Hatrack River Forum: Job Boredom

This is topic Job Boredom in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :

I've hit a wall at my work. With just a BA, I can't advance up until I get a graduate degree.

I've been there for a year now. There isn't much more to learn about my job. Since I just do BA level work, I don't really own any of the cases...I just get to constantly work on behavior management out in the community.

There's only so many places you can go in a community. There's only so many cases you can carry on a caseload. There's only so much you can say about a client without stepping on therapists' toes in terms of treatment and diagnosis.

I love working with my clients. I like what I do.

But it isn't intellectually stimulating.

So I'm bored.

I don't know what to do.

Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :

um.....get a graduate degree?

FG

Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :

When you find out, could you tell me?

Posted by Tresopax (Member # 1063) on :

Hey, I'm bored too! I don't even really have a 'real' job though - just keeping administrative stuff in order. Blah! But it seems like all the other stuff I can get is equally dull.

I wish *I* knew what to do.... you too, I guess. [Wink]

Posted by T. Analog Kid (Member # 381) on :

I'm trying a whole new career field... <shrug> I'll let you know how it works for me [Smile]

Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :

I've been suffering from job boredom, too. But a few days ago, I was informed that I was being let go because they can't keep as many people during the summer. I guess that's one way to solve the problem.

Luckily, I got a new job within four days of being fired. I'm still pretty amazed at that.

Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :

Condolences and Congrats, J!

Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :

Thanks, Erik.

Unfortunately, it pays two dollars an hour less (dropping me from 11 to 9 dollars an hour), but I didn't even bother to try to negotiate with them. I'm pretty sure that my exorbitant wages at my current job made it that much easier for my boss to cut me. And anyway, nine bucks an hour is still great for a campus job, and I think I'll enjoy this job better.

[ March 31, 2004, 05:57 PM: Message edited by: Jon Boy ]

Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :

Exorbitant? $11 an hour????

Oh, yeah, I live in California.

Stupid California Economy!!!

Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :

Eleven bucks an is pretty awesome for a student here. Ah, the joys of living in a college town . . .

Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :

I wish I made 11 dollars an hour... or even 9!

Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :

Every time I feel like that, I have to remind myself that if I really *liked* my job, I'd have to pay to do it.

If I could do anything right now, I'd retire. But that's probably because I'm a lazy bum.

Posted by Xaposert (Member # 1612) on :

quote:
Every time I feel like that, I have to remind myself that if I really *liked* my job, I'd have to pay to do it.

The problem is, though, this isn't necessarily true.

Posted by Argèn†~ (Member # 4528) on :

I got bored reading the book of Job, too.

Posted by Phil Tice (Member # 6370) on :

I make nine an hour, it's not a campus job and it supports me my wife and our daughter.

-PT

Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :

where do you live, Mexico?

9 dollars and hour here would barely pay my rent.

Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :

Or mine.

And I AM going to graduate school, but PhD programs only have fall admission...and I missed the dates for this fall because I didn't figure out till the past month that I wanted to get my PhD.

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

...well, I combat job boredom by going to hatrack and whiling away a substantial chunk of my day. Not the most productive of strategies, I'll admit.

Posted by Beca (Member # 4340) on :

I'm currently holding down a rather boring job. The hours are great, the benefits are great, and the people are all nice. I get paid enough that I'm not starving or living in a sketchy neighborhood. I can't really afford a *car*, but I don't really need one yet.

Actually, I lucked out. I moved 3000 miles away from my family with no job prospects about two and a half years ago, and I've done a fairly decent job of becoming financially independent from my parents.

BUT....

The job doesn't fit into any of my interests, and it's a dead end job (for me). If you're being a legal clerk/quasi-paralegal, and you have NO desire to spend your life in the legal profession, you honestly aren't getting yourself anywhere. Well, unless 'where' is having enough in savings to pursue other interests.

Problem is, the majority of my interests are of the sort that don't come with medical benefits or any sort of job security, whatsoever. I think the stress of freelancing would kill me. So, for all my love of visual art and that sort of thing, my artistic endeavors are limited right now to hobbies. Never quite satisfying - I spend a lot of time during work (I call it werk) designing what I'm going to create next. Anyone who comes looking for me during my lunch hour finds my desk covered in art supplies (the legal secretaries find this particularly freakish - "Don't you want to come have lunch with us and talk about our children, house renovations, and how our husbands want more sex than we're willing to give them? What's wrong with you?")

I *would* go to grad school, if I could think of something to pursue there...but I haven't come up with anything. I suppose I could figure out a way to go to art school...though it's just about impossible to get scholarships or financial aid when you already have a BA, and the thought of being financially dependent on my parents again (though they've repeatedly offered to help pay for whatever further schooling I want) is really daunting.

...

It's hard to sort out. Perhaps find something to do outside of work that gets you a step closer to a PhD program? It won't alleviate the boredom at work while you wait to apply/get in to grad school, but I've found recently that drawing on my own time is making me less...twitchy.

I also have a friend who has been doing the "why didn't I think of applying to business school a month EARLIER?" dance for about a year. He has been cranky and frustrated with work, but was pleased as punch with his GMAT scores, since he had all that extra time to study for them.

[ April 01, 2004, 10:01 AM: Message edited by: Beca ]

Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :

Jon, I'm pretty sure that pay cut just means you'll have to work more than 5 hours a week. [Razz]