Personally, I fell into my career by accident. My natural abilities led me to an engineering degree, which then led me into an engineering job in the oil & gas industry, which then led me down a very specific engineering discipline. I have had a moderate level of job satisfaction, but I don’t wake up in the morning thinking “yay, let’s go to work!” My career path was set when I got my first job, then mortgage and kids meant that I obediently stick to it for the benefit of my whole family (wife & three kids). I have had three actual employers in my life, all lasting 6 years each (one of the stints was self-employed).

Despite me not having a passion for my discipline, being an engineer has meant I have traveled the world – which is a passion of mine. If I hadn’t stuck with my job(s) then I’m sure I’d never have had that opportunity. So there has always been a light at the end of the tunnel for me.

I’m interested to know how many people out there happily stick with low job satisfaction, and if so, why?

I have little to no job satisfaction. I do have a wife and two young kids though and I’m the sole earner at present. I also believe I would struggle to find a job that pays the same as this one. I still work to the best of my ability though.

Personally yes. I spent a long time in a job where I was just getting beaten down every day, staying because I needed the money, and after that decided I actually wanted to feel good about what I did.

Money is, sadly, a means to an end.

Yes, but at the same time it can be frustrating, always playing catch up and dealing with silly mistakes from higher grade people that don’t have to deal with the fallout and delays for customers.

I don’t look forward to work but equally, the only reason I don’t want to go is having other stuff to do at home!!!

Live to work <——————————–> Work to live

everyone’s on that continuum somewhere.

For me it’s not possible to do something you hate doing (or in my case for someone you hate) – that made me ill. And it definitely helps if you enjoy what you do – you’re doing it a long time. But in the end it’s a means to an end, and no-one ever lay on their death bed wishing they’d spent more time at work / no pockets ina coffin / etc. So – tolerable with bits I do enjoy, will do for me.

I love my job, I hate my boss and the 55-60 hour working week that comes with it. I’m exhausted, stressed and it keeps me awake at night so constantly tired.

I can’t take holiday when I would like as there is never any cover, I can’t attend training courses or lab visits because there isn’t any cover. I am often lone working for 10 hours at a time and have had 3 lunch breaks in 8 months.

I could go on, but it’s depressing. I’m lying in bed absolutely dreading going in!

Thankfully my days of being money motivated are behind me, so I have the relative luxury of doing any job regardless of the pay, I am looking for something else but it’s a very slow job market out there and I am heavily overqualified for most things I apply for, which seems to scare recruiters ☹️.

Do I need job satisfaction? To a certain extent, if my boss said thank you for everything you do once in a while, it would give me what I need.

My job is (for pharma) is decent money, easy work and has very little actual responsibility or people breathing down my neck – 4 on 4 off as well.

It’s giving me time to change career – although I’m not following the whole work to live mantra. All jobs are pretty hard no matter the pay or industry, I figure I need to re qualify and specialize in a poorly understood role that is hard to recruit for (in this case Data Science/Statistics) so that I can become indispensable to a company and essentially set my own terms of employment one day – getting to that point is going to require a fair bit of blood, sweat and tears.

Thankfully my days of being money motivated are behind me, so I have the relative luxury of doing any job regardless of the pay, I am looking for something else but it’s a very slow job market out there and I am heavily overqualified for most things I apply for, which seems to scare recruiters

Where are you? Got any Quality/GMP/Steriles experience?

I love my work (rope access) but I don’t love having to work, if that makes sense?
It’s often hard physically and mentally and I have weeks when I’m so knackered from work that I just don’t want to do anything else but sleep, I guess that’s an age thing as much as anything else but if I didn’t enjoy it I don’t think I could keep doing it. Being motivated to get up and out every morning knowing I was likely to be beasting myself for 8 hours would be very difficult indeed.
We tend to have a lot of down time around this time of year, both planned and unplanned (like the last few weeks of horrendous weather) and I do like the time at home, pottering around, walking the dogs etc… and I can see reducing my working week happening in a few years when the mortgage is paid off.

Where are you? Got any Quality/GMP/Steriles experience?

Im in Perthshire, and the only Pharma experience I have was being a pharmacy manager so not really!

Pharma here too, I work with good people, the hours are good (always home for 1630, 1430 on a friday and after 16 years on shift, normal hours are brilliant) and mostly the work is pretty interesting, and my employer is good in terms of allowing me to pick which training courses etc I’d like to do.

Kinda fell into engineering too, by doing an Mod apprenticeship, as most of my mates went to uni.

I see my job as the whole package, hours, nice pedal distance away, not just my actual role tbh.

So yes, fairly satisfied. 😊

I had a job which paid really well but as it became apparent it was the money keeping me there, as my boss was an utter tool with zero communication skills other than what was essentially oneupmanship and bullying with his god awful sidekick who was so two faced it was obvious, but the boss hung on his every word.

I then got made redundant, which initially seemed like it was going to mess things up, as in “I won’t get that mind of money again” way. Turns out it was a fantastic thing to happen.

A year and 2 jobs (first one was far better than the last one in all aspects, but much less pay) later, I now earn more, have a far better working environment, less hours and enjoy being there and enjoy what I do; so in that respect I suppose I have job satisfaction.

I can’t take holiday when I would like as there is never any cover, I can’t attend training courses or lab visits because there isn’t any cover. I am often lone working for 10 hours at a time and have had 3 lunch breaks in 8 months.

Why do you put up with that crap?

It’s just a job, a lack of cover isn’t your problem. The Working Time Directive exists. Are they paying you for all those extra hours?

Our current system (as in last couple of hundred years) is pretty good a reducing people to mere economic entities. It is difficult for people to find meaning or express themselves without doing that through “their job” or buying consumer goods. In our system, having a job you like, allows some kind of expression and enough money to buy lots of distracting things is pretty essential for most people IMO. Escaping this takes some pretty radical action – you could follow a religion, do drugs (including alcohol) or just drop out into a very alternative lifestyle (crime, homelessness etc).

The very fact we ask kids “What do you want to be when you grow up?” expecting them to answer with an occupation is really odd. Even more odd is that adults answer the question “What do you do?” with “I’m an engineer/lawyer/fireman/plumber etc.”

I’m very much like the op, yet my moods go with the ups and downs of my job (Sales). Things are a little frustrating at the moment as the company is negotiating change through acquisition, and my current manager is very much wanting to move up the chain rather than get his hands dirty with the team type of chap which I find distasteful.

However, I often sit back and look at the flexibility of my own diary, different challenges and end to end business / people I have to pseudo manage inside and outside our own organisation and think I’m quite lucky have that mixture rather than 9-5 at the same desk, or down a coal mine*

My frustrations with the Sales ups and downs are often upset by the positive success I’ve achieved and what that’s done to help my family situation to be a little more comfortable than average, plus some of the rewards and flexibility I get.

My biggest concern is that I’m at a point where I probably need to decide whether to go for a more senior role or stay as I am (I’ve posted about that before), and I often find myself in frustration as yet another peer employee gets promoted and my ego reacts.   Yet, just yesterday I spoke to two people who came to me because they’d accepted greater global coverage – managing teams in the US and Aus – without formal contract or time agreements and were finding the expectation to bleed UK hours into US and Aus hours were impacting their lives.

i wouldn’t say I go to work because I love it though, yet wouldn’t know what else to do.  Yet, I’m able to work smarter rather than harder – I do work 50hrs a week on average but don’t work to midnight or at the weekend like some of my peers – for my own and my employers benefit, which I don’t think is a bad thing at all.

*This is something I constantly have to remind myself when I get pissed off.

Would say I actually get any satisfaction but I don’t mind doing what I do and am fairly good at it and have enough autonomy to allow me to be flexible in how I do things.
I also earn too much money for what I do so am very happy with that.

I don’t think there are many jobs in the world where I would really be any happier after doing the job for a year or so as it just becomes a job. I love cycling but I wouldn’t want to do it for 8 hours a day five days a week…

I hate my job. Hate it.

Left full time NHS employment for 30 hours a week zero hour agency work.
Was in low end management in nursing, now back on the floor as a punch bag.
Make 9k more a year than if I was in the NHS full time on the same pay scale but have no sick pay etc.
I get to pick my own hours and can take time off whenever I want (no holiday pay though).
Only perk for me is less time in the building.

Hate it because I believe I suffer with compassion fatigue (look it up), I feel nothing most days other than anger when spoken to like a piece of turd.

Two days ago for example: confused man sits on other patient’s bed. Man in bed goes nuts. Tries to hit him. Staff intervene and tell him to back off. I hear commotion walk in to see confused man now wound up and wrestling with a colleague (slight woman) while man in bed is threatening legal action against my colleague for not controlling the dementia chap.
Speaks to colleague like a piece of turd. I remind him not to be so vile, I get threatened with legal action, get told to **** off and get asked the usual “who do you think you are?!” Rubbish.
The man with dementia is wound up by it all, spends the night with the bed by the nurses station with security wrestling him as he can sense tension but has no idea what’s what so is hitting and throwing stationary around.

Solicitor man still wants to go forward with legal action as far as I’m aware. “You best be ready” he told us.

You could pay me all the money in the world but I’d still hate my job.
Unfortunately I’ve mortgage, loan, two kids, life to pay for.

Saw a nice training post for welsh water. 18k a year to train and work as an field engineer on their pumps etc. Up to 40k when trained.
Didnt get through screening as in 1999 I got a C for GCSE maths not a B. Got A levels, Degree, half a masters but that’s irrelevant.

Seems to re train as an adult

I fell into my career by accident and have been through a few jobs. What is important to me isn’t so much job satisfaction per de rather than working for a company that respects you and looks after you.

I’ve done the big corporate thing for, at times a very good wage, but now work for my old boss from a few years ago for around half the market rate but going to work every day to be with a team I’ve known 20 years and to work for a boss who sees us as family as much as staff.

Those of you remember the issues I went through with Mrs Danny a couple of years ago – I wouldn’t have got through it without the support and flexibility my boss gave me.

And day to day – no stress, no pressure, no sales targets. Just left to get on with my job in my way. You can’t put a price on that.

I keep getting job agencies call me with much more lucrative positions but whilst ever I can afford to work for what I’m on I ain’t going anywhere.

I’m in engineering too, employer is first class. Agile working, encouraged diagonal moves within company for variety, decent pension but slightly lower wages than elsewhere in industry.

My job spec, on paper is quite good too – interesting issues to solve which lesd to a net benefit for society. The reality of the role is that I’m expected to manage too many discrete projects concurrently with little / no support leads to quite a lot of stress to keep the plates spinning, yet it’s never, ever enough.

But, as per kryton above, I could be crawling in a cave too low to stand up in, mining a coal seam in the pitch dark down the pit with risk of explosions (FiL was a miner and telling me stories on sunday night as it happens)

Interesting responses so far, thanks. Some pretty horrendous sounding jobs there.

Back to me again… I have had good and bad periods. Sometimes new bosses come in and make the job hell. Becoming self-employed during a recession had its ‘challenges’ – I spent two years commuting on a weekly basis to Paris just to earn some money. In both cases I didn’t quit though, just put up with it until it changed (e.g. the boss moved on, or the project came to an end).

I guess there is a difference between job and career satisfaction. Job satisfaction for me goes up and down. Career satisfaction has remained pretty stable at 70%.

I find the responsibility of being a husband and parent to be my main focus. I do find it difficult to understand why people in similar positions to me (I’m thinking of a couple of people I know) will just flit from one job/profession/career seemingly without much consideration for their responsibilities.

P.S. I should mention I currently enjoy my job (in case my boss is listening). I moved to Australia 6 months ago and now work for a fantastic company in a place where I have always wanted to live. The family is settling down and we live 5 minutes from the beach. No mountain biking to speak of though – just road cycling and windsurfing.

I do find it difficult to understand why people in similar positions to me (I’m thinking of a couple of people I know) will just flit from one job/profession/career seemingly without much consideration for their responsibilities.

I would see them as the lucky ones

It would be nice but as another accidental specialist engineering type, I’m no better or worse than an adult pleasure operative working in a bordello. Take the money and go home.
Tbh , the job used to be interesting , now it’s consumed by audits,investigations & ill thought out training, which is always rolled out after a mess up.
Add to the mix ,5 yearly contract renewals = 3 tupies in 15 years=low moral & interest.They always promise a smooth transition ,Ha.
Thing is, I think I’m a bit institutionalised now and as the commute & terms are ok & the hours suit my childcare requirements ,I’ll stay.

I would see them as the lucky ones

Their wives beg to differ. Always living on the breadline because they never stick with anything long enough to work up the ladder.

I decided to but only at the end of my career. The company was decent, had always been decent to its employees and due to circumstances i ended up doing nothing, I decided to stay and sit it out. I ended doing nothing for about 5 years. Not as much fun as you think, partly as I actually used to enjoy my work and liked doing it, partly as my mates still had to work hard and partly as we went thru about 7 redundancy phases before our predicted fate was sealed. But decent benefits, true 35 hours, easy commute, home at 5 and a likely end of career redundancy carrot was imho worthwhile. It turned out ok, went on a lot longer than I wanted but they helped by giving me 3 month summer sabbaticals then they let me go part time and then they paid me off.

As the lead singer of the popular beat combo, the Rolling Stones, it’s been a struggle over the years, if I’m entirely honest.

but, I try.

Yes to the question. Without it my job as a nurse becomes awful

However after 40 years I am done. compassion fatigue is a real thing and I am fed up with stupid management decisions and change for the sake of change. 4 times I have taken a post because I like the charge nurse and within 6 months they have left to be replaced by an idiot. I still love the job and get a lot out of it but my resilience has gone. I am now hanging on till I retire in a year and may give up before that.

We all need job satisfaction, whether we think so or not.

My job role is reasonably satisfying – and would be more so if it wasn’t for the company being a bit shit and a terrible hiring decision in my sphere.

Ironically it’s basically about communicating aspects of wellbeing – including job satisfaction and work/life balance.

Why do you put up with that crap?

It’s just a job, a lack of cover isn’t your problem. The Working Time Directive exists. Are they paying you for all those extra hours?

Because I have a strong personal connection to the company I work for. It’s the only thing keeping me going, but even that is wearing thin.

I get paid for 37.5 hours regardless of the circumstances, I don’t even get paid to cover others I get TOIL, which I can never claim back!

Because I have a strong personal connection to the company I work for. It’s the only thing keeping me going, but even that is wearing thin.

I get paid for 37.5 hours regardless of the circumstances, I don’t even get paid to cover others I get TOIL, which I can never claim back!

Unless you have an ownership stake …….I don’t know how to break this to you but the company doesn’t give a single shit about you.

If you got wiped out by a bus tomorrow, they’d shrug and find some other mug to fulfill your duties.

On a personal level,You owe them nothing other than an obligation to show up  and fulfill the minimum terms  of your contract.

My career path was set when I got my first job, then mortgage and kids meant that I obediently stick to it for the benefit of my whole family (wife & three kids). I have had three actual employers in my life, all lasting 6 years each (one of the stints was self-employed).

Despite me not having a passion for my discipline, being an engineer has meant I have traveled the world – which is a passion of mine.

At the point I had a family this was no longer fun… now I go to places and can barely be bothered to break the airport-hotel-office-airport cycle. At any point, I don’t know where I’ll be next week or how long for.

pik n mix – you are breaking the law, the company is abusing you and breaking the law. You are allowing yourself to be abused

Seriously have a good think about it. They are getting tens of thousands of pounds worth of work out of you for free and as long as you let them get away with it they will.

At a very minimum get paid for every hour you work. I’d be tempted to go after them for all those unpaid wages

I fell into my job (corporate IT-ish shizzle).

It’s pretty easy, it’s well paid, I’m good at it (at least people seem to think so), but 80% of the time it’s really, really boring.

I’d love to do something else more interesting but a) I don’t know what, b) the things I suspect I’d like to do would be a massive (like 60%+) drop in income.

the company doesn’t give a single shit about you.

I’m fully aware of this, I’m still waiting for my return to work 4 months later after a work induced injury!

its very difficult to explain why I do it without dragging the company name through the mud, which I don’t want to do as they are vital for so many peoples future.

As I say, I’m looking for another job, but it’s not as easy as just jumping ship.

All jobs need to, to a certain degree, make sense to the people doing them.

I’m primarily a chippy. Fell into the event and exhibition side of things a few years back.

The job itself is almost demoralising. I’ll spend weeks putting together a display, scenery or stand only to come along days or even hours later to dismantle it and bin the lot. I’m lucky if I remember to take a picture. Back in the UK I can walk around pointing to various jobs I’ve done in town.

The end customer isn’t always a reputable company that you want to work for (lots of work for a tobacco company, auto industry, banks, etc). The flip side is that I get to build some interesting pieces and end up in locations I otherwise wouldn’t.

I’ll often be in the workshop for 10-12 hours a day, sometimes away from home for a few weeks at a time. To be honest, I like the workshop, especially if I’m on my own and can waltz about listening to classic fm.

However, the guys I work with are my mates. We’ve a good clique of decent boys who are there for each other, whether that be work or private.

I get to choose – to a certain extent – when I work and when I go away. It allows me some freedom. Although, being self employed it means there’s a certain amount of insecurity, too.

On the whole, I like it. Would I still do it if I didn’t have to? Yes and no. I would miss spending time with friends. I like building things, too.

Do I still want to be doing it in ten years time? No.

@IHN Same here!

It’s very boring, but it pays OK. I go through periods where I get very down/depressed with the situation – don’t know what elese to do/need the salary to support family so can’t just leave and try something entirely new. Cliché but stuck in a rut.

But I get other times when I’m working on a new project and I’m actually enjoying it. I get far more enjoyment out of the creative side of things, as in a creating systems/work flows etc. I guess it’s enjoyment as I’m engaged

I’d love to try a new career at some point, I’m approaching 40! Still time

kid.a and I could be the same person. Except he’s six years younger then me.

@alpin

I’m primarily a chippy. Fell into the event and exhibition side of things a few years back.

If you ever venture up to Paris look up a mate of mine. He’s primarily an artist but… was lead making and moving sets for lots of really interesting stuff from Evita world tour to making Dinosaur casts and reconstructions … fine art handling (he’s ‘held’ (gloved) amongst others the Mona Lisa)

It’s all crappy gig work but might be interesting to chat?

Their wives beg to differ. Always living on the breadline because they never stick with anything long enough to work up the ladder.

What’s it like over there in the 1960’s? Some people simply have no interest in a career or climbing the ladder. What does their spouse have to do with this? If you’re married to someone that doesn’t understand this then you’re both married to the wrong person.

I was going to write a nuanced response about job satisfaction and the O&G industry, but I like my paycheck.

I have little to no job satisfaction. I do have a wife and two young kids though and I’m the sole earner at present. I also believe I would struggle to find a job that pays the same as this one. I still work to the best of my ability though.

Pretty much sums me up but with an extra kid.
Fell into the industry and slowly worked my way up and whilst there’s still moves I could make they don’t appeal.
However, whilst I don’t really get any satisfaction from the job I do appreciate the fact that it affords me plenty of family time and when I finish my shift that’s that, I take nothing home with me.

Because I have a strong personal connection to the company I work for.

And they’re taking advantage of that.

I don’t want to do as they are vital for so many peoples future.

As I say, I’m looking for another job

These two statements are at odds. You consider yourself so vital to the people you work with that you’re giving them 150-200% of your salaried time every week, yet you’re quite happy to move to giving them 0%? If they can cope without you then they can absolutely cope with you working regular hours.

As long as you continue to do the work of two people the company will never hire extra bodies, they’re laughing up their sleeves at all the free work they’re getting. It feels like the third time I’ve said this in the last couple of days now, but an organisation’s lack of resourcing is not your problem.

I hear so many people complaining that they’re killing themselves for an employer because “there’s no-one else to do it.” So what, **** it, it doesn’t get done then does it.

but it’s not as easy as just jumping ship.

Sure it is. Your contracted notice period should reflect how long it would take for the company to replace you. There are surely other people within an hour’s commute either with your skillset or the ability to learn it, and if there isn’t and you are genuinely irreplaceable then you should be absolutely nailing them to the mast for salary and overtime payments.

Company loyalty is laudable. Sadly, in most cases it’s also misplaced. You reckon they’d have the same personal attachment if they decided they wanted rid of you?