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Posted: 5/4/2004 1:24:57 PM EDT
[#1]
I don't have any idea.
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Posted: 5/4/2004 1:27:34 PM EDT
[#2]
Don't worry.
In 30 years that burned out feeling will go away when you realize you can retire. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 1:32:11 PM EDT
[#3]
That's not much to look forward too. I don't think I could do this for another 20-30 years. Now that I have a mortgage, I'm to the point I'd rather start learning to live with less and not have to work as much or at all instead of grinding away everyday and have the ability to buy whatever I want. But wait, I have college to think about for 1 kid now, and I'm going to have another soon. I can't just breaking even every month, bearly sqeaking by. (Then again, sqeaking by is all the seems to happen anyways) |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 1:32:35 PM EDT
[#4]
beer, lots of beer.
j/k I'm honestly sick and tired of college personally, tired of dealing with socialist, democrap spewing wastes of skin that spend more time ranting about politics than teaching. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 1:37:23 PM EDT
[#5]
I hear ya(kinda, I went to trades schools alot) but I'm finding nothing compairs to the grind of the everyday working life.
O and the morning and afternoon rush hour......  |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 1:39:08 PM EDT
[#6]
JOIN THE CLUB!
Had a meeting a couple of days ago where I was informed that may pay was going to be cut yet again; that makes 25% so far this year. The good news was that due to "cost saving efforts", they weren't going to have to lay off any of the management staff.  Then I was told that because of a recent study that "benchmarked" our benefit plan against other industries, that our benefits were again being reduced. I work with radioactive materials, how do you compare that to other industry?  I need fifteen years to lock in my retirement. If I didn't have thirteen years under my belt, they could all kiss my ass.
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Posted: 5/4/2004 1:39:27 PM EDT
[#7]
Sounds like you should win the lotto.
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Posted: 5/4/2004 1:40:11 PM EDT
[#8]
At least you have a job.
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Posted: 5/4/2004 1:41:03 PM EDT
[#9]
Ya, just turn the knife while it's in me. 
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Posted: 5/4/2004 1:41:48 PM EDT
[#10]
In the future I would try to limit financial obligations as much as possible. With the mortgage, and two colleges to pay for, that won't be easy. I would suggest not getting too high into other payments...causing you to worry more and more about money. Unfortunately with your family, I think your options are limited. I choose to not have such limitations in my personal life, and it allows me to live on much, much less than the picket fence Americans. Its all about choice.
Kevin |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 1:45:45 PM EDT
[#11]
I hear ya man. I've been doing software for just over 7 years and I feel about the same. Really don't know what to tell ya. If I come up with any solutions I'll let you know. Sometimes I think work just sucks and that's life. My dad did a job he despised and his dad probably did too. I dunno. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 2:14:29 PM EDT
[#12]
Didn't you understand that there would be a catch ? They do pay you to do it.
If it were fun you would be paying them. Speaking from a long worklife (I put 28 hrs/week in at age 14, never less in the 40 years since.) "mostly it either sucks, or is boring." Live for those moments that are truly rewarding, the rest of the time be happy if you can provide you and yours with some semblance of a decent lifestyle. For most of us that's all that there is. You will learn to deal with it, and take joy out of life elsewhere, or you will burn-out. Take your pick and make it work. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 2:20:03 PM EDT
[#13]
Why do you whine all the time ? 
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Posted: 5/4/2004 2:29:36 PM EDT
[#14]
See this is where I was at a year ago. But it has gotten worse. I understand the "yin and yang" aspects of life, I'm just having a hard time accepting my future will exists of 66% work. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 2:30:44 PM EDT
[#15]
Perhaps you only feel this way because your work is not engaging. Was software what you really wanted to do or was it just a way to make money?
It seems to me that prattling away on a computer all day would lead to an empty existence. There are no real tangible awards or achievements. I would think that the men who built things like the Golden Gate Bridge could at least see the real results of their efforts. It is something that has become lost in the computer age. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 2:31:19 PM EDT
[#16]
I said that because alot of others on this board do, but I'm usaually the one under my breath saying" suck it up". Now here I am, bitching about the grind.
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Posted: 5/4/2004 2:37:12 PM EDT
[#17]
You sir are correct. But I don't think I haven't thought about this. I always make comments to friends that are becoming police/fireman/ etc that their jobs actually mean something. Even though they bust ass for a medium payscale, they can go home and feel good about their day. I get a taste of fruits of labor though. I'm not in software. I am a consultant that takes care of small/medium business and keep owners happy. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 2:40:11 PM EDT
[#18]
OR is the poorest state?
I would have said Mississippi or Wyoming or ND or somewhere. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 4:56:36 PM EDT
[#19]
I know exactly what you mean.
While I do kinda enjoy what I do most days I hate the idea of working. Spending as much as 60 hours a week at work over the last 17 years I've gotten to the point where I feel I've just wasted my life. About the only thing I have to look forward to is retirement. I can't even remember how I used to have fun. Most things I do outside of work are more a distraction until its time to go back to work. Working has become like digging a hole, I should be trying to dig my way out but instead I just keep digging deeper. Looking back over the last 10 years I can't really say I've more than a handful of enjoyable times. Funniest thing I remember from my teen years is something my father said to me when I wanted to get a part time job while going to high school. He really discouraged it saying, "what do you want a job for? Another couple of years and You'll be working for the rest of your life!" If only I had taken his advice. Good Luck! |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 5:02:21 PM EDT
[#20]
I don't hate my work, I love my work!
I just hate WORKING! I'd much rather get up every day at noon, lounge around and watch tv, futz around in the yard, write my novel, drink beer, ride my bike, etc. My best friend in Denmark is exactly like that too. He probably has one of the coolest jobs in the world (I'm not kidding), and yet he HATES having to get up in the morning and go to work, just because he'd rather nor be working at all. Every once in a while he seriously consideres buying a small house in the country (he's got a bunch of money saved up) and going on welfare. Ungrateful bastard! 
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Posted: 5/4/2004 5:07:03 PM EDT
[#21]
Have you considered self-employment?
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Posted: 5/4/2004 5:29:55 PM EDT
[#22]
Maybe you should go POSTAL!!! Even take some hostages!! You have an adrenaline high all afternoon. Unfortunately, it only lasts one day.
Seriously, work sucks, especially IT. Pretty boring job with no excitement. Perhaps a career change is in your future. The bad part is more education and money and time getting a new career that might end up sucking as well. Good luck, and just be grateful you have a job. A lot of people are unemployed or changing careers making less money. Don't dwell too much on the work.
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Posted: 5/4/2004 6:05:51 PM EDT
[#23]
Every day I think about quitting, but I think I will wait for them to fire me.
13 years in the same job, blech. If my wife wasn't ill, I probably would have quit a long time ago and lived on my savings for a few years. I do try to have few big purchases, no kids and live under my means. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 6:11:46 PM EDT
[#24]
Prayer and a relationship with Jesus Christ does it for me. If not I would have capped myself in the head years ago.
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Posted: 5/4/2004 6:24:21 PM EDT
[#25]
Great advice here fellows.
I'm glad to have posted this, it made me recognize I'm on the right track with my thoughts on how to resolve whatever is bugging me. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 7:39:46 PM EDT
[#26]
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Posted: 5/4/2004 7:48:03 PM EDT
[#27]
You bastard! I hardly even know anybody in Holland - although in all fairness I am having lunch with a Dutchman on Thursday, but it's pure coincidence! |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 7:50:03 PM EDT
[#28]
... I guess I'll be the voice of dissent. Early on in my life I saw that no one was going to support me so I chose a career path that interests me. Even though I’m not fond of mornings, seldom do I not look forward to going to work. The icing on the cake is the fair salary.
… You absolutely must enjoy what you do for a living or you’re bound to be unhappy ½ your awaken life. … Sure, I think of different paths and I sometimes wish I were working other projects but in the long run my job is, well, fun. Yeah, I also wish I had more time to hunt, fish and spend time outdoors and on my own personal projects but I see an early and comfortable retirement to eventually fill that requirement. … If you’re not happy with your job you need to start a long-term plan on mitigating that. Imagine going through life unhappy ½ the time. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 8:04:21 PM EDT
[#29]
One thing that makes work seem harder than it has to be is debt. The borrower is slave to the lender.
So you slave and don't keep any of the money. Life is better when you don't owe anyone. The grass feels better under your bare feet when ou own the house not the bank. You have many more options when you don't owe anyone. Consider that scenario for awhile(debt free) Good luck.
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Posted: 5/4/2004 8:07:38 PM EDT
[#30]
Here's the problem, NOTHING is long term anymore. Companies are bought and sold the way we buy and sell guns. Other companies are created and go bankrupt in less time than it takes to come up with a good company logo. A high turn-over rate is now the norm. Lay-offs are an everyday happening. You may have a great job that you absolutely love today, and tomorrow you'll find yourself working for another company, not working at all, or having been reassigned to another job. I'd trade a little happiness for a little security, but then I'd deserve neither one.
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Posted: 5/4/2004 8:19:03 PM EDT
[#31]
This is goood advice!!! I slaved away at a job for twenty years, customer service, before I changed careers. Now I have a office with a great view (pilot) and I don't have a boss (or anyone else) breathing down my neck. The downside is that I took a $40k paycut. So, the moral to this story is be carefull what you wish for. "I am a consultant that takes care of small/medium business and keep owners happy." Therein lies your problem. Customer service sucks! Change careers while your still young, it's much easier than waiting til your forty years old. So get busy! . . |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 8:22:38 PM EDT
[#32]
Well, since I'm in the same field you are, maybe I could offer some advice........start your own business.
I worked for a thankless IT consulting firm for 5 years, toward the end of the 4th year I was burned out and didn't much care about anything other than lunch and leaving for the day, basically not being in the office. Every weekday morning, the first thing out of my mouth was "fuck...." followed by a sigh. I had established great relations with all of my best clients, when I left they all came with me, so immediately I had a client base. I did not go out my way to "steal" them, they were treated like cash cows by the company I worked for, it was a no brainer to go with me that designed the network, set up their servers, and knew everything about it, AND charged less. By the way, 4 years later I still have the same clients, while picking up referals, I do not advertise or even have (or want) a business card. I was making $70K by the time I left the company I worked for in 2000 (in CA that's not much). The first 6 months was shaky, but after that I bought my first property, so steady was my business. I make more than twice what I did in 2000 presently, I'm only limited by my self imposed rule to not overload my work so I can provide the immediate and professional service my clients DIDN'T ask for but deserve. I'm planning on being semi retired in 5 years, by that time I'll work because I enjoy it, and rely on my investments in real estate for real money. I've been in this business for 9 years, since I started my own I get up every morning with a purpose and smile. I work from 7 to 2pm or so, working less and making more. If you want to get ahead, working for others and making them rich in the process is not going to cut it unless you have an MBA and work for a big corporation. |
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Posted: 5/4/2004 8:25:49 PM EDT
[#33]
You are a wage slave. You must take control of your life. You must start your own business or find a job that will allow you to become financially independent with options or a share of the earnings. I have like many others been there.I took a chance, I won. Take the risk you have nothing to lose but your chains. God those commies had some great lines but sucked in the details
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Posted: 5/4/2004 10:23:35 PM EDT
[#34]
Live below your needs...I worked 2-40 hr a week jobs...up at 4am, home at 1am for 6 years...no matter what I worked, I never had enough money...mortgage, 2 car payments etc...(you spend what you make)...Now my wife works from 6am till 2pm Monday-Thursday...I work M-F from 4pm till 12am on the road (new company car) stress-free...I work 1 or 2 Saturday's for my brother in-law a month for fun stuff if needed...have 2 nice cars (paid for) and about $500 on the plastic...I get to be home with the kids during the day and see them on the weekend...The job I have dosen't pay that great but the saving's plan and health benifits as well as the 6 weeks vacation are why I'm there...
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Posted: 5/5/2004 9:43:11 AM EDT
[#35]
How did you guys take the plunge though??
When you cut out on your own, did you do it due to knowing all aspects of your profession? With computers everything is changing so fast it hard to say "I know everything about my job" so it makes cutting out on my own that much harder. What about health coverage? What about the times you had a bad quarter? Please enlighten me on what was your final motivation to start your own business. |
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Posted: 5/5/2004 10:05:56 AM EDT
[#36]
Drugs help sometimes. See a Dr. and tell him your woes. He will try to help you identify the suckiness or medicate you so you just dont care about the suckiness.
I was never meant to work for some a-hole, it is not in my genetic material yet I do it 5 days a week out of my life. I will retire at 55, no later, that is the honest truth... I could care less if I can afford it or not at that time, there are plenty that dont work now and take my money so hey, turnabout is fair play. 
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Posted: 5/5/2004 10:14:07 AM EDT
[#37]
Duffy that's awesome. My hat's off to you. Congrats on having the guts to take the risk and do it.
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Posted: 5/5/2004 10:22:28 AM EDT
[#38]
Not sure I want to go down the drug route.
Beleive me, I have own vises, but I don't want to live like that. For me it's not even Money. I want freedom. My time is more important to me then any dollar amount. To be able to set my own schedule and take days off if need be are very important. |
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Posted: 5/5/2004 10:29:45 AM EDT
[#39]
I'm also in the IT field and I'm also going through the same thing...
MillerSHO and Duffy, You guys totally described the situation pretty good.  MillerSho, Go out and get the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki. This book will open your eyes to what living is really about and how all us corporate types are basically spinning our wheels going nowhere while we're in the rat race. This is one great book that everyone should read. I'm currently working to reduce my debts and developing a plan to to leave the rat race. The things I'm considering are also not in the IT field... Duffy, If you don't mind, could you describe how you're working the Real Estate angle. I've always known that RE was an excellent path to being financially independent but I've gotten sidetracked with all Rat Race BS. This is an excellent thread and nice to see that I'm not alone in what I'll call the "Office Space Epiphany"! |
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Posted: 5/5/2004 10:30:49 AM EDT
[#40]
I was in a career for 5 years right out of school, I loved it the first few and hated every fucking day of my life the last 2. I lived for time off, I hated the last half of my day off because I knew I would be back at work soon.
What did I do?? I started looking for another job, I took a much better job that had me excited again, it felt good to go to work again, the days went by fast and my days off were spent enjoying my time as opposed to dreading going back to work again. From that job I started my own business in a related field. I don't punch a clock, I set my own hours and I never work weekends. Oh yes, did I mention going to work means walking my ass down the hall into my home office in my skivies??? I guess what I am trying to say is if you aren't happy doing what you are doing, start looking for something else. Don't quit yet but keep looking for something else, you will be much better off in the long run. |
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Posted: 5/5/2004 10:46:38 AM EDT
[#41]
I'll check that book out. THX
lvgunner. You explained my days off to a tee. I just recently went on my hooneymoon and I left thinking, "big deal, I'll be back in a week to start the grind again anyways". |
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Posted: 5/5/2004 10:52:06 AM EDT
[#42]
I had that, then I changed professions. I left being a programmer for the State of Texas to become a State Trooper for, well, the State of Texas. The academy was... interesting, but I still think this is a good move. Of course, my report date is the 17th, so we'll see how the FTO program goes.
 (For the record, I've talked with the Sergeant and two of the three guys who will be the FTOs for us newbies, and I think it will go well. )
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Posted: 5/5/2004 10:58:34 AM EDT
[#43]
Life sucks. That's just the way that it is.
If you follow any advice, beware of the "word salad" type of advice. That's the stuff that sounds great but cannot be accomplished without huge risk to you & your family. One of my faves was "Do what you love. The money will follow." I think that there's even a book by that title. Well, I love to lay on a beach & drink beer, but no one has ever offered to pay me for it. Remember that there are a lot of tradeoffs for going into business for yourself. My dad used to say "You think you got it bad with a boss? What if you have 100 customers? Every one of them is your boss." He was right, too. I just can't stand the corporate world. All of those assholes, all employees who fuck off all day or just play politics without ever actually working. I watched a guy for 25 years now who has never worked a day in his life that I know of, who is now a VP in a multimillion-dollar corporation. (When I last heard, in '91, he was making $125K.) Remember that an employees' motivation is very simple: How do I fuck off as much as possible and still get paid as much as possible. Employees do not have any motivation to enhance the company's bottom line & that goes right from the top to the bottom. The only exception is if they get a huge bonus for actually improving the profit. Otherwise, employees will respond to exactly whatever you "incentivise" them with. If you want to have a higher gross sales figure your gross sales will go up with the incentive. Your bottom line will probably suffer greatly, but WTF, your sales are up. So it goes, man. Take whatever you've got & cash out. Move to Mexico & live off the proceeds a la Margaritaville. |
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Posted: 5/5/2004 11:14:24 AM EDT
[#44]
I love my job... I get to travel and work with [dr_evil_henchman]VOLATILE CHEMICALS[/dr_evil_henchman]. I'm in Germany right now - its pissing with rain, but at least the beer is good.
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Posted: 5/5/2004 11:27:36 AM EDT
[#45]
Just 7 years?
I'm at a decade now, sport. And yep. I got tired of shit about 3 years ago, right on schedule. Got out of HS, did some college (I think I'm a year or so from graduating, I guess)...started consulting (96), and went from there. I now sit at a 6+ figure salary in one of the most expensive areas of the world to live in. I figure I'm on par salary-wise with where you are. I'm tired of all the moronic bullshit; the pre-meeting meetings (to plan the meeting that will happen tomorrow, of course), the incessant PC-ism (can't even call a fuckup a fuckup anymore, you gotta be nice and ask him if he'd like to work with another group)...etc. HR literally has more corporate power here than any other single division, including the traders (you know, the guys who actually make the money the company lives on)...it's fucking miserable. To make matters worse, if you want to use Office Space as a comparison, I have Symkowski's job from the movie. That's right. The engineer who gets the specs from the customers and gives it to the engineers. That's my job in a nutshell, and just like Symkowski...I'm a fucking people person. That is, if your definition of a people person is someone who can't stand most people. One of my "want to do"'s is go to a local vo-tech school and learn basic metal working. Welding, machining, stuff like that. I find working with my hands much more satisifying than trying not to strangle the fuckstick who comes up and asks me where the printers are (for the 3rd time this week, same guy). But, like you said as well...time. What time. Weekends? No classes. Weeknights? HA! Fuck no. I need my sanity time where I can login to the internet and make fun of retards on other continents from my lofty spot high in the ether. But, that's just me. I've already been labeled a cynical SOB by people at work. Usually correct, but still cynical. (I'm the guy in the office who, when I smell flowers, starts looking around for the coffin.) |
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Posted: 5/5/2004 11:34:46 AM EDT
[#46]
I gave up the rat race 4 years ago.
I made good money, but I HATED waking up at 4am every morning and getting home late. I went in to work one day, looked at my schedule, called my wife and told her I was quitting. She said "ok". Called the boss and woke him up to tell him "I quit" Cleaned out my locker and never came back- even after beeing haggled til this day to come back. I bailed out with a large 401k and some profit sharing and never looked back. I was 21 when I bought my first house for 97,000. I sold it a few years later for nearly double and moved on up to another house then sold that, bought another and sold it and now were in our fourth. Buying and selling those places has given me tons of flexibility, money to just fart around, play having a business and attend college to look at girls. My day consists of waking at 0530, surfing the net, attending class and going to the gym. Plus, I sell a few things here and there. Hell, I may even go get my real estate license. My advice to you youngans is to buy your house young. It is a huge responsibility no doubt, but you don't want to be 40 plus when you buy your first place. Invest your money.Not all of it, but invest a good part of it. Real estate is the best investment you can make. I make jokes about the PRK all the time, but it has contributed to my financial stability immensely. YMMV. 
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Posted: 5/5/2004 11:39:23 AM EDT
[#47]
At least you have a job.
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Posted: 5/5/2004 11:44:45 AM EDT
[#48]
7 years out of high school making 50 grand?
Now I'M depressed. |
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Posted: 5/5/2004 11:50:04 AM EDT
[#49]
A degree in pharmacology will get you better than that, these days - and I think those are 4-year degrees. |
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Posted: 5/5/2004 12:08:07 PM EDT
[#50]
I'm in the same spot as some of you but for some dumb reason that I don't even know of. I work for a large cable provider here on Long Island. Just started in November. I know in these times, any job is good. Starting pay is ~14/hr. Full benifits, sick, 2 weeks vaca, comany contributed 401k, free cable/internet/telephone service. I got this job because was bored of sitting home all the time. We owned a Liquor store/Bar for about 5 years in Florida before we sold it for alot of reasons. Now I work F/t and go to community college f/t and i see no light at the end of the tunnel. My father has offered me double what Im making here in n.y. to move to fla.and manage the properties he owns, but for some reasons i'm still in this bs state of ny. Sfter this semester is over(finals this week) I think i'll be moving back down to fla to re-establish myself. Hopefully a new life where I just dont exchance precious time for a meager salary. I also just paid off all my bills xcept for a loan on a dirtbike, so i feel safe to say that the things I own don't own me....
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