody out there thats feeling trapped in a melting cube, keep your head up and take a chance before you regret it. Much respect for all the posts on here, i hope things work out for everyone who has endured the mental hardships of working under these un-natural restrictive conditions, just have belief in yourself and remember your human after all. Much love James
I’m in the same boat. I’ve worked in the same stagnant job for almost 6 years. My hair has thinned from the age of 24 to 30 and I went from sheek to geek. Yet time seemed to have never moved. I get nothing from my job except the fact that I increasingly have distrusted people and no longer even pursue physical or emotional relationships. my life feels wasted, i forgot what my talents are and I’m just tired of dealing with the inflated egos from people who think they have power just because they are head of the coffee club or take everyone’s subway lunch order.
Hi Brian,
I sympathise with the frustration you feel about co-workers. It’s another example of how working in an office is so unnatural. It’s inevitable that when you’re forced to spend time with people who you did not choose to be with that tensions will arise. For you, it’s the silly power games that irritate. I used to find that peoples’ personal habits drove me nuts – people who constantly sniff, or use the same phrase over and over again… it’s wasn’t their fault, and it wasn’t mine, it’s just the result of having to see more of people who you wouldn’t choose as friends than you see of your real friends and family.
You owe it to yourself to get out and really live.
Erm yea, I feel like this all the time and can totally relate to the annoying co workers, like the ones who tell you what work they’re doing in real time, just shut up and do it FFS and the (in my opinion) unnecessary office politics, I mean seriously, who cares if Bob ate the last biscuit, get a friggin life!!!! Sigh, I need to find another source of income……….
I’ve always done office work, it’s warmer than sweeping the streets but MY GOD the price you have to pay!
I’m not interested in the mindless futility of your domestic minutiae so STOP TELLING ME ABOUT IT. I have no interest in the tedious structure of your working day – as I’m probably doing the same thing myself you can STOP TELLING ME ABOUT IT.
Why can’t I just go in do it and leave? Why are pointless thicksh*t managers given offices to themselves – I need an office to myself because I actually have work to do. I can’t do it if some miserable bitch is spewing the bitterness of her life all over me. Just because your husband doesn’t want your rancid old body anymore shouldn’t prevent me getting the accounts in on time. Stop saying the same thing with the same words in the same sentence at the same time every goddam day.
I can’t care who got/didn’t get the coffees in last. I don’t think it requires a conference as to whether the window is shut or not. Not contributing to pointless office collections for pointless people doesn’t put me on a par with Himmler. Refusing to do Secret Santa is not a criminal offence. Working on the same part of the time space continuum does NOT make us automatic best mates – DO NOT SHARE WITH ME. Not wanting the Friday cream bun does not mean diet/illness/snobbery/depression.
Sadly I like admin but not the crap you have to wade through everyday – any suggestions for a solitary scrivener’s job gratefully received.
Angel, you made some good points. I haven’t worked in the office environment as long as some others have. However, I realized fast that no matter what office I was in, I was going to hate it sooner or later. I like people, but it is really hard to find an office where you get along with the others. Offices are just too structured and hierarchial for me to deal with daily. I could care less about who has been there the longest and has first dips on the best cubicle. LOL. I used to work in telecom before the industy went to crap. I miss it because you were on your own a great part of the time and didn’t have to sit in a cubicle all day wondering if you would have anything to do the next day. The problem is with the economy the way that it is you really can’t explore options at this point. But I will never give up on finding my DREAM JOB someday.
How I understand you! I am done with office jobs for the same reasons you are. I hate being a cubicle zombie, I believe we only have one life to live and it is a shame to spend 8 ours of every day in a situation or a place you do not care about or, even worse, hate with all your being. From now on I say NO to cubicle life, even if it means less money, so be it! My freedom, creativity, joy of life if more valuable than money or STUFF you can buy with that money. Thank you for the blog and the inspiration.
Hi, All–
I found this site a while back by searching something along the lines of “I hate office jobs.” I just wanted to see if other people felt like I did. It’s so hard to tell most of the time what’s going on with other people. It’s hard to tell if most people are just really boring or really hating their office jobs and feeling defeated.
I’m in the process of transitioning away from being an accountant after 11 years of lots of job hopping. I kept thinking that if I just found the right job……well, you know how that goes. In the end, they’re all the same. I’ve come to the conclusion that I really hate big bureaucracies of any kind–government or private. I think the key to my happiness will be to avoid them as much as I can while doing something I truly enjoy, something I enjoy reading about in my off time. I’m applying to nursing schools, as I figured out after becoming a CNA (nurse aide) that happiness for me is in helping other people live happier, healthier lives. I’m also studying to become a personal trainer and am working at a gym now behind the scenes doing admin type work. It’s amazing how much more energized I feel working towards something I’m passionate about. I only wish it had not taken me 11 years to figure out that the problem was not me but that accounting jobs are not a good job fit for my type of personality and interests.
My suggestion to all of you is to take a plunge and do something you’re interested in, something you can be passionate. I’ve found that the financial sacrifices and time sacrifices are really a piece of cake if you’re moving towards something you care about. As the quote from Shawshank Redemption goes, “Get busy living, or get busy dying.”
I understand what you guys are talking about. in fact i relate to it very well.
I wake up, get to the train station. and like everybody else, ROBOTS, all doing the same thing. Unhappy people who are on the way to work, with that dreaded feeling (oh roll on friday!…oh shit its sunday, I HAVE TO GO WORK TOMMORROW)
Ive just started a new job. I work with young offenders. My love is to help young people find themselves, to get themselves on a better road….I am passionate about helping people, and i know i am a peoples person. My last job was as a youth worker. I never got a chance to sit down, i was engaging, and i was always on my toes. I LOVED IT. unfortunately, it didnt pay well as it was only part time, and I have dreams and ambitions that need to be funded.
I still love this. however, the place in which i work has so much paperwork, in a tight crammed office, where i struggle to breath. I lose focus and i cant move around, because im under survellance. You get to arrange your appointments with your cases, which is good. Buts it all under an office enviroment, where i feel like im going to die. and then i sit infront of the computer to document everything. I understand this process is neccesssy. But what happend to the engagement of young people?Its like the passion is gone. this is what i lived for, to help people, but instead im chasing paperwork 24/7. The politics are everywhere, and i want to be my own man!create my own legacy!!!
I cant complain that im earning good money, in a tough economic enviroment. but im using this as a stepping stone to create my own foundation, where i can help people. Im training up to be a personal trainer in circular strength training. My true passion in life, is the martial arts. training is what i love. i connect to people and the universe through it. i want to write books, inspire, however it must be done. I sometimes feel fearful of making the leap, but i know, im young and i have one life to live! I care about this dream so much. i talk abotu it, live it, breath it and persue it! we all owe it to ourselves!!
Phewww just got back from a holiday to Portugal, nice place, go if you get a chance.
I said back in April that i was going to enjoy my holiday and then hand in my notice around July/August time. Time has dragged in the office but flown whilst on holiday. Much love to everyone here, chasing dreams and letting go of this truly horrific way of life. So, in about two weeks i will be free from the office non-life. Much love to everybody here, reading your comments has been a real pleasure and has reinforced my decision to just break free and take a gamble.
Good luck to you all
I will be back soon anyways to let you know how things are going.
Peace James
Hey James.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the holiday. And good luck on your new journey, I’m sure you won’t regret leaving the office!
Ahhh, this is my life right now! My very thoughts, exactly. Thanks. I feel less alone :L
Oh my gosh! I feel the same way, I am actually missing doing housekeeping work at hotels where I was really happy but it has been hard to do that because I keep telling myself I may just be lazy and need to do something I have to do. Just thinking about another office job makes me sick. I am so bored at office jobs and am sick of the people who are so rude to each other.
Thanks for helping me with this.
Sarah
I am surprised there were not more comments. I often wonder what percentage of people working actually like their jobs. I wonder how you can discover your calling without changing jobs every year. I work for the State and have for the last 7 years. I despise sitting at a desk, it hurts everywhere by the end of the day. There is no meaning in what I do either. It is the vicious merry-go-round of eat, shower, sleep, shower, drive, work, drive, eat, clean, shower, sleep, shower, drive, work, drive, eat…… (the shower, eating, and sleeping are the only parts I enjoy). One of the posts mentioned that feeling you get Sunday night when you know you have to go back to work Monday. I get that too and it is horrible. When I am at home I feel interested, motivated, and inspired. That is by the things around me. My kitties, the birds, my garden, when I am cooking in the kitchen, even when I am cleaning. But lets face it, I know that I have to work. I have student loans, a mortgage to pay, etc etc. could go on. I think when you are an adult you have to carry adult baggage. The question is how heavy does it have to be? We all know the only direction in forward, its just finding the right path to move forward on that is the most difficult. Thank you so much for providing the forum to express these thoughts. I don’t feel so alone.
I just read every comment on this post, and am both devastated and inspired by all of the feelings expressed. It is so good to know how many other people feel exactly as I do. I had my first office job 5 years ago when I was 24, immediately hated it, and quit within 4 months. Unfortuntely, I did not have the discipline to fully go after the things I truly wanted while under the scrutiny of my parents. I was too afraid of doing the wrong thing again, so did nothing. Over the past few years, I’ve found myself resigned to the fact that I need a ‘regular’ job to make money. I started to feel very guilty about my husband shouldering most of the financial burden. So I’ve taken jobs that left me feeling broken and stressed. I started a new job 2 months ago – it is already so boring that I find it hard to get through the day. Even worse, my physical environment is suffocating, and I feel like I can’t leave my desk even though I often have nothing to do. I know I cannot be there for much longer, but need a source of income. I feel so trapped, yet I feel it is getting harder and harder to make changes – I’ve missed opportunities to do more because I’ve been too fearful. Now we are starting to look at houses and I am afraid of being trapped in a job I hate. I worry that my husband will be working his days away so we can live in a nice house. I just don’t know what to do. For years, when I thought of things I might want to do, I’ve dismissed them because they require too much school, or money, or time, or there is some such obstacle. Now, I am so afraid I’ve passed some invisible point of no return.
Reading everyone’s comments tonight has really helped. My thanks to everyone for sharing their feelings. You’ve jolted me out of my numbness.
To Tara:
Don’t worry about passing some “invisible point of no return.” I’m 37 years old and I’m just now making a drastic career change with an upcoming student debt load that I’ll be paying off for a long time. The funny thing is that I don’t mind. For years I stayed in accounting jobs I hated because I had already put so much into my career (CPA license, etc.) and I didn’t want to go and get into a lot of debt. I think incurring debt to make a change to a career you like is a LOT different than incurring debt to live in a big, nice house. I would suggest pushing for a smaller house that allows you some flexibility with big life decisions. As far as changing careers, start talking to people A LOT. Talk to everyone you can think of who is doing a type of work very different from what you’re doing now. Getting information like this is free and might even spark an interest inside you. I talked to a lot of people about different careers, spent some time shadowing different people, volunteered, etc. and decided to pursue a career in nursing. I’ve just been accepted to Duke, and I’m so excited. I don’t even care about the fact that I’ll have huge loan debt or be almost 40 by the time I finish. It will all be worth it.
Back in 2000 I decided to get a college degree in IT because “it” was going to be the future and would make good money. I have spent the last 10 years going from one office job to another. I realized that there all the same prison for your mind. At one point I really felt numb inside and almost dead. People are so fake and walk and talk like zombies. I really hate the “office culture” mentality. Where I work now, we all have to drink with coffee mugs the company give us. We aren’t allowed to talk or listen to music. The boss doesn’t want to see any wires coming out of any computers. He is a freak about the office looking like a sterile environment with no visual distractions. Every cubicle has to conform to a standard gray and white ensemble. So, this summer I went back on vacation to my home country in the Mediterranean. People there try to live a slower pace and take the time to appreciate simple things and socialize a lot. I truly realized how empty and soulless the North-American life is. I came back here and really saw the contrast between genuine simple living, and stressed slow-paced collective suicide. So I have made it my objective to put money on the side this year, and by the summer of 2011 it will be the end of office non-life altogether.
To Jabel:
Good for you that you know that it’s THEM and not YOU. For years I thought something was wrong with me since no one else seemed to have a problem with the way things are. I felt like a little bit of my soul was being sucked out of my body every day I went into the office building. There is something so dehumanizing about that whole atmosphere.
Best of luck with your escape!
I also really hate office jobs. I don’t have an office job right now but I work at home which is basically almost the same thing except I sit in front of my computer in my pyjamas. It really can zap the energies out of anyone but I still do it because my family needs me to work really hard…
I’m an auditor who is a chartered accountant in Australia. I feel EXACTLY the same as others here. I have noticed that it is generally the intelligent individuals who realise this “isn’t life”, and question what we have enslaved ourselves into.
I am only 25, and paid well, at around $75,000 a year which is well above average in my state, and will defiantly be above $100k pa before I’m 30. However I don’t seem to care about money or “professional” success anymore. I have done a degree and a post graduate diploma in something I uttery despise and I am now at a breaking point. I have found working in an office is so horrible and I feel dead and physically drained every minute I am at work. The work has no meaning or purpose, if I were to die it wouldn’t matter. Instead another mindless monkey could takeover my role with minimal training. Its sooooo pointless!!!!!!!!!!! Sleep, eat and working in a dull cubicle smashing a keyboard is not life.
I am in the process of a radical change, I am about to quit my job and travel for 5 months and then try working in finance in the UK. I’ve found the only time that i’ve been happy in the last 3 years is when I was travelling, as I was outdoors and seeing the world. I have no doubt that I will eventually “rage it” in the UK and come back to Australia. However I have a plan!!! I am almost certain I will join the army as an infrantry officer upon returning to Australia. I believe it is the only job that will allow me to see the world, be outdoors, and physically/mentally challenge me. I am a very physical person who loves weight lifting/running. I think this “may” be my calling. I don’t want to live with regrets and rott away in an office so I am almost certain I will do this in the short term
Has anyone else heard of people doing something so radical as joining the army after being a well “educated professional”? I have a few friends in the same field contemplating the same plan as me.
Matt,
I believe you are right with your comment about the highly educated. I have a master’s in accounting and also feel I trained for the wrong profession (and am trapped in a cubicle looking at a lit up box breaking my wrists and dulling my senses). About the service…I was in the Coast Guard for several years. I went in because I didn’t know what else to do at the time. It is a great way to see the world and to make lasting friends if you are an open person. The one thing I would mention though is it is also the luck of the draw environment-wise. I was stationed on a ship that had VERY close quarters. In the military the command has control over when you eat, sleep, bathe, work, basically everything. You may find yourself not getting enough sleep or at odds with a bunk-mate. But everything we do in life involves taking a chance. I would say you would be moving about physically more, seeing new things, which would lead to more stimulation. Just be aware that there are the other pieces to consider. I hope you will continue to post on how things go for you. Maintaining the status quo is always the wrong choice.
I have an MBA and 10 years of experience working in banking and insurance industries. I have quit my job because I could financially afford to quit and I was at a breaking point. However, I have a different sort of problem now. I am quite certain about what I DO NOT want in my life, but I am not quite sure what it is I really DO want. I would love to travel and maybe volunteer somewhere in a foreign country but I have a 6-year-old son and he goes to a good school and I am afraid to make the wrong move by taking him out of that school. So there are strings attached and I feel bound by my obligations to my family. Not sure what to do…..but I need to do something. Another office job is not an option for me….I am done with them. Office job = death sentence for your soul.
Justin,
Finding your book was just motivator I needed to get started on my plan to escape again. I do what lots of people do, start a plan and then come upon another office job with more money and assume that it will make it better only to find myself at misery’s door again. I am holding myself accountable by blogging at aposseadesseduo.wordpress.com. Wish me luck!
PS – I agree with V “Office job = death sentence for your soul.”