Not sure if I WANT a career.

[paigeoliver]

I am sitting here at work, I just finished up a 4 hour marathon session of Mario Kart, and I was trying to decide if I wanted to eat cereal, watch Star Trek, or post on message boards next when I had a realization.

I am just not sure if I WANT a career. Right now I get paid for an unsupervised 8 hour shift that consists of about 30 minutes of work, and 7 hours and 30 minutes of video games, movies, food, soda, internet, and computer.

I mean, what kind of real world job could begin to compare? I might stop thinking about other career paths and simply think about simply moving to another employer that offers insurance and vacation days.

[Daniel270]

As long as you're HAPPY at what you do, then go for it!  Too many people have "careers" that they're not usually very happy with, having higher stress which leads to health problems down the road.  The main concern would be that you keep enough money to pay your bills and have enough left over to do things you love to do... whether it's arcade games, going bowling or watching Jessica Simpson on the big screen. 

[Bones]

You get 7-1/2 hours per day to do pretty much anything you want and you want to move to an employer that offers holidays? 

You could use this time to do part time work and maybe double your income which will subsidise any insurance costs, or you could even learn to play the bag-pipes in this spare time.

[paigeoliver]

You get 7-1/2 hours per day to do pretty much anything you want and you want to move to an employer that offers holidays? 

You could use this time to do part time work and maybe double your income which will subsidise any insurance costs, or you could even learn to play the bag-pipes in this spare time.

Well, I am still guarding a phone, so I can't go wander the streets or go wait tables or anything.

I used to do some serious ebay selling from work, but it quickly took over my whole life.

I'm a hotel auditor, I sit behind the counter at a hotel in the middle of the night. I have like 10 minutes of paperwork to do, 5 minutes of deliveries, and like 15 minutes of assorted stuff (routing phone calls, checking people in, etc). So, basically I can do whatever I want, as long as it doesn't look bad, or keep me from answering the phone/minding the counter.

[Bones]

No, I didn't actually mean get up and work elsewhere..... Something flexible like a data entry job, the kind I see here advertised for mothers who stay at home and have a computer, stuff like that.

You could do this 4-5 hours per day, still do your current job and have heaps of time to goof around. Another 100 hours pay per month (even at bare minimum wage). would be beneficial and you could afford some bag-pipes.

[paigeoliver]

No, I didn't actually mean get up and work elsewhere..... Something flexible like a data entry job, the kind I see here advertised for mothers who stay at home and have a computer, stuff like that.

You could do this 4-5 hours per day, still do your current job and have heaps of time to goof around. Another 100 hours pay per month (even at bare minimum wage). would be beneficial and you could afford some bag-pipes.

From what I understand those positions (along with essentially every other "work from home" business you can find) are scams.

But I COULD create a fake (but cute) 19 year old female persona and draw crappy pictures of unicorns and sell them on ebay. You know what, that might be the ticket right there.

[Bones]

From what I understand those positions (along with essentially every other "work from home" business you can find) are scams.

Me must live in very different lands.

I am 100% positive if I picked any average industrial area and started knocking on doors I could find work that I could do at home.

It might be boring repetitive stuff like folding customers statements and putting them in envelopes at end of month, but it would be something that would generate additional income.

Edit-Bloody quotes....

[GameOver]

I am sitting here at work, I just finished up a 4 hour marathon session of Mario Kart, and I was trying to decide if I wanted to eat cereal, watch Star Trek, or post on message boards next when I had a realization.

...Right now I get paid for an unsupervised 8 hour shift that consists of about 30 minutes of work, and 7 hours and 30 minutes of video games, movies, food, soda, internet, and computer...

You're my HERO!  Are you hiring?  When can I start? 

[M3talhead]

I am sitting here at work, I just finished up a 4 hour marathon session of Mario Kart, and I was trying to decide if I wanted to eat cereal, watch Star Trek, or post on message boards next when I had a realization.

I am just not sure if I WANT a career. Right now I get paid for an unsupervised 8 hour shift that consists of about 30 minutes of work, and 7 hours and 30 minutes of video games, movies, food, soda, internet, and computer.

I mean, what kind of real world job could begin to compare? I might stop thinking about other career paths and simply think about simply moving to another employer that offers insurance and vacation days.

I did that for about 2 years, work the night shift at our IT shop.

When there isnt anyone around using the machines, its hard for computers and servers to crash all by themselves. We were just there incase WWIII broke out. I can't tell you how many trips to Blockbuster I made, or how many late night Taco-Hell orrs were put in, but what I can tell you, is that it gets old. After about a year of playing games every night, beating them, and realizing how much time you've wasted, it leaves nothing left at home when you get off work.

On top of that, advancing up the corporate ladder (I.E. making more money) becomes harder since nobody is there to see the quality of work you do. I finally got off the graveyard shift and began working among the land of the living, and I can tell you this.....the money you make after people start to recognize your performance outweighs the "game time" you have as a zombie.

[SOAPboy]

I am sitting here at work, I just finished up a 4 hour marathon session of Mario Kart, and I was trying to decide if I wanted to eat cereal, watch Star Trek, or post on message boards next when I had a realization.

I am just not sure if I WANT a career. Right now I get paid for an unsupervised 8 hour shift that consists of about 30 minutes of work, and 7 hours and 30 minutes of video games, movies, food, soda, internet, and computer.

I mean, what kind of real world job could begin to compare? I might stop thinking about other career paths and simply think about simply moving to another employer that offers insurance and vacation days.

I did that for about 2 years, work the night shift at our IT shop.

When there isnt anyone around using the machines, its hard for computers and servers to crash all by themselves. We were just there incase WWIII broke out. I can't tell you how many trips to Blockbuster I made, or how many late night Taco-Hell orrs were put in, but what I can tell you, is that it gets old. After about a year of playing games every night, beating them, and realizing how much time you've wasted, it leaves nothing left at home when you get off work.

On top of that, advancing up the corporate ladder (I.E. making more money) becomes harder since nobody is there to see the quality of work you do. I finally got off the graveyard shift and began working among the land of the living, and I can tell you this.....the money you make after people start to recognize your performance outweighs the "game time" you have as a zombie.

Laptop
Internet
Pick any MMO title

7 hours goes by realllly fast when your grinding off a few levels in a MMO.. Could do that for decades myself

[ChadTower]

On top of that, advancing up the corporate ladder (I.E. making more money) becomes harder since nobody is there to see the quality of work you do.

Advancing up the ladder can be overrated.  I did that.  I spent my time as a co-op, then as a junior engineer, an engineer, a senior engineer, then as an engineering manager.

After 5 months of managing, I left to move back down to senior engineer/architect.  I was sick of being responsible for others' work without producing anything tangible myself.  Being a manager sucked HARD.  Twice the stress and four times the accountability.  I can easily see why people without the technical skills cling to management because it's all they can do at this level, but it was not for me.

The idea of climbing the corporate ladder to the top, at least in my field, is outdated. 

[Stingray]

Completely different line of work, but I have pretty much the same schedule as you Paige. I have to answer the phone a few times a day, each call takes a couple minutes. I have a few people that come in my office every day, those take about as ling to deal with as a phone call. The rest of the time, I'm more or less just goofing off. Ain't life grand?

-S

[Scott84]

If your not gonna get a careeer. Then you better start saving a pension by yourself.

[ChadTower]

They main factor here is insurance and salary.

[Bones]

Advancing up the ladder can be overrated.

[ChadTower]

Yep, me too.  When I was interviewing for this spot, the company was thrilled they were pulling me back down (their opinion, not mine) to fill a role for which I was far more than qualified.  In my mind, it was escape from management and slipping into a nice, easy, low stress senior engineer's role again.  Now I work a straight 40 and see my kids every night.

[TOK]

I have good days and bad days, but I'd rather work hard and have the house, cars, motorcycle and other stuff than have a cake job and scrape by.
I can drink and watch movies and play games after work or on weekends.

[Dartful Dodger]

I mean, what kind of real world job could begin to compare?

When I was waiting tables through college, I hated it and wanted to find a "real world" job.

[shmokes]

Well, I dont know how many hours you had to work for that 12k, but garbage men do get paid quite a bit -- about $20/hr usually.  And these days all they do is drive up and push a button to make the truck's arm reach out, grab the garbage can and dump it in the truck.

Maybe you should take a closer look at possibly shoveling garbage.

[GameOver]

I mean, what kind of real world job could begin to compare?

...wait tables with him on the weekend.

[Bones]

Yeah in my new job, well the one I have had for the last 3 years, I start at 7:00am and finish at 3:00pm. I am home by 3:30pm and get to spend time with the kids.

Prior I was working 7:30am to 5:30am as a manager, by the time I got home at 6:30pm or 7:00pm there was just no quality time for me to do anything and I just felt trashed and angry all the time. As for weekends, by the time I started feeling even slightly relaxed and de-stressed it was time to go back to work.

I can say that even if my new job paid less I would still be happier. Sure I might have a TV for my cab instead of a D9200, but things like this are a small trade off in the big scheme of things.

The only real thing I lost in the transition was a company car. Again, small time payoff considering everything else.

[ChadTower]

I have good days and bad days, but I'd rather work hard and have the house, cars, motorcycle and other stuff than have a cake job and scrape by.

If you did enough prep work, got enough higher education, and were skilled enough, you can have a cake job and still make an excellent salary.

[GameOver]

I have good days and bad days, but I'd rather work hard and have the house, cars, motorcycle and other stuff than have a cake job and scrape by.

If you did enough prep work, got enough higher education, and were skilled enough, you can have a cake job and still make an excellent salary.

Sounds like you speak from experience!  Pretty subjective, tho.  How much is enough?

That sounds like a lotta work.  How about a dollar and a dream, baby!

[hyiu]

My $0.00002 of personal opinion...

if you're still young, I would say don't slack off in your career AND education.

yes, you'll have a good time now, and probably make enough for you to spend (and then a little bit left...)

but what you need to look into is the future.

I think a normal path for a guy (or even a woman) is to get married, have kid(s) and so on.

in this society, although you are not necessary to completely supply for your girl / wife / kids... it is pretty normal for the family to "lean" on the "man of the house"... the husband...

you don't need a well pay job now, but you do need to be good at something that can make money...
it can be design, programming... ebaying... selling...

but I think watching movie / playing video game / ... etc doesn't really fall into category.

imagine, 10 yrs from now, can you still do this job ?? More realisitcally, do your employer still wants you ?? If there is no skill required, why not hire a even cheaper college dropout at that time (young and strong) why still keep you ??

and if they don't keep you ?? Can you still make a living which is same or better than now ??

well... of course, there's no guarantee (even if you're good at something...) but I still think having sort of a "plan" is better than none.

you can call me navie, but I believe that if you work hard, in the long run, in life's own strange way, it'll pay off.

[TOK]

I have good days and bad days, but I'd rather work hard and have the house, cars, motorcycle and other stuff than have a cake job and scrape by.

If you did enough prep work, got enough higher education, and were skilled enough, you can have a cake job and still make an excellent salary.

I'm a telecomm field dude. I worked in management for two years. All I thought I wanted while I was working outside was to get an office job. I did it, and it was the biggest mistake I ever made. After two years I was ready to quit if they couldn't get me back out in the field. Working in an office was hell for me. I didn't laugh at the cutesy crap other people found funny, didn't like politically correct banter, and really hated the butt-kissing politics (and hated getting my butt kissed when I was the one tasked with OK'ing contracts). The only good days I had were when it rained, and that was just because I wasn't outside.
I realized there were about 80% more nice days than crappy ones.
A field position opened, I took a step back, and have never regretted the decision. I have a company vehicle (to take home, too), can get all the overtime I want, I'm out on my own all day, and I'm accountable only for my own work
Time drags for me if I'm not active, I'd rather be hustling and have the day go quickly.

I realize everyone's different. One persons cake job is another persons hell.

[paigeoliver]

...

[Bones]

Also, realistically, I am over a decade behind on any prep work, and I am going to have a felony (credit card fraud) haunting me the rest of my life. Not to mention the fact that I am not eligible for student loans anymore, since I didn't make any payments on my original ones for years and they eventually garnished them.

Karma.

[Bones]

And by nothing but sheer coincidence, I have just been handed an Internal Vacancy position for a job very similar to what I do now but in one of our "sister" companies.

The difference? This place is less than 1 mile from where I live.

Ohhhh.... very tempting.

[paigeoliver]

And by nothing but sheer coincidence, I have just been handed an Internal Vacancy position for a job very similar to what I do now but in one of our "sister" companies.

The difference? This place is less than 1 mile from where I live.

Ohhhh.... very tempting.

Take it, take it. You can save plenty of money for new motorcycles by not having to drive to work anymore.

[Scott84]

All i know is that im not settling for working for anything less then $50,000 CDN.

Houses around where i am cost $300,000-$400,000. Im sure with me and my future wife we need to make $100,000 atleast to keep living in this beautiful but costly city that we are in.

[Bones]

Take it, take it. You can save plenty of money for new motorcycles by not having to drive to work anymore.

I have made a call to discuss the position and still waiting for the phone back.

At the surface, this new job appears to involve more physical work day-to-day than I currently do. This may be a problem.

The truth is my hands are absolutely ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Sure I can lift stuff, like building my cabinet on the weekends but my hands always ache until around Wednesday after pushing myself on Saturdays & Sundays.

I suspect this new job would put me in a whole world of discomfort lasting 24/7.

[Scott84]

what exactly is wrong with your hands? Arthritis?

[shmokes]

I expect that when I finish school I'll very likely get hooked up with a law firm and get worked like a dog.  I'll probably be making really good money, but I'll likely be working 60 and 70 hour weeks.  But then I'll move up the ranks and as new kids fresh out of law school are hired I will work less hours and make even more money.

[Bones]

what exactly is wrong with your hands? Arthritis?

I broke 5 metacarpals, radius, scaphoid and ulnar styloid in a motorbike accident last year.

Arthritis should strike with great vengeance and furious anger in about 10 years.

[shmokes]

...in a motorbike accident last year.

It's a chopper, baby.

[M3talhead]

what exactly is wrong with your hands? Arthritis?

I broke 5 metacarpals, radius, scaphoid and ulnar styloid in a motorbike accident last year.

Arthritis should strike with great vengeance and furious anger in about 10 years. 

Dont worry, by then, your ---tallywhacker--- will be to limp to mess with anyway......

[Bones]

Dont worry, by then, your ---tallywhacker--- will be to limp to mess with anyway......

Hey c'mon, I will only be 45 in 10 years. I have a lot more action left in me than 10 years worth! 

The doctors say if it were not for my giant Australian genitalia which cushioned the impact I would have suffered spinal injury.

[duffjr]

hey which mario kart do you play?  i don't like any of them much except the one for snes.  here is our site:  smk.lportal.net

we are having an international meetup in a couple years and will eventually offer real money when we have careers.

[danny_galaga]

wait a minute...
has anyone ever seen paige and stingray in the same room together...

[rchadd]

read the book "rich dad poor dad"

getting a career and working within the "rat race" is not a way to become wealthy. working harder is not the only way to make a living.

http://www.richdad.com/