I just started working at a fast food restaurant and am really just blown away by how much rewarding it is that my last job working at a social welfare agency “helping people.” There is almost ALWAYS something to do AND my work can be objectively measured, two things untrue of my last job.
I’m trying to figure out what I want out of life, and work, and career, and I think this is really important to me: I actually need to be DOING something, something that I have direct control over, and something that I don’t NEED to say, “Look what a good job I did” because it is transparent.
Part of the reason I think this is important to me is if these requirements are NOT met, then the job is essentially convincing OTHERS that you are good at your job and/or that they like you. If what you do is opaque, unclear, or hard to measure, you have to constantly be policing the social narrative around yourself and your work–two things I have absolutely no interest (or ability?) in doing.
What’s been your experience?
I’ve only ever had 1 job where the job itself wasn’t bullshit; but the office politics and people in charge were. Loved being an installation tech; simple work that was routine while also being new every single job and occasionally required actual thought and problem solving. Sucked workkng outside in the heat, but it usually wasn’t too long out there with the exception of some rich bastard in a mansion wanting the cable ran to one side of their massive home when the only viable place for the dish was the opposite side or wanted it ran through the crawl space instead of just through the wall. Plus I tan up really good so it justt made me look sexier 😎
The owners and most of the managers were MAGA pricks, tho.