I Like My Job......

I don’t love it.

I read this article the other day that really irritated me. It was directed at younger people entering the workforce and those who had only been in for less than 10years. There were some good pointers….like if you want people to take you seriously you shouldn’t dress like a ho-bag (you’d be surprised at how scandalous I’ve seen female co-workers dress). However, one statement put me over the edge. It stated something along the lines of, “Be willing to put in the hours if you want to get ahead. Young people these days believe that as soon as the clock hits 5:00 pm, their work day is over. You should be willing to put the time in to get the job done.”

I highly disagree with this statement. Why, you might ask? Well, because I have a fricking life outside of work. I hope that I will always have a life outside of work. I get here at 8, I leave at 5, and if I have to stay 1 minute past 5 o’clock, I start getting pissy. I have 8 hours every day for 5 days in a row to get whatever it is done. Don’t come to me at 4:30 asking me to start something else. I have zero aspirations to become head of the department or CEO of some company. If I wanted to get paid nothing to work all of the time, I’d pursue my PhD.

Right after I graduated college, I was super eager to do whatever. I thought my hard work would pay off, getting me promotions and more pay. This is what I soon discovered: 1) the effort put in doesn’t matter, your longevity matters 2) a promotion doesn’t really get you more money, just more responsibility and more dealings with the bullshit that occurs 3) in order to get promoted, there are lots of asses one must kiss.

Okay, number 3 is a little wrong depending on your boss. Luckily, after a year at my first job, I was passed on to a phenomenal lady who did recognize hard work over ass kissing. I wish I could’ve followed her to the UK.

Another thing that irritated me about the statement was that it had the audacity to not only suggest I deprive time from my social life, but that I should work for free. Okay, I’ve had the opportunity to work both in the industrial and academia setting for my field of expertise. After working 6 years in the industrial setting, I made the switch to academia. My current salary in academia (with 7 years of experience, mind you) is what I started out making RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE. So you can see my lack of interest in putting in unpaid overtime.

That said, I do get a lot more enjoyment out of my current job. It’s interesting, makes me think, and I don’t dread coming here every day like I had started to do at GSK. Proof that you can’t buy happiness.

Either way, I like my job….I don’t love it. I’m here from 8-5. If you expect anything past that then you can blow me.