Jobs - the kind worth getting vs. the ones to avoid

[Reaper978]

I was wondering if the interesting group of people that visit this forum might be able to inform me about employment - jobs that are worth getting and jobs that should be avoided. Have any funny stories from work? Any advice on work? What about school, any advice on what kinds of degree to get, and what schools to go to?

I don't have much to offer on my own on this topic other than I tried working at Starbucks for a little bit and hated it, all the drinks to memorize and the awkwardness of the drive-thru really put me off. I don't understand how the employees can work their damn cash-register contraption to ring up all the different drinks, and all the different modifiers that can be placed on the drinks, etc. Not to mention everything else they have to do, take stock, grind the beans, memorize how to make all the drinks, etc. They sure make it look easy, though.

What do you think of something like this? http://careers.cdw.com/s/Job-Details/Credit-Card-Analyst-Job/Vernon-Hills-IL/xjdp-cl289723-jf287-ct99398-jid17628912?s_cid=IndFeed&src=JB-10640

[Bloodshedder]

If you think Starbucks is difficult, working with an AS/400 probably won't be any easier.

[Reaper978]

*Sigh* I was just anticipating your kind of response, actually.

[durian]

It depends what's more important to you - spending most of the hours of your day doing something you enjoy/don't hate, or making enough money so that, when you're not working, you're happy and comfortable, and doing things that you enjoy/don't hate - if you're lucky, you can do both, if you're less lucky (but still pretty lucky) you'll do either one, if (like the majority of working people) you're unlucky, you'll have a job in which you do neither.

I can recommend getting paid to do something that you enjoy. Of course, it helps if you know already what that might be.

Are you going to college?

[Reaper978]

I'm not going to college currently.

[durian]

Well, depending on how old you are, and what resources you have, that might be something to consider - if you don't know what you want to do yet, don't risk just 'falling into' something that you don't give a shit about. If you're in full time education - I guess an undergrad program? - you'll effectively delay the decision for a bit, and give yourself more time think about it, and there'll be opportunities to get ideas. Also, I suspect a degree of some sort would improve your prospects - I believe in some industries it's a filter; they don't care what degree you have, but it's a minimum requirement.

On the other hand, don't go to college if you think you won't enjoy the actual work.

[kristus]

Depends on what you are like really. I would for instance not recommend anyone to work in a factory because it's a soul rending tedius POS job. But for some, that's the perfect match as they just go there, do their shit and then go home and don't think twice about it.

Personally I am a teacher and I can recommend that to anyone who wish for variation in their every day work life. But if you aren't into kids, then you probably would be better off working as a sort of mechanic or other technical personel which lets you analyse and fix problems on a daily basis.

[CorSair]

One thing is certain:

Never trust employment services.

[Maes]

The ones to get: any that pays.
The ones to avoid: having none, or doing volunteer work.

[schwerpunk]

Also, just remember that almost everyone feels like they're in over their head on the first few weeks at any new job. Just fake it 'til you make it.

[Scet]

CorSair said:

Never trust employment services.

This a billion times. Employment agencies will get you work, but they won't get you a job.

[DoomUK]

Maes said:

The ones to get: any that pays.

Having spent 6 years of my life in a job which I loathed with every fiber of my body, I reject this statement. When a job wreaks havoc with your mental health, it's time to leave.

Of course, I have the luxury of being a citizen of a nation with some flexibility in regards to whether you want to work in a shitty job or not work at all and receive money from the government. I appreciate that things are different in Greece and other eastern European nations.

[Maes]

DoomUK said:

I appreciate that things are different in Greece and other eastern European nations.

How about not working at all AND not receiving any money from the government, while taxes and social security contributions continue to flow?

[CorSair]

Scet said:

Employment agencies will get you work, but they won't get you a job.

Plus, you might not get paid at all, or you don't get the described job which you might not understand or isn't suitable to work, either physically or mentally.

[gggmork]

I would probably like to be an entrepreneur whore, self advertising my business by attending social gatherings while wearing a shirt that says "I fuck for money", pending the not-too-ugliness and STD-freeness of the clients of course, but the government uses the weapon of law to shut down any sovereign individual's non-corporate potential to make profit with agenda 21. They make it illegal to shut down their competition, since only they are exempt from the laws they create, so now the only way to sell sex will be as a bribe to climb the pecking order of the illuminati, all trying to get to the very top of the hierarchy because only there do you have access to all the naked children of the elite controlled pedophile rings, not to mention kinky reptiloid and space alien stuff if you're into that kind of thing.

Since every "real" non-corporate path to make money has been made illegal, or essentially illegal with some required impossible to get license, entrepreneurs have been forced to become agorists, advertising their businesses on the black and yellow pages and the darknet, or being an elite plant paid to rat on their fellow agorists. Weev talks about how innovation has been made largely illegal here, after being sent to prison for arithmetic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV0JzMDnD4U

As far as state-approved jobs, they're all low paying, humiliating and obsolete, just as a token of sarcastic good will and appreciation to further piss you off. You will either have to dress up in a hot purple grimace costume and twirl a sign in front of mcdonalds, or have daily "customer service huddles" with "people" whose head's would look like they fell in a cheese dip in 1957 if you wore the appropriate glasses. You will have to join "the family" of some corporation, in an attempt to hijack your genetically hard wired altruism towards kin. And the family will play politically correct aural vomit music on the intercom every day to dumb down and wussify their hivemind of clockpunching wage slaves. If you're a male, they'll make you shave to feminize you and make you appear less dangerous to the customers, many of which are company plants that grade your smiles and overall wussiness.

[Kontra Kommando]

My philosophy is that any job is worth getting if you're unemployed; if one doesn't cut it, than you need two. Moreover, the best degrees to get are STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as well as finance. Chemical and pharmaceutical engineers are probably the best paid out of college. Nevertheless, you can still be successful if you choose a degree that is not within those fields. Employers mostly look for work experience, a college degree helps, but it really only demonstrates to them that you are able to see a daunting task through; that you possess discipline. I majored in political science and history, and I'm in a good job.

[Kontra Kommando]

Reaper978 said:

I don't have much to offer on my own on this topic other than I tried working at Starbucks for a little bit and hated it, all the drinks to memorize and the awkwardness of the drive-thru really put me off. I don't understand how the employees can work their damn cash-register contraption to ring up all the different drinks, and all the different modifiers that can be placed on the drinks, etc. Not to mention everything else they have to do, take stock, grind the beans, memorize how to make all the drinks, etc. They sure make it look easy, though.

You should take heart in the fact that the shittier jobs will always be harder, and pay less. While the higher your position, the less work you'll have to do, and the more money you could make. For example, when I started working at back as a teenager, I busted my ass in a warehouse, loading trucks in 100 degree weather, alongside rude and hostile scumbags, for $6.50 an hour. Then I got a job at CVS, I still loaded trucks from time to time, but it paid better, and was treated with a little more respect. Then I got a job with the state, working in an office. Air-conditioning, vacation, working with my head instead of my hands, and finally respect. Now, I have an even better job, and let me tell you, the improvement is exponential on all fronts. Just go to school, and work on the side, and you will be alright. Also, don't get a criminal record (especially with drugs), or fuck up your credit; employers look at that.

[40oz]

schwerpunk said:

Also, just remember that almost everyone feels like they're in over their head on the first few weeks at any new job. Just fake it 'til you make it.

Yeah I wish I had more job experience but I've only had a few. Even when I want to quit, I remind myself that I suck at adapting to new rules and environments real quick and just stick with what I got. Every job I've had I've grown pretty accustomed to after a few months and when I got good at it, it hardly felt like work.

[Creaphis]

Sometimes when you're struggling to choose between Job A or Job B, the only solution is to throw yourself at the mercy of the universe. A Job C, one that you never thought about before, just might present itself. I work with mentally handicapped adults. I'm getting paid to become a better person. It's pretty swell.

[eargosedown]

I'm a programmer for a large corporation, working on financial programs.

It's absolutely fucking awesome. I don't get paid too well yet, but I love it.