Tagging along from one of the previous posts about people’s jobs, what are your favorite things about your job. If you can’t think of anything, then what are your least favorite things about it or what do you think you’d like to do instead if you could?
My favorite thing is the appreciation we get from passerby. I’ve never had a job where people are genuinely appreciative of what we are doing, and it’s nice to get that feedback from people even though the work itself can be pretty difficult. If there wasn’t that for my job, it would certainly be less rewarding.
I work in IT. My favorite part is focusing on a difficult problem that no one else can solve, and fixing it. My nickname at work is “the tank” because they can point me at any issue and I’ll fix it. I’ll also toss in the paycheck. I had a recruiter tell me 2 years ago that my skill set isn’t even worth $65k and now I’m making more than double that.
My least favorite part is the occasional late nights. Worked a 20 hour shift the other day for a particularly difficult major issue. This happens maybe twice a year. I’m at an age where it takes a toll.
We do renovations and build new homes. I’m a superintendent/project manager/babysitter. I love making people’s homes exactly the way they want them to be. Making custom one off shit for a single family that no one else has is absolutely the best. I love the idea thatbim making a house into a home.
The worst part is the fucking clients. Bunch of rich ‘have to have it now’ spoiled brat, lama people.
I’ve been doing this for about 35 years and still have zero way to reconcile these two things.
General contractor or subcontractor ?
General. Finish carpentry is in-house, just about everything else is subbed out. We have some fantastic subs too. My plumber has worked with me for close to 30 years. We sort of came up together. And my electrician is the most particular electrician I’ve ever worked with.
The worst part for me is when you get your intake for the day and its three cases needing reconsideration and you know you aren’t accomplishing anything else today because you have over three thousand pages of medical records to review.
I won’t say exactly where I work, because it is a sensitive topic. But the best part of my job is that I get to facilitate access to help for people after they have suffered some of the worst and most horrible experiences that humans can go through. The worse part of my work, interestingly, is not having to listen to the most disheartening stories and life experiences that usually really challenge my faith in humanity. Although that is heavy on the soul and tiring on my emotions, the actually worst part of my job is that I also have to inform to a lot of people, asking for help but who don’t fit the selection criteria for the help programs, that they will not be receiving help from my organization. I do try to get them in touch with others who sometimes can help them, but in general, it is always more people being turned down than accepted. There’s too much need in the world and too little people helping, but we are here helping.
Sounds kind of similar to the medical industry really
IT & Activities at retirement community.
Best - feeling valued and appreciated every single day by boss and people who live there. Knowing everyone by name being able to feel like I made a difference daily.
Company has a very very competent it dept that handles infrastructure so I’m essentially there for the end user.
Worst - staff and general fuckery of new construction. Some days are groundhog day.
Could be miles and miles worse. in a unique position where if it’s not working escalate, and get to be everyone’s best friend who fixes their tech.
IT
Activities
Never expected to see those things together. Unless one of the activities is virus scan and password update day.
Lol, it fits better than initially thought.
We do weekly classes on varying tech topics. Weekly virtual reality, thematic if possible. Any and all audio setup for performers & guest speakers. Ends up being a decent bit of tech to handle in activities.
I’m a truck driver and I deliver fuel to gas stations.
I really enjoy driving around all night listening to podcasts or audiobooks when nobody is on the road and when I do my deliveries sometimes I get to witness 3am gas station drama.
The worst parts for me are the long shifts and sometimes having to stand out in the rain.
I really like my job and it pays well.
I work at a shelter for young people (12-17yo) who can’t live at home. They only stay temporarily with us, until there is another instance found.
I really like getting to meet a lot of people, lots of destinies. I work in a great team with a great boss. We have lots of free time in our work hours, because they’re still youthsters, so they meet friends, meet family, etc.
We work shifts, which means sometimes I have to work on weekends, on holidays (not my vacations tho). Also sometimes the kids are not very easy. Sometimes they are the reason they can’t stay at home because they are aggressive, they take drugs at 14yo, they are criminals.
Appliance repairman.
Best part: Appliance repair is one of the most in-demand Fields right now and there’s never enough technicians. Because of this and because of how much experience I have, I basically get run-of-the-mill. I can get away with pretty much anything as long as I complete the work in a timely manner.
Worst part: dispatchers that don’t understand scheduling logistics and you end up riding around zigzagging through town. Around half of my 8-hour work day is just driving.
Travel, something new every time, challenging.
Gone a lot, shit always goes wrong at home when you’re gone, stressful at times.
I’m in academia. I like how many vibrant and wonderful people I meet. I love asking PhD students to tell me about their research areas, which are often so absurdly niche that I have no idea what it means, but I love being made aware of my own relative smallness. And I love being challenged to think about my own privilege in being here, how the ivory tower of research has been and is still a force of oppression in the world, especially in the context of colonialism. I like being challenged in this way because it prevents me from becoming comfortable in my ideology and challenges me to think of what science would look like in a fair and just world, and indeed, whether it would exist at all. These might seem like odd things for me to count as my favourite aspects but it’s because I love science, and I firmly believe that if you have to lie about something in order to love it, that love is no true love.
I think a lot about how to reach other people, to share the love that I feel for my subject, and though I haven’t done much teaching yet, I look forward to being able to learn from my students as they learn from me.
Good - I never have to work weekends or holidays (other than finishing a few things i didn’t finish during the week) and i get 8 weeks off in the summer. I have an office but i don’t normally have to go there. Unless i have a meeting or appointment, no one notices if I’m a few minutes late. I drive among about a dozen buildings so i get to see the sun and there’s always an opportunity to grab a drink. I work mostly with kids and some are hilarious! I love my team.
Bad- Driving and getting in/out of your car all day sucks when it’s hot, cold, or stormy. I haul a lot of things so my car is always a mess. Sometimes i have to work with or for unpleasant adults. Occasionally there’s poop or vomit.
Best part is the people. Worst part is the people.
Client feedback.
They’re wrong, but because they’re paying, they’re right.
Best part: Not much work.
Worst part: Not much pay.
Best: at this point, i can often phone it in and i get paid pretty well. Worst: annoying, self-important assholes.
