Ā š #CareerLove #DreamJob
Hey everyone! š How many of you genuinely enjoy your career and how hard was it to land a role in it? I want to hear your stories and insights!
Here are a few questions to get the conversation started:
– What do you do and why do you love it?
– How did you navigate the job search process to land your dream role?
– Any tips or advice for others looking to find their passion in their careers?
Don’t be shy, share your experiences and let’s inspire each other to find career fulfillment! š¼šŖ Let’s help each other by sharing our journeys and lessons learned. Together, we can all achieve career success and satisfaction! āØ
Can’t wait to read your responses! āØ #CareerSuccess #JobSatisfaction
Accounting, it’s okay. Pay is good. If the job didn’t require so much communication and social interaction I’d enjoy it a lot more.
I’m a software architect. As far as jobs go, it’s a good one to have. It pays well, and I at least enjoy solving interesting problems, so this scratches that itch. I certainly worked my way up from the bottom, though. Started in IT repairing computers. Then went to school for electrical and computer engineering with a plan on working on embedded systems. The job market at the time (2010ish) landed me into a job as a sysadmin since I had prior IT experience. Since I had a software education, I was able to automate much of my work which opened up more doors for advancement, taking on larger projects, etc. Now I’m designing and implementing full-stack cloud management solutions with a global team of 70 developers. I work a shit ton of hours, but they pay me very well so it’s hard to complain.
I love my career. It started out as a hobby. Iām an ethical hacker, aka a āpenetration testerā. It was very hard getting into it. If I added up all of the hours Iāve probably put into learning into becoming a doctor Iād probably be a neuro surgeon by now.
Manufacturing. I began doing low level office work in the mid to late 90’s in a large manufacturing plant (750 employees, it was an ALCOA plant).
I loved it. I moved up quickly, several times. A bit less than 4 months after beginning there, the plant manager created a new supervisory position and put me in it. It wasn’t posted, I certainly didn’t apply, no one did as the job wasn’t posted and it hadn’t ever existed before.
4 months after that I became the plant’s master scheduler and the production control manager. I had about 7 direct reports and like 26 indirect reports. We ran three 8 hour shifts a day each weekday and we ran shifts as needed on the weekends.
I just took to manufacturing. I loved it. I’ve worked for many different manufacturing companies since then.
In my early 40’s, so in the early 2010’s, I reached my highest point in my work career as I was the production control manager in a Japanese owned auto plant here in the U.S.
I’ve been the master scheduler, production control manager, materials manager, project manager, cost estimator, account services manager and I’m now a manufacturing parts rep.
It was easy to land an entry level role in manufacturing. Moving up requires some luck and a lot of hard work too. In that first manufacturing plant I worked at, there were 750 employees but there was only one master scheduler in the plant and a lot of people wanted that position.
But, if one stays at a company for awhile, moving up into mid level management really isn’t that hard. People age out, retire and move to different companies and states so there is turnover, so if one sticks at a company for a bit and does well, they have a good chance at moving up.
By 29 I made enough for my wife to begin staying home with our first child when he was born when we were both 29 years old and that was when I was working at that first manufacturing plant I ever worked in.
I was hired for $27K plus bonus and overtime as an expeditor in the production control dept. My boss was the plant’s master scheduler, the man I replaced 8 months later. He’d been at the company for 13 years and he’d been the master scheduler for the previous 10 years when I was hired on there. I was promoted 4 months later into a supervisory position and then 4 months after that I became the plant’s master scheduler.
From then on, my career was basically set. I’ve worked for 5 other manufacturing plants since then. Now, I worked at one of those companies 3 different times as they called me back two times after I’d left for greener pastures so to speak.
Iām an ER nurse I was a paramedic prior I enjoy the work life balance, money is amazing, and I always have job security. I can do so much in nursing as the lateral movement is second to none.
Love it about a zero chance for anyone who doesnāt have the background in sales or isnāt a golden DEI trifecta like a black female lesbian.
I’m just a secretary but I enjoy my job. I got lucky when applying.
Started as a GIS Analyst. 11 months after, got promoted to GIS Specialist. Could be looking at another promotion in a few months. I am fortunate to have this as some people really struggle to get their foot in the door in the GIS industry.
I have a BS in Geography with a minor in Geospatial Science.
Housing case manager for youth (18-24 year olds). It was ok but not a lot of transferable experience unless I want to be a case manager elsewhere. Pay sucks and work is stressful. Wouldnāt recommend. It was easy to get a job in, no related education, just worked in outreach and a menās shelter for a short time before moving to case management. If anyone has made it out into other careers this is indeed a cry for help š®āšØ
Iām a 3rd year band director in a massive district and I love it! I mostly get kids who want to be there so I donāt deal with a ton of behavioral issues and the kids are all really sweet. I absolutely enjoy it! And I get paid 58k in a relatively low cost of living area so itās more than enough for me. I also work WAY more hours than a normal teacher so I get compensated for my time. It was super hard to land though. I got this dream job out of college while most people may take 10 years before they land a job like this. I was just really luck and Iām very good at what I do. This field is very competitive so you gotta know your stuff if you want to land a job in a good district.
I’m a mcdonald’s employee, I enjoy serving.
Before, when I was making $9/hr I was having a blast, but now I guess because my employer saw my potential and I’m making $22/hr as a cashier, I’m loving it!
Love my career in WWT but I can’t say I love my job most days. The field gives me many hats to wear and I’m not lacking for things to do. Some days Im an office worker, a lab tech, a mechanic, landscaper, and a manager. Other days I’m just the guy keeping the lights on and the shit in the tanks
The worst part of the job isn’t the fact that I’m literally working with the waste of humanity. It’s how little people care about saving themselves money by just not throwing razorblades, tampons, and any kind of sanitary wet wipes down the toilet.
The amount of money that my municipality spends because of these very easily preventable things would have been enough to keep our water and sewer rates from going up 1.25% every other year for the last 10 years.
Sorry rant over back on point
It’s not a hard field to get into, it’s pretty short staffed as a whole with most licensed operators in my state being above the age of 50 and not enough licenses issued to people younger than that to replace them when they go rn. The pay starts ok and without upward movement you are probably starting in the 60k range and capping at the 75k range if you never get high grade licenses.
If you like microbiology, don’t mind dealing with less than pleasant things, have two brain cells to run together, and have the ability to critically think because almost every bit of information you have is from days prior then you’ll be aces in WWT
Love it! But it took a long time building up to this point. I got into my industry (hotel) when I was 18, worked my way up to senior management and became disillusioned around 35-43. I questioned if I made the right choice and felt I needed to make a lateral move. An opportunity came and I did it while utilizing my existing skill set, and the past 13 years at my new job (CVB) have been truly wonderful. I plan to retire here.
Love it! But it took a long time building up to this point. I got into my industry when I was 18, worked my way up to senior management and became disillusioned around 35-43. I questioned if I made the right choice and felt I needed to make a lateral move. An opportunity came and I did it while utilizing my existing skill set, and the past 13 years have been truly wonderful. I plan to retire here.
I became a cloud engineer, I absolutely love it. I think it all began because I put in alot of effort into being good at my job, like spending nights studying, testing, continuously learning. When I got good at what I do, I find people start to value me. Companies start offering higher salaries to poach me from my company. My colleagues appreciate my work and my juniors look up to me. My boss can trust me. I think thatās pretty fufilling, and makes me even more motivated to keep progressing fast in the field. its like a vicious, positive cycle.
i also volunteer for extra work sometimes. why? because taking on that task directly adds value to me because i learn alot from it and become a better engineer. I became really competent by pouring my heart and soul and energy into the job, and I find theres plenty of rewards to be reaped. Very happy, and no need to worry about money anymore either š
My job was extremely competitive to get and at first I loved it. I like it less each year but can’t afford to quit.
I enjoy my career but it took a few years of struggle to get to this place that I do enjoy now, but it was worth it for me. Iām in auto insurance claims. 8 years. Started at entry level with zero experience. Entry level is hard because youāre just learning and at the bottom so youāre getting the worst stuff. I learned what areas I liked and didnāt like which helped narrow it down. Iām now part of a specialty team that handles one single large business account which is much better handling tons of random personal policies. My phone rings a fraction of what it used to and itās a lot more thinking vs heavy volume simple stuff which I prefer. I also have a great manager, great corporate benefits, worked myself up to 6 weeks PTO and get to work from home 3 days a week. There are probably a couple days a week where Iām done with my stuff an hour or two early and can take off if I want or stay and get OT
Software engineer Just asked and moved from being a consultant at the same company But I did have cs degree and skills
I work in the energy field. Started as an analyst for a really small utility billing company. Then went to coordinator position and now Iām in project management. I really enjoy the work but I genuinely donāt think Iād be where I am without getting my MBA. I donāt think my current company would have even looked my way without it.
I absolutely love my career. I work from home 3 days a week and in office 2. My stress level is about 1/10 most days, and on the most stressful days itās about a 3/10. Pay is alright, Iām at about 60k a year but itās definitely well worth it considering I have every holiday and weekend off, along with a shit ton of vacation and sick days. Iād rather not say my career just to not oversaturate it like many careers have recently.
Landing it was not hard and itās considered entry level. I donāt really want to move up considering how easy and stress free my job is.
hate my career! it’s dying. i have no other skills. i think when the business inevitably goes under i’m gonna take a dirt nap
I’m an urban planner. Specifically, I work in the private sector on public sector contracts. It’s the perfect intersection of feeling like I’m actually doing good and the world while also being paid pretty well for it.
Oh and to answer the 2nd question: I got a masters degree in urban planning, professional certification, and about 5 years of low-paying public sector jobs to get to where I’m at now.
Maintenance guy for Federal, love my job, getting the job? I just applied for it.
I love my job as a cloud engineer.Ā
It was not easy to land, especially as a new college grad in this environment. Well, it was easy to land my current job. But it took 4 years working minimum wage or on volunteer projects to get the experience necessary to get them to notice me.Ā
I install communications equipment for the government. I absolutely love it. I get to travel around the country every week to work on different projects. The job is pretty much fully autonomous and has very little oversight. And the pay is good too ($140k). I got the job by having experience in radio maintenance from the Air Force, as well as knowing the right people in the current agency I work for. Iām a big believer that life is just as much about who you know as it is about what you know.
Love my career as a CRNA, the best kept secret in healthcare. The schooling is long but I got multiple offers a semester before I graduated from my CRNA program