How satisfied are you in your job?

[BigguyZ]

Went to school as a Materials Science and Engineering major. I did OK, but wasn't fully invested in it and ended up going on academic probation after 3 1/2 years. Started working in the call center of a local insurance benefit management company, and worked my way up to a trainer in their claims dept. I'm now looking to get a degree in business online or through night school and move into management.

If I could go back to engineering I would- but I'd have to quite my job and take out a ton in school loans. So although it's not what I dreamt of doing when I was younger, I like my job most of the time. I'd say it peaks at a 9, but typically is a 7.

My brother and I also run a small but growing property management company. We're also looking into getting into flipping houses this summer. If that starts to work out, I wouldn't mind doing that full time.

[cgallery]

I gave it a ten. I work all day long with my wife (we own the oldest computer store in Wisconsin--one of the oldest in the nation). Most of our money is derived from services these days.

We've done lots of one-off custom servers/workstations for organizations like the National Gallery of Art, NASA, Amazon, etc. We have also custom-built some extremely large clusters. Remote administration is about 20% of my day.

My first love is data recovery. Each new job is like a puzzle for me. My hands are still rock-solid (I'm 40 now) and I can swap a head stack with the best of them.

My 2nd love is programming. I worked as a contract programmer until the late 80's, and still love projects that allow me to combine my programming with my hardware skills.

Woodworking is somewhere around fourth love.

[WayneJ]

I worked 34 years for a local Ford dealer asaan auto tech. I burned out about 6 years ago and retired. Got bored with not much to do and took a job with Harbor freight at a store that was opening. Now I have money to buy the tools that I want. I get to talk shop with a lot of good customers. The hardest I work is on monday when the truck comes in. I work 30 hrs a week and look foward to going to work, a lot of good perks to the job.
Wayne

[MikeMcCoy]

I had to select a 10 but that might change if I ever figure out what I want to do when I grow up. I'm technically an air traffic controller but haven't talked to an aircraft in 15 years (which is when I retired from the USN). I'm still a USN contractor but somehow wound up working with the USAF doing quality assurance in southwest Asia. It's fun but after my next deployment, I'm going to hang it up or at least start thinking about it.

[bigstick509]

Sounds Very Familiar

So, what do you pick if you're getting paid pretty good, can't find a better one right now (pay cuts == not allowed by SO), like the people you work with in the office but can't deal with/understand the people at WHQ? In other words, trapped?

I can't wait to find something else and or semi-retire.

[JR]

Great thread!

I sell atomic clocks to telecom equipment mfrs. It pays good coin and is well suited to my experience and skills. I travel a lot (I'm writing this from China), which is good and bad. I'd drop it in an instant if I could. I'd prefer to just work in the shop without the pressure of earning an income. Maybe have little line of tables and cabinets, sell them at craft shows. I'm probably five years from that dream.

I once met a guy on a trail in Lake Tahoe. He taught high school there and in the summer he was a one-man trail crew - had back-pack rig with a chain saw, oil, fuel, a shovel in one hand and an axe in the other. I never met a man with a more satisfied look on his face.

JR

[crokett]

JR, how many telecom equipment mfgrs are there? And how often do they need atomic clocks? I'd think that you'd run out of people to sell to sooner or later.

[JR]

JR, how many telecom equipment mfgrs are there?

Quite a few!

And how often do they need atomic clocks?

Every 10 years.

Actually, not all of it is atomic clocks. We also do high-end crystal product, too. The stuff I focus on is cell-phone base stations. Each one needs a high-quality clock for two reasons.

1. The RF frequencies are derived from the clock. If the base station becomes isolated from the primary reference source (PRS)it must continue to operate accurately ("hold over") for n-time until the PRS can be seen again. "n" infers the quality of the clock.
2. The time of day for hand off of a client from one cell to another must be accurate, or the call will drop. This is the bane of a wireless provider, so an equipment mfr that can show fewer dropped calls can win greater market share.

JR

[SARGE..g-47]

I hate my 4 day a week job! I have to grit my teeth Monday thru Thursday and I am forced by personal cirmcumstances to drive to it. I get there and just do what I am asked to do to make management and our customers happy. The only reprieve is they pay me well, so I smile and pretend to enjoy it while I am there.

I think they really are convinced I enjoy it so it seems to be working so far! But I and others are forced to sell and distribute about $50,000,000 worth of "old junk car parts" each year and advise on their application. They even make me go back in the "restoration shop" occasionally and actually help restore one of those "old junk Muscle Cars" when the restoration "boys" get behind in schedule.

That is especially de-grading when Chip Foose and his "boys" show up to do some filming for his TV show, "Over-hauling". Same scenario with the "Speed Channel and that idioitic movie, "Fast and Fuious" that we were forced to build "old junk cars" for. It's terribly fatiqueing under those hot film production lights I tell you! And they seem to always bring a few nice looking California ladies along most of the time that get in your way and ask stupid questions about how you do whatever you happen to be doing.

And to add insult to injury, they discovered that I have a wood-shop and forced me to become the resident company Wood-worker. They make me go home and actually work in my own shop to build things to fill that 300,000 sq. ft. building if it they can't find custom stuff from office supply.

Thank goodness I only have a little over 2 years till I can retire completely. I just don't think I could live with the bitterness of this "terrible job" any longer. All I can do is just force a smile as a man has to accept the reality of, "a man has to do what a man has to do" to put bread on the table for his family.

But......... I hate it just the same! Did I mention I hate it? :<)

www.yearone.com

[peel]

Unfortunately I clicked Somehwat satisfied before reading the OP. I work for a creative firm creating 2D animation, video and composites for web, tradeshows and tv. It sounds cool but it's not all it's cracked up to be.

I'm somewhat satisfied since I make a good living and get a lot of benefits. However, I think if I had a means to quit tomorrow and do something I'm passionate about I would in a heartbeat. The problem is would I still be able to maintain the standard of living to which I have become accostomed? The money's got me by the wah-wahs. It's hard when you realise your job is all about making other people more money and you don't really enjoy what you're doing to begin with.

-peel

[ejs1097]

I took a job with Harbor freight at a store that was opening. Now I have money to buy the tools that I want. I get to talk shop with a lot of good customers.
Wayne

now that sounds like a dream job...then again they'd probably get most of my paycheck back.

[mnmphd]

I design microchips for use in spacecraft systems and instruments.

The techinical part of the job is very enjoyable. Designing things for
use in space requires some tricks to deal with temperature swings and
all that pesky radiation. The challenge to come up witha better way makes
it interesting.

But no job is perfect.
The space industry is not exactly flush with money and there is a
perpetual hunt for funds to keep the projects going. That said, it
is cool to know that something I designed is on its way to mercury and
and another to Pluto.

[MilDoc]

Cool mnmphd! So, do you autograph you work for the aliens?

[gsmittle]

I'm a game developer, and I put 7/10. Some days 10/10, other days 1/10. I deal with complex systems that can easily fail, house of cards. And I'm often doing really low level programming and high level math.

If I knew what even half of this meant I'd be scared and impressed. Especially scared of the high level math....

g.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

I hated the corporate grind so I own two companies.

Claims Adjusting Firm 7/10 - Great money (10), extremely long hours (8), flexible hours (10), 9 employees (5), demanding clients (8). Hmmm employees dragging average down.

Consulting Company 9/10 - Great money (10), extremely long hours (8), flexible hours (10), 1 partner (10), excellent clients (10). Hmmm, why did we sell our Federal contracts last week?

Buying an insurance agency next month. It will be a brutal experience. I will be terminating all employees and breaking the company up, selling off the individual books of business. I am going to be very well liked, huh?