Is your occupation what you do or who you are?

[Berath]

I work in social care and my job definately is not what I am.

This is even more so than it used to be. Pay has plummeted, there is no longer any job security; it's all short term contracts and funding that only lasts one year. Every couple of years or so, services are put out to tender, we all know that the cheapest bidder will probably win so it's really difficult to keep up standards when you know that that's not what will ultimately retain the contract and keep you in work. It's really hard when you're working with vulnerable people.

We've recently had a restructure and had pay slashed (some by more than £6000) so our lowest paid workers are now coming in at less than the recommended London Living Wage (£14000ish). We've had a review of terms and conditions - less redundancy, worse sickness, 5 days holiday cut.

I don't particularly enjoy my work anyway (it's stressful and you have to give so much constantly even as a manager), I do it because I think there's a civic duty on any society to support it's more vulnerable citizens and there is a need. However all this stuff going on makes it far more difficult.

 

[McBain]

No my job is a means to an end and that's all it'll ever be.

 

[RobotXander]

My job's stipulated hours are 9-5, but honestly? It's way more erratic than that. I've been working this evening and most weekdays I'll still be responding to emails and getting stuff done for clients right up until I go to bed. Every now and then I'll slope off on a Friday, but given the hours I put in, it's earned. And the boss doesn't mind.

I love my job most days, it pretty much is who I am, but most importantly I'm cool with that.

This, pretty much

I am fortunate enough to work for a great company who recognize hard work and reward it.

 

[XeNoN89]

My job is just a job. I want nothing to do with work outside of my work hours

 

[neodude]

I don't get much of a chance to control air traffic walking down the street.

 

[The Dread Pirate]

Inside of work I'm supposedly a Corporate "Shared Service IT Specialist"(as for what this actually means don't ask me I just keep the users happy and make sure nothing gets FUBAR) Outside of work I'm known as:


Stev
Krazy Stev
Idiot
Oi You!
**** Cheese(My brother mainly says this)
Dilweed(He also says this)
Geek
Nerd
Dork
You Tit!
& Finally

Shut Up Stev!

 

[Draeger]

I am a nurse, you cant turn that off at the end of your shift.

Likewise. Crew Commander in the Fire Service of 23.5 years service here.

 

[Ricochet J]

I'm a developing engineer. I have a few more years to go before I can call myself a Chartered Engineer.

My work is very flexible. Weekdays 9 - 5 and I can take days off as I please, and come in weekends if I want. This is subject to me getting the work done.

I also do engineering work at home on projects not related to my place of work. For example I'm doing a feasibility study at home to find out if an invention I have thought of will work, and if it will make money! This obviously requires a lot of hours outside of work!

Considering all of that I'd say I'm a 24/7 engineer!

 

[wnb]

I own my own company at times it is rewarding but at the moment I am feeling disallusioned with it all. It is a means to and end. If I was 10 years older I would sell the lot and retire.

 

[james_2k]

I don't get much of a chance to control air traffic walking down the street.

where do you work man?

 

[elmarko]

My job & my career are both a means which allow me to do the things I want to in life.

Sadly, what I enjoy & what I can do on a whim are not in the same boat (art, music) so work in statistics & predictive modelling within the energy industry.

While I love writing music & drawing/painting I'm unable to force myself to do it when I'm not in the mood - making it not very feasible as a profession.

Little bit too much of a jack of all trades, master of none - or an aspiring polymath (which sounds better) .

 

[ci_newman]

I certainly fit in the work to live category, but the job I do is certainly a good reflection of me personally. I work in the Broadcast sector, and I have an active interest in the subject (hey, who doesn't like TV? )

 

[Gambisk]

I enjoy my work as a software developer, its interesting, challenging, generally fulfilling and most importantly it pays the bills. But that does not mean it defines me, it gets left behind at 5 pm in the office and not given 1 second of thought until 8 am the next day where I think is it the weekend or do I have to go work.

I will never bring my work home with me my free time is too important, ocasioanally I will work late to meet a deadline but a properly managed project shouldn't require that. If a company asks me to start pulling all nighters and lates regularly then they get a letter of my notice and I will bounce off to another job.

So safe to say it is only what I do not who I am.

 

[neodude]

where do you work man?

Here...

 

[Gambisk]

Here...

Spoiler

Nice one, I tried to get into ATC straight out of school instead of uni, I still have a hankering to give it another go some day but I'll wait a few more years to build up the savings before I take the plunge.

 

[neodude]

Nice one, I tried to get into ATC straight out of school instead of uni, I still have a hankering to give it another go some day but I'll wait a few more years to build up the savings before I take the plunge.

You get paid while you train.

 

[Mikoyan]

Job is flexible hours but generally I work 08:30 - 17:30 with half an hour for lunch, means I get at least one flexi day a month.

IT security (ethical hacking / project management mostly) so it's fairly varied and interesting especially after 15 years in third line IT support. I enjoy it, it's fun and to be fair I still do a bit of play-hacking at home on my own boxes and hardware. Almost a hobby that became a job in many respects.

Evenings are mostly spent playing with my daughter, bath etc then when she's in bed I'll get on Steam

My job ultimately is simply about making enough to keep my family in a comfortable life and improve the chances of my daughter getting a good upbringing.

Same as me! I clock off dead on 5pm..got 2 daughters and wanna be back in time for bath time, play time, etc

Unfortunately I don't get any time for gaming at the moment

 

[semi-pro waster]

While I enjoy my job for the most part it's not something that pervades my every waking moment. I'm an accountant so generally speaking I need accounts of some description to look at to do my job and that means working in a company - accounts don't tend to just happen in nature...

I suppose to a certain extent I do pay more attention to financial matters in the press and spend a bit more time working things out and learning about the subject outside of work than I perhaps previously would have done but it's unlikely to ever be an all-consuming passion. I suppose although it wasn't the career path I expected to take it makes a certain amount of sense given I've always had a level of comfort with figures and I often quite enjoy the process of explaining a technical concept to someone who isn't particularly au fait with finance (or that specific area of knowledge) - providing explanations to people about things that they don't understand is something that I've always done and probably always will do so in that sense I can say that I feel my job represents me.

 

[Theophany]

While I enjoy my job for the most part it's not something that pervades my every waking moment. I'm an accountant so generally speaking I need accounts of some description to look at to do my job and that means working in a company - accounts don't tend to just happen in nature...

I suppose to a certain extent I do pay more attention to financial matters in the press and spend a bit more time working things out and learning about the subject outside of work than I perhaps previously would have done but it's unlikely to ever be an all-consuming passion.

Accountancy and all-consuming passion in the same post? It's like the beginnings of a Barbara Cartland novel.

 

[CircleFaust]

through a combination of fate / circumstance / choice / personality etc i'm in a job i do to get me by, a means to an end.