donna summer: she works hard for the money
right now, i’m in the midst of a battle between two 80s songs: “everybody wants to rule the world” vs. “everybody’s working for the weekend.” and yeah, it’s TOUGH when you’re caught between two such awesome tunes.
as many of you know, i’m graduating (FIIIIINALLY) next month with my masters degree, and i’ve told myself, in the plainest terms possible, that i MUST change jobs this summer.
so my self’s been all, “yes! great idea! change is good! it will happen this summer! now… what’s going on with kristen dunst and ryan gosling?”
it’s easy to tell myself that i’m going to do something in a couple months, but now graduation is rapidly approaching, which means summer is coming, which means… i have to uphold my promise to myself or my self will stab me in the eye. cos my self HATES flakiness.
therefore i’ve been thinking about possible jobs and the types of things i like in work and the types of things i’d rather ask my assistant (HA HA) to do. so when i saw a piece in the times last week about work expectations, i was all ears (eyes?).
basically, lisa belkin posits that we’re giving our kids the wrong idea about work and its meaning. she writes:
Which incarnation of work should we be taking our children to? The one that is fulfilling, uplifting and ego-affirming, or the one that is grueling, taxing and just plain boring? We want them to see this as an adventure, yet be prepared for difficulty so setbacks don’t make them retreat. We want them to seek their passion, but let’s face it, we also want them to do something that will pay the rent.
she talks about how college grads expect their first job to have MEANING and if it doesn’t, or they fail to get that job, or they have to spend most of their time making copies, they’re screwed for life.
jezebel mentioned this article in an entry that echoed lisa’s opinion:
There is no perfect job. As my dad has always told me, as long as your work is not immoral, unethical, or illegal — well, then it’s good work. Sure, hopefully you find it interesting, but there is no make-believe land where you are rewarded daily with gold stars, and championed for your “passion” for merely showing up and breathing air. But if you work hard and at the end of the day can be proud of what you did — well then, you done good.
i think i’ve had enough experience (7 years) in the working world to realize that yeah, gold stars don’t come in sheets of fifty anymore. i’ve also come to the (difficult) understanding that not everyone can have an amazing, exciting, earth-shattering job. there just aren’t enough, and our economy happens to need people who can process paperwork and serve food and answer the phone (well, now that happens in india, but still).
so am i doing myself a disservice by looking for a really meaningful job? or do i just need to adjust what i term “meaningful”? for example, if i had a job that kept me busy and challenged my brain, would i be happy, even if i wasn’t particularly helping people or changing the world? it’s definitely possible.
i’m not saying we should give up on our dreams (dreams, i KNOW you’re out there, and i will identify you and collect you in a jar and take you home with me). but maybe this whole job search would seem less overwhelming if i decided to look for something that would challenge me without taking over my life. something that i can be proud of but may not win a nobel peace prize for.
not only am i ok with that, but frankly, i’m relieved.
so what do you guys think? how do you find meaning in yr job (if you do)? what sort of expectations do you have for work?
maybe all we really need is a good, sturdy 80s power suit to make us feel like we can TAKE CHARGE of any job and make it MATTER.
i mean, it’s entirely possible that the career confusion and whinyness of generation Y is simply due to a lack of shoulder pads.
LINKS
is anyone watching “the paper” on mtv? it seems AWESOME.
barack obama was on jon stewart, and can i just say (again) that YES JON I WILL MARRY YOU.
you guys have GOT to watch this video… and then enjoy taking the stairs for the rest of yr life. thanks to j. for pointing me to the accompanying article on his blog.
ICE CREAM WITH FACES!!! (thanks, erica)
speaking of, another great dessert recipe for all of you bacon lovers: candied bacon coffee ice cream!!! matt s., please tell me you will make this for meredith.
Yo Posh;
Just back in the country, so i’m slowly re-bloggifying. And also just done with my first day of a new job. So I’m uniquely qualified, for the first time perhaps ever, to answer one of your blog questions.
What I’ve realized now, from having a few jobs and a few that I was happy to flee, is that there is one golden rule and two key factors. The golden rule is that if something is really fun to do, morally and intellectually fulfilling, chances are you nobody will pay you to do it. Almost everyone’s job involves some element of toil, tedium, and/or paper pushing.
But that’s ok; the folks that live in a non trust-funded reality probably learned long ago that work involves some quantity of those things. What I realized in moving to my new job is that there are two real factors to job fulfilment (and they kinda go together). One, are you trusted and given autonomy to do your tasks they way you feel they should be done? Or are you micro managed, second guessed, see your hard work erased for no reason, and never allowed to make decisions? Two: Who are you working with? Someone who recognizes the work you do and treats you as a capable, functioning adult? Or someone who patronizes, talks down to you, or acts irrationally, or just doesn’t involve you in things?
Those are the two reasons I switched jobs right there - the realization that in each case I was experiencing the latter but hardly ever the former.
Good luck, and can’t wait for the Poshdeluxe graduation party!
Mmm, candy coated bacon ice cream? My tummy just skipped a beat.
I think I’ve found a good balance with my job. I have a strange fear of loving my day job too much, thus becoming endlessly complacent and never taking a year off to write or learn to surf the way I’ve always vowed to myself. So while my current job is pretty great, and I have fun and keep busy and meet famous artists and enjoy my co-workers and love my physical surroundings, it’s still an admin job. So, hopefully one day when I’ve saved enough money and finally gotten together some DEEP motivation, versus the shallow motivation that’s helped me achieve my current status, I’ll be able to say goodbye to this pretty great job and embrace the far more terrifying pursuit of something MEANINGFUL. But not yet, lady.
By the way, I’m so proud of you for getting your master’s and finding a new job. I’m going to buy you a copy of Oh, The Places You’ll Go, or if the bookstore is out of that, I’ll settle for Green Eggs and Ham.
I know as the guy with the stereotypical Coolest Job Ever, any and all advice from me on this subject can just seem annoying. However, while not everyone can be the creative director at a fantastic movie theater, I think that everyone who has had the benefit of a good education, and who has learned how to learn, actually *can* have a perfect job, with just a few things to look for:
1) Either become an entrepreneur, or find a company you can really believe in and enjoy. All of Josh’s factors about management will be a part of that, for sure, but so will their mission statement and how they do things. I love working at the Alamo, but I would hate working for AMC, so before working here I had *no idea* that I would ever want to work for a movie theater (sorry Matt and Meredith).
2) When you’ve found a place that you believe in, don’t sweat the small stuff when you’re starting at the bottom. I thought I had a good job when I was a runner here. I thought I had one of the Greatest Jobs Ever when I was a waiter at the old downtown theater. And because of that, I did the cheesy old “be the best janitor you can be” thing, and that attitude, rather than making you stuck as a janitor, will generally get you to another level. But if, say, you were really really wanting to help save the dolphins or something, and you couldn’t get a job as a Head Dolphin Saver, you’d probably get plenty of enjoyment out of your job even if you were just filing their maps. And if you were happy and managed well there, you’d start finding new ways to file better, which would lead to doing something else better, and on and on, until maybe you are Head Dolphin Saver someday.
As far as how to find the right place? That part’s tricky. Go on interviews anywhere you think you might like, whether it’s a place where you might get to work with college students, a place where you get to look at cupcakes, or a place where you can watch movie trailers. Instead of worrying about them liking you, though, worry about whether you like them, the same way you would if you were on a first date. If you don’t, move on. If you do, give it a shot. But if they end up being lame once you’re there, dump them unceremoniously and move on. Because it’s just a job, not a relationship.
Or, if you can’t find a job that makes you want to concentrate on being the best janitor you can be, start a hobby and focus on that. Eventually that can be a career, and even if it isn’t, it’ll give you meaningful work, which is always good.
i think about my job A LOT, obviously, thus the whole identity vs. job problem.
i have no clever advice, but i do have insight. i work a job that leaves me feeling fulfilled, and it’s valid and necessary, and sometimes i am just so lucky to work all day with kids. sometimes.
but the other problem is that you do tend to lose yourself in those jobs, and on bad days, you just want to curl up and die in a puddle of tears on your bedroom floor for losing yourself in a job for which you get NO THANK YOU but that sucks your soul dryyy…
i do not think the solution is to quit my fulfilling/unfulfilling job, but i do think i need to focus on balance. it’s not okay to be your work, nor is it–as i’ve learned from you and countless other people–okay to have no investment in your work. in either situation you are giving away a large portion of your life, and it has to be worth it.
I’ve learned that whatever job I do, I have to find it fulfilling and challenging. What I can’t do is compare my job to others’ jobs. When I start to think about my friends who have what I perceive to be more interesting jobs than mine, or when I listen to ignorant people who don’t think my job is important, that is when I get down on what I do.
I have also discovered that not everyone works for altruistic reasons. I went into working with kids because I love making a difference and I love working with kids. However, there are some people at my school who really do just teach to get paid. They show up and 8, leave at 4 and don’t seem to really derive any joy from the job. It is just a job to them.
For me-well, I can’t just work to get a paycheck-money is no fun when you’re miserable making it.
And then their is a balance thing-my job allows me time to spend with my husband, with my Sunday School class, singing in church choir, singing in a quartet, meeting with my accountability group. And so, on the days my job feels unfulfilling, I find my fulfillment in these other activities.
Wow, this post has really prompted a lot of fairly long responses!!
I got into graduate school after a few years of working, and it was the right call. Actually, the one job I really liked having and would have considered keeping was selling books part-time and being poor full-time. I was kind of an honorary hipster. It was weird, but I loved it.
However, I am thinking about things now, looking at professors and wondering if I can deal with being that bloody dysfunctional. The grass is always greener. Right now, I miss having money, like, having fun and not worrying about how much it leaves me with until the end of the month. Not being loaded, but being ok. But if I don the tie once more and start working again, I may have to spend a lot of time in Asia (even if I was based in Austin, which in my stupid dream world would be a must if I was going back to work) and, crucially, would not be able to take an afternoon off because I felt like it.
My only real problem with what I do right now is that it takes me away from Austin in a couple of years. And it forces me to be around people I can’t deal with. Though I’m beginning to suspect I’m a jerk and can’t deal with most people. It’s so bloody easy to get all introspective and confused, but then work doesn’t define who you are after all.
Sarah, I’m sure you’ll get a job you’re more interested in doing, but don’t underestimate the awesomeness that writing this blog brings into your life!!
what a prescient blog entry, sarah. I was just thinking about this today. stop reading my mind, okay?
I don’t know; after four years of hating my job, my current/new job sort of fell in my lap. And it’s still early days - and has its share of frustrations - to come down one way or another on whether it’s The Best Job Evs, but it seems to be working for me for now. A load has been lifted, at the very least.
When I was in school, I thought the only job that would make me happy was one in which I was hip deep in corpses, and it took a good two or three years post-graduation to wrap my head around the fact that, whether I end up with a career in forensic anthro or not, it’ll still be years down the line either way, and I might as well go about making myself happy in the meantime. But it’s like Mere says; there’s the risk of liking your “holdover” job too much, of letting that make you complacent and giving up your big dreams. My dreams (bookstore and carnie food restaurant aside) never extended much past forensic anthropology in the first place, which was why it was such an utter mindfuck to find myself working for an engineering company.
I think, when looking for a job, it’s important to keep that little place carved out in your heart for The Perfect Job, but not to let it overwhelm your vision to the point that you’re turning down perfectly good jobs. You may not find ultimate fulfillment in a career, but, you know, that’s what your friends and family and hobbies are for. To fill in the gaps and make you a complete person.
Of course, if I win the lotto between now and your graduation, I’m going to have a position open for Official Cupcake Tester - let me know if you want to apply.
I am intrigued by this post.
In a perfect world, your work doesn’t seem like work at all. That’s what everyone wants. Getting paid for something they think is fun and doesn’t seem like work.
Enter 2008, a recession, rising gas prices, foreclosures and $4 a gallon milk. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do, and if that means accepting a job that you might not like all that much, then you say your blessings that you even have a job.
I waited tables through college because I needed the money. Marie Calendar’s wasn’t exactly bringing in the moolah, but I needed what I could get. I remember saying my thanks every time I drove to that stinking restaurant – I needed to change my attitude and I knew it (otherwise my customer’s beverages would never get re-filled). I remember a man asking me if I loved my job… WHA? I told him, “no, but I am happy to do it.” Apparently I gave off the appearance that I actually LOVED my job, when I really, really hated it. It was really all a front to get better tips
I usually look at the world through rose-colored glasses and I don’t mean to sound like a cynic. You can definitely find that job that doesn’t seem like work. My father-in-law went into retirement kicking and screaming because he was forced to retire from flying planes at 60. He now lives in India so he can fly again - international retirement age is 65. Finding the perfect job is possible. I really hope you find yours, Sarah – and one that pays a TON of money! If you don’t though, be happy with the one that pays for the gas and the milk in your cereal.
Your attitude is only determined by you, not by your surroundings.
wow, pants world is so full of valuable insight!!! why am i not surprised?
thanks, guys, for all of yr input. i really do appreciate it, and it gives me a lot of meaty thoughts (gross?) to chew on as i begin my search…
Henri, working for a Cinemark movie theater BLEW MY SWEATSOCKS. However, I met my luuuuuuv there (and totally hooked up with him in the projection room), so sometimes even crappy jobs have their perks.
I echo Josh’s insight. Namely, find a job where you are given the authority to make decisions and execute AND you enjoy the people around you.
At the end of the day, besides growing a day older (name that tune), a job is a job.
Being ’successful’ is relative. Enjoy the time you have with the people around you.
s/e
Just so there’s clarity: I server food and I amaze, excite and shatter the earth while doing it. Hmphf, I say. What I do is important because I say it is and because I make it so.
Wow! What an interesting post and comments. Things like this are questions that no matter what position you are in or when you will always think about because it is a really fine line to create and their are no books on this matter.
For me I never had career dream. Don’t get me wrong I have dreams, just none of them related to what I would be doing as a job. So I just kind of fell into my career cause i like to travel, I like hotels, so why not work at one. I like what I do and definately don’t get bored (cause it is crazy) but i definately did not expect getting a job that I worked 12 plus hour days everyday. (i think i am getting it down to 10…fingers crossed) Before I moved back to Austin I knew I would have to struggle with this same question, cause I was moving back to a place where, well when I lived here it definately wan’t all about work. So it has a been a tough struggle of figuring out what is more important the hours I spend outside of work or growing my career as quickly as possible. So far I have been able to do both, but it definately isn’t easy.
Work is just not always fun it seems, there are gonna be down times. But it is about maintaining positive about what you are doing and doing it to the best you can. As long as your job is related to something that interests you (so probably food :)) I know you have the postive outlook to get enjoyment out of it. I agree with Henri that you just can’t sweat the small stuff. And at the end of the day if one day or the whole job sucks..at least you have a fabulous life outside of work and you can try the next opportunity that fits you better.
Best of luck on your upcoming journey. I foresee great things from miss posh.
These comments are amazing. I am confused about this issue myself. I really, really want my job to be so fulfilling that I don’t want to leave, but on the other hand, because I don’t have that job, I kind of like having time to do other things outside of it–some of these “other things” being “other types of work” and some of them being “long countryside hikes.” But who knows. I think there are really fulfilling jobs you can do in lots of different sectors if you know what kind of working rhythm you need. For me, for instance, I can’t be working on one thing for very long, so it’s good if I get lots of different projects in short time frames. Also I am not very good at living in poverty so it’s best if I don’t volunteer my time but instead get paid. I don’t need to make tons of money, but a decent wage is good. Also I like to have a friendly work environment in which I get a lot of feedback on whether I’m doing well or not. And I want it to be fairly competitive. As you can see, all of these things can happen in all kinds of sectors, and I think that these personal interactions in the work place–combined with the idea I’m doing something positive–are what really make it fulfilling to me. But it took a lot of time doing jobs I thought should be perfect but weren’t, and a job I thought I would hate and didn’t, to figure it out.
Other people’s opinions are more philosophical and possibly more applicable. But I would say spend some time thinking about what you want, and focus on really pursuing those types of jobs. Henri’s and Josh’s advice was great, and I really look forward to seeing what you do. I’m so excited for you.