[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('POAlex', 'G')iven what television and the movies dictate, its no wonder.

Alex

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RonMN', '
')But anyhoo, my point was that it's well OVER HALF the people I know that seem to have a major malfunction of MY job sitch. Much more than 31%.

[Ludi]

That's so sad, VM. Has she found other things to do with her time that she finds rewarding?

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'T')hat's so sad, VM. Has she found other things to do with her time that she finds rewarding?

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')nd more than half the people I know can't deal with that fact.

This is accross the entire spectrum (friends, family, neighbors, ex-coworkers, etc.). Some "worry" about me while others think I'm plain stupid or lazy (I'd agree with lazy but after 25 years of working, I deserve a break) and some simply wont even talk to me any more.

[WildRose]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '
')This is a problem many freelance writers and artists have, where they just don't get enough social interaction working solo from home. There was a lady interviewed on CNN the other day, a successful writer, who got a job in retail just to be around people.

[Pops]

What a silly thing to be depressed about.

"What do you do?" asks the guy at the next gas pump.

Do you say:
"I (insert occupation)."

Or do you say:
"I cuddle my kids, spoil my grandkids, hug my husband/wife, go to dinner twice a month with friends, pick a rose every day and never kick my dog."

Even if you do...


So when a pollster asks you the same question, how do you answer?


Don't you have anything else to be depressed about?

[Tyler_JC]

What's wrong with being proud of one's career?

Professors, doctors, scientists, and even lawyers provide a valuable service that make our current wonderful lives possible.

Why shouldn't they be proud of and identify with, their careers?

People who are thrilled with their jobs are nearer to the top of the social hierarchy. They tend to have more education and are paid better.

The people who tend to hate work and despise their bosses are people near the bottom of the social hierarchy. They tend to have less education and lower salaries.

This isn't a new phenomenon. It's just life on planet earth.

If you want to move up, educate yourself and acquire useful skills that will put you in a stronger position to move up the ladder.

If you don't give a flying F*** about moving up, stop worrying about the ladder and escape the rat race.

Pops is clearly in the second camp. He appears to be quite satisfied with his life, I suggest following his lead if that's your thing.

Moreover, it's not just high salaries that lead to high identification with one's career. Teachers, firemen, and police officers are middle class but they are such respected members of their communities that the mention of their career always results in a positive reaction from others. I have no data on this, but I imagine that they are more proud than most of what they do for a living.

I would put soldiers in the same category as police officers but with an even stronger career identification based on the nature of military work.

[strider3700]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', '
')Pops is clearly in the second camp. He appears to be quite satisfied with his life, I suggest following his lead if that's your thing.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')'m far happier with my new career but as was pointed out elsewhere I get the feeling I'm being looked down on for having been successful enough and having made the right choices to get out of the old career.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', 'P')ops is clearly in the second camp. He appears to be quite satisfied with his life, I suggest following his lead if that's your thing.

[scarly]

I used to be a houskeeper, and people always assume you are stupid. It is great you can pretend your stupid, even though you might actually not be. My clients usually found out I didn't apply to thier stereotype. I loved housekeeping, it was a fullfilling job. You went in, cleaned someones house, and you think it must be nice to come home to a clean house. It was even more fullfilling when you were helping out an older couple, who couldn't do the work. But no one ever thinks about that kind of thing when they think of a housekeeper.
I now work in a different field due to economic reasons. It doesn't pay near the same and it should. It to me is an unappreciated job. I am a paraprofessional. Means I work with the handicapped. It too is a fullfilling job, but it seems it has the same stereotype. Of course I keep getting from my boss I need to go to school get a four year degree so I can be a case manager. I hated school, never liked someone telling me how to think.
I don't believe in a job saying who you are, don't get hung up on it. Truth is my job isn't me. What I enjoy doing on my own time, my hobbies, I consider that more of me. Cause it is a choice as to what I do as a hobbie. Jobs, hell careers come and go. Why make that a representation of you. It is just a source of paying necessary bills. Work is work go live your life and enjoy the time you got, it shouldn't matter what someone else thinks.
I like people no matter what they do, what is on the inside is really what matters.

[vision-master]

I was a janitor in the public shool system in my early 20's. Those old farts (janitors) taught me more than any school ever did. They always called teachers educated dummies.

[katkinkate]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'D')epends on what kind of work you do. I never found fulfillment through work. The more I knew the worse I was treated.