Day 4: Today I am thankful that I have a stable job that I enjoy.
I've had what I would describe as quite the wild ride over the past several years in terms of my career. From being sort of forced to move to Charlotte in the spring of 2013 to moving back for a job in Minneapolis in 2014 which turned out to be an awful fit, it's been a rocky road. During those challenging years, I spent a lot of time questioning whether I was in the right career/field of work, a lot of time crying tears of frustration, and I was searching job sights on a daily basis, trying to find a way out of the work situations I was in.
However, last summer, I accepted a position at an asset management company where my mentor/former boss works, and I am happy to say that my career is no longer a source of frustration, unhappiness and anxiety. I really enjoy the work I do, I feel that I am challenged (but not overwhelmed), I like and respect my boss and I really love the people I work with. I think out of all of those things, liking my boss and coworkers is the most important source of my fulfillment at work because I learned through past jobs that the workplace environment has a HUGE impact on your level of enjoyment at work. Of course, my job is not perfect because no job is. But all in all, the days of frustration are few and far between and they are more one-off situations versus patterns that are emblematic of problems in the workplace culture.
There was a long period of time where I felt like all of the time, energy, and money that I had invested in my MBA program and CFA designation were a mistake (and I invested a WHOLE LOT of time into the CFA designation so it felt awful to think it was all for naught). I've worked really hard to get to where I am in my career so it's a huge relief to have found a workplace that has given me back the confidence that I am on the right path.
Everyone's career path is so different, but if you, too, are feeling that way I felt, don't despair. Keep talking to people and researching your options. And if you need to vent to anyone, I'm your girl because I know exactly how it feels to really struggle with finding where you belong, career-wise.
What are you thankful for today?
13 comments:
I'm so thankful you are in a place where you love!!! I completely agree that office environment is critically important! No job is perfect but there is definitely peace and joy in being in a place where you truly enjoy being there!
I, too, am thankful you have landed in a place where you can again love your work. It's a huge thing when you have to spend so many hours every day doing a particular thing with a group of people.
Today I am grateful for this glorious, long-lasting fall. Loving it!
It's so important to love your work. I declined a path to a promotion last spring, and while others may see me stagnating in the same role for years, I don't want to leave the pharmacy and take on an office job. You have to do what you enjoy!
It is so important to love what you are doing, or getting up each morning would be quite unbearable. I loved being a nurse and to this day, miss that profession. But I also love managing the financial part of our small business, but hopefully can find someone we can trust to take my place - not an easy feat in a small town with very few if any candidates available! Some days we wish we had just closed the doors and not tried to pass it on!
I agree--workplace environment and whether or not you like your coworkers is HUGE. I'm glad you've landed someplace you like again!
I totally agree that workplace environment is a huge factor in how much I enjoy my job. Right now my work environment is not the best and it's caused me to seriously consider not going back to work after my maternity leave. I try to hold out and hope that things will change, and I know eventually they will, but it's tough in the interim. I'm so glad you finally have peace and happiness with your career - it was a rough road for a while!
Yes to the workplace environment being so important.
Considering my workplace staff has changed a bit over the last 6 weeks, I'm realizing how important it is to be surrounded by good people, hard working and kind people. Having a bright and shining star leave our office has put a damper on my enjoyment/excitement to go to work, be at work and etc. Among other reasons, it's why I'm looking elsewhere!
Yes I am super thankful for a stable job as well. I know how hard and scary unemployment can be just by watching Eric go through it. My career path has been so interesting. I went from two jobs working at small organizations with all women to working for a company with over 1,000 employees and in a completely different industry! Being the communications / community person I get to deal with mostly "fun stuff" in what is normally a very stressful, intense deadline / production driven environment. It's fun and I like my job and like the people I work with, for the most part :) And for now it is giving me and us a lot of financial stability, which is what I needed in my life at the time!
I love that my workplace is casual. we wear jeans, listen to music all day, and our language is not strictly professional. However, I don't have a manager that is supporting me at the moment, not that I have a bad manager, just that the position above me is open and they aren't filling it for a while. But I am glad I have a job, so for now I make it work.
I love that you love your job. We spent so much time at our jobs that it would be terrible if you hated it.
This times a million! I actually liked the environment in my last job, but hated the work. But I stayed for much longer than I wanted to because I loved my coworkers so much and didn't want to leave them. But now I'm in a place where I love what I do AND I love the environment. Some of my coworkers are close friends of mine now and I couldn't imagine my life without them. Having a job where you don't dread going to work is something I want everyone to have!
Love this! Somehow maybe I'd forgotten or just didn't hone in that you'd changed jobs. So glad that it was a great transition and that you're loving your this work environment and role. It really does make such an impact. My first job out of undergrad was stressful and coworkers were back stabbing & snarky. While I paid off all my 12k in undergrad loans in 6 months (while living with family) due to the great income and limited spending I did, I also learned that no amount of money is worth a bad job environment when other options are out there. While I felt bad leaving that position after a year, it also took me years to regain confidence as an employee due to being in that environment.
I actually just thanked two of my classes last week for being a phenomenal group of students to work with. I don't expect all of them to like my teaching style nor to enjoy the material, but so many of them have engaged with the material, followed up with additional questions for more connections or resources, and/or reached out to provide feedback on the material. While grading and snarky students can be frustrating at times, there truly are some great rewards from the position and I'm always grateful when there is an especially great cohort or class to work with. I'm still trying to decide whether or not academia is where I want to stay long term, but there are many perks to the profession for sure!
I agree with you about the stable job - I am thankful for that too. I love my job, and I don't dread Mondays, so that's always nice!
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