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Let me tell you something, kid. Working sucks, okay? Working sucks! And it doesn’t matter if you’re in a bank, a department store or a doughnut factory, because once you’ve been there long enough, the only thing you’ll care about is when your next pay increase is, how many vacation days you’ve accrued and if your health insurance is gonna pay for the cholesterol medicine that keeps your heart pumping no matter how much shit you’ve worked through it. Then after you’ve gained 20 or 30 pounds because you’re so fucking uptight all the time, you wake and discover you’re working for your father-in-law in a position with a gratuitous title and you’re totally replaceable. And not only is the new guy better at your job, but he’s got a better car and better jokes and better hair! So not matter what you do, you make sure you make a lot of money doing it because it all sucks! And that is one lesson I, as your mentor, can teach you. (from Meet Bill)
Last weekend I watched the movie Meet Bill for the first time, and the quote above really stuck with me, because this is how I absolutely do not want to feel. What a horrible predicament.
Work life is something I’m still trying to figure out. I’ve been employed full time in the adult world for 3.5 months now, and although I’ve gotten into a regular routine, I still haven’t completely figured out how to cope. What’s to cope with? Well, giving up 45+ hours per week in exchange for a comparatively measly paycheck while living with my parents and having very little free time during the week has been a huge live change for me. Previously, I was working almost 30 hours per week (between two jobs I enjoyed, for the most part) while taking seven class credit hours, and I lived on my own less than 10 miles from anywhere I needed to travel on a regular basis. And I always had a solid group of friends nearby.
This is a major life transition, but when I look around, I see so many others living similarly. Sure, not all are living with their parents and commuting 2+ hours each day. But we’re all united in being trapped in an office for 8-9 hours each day. That’s a lot of time! Especially when so many people don’t get a great deal of fulfillment in their work.
I think everyone strives to find a job that makes them feel fulfilled and doesn’t actually feel like work. But there are so many people who end up settling for stability. There’s nothing wrong with that, as most of us need stability in income, health insurance, etc. But is that worth settling into an unfulfilling job? Obviously, it depends on your situation. But for so many of us Gen Yers, we’re young enough that most of us aren’t responsible for supporting a family, paying mortgages, etc. Therefore, it’s important that we continue to explore what’s out there and what lifestyle will make us happy. For some, it very well may be a 9-5/6 job that has a steady income and affords traveling, shopping, etc. For others, it may be working for yourself, doing something you love on your own time.
While I’m still trying to figure out what will ultimately afford me the lifestyle I want and cope with the daily 9-6, one thing I do know is I do NOT want to end up like Bill and believing working just plain sucks, so it really doesn’t make a difference what you do. Because I think it does make a difference, and it should.
Yesterday, a friend from college tweeted a link to this article: Working with Gen Y: It’s Not All About The Money. It piqued my interest so I quickly read through and was in complete agreement with it. Although having enough money to live comfortably is definitely important, we are a generation that requires constant learning and brain stimulation.
This week I’ve experienced A LOT of downtime at work, which can be good or bad. (It has given me lots of time to blog.) Either way, it has made the days go by much slower. My current job, in general, does not allow for a great deal of growth. I’ve been here almost three months, and sometimes I feel like I’m already in a rut.
Usually I stay very busy, but lately jobs haven’t been coming through so I don’t have enough to build press sheets, thus the down time. I’m sure if I stay here long enough, I will eventually take on other responsibilities, but from what I can see, they won’t be much more stimulating. Ideally, I’d like to cross-train as a graphic designer, but I don’t really see that being very likely. And I’ll openly admit I have less than zero interest in moving into sales.
I am not content to sit back and carry out a job for a long period of time that leaves me feeling unfulfilled. Sure I can do a job, but that doesn’t mean I want to for years to come. That’s not my personality, and I don’t think it is for many people from my generation.
We are a generation that multitasks without even trying. Our schedules have always been packed and we’ve grown accustomed to it. We grew up going straight from school to sports practices to home for dinner and homework. Rushing around without giving it a second thought. We kept Xanga blogs and chatted on AIM throughout high school while “studying.” We started Facebook and “social media” as we know it. We were even a major driving force in the current president being elected on a platform of CHANGE.
But what we can’t seem to handle are mundane entry-level jobs being offered (or not) to us under poor economic conditions. We notice that the same old systems used by these companies we’ve just joined are outdated and not the most efficient way of getting things done. But who are we to try to change the way things have been done for decades by our parents’ generation, which is highly comprised of individuals who don’t even know how to use the “tab” feature on Internet browsers (or what a “browser” is, for that matter).
I’m not saying, by any means, that I would want to be working non-stop for eight hours a day. Down time can be nice, and everyone needs a little goof off time once in awhile. And I don’t want anyone to confuse “constant learning and brain stimulation” with stressful overwork. These are completely different. All I’m saying is that I need the opportunity for growth in my career and daily life. After all, I did just spend 17 years in school where I was taught to expand my brain’s capacity on a daily basis. While I’m all for “paying my dues,” I just don’t want my brain to corrode in the meantime.
