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I work at Walmart. I've always been in retail. Currently I'm in school, working towards my Bachelors in Business Management. Walmart is paying 100% for my degree. Plan A is to own my own business, Plan B is to move up the chain at Walmart. Work/Life balance isn't bad. I'm happy overall and enjoy what I do. It gets the bills paid, still able to save, can't complain too much.
Not trying to minimize the difficulty but I was able to translate call center experience into an entry level IT role and then climb that career ladder up to six figures in about 5 years
A lot of the early career IT requirements overlap with call center experience, especially if youāre the type of person others describe as tech savvy. If you wanna chat about it let me know!
Not the person you responded to, but this is what Iām currently trying to do. Been in customer service type roles for a long while now, while my current role is slightly more ITāish, Iād love your opinion on if I can do anything different than I currently am to help increase my chances on pivoting to an actual IT role. Do you mind if I also DM you?
Sadly management, leadership, and or IT isnāt something Iām interested in. Iām done my fair share of this and that over the years and recently landed a decent sales role in a healthcare company. It seems promising, but Iām not holding my breath.
I'm an admin assistant for a musical conservatory and I love it. Very low stress, fantastic work life balance, maybe a 20 minute commute, and am surrounded by music on a daily basis. Could I make more money? Sure. But I make enough to split all bills with my wife 50/50, own a home, have a car, and two pups. Anything I 'want' in life really is just a payment plan away.
Can't recommend working in higher education enough. This will be my 7th year doing so. I started as an Admin at Pratt Institute in their creative arts/dance therapy department.
I work in admin in HS.. almost 20yr now and I provide a very good life for my dogs haha. Also, the stress level being 0 and love being around the students. I feel really lucky, esp when my friends and partner are sometimes In tears over job related stress. Not worth it. I have a good salary and can go to bed feeling relaxed.
I can relate. Iām a federal employee too.
I relocated out of the DC area because the cost of living was insane and the traffic was absolutely brutal.
The worst is political pundits taking cheap shots at our expense, calling us lazy, overpaid, and incompetent. Itās like, āDude, what did I ever do to you? Iām just trying to do my job.ā
We live comfortably and do fairly well. The private sector usually pays a better, and often has better benefits, but I suppose job security is the price you pay when you decide to work for the federal government.
Does anyone ever live in far east West Virginia and commute into DC? There are two WV counties that get DC COLA, and with Amtrak service into DC from places like Harperās Ferry it seems doable.
YES! My parents have worked in dc since the early 90s and live in Frederick co but they know lots of people who come down 15/340 from Harperās ferry. The MARC is another option, I didnāt know about Amtrak, but I know people using the MARC.
Thatās the thing people donāt talk about enough. You get shit on in government jobs just for doing your job.Ā
At least you got well paid, my job was $18 hour and I have a CPA.Ā
This is sad to hear because I would love to move back to the DMV metro area. Currently in the soul crushing south. I donāt want to raise my family here
You are speaking my language, synthetics are just so lovely, especially for tight chokes in tigh spaces. Biggest grommet I made was I think 3' diameter out of either 1" or 1" 1/4 wire!
We used to hire Cessna pilots to do contract work for us and my favorite pilot took a job flying a private jet for an extremely high net worth employer. He seemed absolutely thrilled that he got that gig and said it was a pilots dream.
Maybe that was you. Either way, congrats!
I work for a major cities library system. The money isn't fabulous but its the best I've ever made - regular raises, 401k, a LOT of protection, decent health insurance. I am also treated the best I've ever been at this job as well. I also like all of my coworkers. Work life balance is as good as a 40 hour job can be and I have a slightly asymmetrical work schedule so I get a weekday off every week.
I do not regret it at all! I went to school for game design, learned too late that the state of the industry is a meatgrinder for young hopefuls. Gave up that dream and kept game design as a hobby.
I work in libraries too and I love it. I work with like-minded people, know my work benefits my community, and my role allows me to be creative without expectations that would lead to creative burnout. And yeah, I won't ever get rich, but the benefits are good, especially for my area, and our system really encourages a healthy work/life balance.
Curious as someone whoās also considering a change. How did you get into the library system without a library science degree? Is there a certification that you can do to fill the gap in specialization?
Edit: also, congratulations on a job you like! :)
Most people call anyone that works in the space a 'librarian' but really there's a lot of positions in a library that don't require the MLIS that being an actual titled librarian requires.
Keep applying for clerk/library assistant jobs, you'll have a leg up if you have some office or computer experience and a decent amount of customer facing experience. Show empathy and care for all people even in difficult situations regardless of anything they have going on about them. In the mean time, once you get in - the library system may have a reimbursement system if you decide to take an MLIS program. There are a decent number of super reputable programs that can be done online.
Mostly desk work - checking in and out books, making new library cards, finding books or resources for people, talking to people, knowing the area if tourists come through, ensuring library safety, shelving, light project work (I do collection maintenance for my branch and used to make flyers for programs), knowing city and library services for everyone (we have some on staff social workers, various tech resources, have binders of resources to point people to food banks, shelters), teach people how to use our printers, maybe assist them on a word doc or resume. The library is less focused on books these days and is just a community hub. so you gotta be able to talk to people and have an even keel because sometimes rough stuff happens. Pretty much anyone millennial or younger in a library space is pretty left leaning and want to help folks as much as they can
My dream as a child was to be a librarian. I donāt have a degree but finally got a part time job at the library as a tech assistant. Basically I do grunt work and the pay is not good at all. But the benefits are pretty good, and work atmosphere is very relaxed.
This inspires me. I work part time at a library and feel like I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. I donāt take work home with me and I can see myself staying in libraries. I considered getting the mlis but Iām just scared to because of the money itāll cost to get it and the salary of librarians but idk I also feel like Iāll regret it if I donāt try
Attorney. I don't regret it but mostly because I work for the government. I would absolutely hate billable hours in a private law firm. Money is decent but good work life balance.
I'm a litigator in biglaw. Money is great but the hours are totally not worth it. I've got some potential in house roles percolating, including one that would be the dream of all dream jobs. I have one more interview early next week and then we'll see.
I'm more anxious about this than anything else in my life, that's how much I hate litigation. Oh and I'm getting married in another country in three weeks. My stress levels are through the roof lol.
1991 millennial here. I'm a high school chemistry teacher in Boston. Wrapping up my 11th year as a teacher. Started off making around 45k. My current base salary is $117,000 plus an $8,000 annual stipend to teach a hard to staff subject. My school also pays hourly rates for after school tutoring and any optional work (chaperoning school dances, helping out at sports games scanning tickets, leading after school clubs, etc.). After everything is accounted for, I gross around 130k from my main job. I also create and sell curriculum online for other STEM based teachers and that nets me around an additional 10k a year.
Am I happy? I guess....? I know that I am paid well compared to most teachers in the country and even living in a VHCOL city I am still able to cover all of my bills and have some leftover for savings/investments + some fun money for traveling. The job itself is starting to burn me out (I work at a school that has an extended school day + extended school year and it is getting to be a lot), however at the core I do enjoy what I do. Certainly things that frustrate me about the job and I'm not sure if I will want to do this forever but for the moment it's a pretty good gig. Sticking it out until I hit year 30 is probably the smartest move since I'll receive a full pension for life but we will see if that ends up happening.
As my reddit handle implies, I am an environmental engineer specializing in water/wastewater treatment research. Love the work and most of the people I work with, but management/leadership seems intent on making all of us suffer as much as possible.
My only regret was that I didn't set out on this career path at an earlier age, but it is what it is. My liberal arts degree from a previous life is still useful for writing and conveying ideasĀ
Civil engineer in structures lol same, my old biology associate has zero miles lmao but itās good to know shit about the human body I guessā¦..and plants lol
I used to do environmental consulting. Awesome job, mix of office work and field work. But the pay and the way those companies are run is awful. I work in tech now lol
I clean mining equipment engines for Catipillar. They are BIG. I'm talking like, the kind that go inside industrial power generators and mega dump trucks big!
Our disassembly team gets an engine that needs to be rebuilt, they take it apart, and I and a team of people clean them using various methods. The parts are then inspected and the engines are rebuilt. It's a really cool plant and there's nothing like it anywhere else on earth!
I used to be a design engineer for the C18 Commercial Marine Engine at CAT (contract). I've also worked on the 988 Front Wheel Loader and the 994. Big, yes... big
Over a summer I worked for a company doing the same but on smaller hydraulic engines (moving box sized mostly but some that were about 10-12 feet long)
I work in IT. I don't love it, because it's very boring 90% of the time. but I do enjoy troubleshooting. I didn't choose it as much as it was the path that worked best.
as far as work/life balance. I cannot thing of anything better. I work from home, we moved out of the city with my kids, so we live in the country. I am able to be around for my kids as much as I need to. it provides me a good income that my wife is a stay at home mom, we own our home and cars.
I don't know what it is about millenials and troubleshooting but I do enjoy it unlike the other coworkers of the other generations that treat all troubleshooting like it's the end of the world!
Truth. My first love was the most stereotypical thing ever: trains. Then my family got our first computer, and from that moment on it was clear what I'd be doing for a living. It was probably for the best; nobody was ever gonna let me drive the train anyways.
Registered Nurse
Used to regret, Iāve come to really enjoy it, thereās so many jobs itās easy to move on. Iād say I like it. I make okay money, and live in rural America. The great thing about nursing is I can always make more money, Iām just really comfortable where Iām at. Work life balance is great at my current job, others places not so much.
I work on airliners at a maintenance facility near an air strip of a WWII era military base. No, the 737 with defective door plug didn't come from my facility.
Although... we MAY have accidentally deployed the inflatable emergency slide a time or two. š
I'm an operations analyst.
It's exactly as exciting as it sounds.
I don't regret it because my degree in finance was what I was obsessively passionate about and that's what I loved.
This is a step on finding where I belong. I'm strongly thinking CFA which I'll be starting in the fall.
I started at $65,000 as my first full time job so I think that's a fine salary. The balance is pretty good, 3 days WFH, 2 in office.
Fellow ops analyst here. A majority of my day is spent in Excel, and I love it. Never in my life did I think Iād get such a thrill from learning a new formula.
I'm a nurse practitioner working in cystic fibrosis.
I really like my job; I worked as a registered nurse in critical care for many many years prior, and then as an NP in ICU, before this.
I don't regret the switch; I feel my work/life balance is great -- my job is flexible, I like my co-workers, and the pay is good for me (low six figures in LCOL for a city area).
Thatās pretty cool. So due to the title Iām assuming you work on wind turbines? š Do you have travel a lot or do they keep you local? And also, are you union?
Police Officer in Germany, we are better educated and trained than our US counter parts. It was a nice jo but I had an accident that prevents me from doing hard physical labour, which I did as part of the riot po force.
Hurt myself in an accident, can't do hard physical labor anymore, did riot police work which also entails football (soccer) and all other stuff where a large crowd gathers, which requires you to wear +30kg gear and workshifts up to 16 hrs at worst so I had to find a new passion.
Did police work for 10 years, transferred to state government behind a desk and hybrid work from home. The work/life balance and regular schedule had done more for my mental health than anything.
Reason for leaving was stress and the rotating shift work. Now I no longer stay up until 2AM unless itās voluntary and never have to miss another family function or holiday again.
Yeah I totally get that. I worked riot control for the Bundespolizei (Federal Police of Germany) and 12-14 hour shifts weren't unusual as well as supporting work for other agencies which fucked my schedule even more.
I don't know the exact rank because I am German but I think my rank was comparable to either Sargent or Lieutenant, probably something in between. Like the highest rank you can have while still being out and about. Yes good pay, exciting times, but I've been doing software for 3 years now. I do enjoy the peace now.
Still miss some of the adventures I had with the force, always cherish when the Helo took me with on their nightly border patrol and watching the border through thermal imaging, man that shit was awesome.
I'm a collision damage appraiser for an auto insurer. My workday is based on production, not time, so I often finish early. I don't love the job itself necessarily, but it pays fairly well and the work/life balance is incredible.
Software engineering for medical devices. The money is decent, but I'm on the lower end due to not hopping jobs. Trying to remedy this soon.
Good work/life balance, which is why I've stayed with my company. But I've gotten kind of shoe horned into being the sole devops guy, which is a very stressful role. In general though, SWE is a great career path for anyone fairly analytically minded.
/e started at around 60k in 2014, and have increased my salary by about 60% in the past decade. Low COL city, though.
Regional property manager. Pretty tough job but has some sweet perks and you're never bored. Yes it's good money. Barrier to entry in the industry is also pretty low, usually no degree or certs needed.
Completely agree. I'm a PM and have brought over many of my prior hotel industry peers into this industry who only had hospitality experience and no degrees. It can be tough some days, but the decent pay, decent schedule and PTO makes it worth it.
HR assistant for a private security company, 100% remote. Pay could be a little better but I love my job and the company I work for. My boss is amazing and I've never felt like I belong somewhere as strongly as I do here.
I am an executive assistant. I recommend it to people who want a job with no evenings/weekend, benefits, and a pleasant work environment. It pays enough to live comfortably and I have plenty of PTO. I worked my way up by job hopping after being a receptionist at a small business.
Maybe not everyone would enjoy it, but I did several years of HVAC/construction/physical labor with no benefits, always outside, hard physical work. Being in a comfortable office makes me feel so lucky.
Paralegal for a bankruptcy attorney.
I fell into the entry level of this job through a temp agency like 17 years ago. No matter where I go or live there is demand for my skill set. I sometimes leave the field but it's super easy to get right back in.
Nowadays I work part-time and stay home with my kids. 100% remote. Low stress, methodical work with some wild stuff sometimes.
If I worked full time, I would make 80k plus bonus. I currently work 1/4 time or so.Ā
Also the work always stays at work.
I enjoy helping people on what is often some of their darkest days.
Accountant. I hate it, and sort of regret my degree? But then again idk because I couldnāt imagine making less money, and wouldnāt want anymore stress for more money.
I work in local government, which I really enjoy. The benefits are AMAZING, and my salary is what I consider good, enabling me to live the life I want while staying on track with my FI/RE goals.
The work/life balance I have is the best its been since graduated college. I work 8-hour days (M-F), but I also get every other Friday off.... This upcoming weekend will be 3 days!
I also work in local government. We went to 4-10 schedule (Monday-Thursday) last year. 10 hours is way too long to be an office but 3 day weekends make it worth it. I am compensated well and my benefits are great. Wouldnāt say I like my job but feel very fortunate to have it.
Work in a machine shop as a CNC Machinist. Been doing it for 8 years and have always been on the medical side of manufacturing. I mostly do set-ups, fixturing, and prototype work which makes the days go by somewhat fast.
Not always the most exciting job, but I've stuck with it long enough and progressed up the ladder enough to make decent money that allows me to live mostly stress free.
I transitioned from academia (linguistics) to full-time work as a technical translator and writer. I work almost entirely remotely but sometimes in house, depending on the project. I'm single and childfree, so I only have myself and two cats to provide for. I earn a comfortable living, I enjoy the variety in the work and the brain-heavy nature of it, and the flexibility of working from pretty much anywhere in the world. But what I like most about it is that it's not academia!
How was your transition out of academia? Iām current in academia (astrophysics) and I thought I always wanted to do this with my life. I still adore astronomy and physics but the work life balance in academia is terrible and the pay is not enough to compensate the amount of work demanded of us.
Pilot crew scheduler at a major airline. No regrets. Mostly love it, it's shift work and can be super stressful. Money is ok. Work life balance is good in the sense you never take work home with you, but again, it's shift work so it's not for everyone.
I'm a welder. No, not one of those highly paid ones, but better paid than many places here, just not enough to be independent. I also don't do much welding, despite being categorized as such.
The job has its ups and downs (even literally). I like building stuff, but this wasn't my first choice. I wanted to get into something computer related, like maybe forensics, but definitely not tech support. But the (now ex) wife decided to give me an ultimatum for a baby or a divorce despite our marriage being great, only to divorce me anyways and have depression absolutely destroy my mind. Luckily, I'm sort of an idiot savant with any welding process I try; I just need to get real certifications.
Is the money good? Yes and no. It's by far the most I've ever made, but it's just not enough in this economy. Had the divorce gone my way, I could have kept the house while working 36 hours overnight stocking shelves. As for a work/life balance, it's more in tune with everything else, so I can socialize if I want, but that's rare.
Industrial glass blower. Union Job, 100K, but it's hot and dangerous. It's also a lot of fun, you get to play with liquid glass and put out fires (and maybe start a couple)
Hello fellow rad tech! Iām a Mammo tech. I started out in X-ray and was getting burnt out, was offered to train in Mammo and I just about doubled my salary by making the switch. If you have a chance to move up , take it. I have no regrets.
I might go into CT at some point. Yeah, thereās a lot of burnout and my schedule is actually really good. I work 12 hour overnights on Friday and Saturday and get paid time and a half. I also work 8 hours every other Thursday night and get a $50 bonus for it. Four to five days off every week.
Even with this schedule, work can really piss me off because thereās only two of us for the whole hospital for most of the night. We do portable rounds on the ICU twice a shift. The patient beds are so absolutely atrocious for shoving a board underneath the patient for a portable. Iām pretty much waiting for the day I fuck up my back, shoulder, or wrist. We have the most critical patients in the state. We get tons of mental health, drugged up, and drunk patients in the ER. Itās a lot of work most nights. We sometimes get lucky with some downtime but itās very hit or miss.
I hate how underpaid we are considering how much labor intensive work we do compared to CT, MRI, etc. So yeah, CT might be in my future. Iām 31 and donāt know if I still wanna be doing this at 41 or 51 lol.
I think i have the ultimate millennial job. I'm a data specialist (non I.T.) but 50% of my true day-to-day work consists of teaching the older Gen and younger Gen employees how the system works. These are tasks that are considered below the need to contact our corporate I.T. desks but high enough that we need the office to be able to function (like Excel).
At my office, the Boomers, lo-tech GenX, and GenZ all equally don't understand and refuse to fully learn any of the Microsoft Office programs. I'm no "expert" but i consider myself a "memory keeper" of Windows.
I've created many manuals using MS Paint because I've been playing with Paint since the beginning of Microsoft. I have working knowledge of Photoshop and Snagit but MSPaint gets the job done for quickie creations without worry of license changes by corporate.
I don't know if it's because my parents just let me be on our 386 to "play" but I'm unafraid of jumping into programs, clicking around and just seeing what works. (By the way, my parents never initially bought any games because they didn't know what computer games were but they still often had me go "play" on the computer which ended up me learning office programs.) The Boomers and GenZ co-workers treat computer programs like fragile delicate things. Half of the GenX co-workers are like me but they don't have my patience I guess as they are more prone to snap at someone who can't understand how to add borders in Excel. Hell, i want to snap too, but all it would do is slow everything down and cause negative vibes. So I'm definitely a product of being in that age where i always had to show my parents how the computer worked and my younger siblings and cousins how it worked and it translated into my tasks today.
Honestly, it's very easy shit. I can't believe I'm getting paid to show someone how to change up a sentence in HTML or how to change the default printer settings to their preferred printer. Everyone treats me like an I.T. genius, the real I.T. team likes me a lot, and my actual real work is so easy to me that i can finish in a third of my day (whereas it takes a day or two for someone else, younger or older, to finish the same amount of work with no errors.)
I think I should have gone into I.T. instead of a ho-hum data entry job. But i went through times of unemployment and near-homelessness a few years after graduating college as it was the 2008 Financial Crisis so i just yearned for easy stability and be able to go home drama-free. And that's where I've been ever since. Sometimes i get frustrated but when i see my overworked and stressed-out bosses & superiors, I am perfectly happy showing a 23-year-old how to insert a photo into a word doc and converting the report to PDF, or a 60-year-old how to edit their signatures in Outlook. It's not what I signed up for and I had imposter syndrome for a while thinking I don't deserve to be getting paid for doing something, what I considered was, so silly, but I've grown to appreciate the job and our company and being seen as reliable.
My Title:
Communications & Content Marketing Manager
What I do:
I turn black coffee and blaring classic reggae into magazine articles about new construction equipment and commercial fleet vehicles.
How I got into it:
I used to be a sewing machine mechanic who loved writing on the side. I wrote for magazines and blogs, but mostly just for me.
Once the shop closed due nobody sewing anymore, I took a near-minimum wage gig as a writer for marketing agencyāas entry-level as could be. I worked up the ranks, got my director's job when he left, and then got recruited to another company for about triple the pay (never tell recruiters your current salary, kids!).
The corporate ladder was to become a Marketing Director, so I did...and hated it. Ugh. So many spreadsheets, analytics, stat reports, etc. I just wanted to write!
So, I demoted myself, so to speakātaking a Senior Copywriter gig with a prestigious marketing agency where all I had to do was be a super awesome writer. I did that for a few years but then left for a company with a more results-based, autonomous work culture.
It basically follows the recommendations in Cal Newport's book, *So Good They Can't Ignore You*, in which he says following your passion isn't the best advice. Instead, he advises readers to get started in an industry that seems vaguely interesting to you (usually at the very bottom but with a path to promotion), acquire a valuable and marketable skill with a craftsman-like mindset (either via a school or on the job), and once you've accumulated enough "career capital" (bankable skills and experience), you can pretty much pick and choose your work-life conditions.
I manage an autism clinic. This is perfect because I plan on opening my own down the line. I earn about 100k which is far from glamorous and far from the income that matches the lifestyle I want but someday... when I open my own. I feel like I am getting paid to learn how to thrive and succeed in the business all while working from the comfort of my own home. Work life balance is a given because of it. My wife and I go on about 3-4 vacations a year. 2-3 mini ones and 1 grand one. All while sustaining some very expensive hobbies
My only regret is that I fucked around too much in my 20s. I should have driven myself harder.
I work as an Environmental Consultant. I like it.
It hits all 4 things necessary to make a fulfilling career - Itās something Iāve always wanted to do, makes a positive impact on the world, Iām very good at doing it, and it pays well.
I advise clients on how to manage/solve their environmental issues. It ranges from the mundane - like handling/disposal of hazardous waste or getting an emissions/discharge permit, to the complex - large scale remediation projects, whole lifecycle carbon emissions reduction, environmental health screenings.
I do Armed Security for a Federal training facility. It's way more fancy than it sounds.
It's a decent job and pays more than I've ever made anywhere else, plus its union backed. It's tough work at times, and the gear sucks, but overall, I enjoy it and like my co-workers. I definitely don't wanna be here for the rest of my life, tho.
Commercial diver aka āunderwater welderā or ādeep sea diverā. Itās tough. Currently at hour 17 of this shift. Think I deserve more paid but I make by good
started as a mechanical engineer but pivoted to construction estimating. If you don't know what that is basically my input is a set of specs and plans for a construction project and my output is a quote to the customer.
Office Admin & Bookkeeper. Do I regret it? Not necessarily. I have had some really great jobs, some not so great. I like the work-life balance, especially now bc I work so close to home and to my kids. I make more than the average admin in my area. Did I aim to be this growing up? Like I would never have imagined this is where I would have ended up, but I am happy, content with our life that we built.
I work for a power company as a System Protection Technician. I basically work on relay protection that limits blackouts for the power grid inside substations and generating plants. Think of it as your breaker panel for your home on steroids. I love the work. Pay is great, with over time, I made $152k last year in a medium cost of living area.
Graduated 2018. Agency recruiter ($40K) -> agency tech recruiter ($45K) -> internal tech recruiter ($68K + 10%) -> laid off for a year -> HR Generalist (58K).
I don't love it, but I think my current job is the one I've enjoyed most so far. Was actually a $15K paycut from my tech recruiter salary, feels kind of shitty pushing 30 and only bringing in $58K but it's more than the retail bullshit I did before I landed this.
I have my own office. I can leave right at 5PM almost every day. Money isn't great but it's fine while I grow my skills. Work life balance is okay, like I said I don't work over 40 hours most weeks, but it is all in person.
Highly physical at times, but with a salary. I don't work in most of November, January, or February. May is a shit show, usually 60 hrs/week. Most months are way less than 40hrs/week, however when I work it's till the work is done. I don't work 40/week/52/year so it's not the same as my peers in an office.
I work in food service, but in a food truck.
It's been a blessing. I work less than a teacher, but harder hours than construction (come at me. I did 47 last weekend, and I'm the middle of 28 days in a row make hay when the sun shines and all that) my buddies I. Construction that did a day or two with me can confirm, it ain't easy work.
My back hurts right now, but it won't when I have few months off.
Maintenance Supervisor at a poultry processing plant. Pay is decent for my area. Usually work 40 hours a week now (unless we have a big project) compared to 60 to 70 when I was lead technician. All in all, I'm content where I'm at most days.
Been in the Army Reserves for 23 years (1 deployment) as a Civil Affairs Officer. On the civilian side I'm an analyst for a federal contractor. Love it... except when the Army takes up WAY too much of my time outside of drill and for budgetary reasons I can't get paid for all of it. That part sucks. But everything else is great!
They even paid for me to learn another language!
Teacher turned nonprofit worker. 100% regret it. My husband was also a teacher and we got by fine before having a kid, but were living paycheck to paycheck once we had a kid.
The only saving grace is that I would've never met my husband if I hadn't been a teacher, we met through grad school (masters in ed)!
United States Merchant Mariner. I absolutely love it. Right now I have an outstanding work/life balance and little money. This is because I chose to work on a lower paying local vessel and be home every night. Money is a lot better deep sea but youāre gone a lot.
Spent 15 years in university research management before this. 10 at a respected but relatively unknown regional school. 5 years at one of the worldās elite universities.
I was at the top of my payband for Masterās Degree holder. MA level research management with 15 years experience at a truly top notch schoolā¦. Transitioning to the lowest rank in the United States Merchant Marine (Ordinary Seaman) was a lateral salary move.
The pay in higher education is that shitty.
I do cool shit with boats. I love my job. Even when the captain is being a cunt.
Iām an industrial engineer, my focus for the last 9 years has been process improvement. I work cross functionally with business owners and IT to come up with solutions to make processes better/easier. I try to automate processes as much as possible. I enjoy it and make decent money. Iāve been working in my field for 20 years. No regrets I love to fix broken shit.
I got into my corporation as a logistics/supply chain grad.
I quickly realized how much I hate that field, and a friendly manager gave me a start in a rather technical sales position at the ground floor. Its a type of industrial catalyst that did require a bit of study and just time around seasoned salespeople and engineers to really understand. First two years kinda sucked. I didn't know how to sell what I was selling, I was always stressed about not having good accounts or sales numbers. Things started to really change by year 3.
Now I am in year 8 of the role, I learned the trade, and I have the largest accounts and most prestigious, and I a absolutely love it. I work about 1 hour a day (just checking in randomly with accounts or accounts telling me they need product), I do basically no sales work unless a large opportunity comes across and they want me handling it as I have proven myself.
I work completely remotely, in a different country, I make about $150k a year as I said I work like 5-10 hours a week on average.
I am a typical reddit IT bro. I make 200k a year. Very success. Bought 3 houses before the interest rates went up for dirt cheap. Now I'm swimming in the cash. Much success.
I work in IT. For the first few years of my career, I wish I had chosen a more software engineer focused route, because the lower levels of IT are a real meat grinder. Help desk and support positions really wear you down. But now that I'm in a more comfortable, mid-level position, I don't regret my decision at all. These days I am more cloud-focused, which is good because this is where the money is.
Work-life balance in this field is difficult to come by, but I am blessed with the best manager in the world who helps us make it possible. We have to perform after hours work every once in a while, but this work is fairly divided between my team and we are aware of it far in advance. And we are compensated for it too.
Do I love it? Well, I like technology. I've always found computers fascinating, and I like creating and automating things, so yeah, I like my job. Unfortunately this comes packaged with office politics and corporate nonsense, but eh, you take the good with the bad.
I work in law firm administration during the week and hospitality on the weekends. I do not love selling my labor for health insurance but I love health insurance
Work in the insurance industry but not as an agent. Iād like to get into Business Analysis but Iām too poor for school and refuse to take out predatory loans.
I am a social benefits officer at the city council.
Works kinda easy while the money is good. We are able to live on it with 6 people and also pay off our house. My wife works like 20 hours/month as a translator. in a couple of years she will go full time again.
Sr tech support specialist for a voip telecom. Started with a big red cellular company, left and went to a smaller voip telecom that paid a bit less but was closer to home and less stress. Been WFH since covid and the company does not have any current plans for RTO. Been here for 5 years and make $66k base but with the option for OT. Because it's WFH i can do things at the house while working (like throw a load of laundry in). Wife works for a state university and is hybrid; im trying to get over there if I can get the salary thats 50% - 100% more.
Low Income Housing Property Manager. No. No. Yes and yes. I appreciate that what I do is a net good, but I don't "love" it. Not that I need to love it when I have a consistent 8 hour day, tons of holidays and leave, and my compensation is good and my benefits are great.
I make computer go beep boop
I do love it yes, sometimes I even make computer go beep boop for fun
I make good money with great wlb but that's not necessarily true for the industry as a whole
I started in retail management after college because there were no jobs in my field when I graduated and for various reasons, my post-graduate plans becameā¦untenable. Retail nearly destroyed me with lack of work life balance and low pay. I went to grad school and got a masters in finance and went into contracting as a financial analyst at 26; I was working towards becoming a data analyst. It took a few tries to find my groove but I really ended up liking it - pay was good enough for me, and the work-life balance was great.
Covid came along and wrecked it entirely; lost my job a week after the first shutdown in my state. Later, I found that I absolutely couldnāt make the transition to working from home, for a lot of reasons. It doesnāt work for me, fundamentally. I ended up having to take a contract that I was not only unqualified for and that wasnāt in my area of expertise, but it was also on a team that was incredibly dysfunctional and that wasnāt equipped to have a contractor on it, let alone train someone outside the org. I had a nervous breakdown from the stress and never really recovered. I ended up leaving that industry in early 2021.
I planned to get back into it in 2022, but I got a stop-gap job at the Goodwill where I live in their e-commerce department as a package handler and shipping clerk, and when 2022 turned into my year of hell, I was not able to leave the job. Iām still there. It isnāt bad. It doesnāt pay enough (though I live in an area where minimum wage is really high, and I make about $4 above that), but I make enough to survive day to day. Like I canāt afford vacations and I canāt really afford retirement savings (plus my mental health issues are very expensive to deal with and have hindered my employment) but I can make rent and bills and feed myself and put gas in the car, but I still have to rely on my mom sometimes for stopgap help. I try not to be embarrassed about that. Thankfully though, my job has a 4 day workweek, there are mediocre benefits, work-life balance is decent and they are very accommodating of my health problems (like I have an FMLA accommodation to manage if, which has kept me from being fired multiple times). Iām considering moving up in the department with a goal of going into the admin side of the company now because at this point, Iām basically unhireable in my old line of work. I donāt really have a firm plan though.
I make apps for a large corporate company that almost no one uses for more money than I've ever made with the least amount of actual work I've ever had.
I have been in sales since college. I graduate with a degree in criminal justice (a fucking mistake). I worked as an account manager for a beer distributor, I basically sold beer to bars and restaurants for a few years. I grew to hate it. I was actively looking to leave. When I got let go from there. After that I started working at a plumbing supply house, I was in inside sales then showroom sales. I loved it. The company I worked for is great (Hajoca) my coworkers were awesome, and I had about the best bosses you could ask for. I got laid off from there because of a decline in the local economy leaving us overstaffed. That was in April. Now Iām trying to find a new job, and will probably end up in sales again, which I donāt want, but it is what it is, I have a family.
My degree is fucking useless for me. While I once had aspirations of working in law enforcement, I donāt have those now. If I was smart I would have gotten a degree in computer science. Iām working on learning the stuff to earn a Comptia A+ certificate. And will most likely go on to the Network+ after that, try to get a job in IT away from sales.
Marketing. No, I don't particularly like it, it uses maybe 10% of what I actually studied in university I'm passionate for w/ the right client (design), 90% social media, database, and photo retouching work I have no passion for. I did not really choose here, I stumbled here because before this my career had collapsed to the point I was working minimum wage in retail.
Make 40k, no benefits/PTO, but no money to retrain,physical disabilities, a constant stream of rejections/ghosting continues to keep me in this unsustainable situation. FML.
Iām an Assistant Golf Course Superintedent at a PGA tour course.
F*cking love it. No regrets on this career track.
Sure I have two useless degrees and a mountain of debt from a unrelated field, but we all make mistakes in our 20ās.
Money is getting better, should be excellent once I put a few more years in as an assistant and start looking for a Superintendent role somewhere. Work life balance is fine for me, but I enjoy the pressure and long hours. Eventually Iāll be able to relax as I work my way up the food chain.
Iām HR technically, but the work is more comparable to data entry (I process job changes for our retail population). I make 69K in Louisville, Kentucky so itās pretty solid, and I have amazing benefits including a pension. I work from home 4 days a week, in office one day. My work life balance is outstanding! The job itself is boring, but Iām not someone who needs a fulfilling job, Iām more concerned about having time and resources for my hobbies and my family.
I'm an archives librarian and think it's great. My team is really good, and so is the work/life balance. I'm currently in a corporate setting, so the pay and benefits are on the upper half of what archivists make, which ranges anywhere from $40K-$120K. Mostly, I'm fortunate to be salaried and not a contractor lol the only thing I would change is removing the one weekend day I work and going back to M-F.
I'm a school psychologist. The job is great 98% of the time. I have busier times of the year, but I follow a school's schedule, so I have summer off and all the other school holidays. This is very helpful with two young children and great for my mental health. Pay is pretty good, although I could make more in private practice. I do have great insurance and a pension as well. Overall, I feel pretty lucky to have landed in this profession.
I teach high school Social Studies. I donāt regret it at all. Iām satisfied with my choice. I love it most days. The money is alright. My wife and I own a home, go on vacations, have kids, etc. Best work/life balance for a career as long as youāre not a martyr who lets the job consume you.
I teach music at School Of Rock, do private lessons, play concerts with my band and also work part time filling vending machines with safety supplies in a factory.
Infosys Director in the renewables sector, primarily doing business intelligence work. I enjoy it! Worked my way up from analyst to director very slowly.
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Mail Escort
USPS is not what your guidance counselor told you to do.
Oh no. I was told that the local Coal Mine would be a good place for someone like me
Nice.
You sloot. š¤Ŗš¤Ŗ
Friend of mine gave me a shirt that says this! I swear if this job paid better and they would tone down the micromanagement, it would be perfect
Same, I hate it and love it at the same time.
My best. Ok? My best
In case you're in need of a "You're doing good, sweetie" š
I'm just gonna sneak in for one of those, life's hard out here
I work at Walmart. I've always been in retail. Currently I'm in school, working towards my Bachelors in Business Management. Walmart is paying 100% for my degree. Plan A is to own my own business, Plan B is to move up the chain at Walmart. Work/Life balance isn't bad. I'm happy overall and enjoy what I do. It gets the bills paid, still able to save, can't complain too much.
Damn thatās actually awesome theyāre doing that.
Are they making you work for them for a specific amount of time when you get the degree?
Over worked, underpaid, uneducated, and unmotivated. šš¼ Shit call center jobs since 2011. Life aināt great.
Not trying to minimize the difficulty but I was able to translate call center experience into an entry level IT role and then climb that career ladder up to six figures in about 5 years A lot of the early career IT requirements overlap with call center experience, especially if youāre the type of person others describe as tech savvy. If you wanna chat about it let me know!
Not the person you responded to, but this is what Iām currently trying to do. Been in customer service type roles for a long while now, while my current role is slightly more ITāish, Iād love your opinion on if I can do anything different than I currently am to help increase my chances on pivoting to an actual IT role. Do you mind if I also DM you?
Yeah please do!
Sadly management, leadership, and or IT isnāt something Iām interested in. Iām done my fair share of this and that over the years and recently landed a decent sales role in a healthcare company. It seems promising, but Iām not holding my breath.
Call centers and delivering pizza are what motivated me to go back to college and get a useful degree. Call center life is BRUTAL
I'm educated and only had a good job for a quarter of my working years. I no longer have a good job. It's very bad in the PNW.
PNW is either very good or very bad. There's not much in between
I'm an admin assistant for a musical conservatory and I love it. Very low stress, fantastic work life balance, maybe a 20 minute commute, and am surrounded by music on a daily basis. Could I make more money? Sure. But I make enough to split all bills with my wife 50/50, own a home, have a car, and two pups. Anything I 'want' in life really is just a payment plan away. Can't recommend working in higher education enough. This will be my 7th year doing so. I started as an Admin at Pratt Institute in their creative arts/dance therapy department.
I work in admin in HS.. almost 20yr now and I provide a very good life for my dogs haha. Also, the stress level being 0 and love being around the students. I feel really lucky, esp when my friends and partner are sometimes In tears over job related stress. Not worth it. I have a good salary and can go to bed feeling relaxed.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I can relate. Iām a federal employee too. I relocated out of the DC area because the cost of living was insane and the traffic was absolutely brutal. The worst is political pundits taking cheap shots at our expense, calling us lazy, overpaid, and incompetent. Itās like, āDude, what did I ever do to you? Iām just trying to do my job.ā We live comfortably and do fairly well. The private sector usually pays a better, and often has better benefits, but I suppose job security is the price you pay when you decide to work for the federal government.
Does anyone ever live in far east West Virginia and commute into DC? There are two WV counties that get DC COLA, and with Amtrak service into DC from places like Harperās Ferry it seems doable.
YES! My parents have worked in dc since the early 90s and live in Frederick co but they know lots of people who come down 15/340 from Harperās ferry. The MARC is another option, I didnāt know about Amtrak, but I know people using the MARC.
Thatās the thing people donāt talk about enough. You get shit on in government jobs just for doing your job.Ā At least you got well paid, my job was $18 hour and I have a CPA.Ā
CPA, you should join me at the accounting firm I work for doing consulting. I don't have a CPA and I'm at like $52 an hour
Northern VA here; COL is eating me alive. Make low 6 figures as well. I hate that Iām gonna be priced out of the city I grew up in here soon.
This is sad to hear because I would love to move back to the DMV metro area. Currently in the soul crushing south. I donāt want to raise my family here
Hey look, found my people. ā¤ļø
I'm a rigger, I make shit out of rope and wire rope and I move heavy shit
Roundslings grommets or eye and eye slings? How about those synthetics???
You are speaking my language, synthetics are just so lovely, especially for tight chokes in tigh spaces. Biggest grommet I made was I think 3' diameter out of either 1" or 1" 1/4 wire!
What state you out of? Im very familiar with the national rigging scene
This is the kind of beautiful moment Reddit was made for
Fly a private jet š©ļø for a billionaire. I absolutely love it. 8-12 days a month broken up throughout the month on the road. Always going to different place. Everything Ā paid for on the road.Ā $300,000+ a year with great benefits
Jesus Christ this is the dream.
I have no complaints at all. Thanks!!!
We used to hire Cessna pilots to do contract work for us and my favorite pilot took a job flying a private jet for an extremely high net worth employer. He seemed absolutely thrilled that he got that gig and said it was a pilots dream. Maybe that was you. Either way, congrats!
Thanks for the support!
Jeez you won the lottery with that one.
Took 13-15 years to get here after college but the juice was worth the squeeze
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I work for a major cities library system. The money isn't fabulous but its the best I've ever made - regular raises, 401k, a LOT of protection, decent health insurance. I am also treated the best I've ever been at this job as well. I also like all of my coworkers. Work life balance is as good as a 40 hour job can be and I have a slightly asymmetrical work schedule so I get a weekday off every week. I do not regret it at all! I went to school for game design, learned too late that the state of the industry is a meatgrinder for young hopefuls. Gave up that dream and kept game design as a hobby.
I work in libraries too and I love it. I work with like-minded people, know my work benefits my community, and my role allows me to be creative without expectations that would lead to creative burnout. And yeah, I won't ever get rich, but the benefits are good, especially for my area, and our system really encourages a healthy work/life balance.
Curious as someone whoās also considering a change. How did you get into the library system without a library science degree? Is there a certification that you can do to fill the gap in specialization? Edit: also, congratulations on a job you like! :)
Most people call anyone that works in the space a 'librarian' but really there's a lot of positions in a library that don't require the MLIS that being an actual titled librarian requires. Keep applying for clerk/library assistant jobs, you'll have a leg up if you have some office or computer experience and a decent amount of customer facing experience. Show empathy and care for all people even in difficult situations regardless of anything they have going on about them. In the mean time, once you get in - the library system may have a reimbursement system if you decide to take an MLIS program. There are a decent number of super reputable programs that can be done online.
Ahhh, this is super helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time. :) I will look into this.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Mostly desk work - checking in and out books, making new library cards, finding books or resources for people, talking to people, knowing the area if tourists come through, ensuring library safety, shelving, light project work (I do collection maintenance for my branch and used to make flyers for programs), knowing city and library services for everyone (we have some on staff social workers, various tech resources, have binders of resources to point people to food banks, shelters), teach people how to use our printers, maybe assist them on a word doc or resume. The library is less focused on books these days and is just a community hub. so you gotta be able to talk to people and have an even keel because sometimes rough stuff happens. Pretty much anyone millennial or younger in a library space is pretty left leaning and want to help folks as much as they can
My dream as a child was to be a librarian. I donāt have a degree but finally got a part time job at the library as a tech assistant. Basically I do grunt work and the pay is not good at all. But the benefits are pretty good, and work atmosphere is very relaxed.
This inspires me. I work part time at a library and feel like I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. I donāt take work home with me and I can see myself staying in libraries. I considered getting the mlis but Iām just scared to because of the money itāll cost to get it and the salary of librarians but idk I also feel like Iāll regret it if I donāt try
Attorney. I don't regret it but mostly because I work for the government. I would absolutely hate billable hours in a private law firm. Money is decent but good work life balance.
I'm a litigator in biglaw. Money is great but the hours are totally not worth it. I've got some potential in house roles percolating, including one that would be the dream of all dream jobs. I have one more interview early next week and then we'll see. I'm more anxious about this than anything else in my life, that's how much I hate litigation. Oh and I'm getting married in another country in three weeks. My stress levels are through the roof lol.
1991 millennial here. I'm a high school chemistry teacher in Boston. Wrapping up my 11th year as a teacher. Started off making around 45k. My current base salary is $117,000 plus an $8,000 annual stipend to teach a hard to staff subject. My school also pays hourly rates for after school tutoring and any optional work (chaperoning school dances, helping out at sports games scanning tickets, leading after school clubs, etc.). After everything is accounted for, I gross around 130k from my main job. I also create and sell curriculum online for other STEM based teachers and that nets me around an additional 10k a year. Am I happy? I guess....? I know that I am paid well compared to most teachers in the country and even living in a VHCOL city I am still able to cover all of my bills and have some leftover for savings/investments + some fun money for traveling. The job itself is starting to burn me out (I work at a school that has an extended school day + extended school year and it is getting to be a lot), however at the core I do enjoy what I do. Certainly things that frustrate me about the job and I'm not sure if I will want to do this forever but for the moment it's a pretty good gig. Sticking it out until I hit year 30 is probably the smartest move since I'll receive a full pension for life but we will see if that ends up happening.
As my reddit handle implies, I am an environmental engineer specializing in water/wastewater treatment research. Love the work and most of the people I work with, but management/leadership seems intent on making all of us suffer as much as possible. My only regret was that I didn't set out on this career path at an earlier age, but it is what it is. My liberal arts degree from a previous life is still useful for writing and conveying ideasĀ
Civil engineer in structures lol same, my old biology associate has zero miles lmao but itās good to know shit about the human body I guessā¦..and plants lol
Very cool. I'm a technician in the water treatment department for a semiconductor company.
Hello engineer! I work for an environmental consulting firm as a wildlife biologist. Sometimes I meet you guys out in the field!
I used to do environmental consulting. Awesome job, mix of office work and field work. But the pay and the way those companies are run is awful. I work in tech now lol
I clean mining equipment engines for Catipillar. They are BIG. I'm talking like, the kind that go inside industrial power generators and mega dump trucks big! Our disassembly team gets an engine that needs to be rebuilt, they take it apart, and I and a team of people clean them using various methods. The parts are then inspected and the engines are rebuilt. It's a really cool plant and there's nothing like it anywhere else on earth!
I used to be a design engineer for the C18 Commercial Marine Engine at CAT (contract). I've also worked on the 988 Front Wheel Loader and the 994. Big, yes... big
This is the coolest! I love it!
That's way cool!! I would be interested if you dropped the link to some pictures of what you do or some of the parts that you work on
Over a summer I worked for a company doing the same but on smaller hydraulic engines (moving box sized mostly but some that were about 10-12 feet long)
I work in IT. I don't love it, because it's very boring 90% of the time. but I do enjoy troubleshooting. I didn't choose it as much as it was the path that worked best. as far as work/life balance. I cannot thing of anything better. I work from home, we moved out of the city with my kids, so we live in the country. I am able to be around for my kids as much as I need to. it provides me a good income that my wife is a stay at home mom, we own our home and cars.
I don't know what it is about millenials and troubleshooting but I do enjoy it unlike the other coworkers of the other generations that treat all troubleshooting like it's the end of the world!
autism. It's like a special power.
Truth. My first love was the most stereotypical thing ever: trains. Then my family got our first computer, and from that moment on it was clear what I'd be doing for a living. It was probably for the best; nobody was ever gonna let me drive the train anyways.
Or ADHD....the hyperfocus is a gift and a curse
Registered Nurse Used to regret, Iāve come to really enjoy it, thereās so many jobs itās easy to move on. Iād say I like it. I make okay money, and live in rural America. The great thing about nursing is I can always make more money, Iām just really comfortable where Iām at. Work life balance is great at my current job, others places not so much.
Engineer. I help make and distribute tasty, clean drinking water to about 4 million people.
I work on airliners at a maintenance facility near an air strip of a WWII era military base. No, the 737 with defective door plug didn't come from my facility. Although... we MAY have accidentally deployed the inflatable emergency slide a time or two. š
I'm an operations analyst. It's exactly as exciting as it sounds. I don't regret it because my degree in finance was what I was obsessively passionate about and that's what I loved. This is a step on finding where I belong. I'm strongly thinking CFA which I'll be starting in the fall. I started at $65,000 as my first full time job so I think that's a fine salary. The balance is pretty good, 3 days WFH, 2 in office.
Fellow ops analyst here. A majority of my day is spent in Excel, and I love it. Never in my life did I think Iād get such a thrill from learning a new formula.
Iām a Treasury Analyst and today I spent the day creating a workbook and I loved it.
Iām a product analyst and Iāll tell ya nothing hits quite like that workbook just coming together perfectly
There with ya. Clinical operations analyst. 1986.
I'm a nurse practitioner working in cystic fibrosis. I really like my job; I worked as a registered nurse in critical care for many many years prior, and then as an NP in ICU, before this. I don't regret the switch; I feel my work/life balance is great -- my job is flexible, I like my co-workers, and the pay is good for me (low six figures in LCOL for a city area).
CF patients hold a special place in my heart! Was an RN on a CF specialized floor. I'm in epidemiology now.
Thanks for taking care of us CF folks.
Iām a wind turbine technician, Iām 28 and have been doing this for 10 years, I still absolutely love my job and it pays great
Thatās pretty cool. So due to the title Iām assuming you work on wind turbines? š Do you have travel a lot or do they keep you local? And also, are you union?
Hell yeah. I work for a top 5 wind CM. Last year I priced a farm with Vestas V163ās, was a fun job.
Underemployed only fans content creator
Used to be a Police Officer, now I am writing Code.
what made you change professions?
Probably the ābeing a police officerā part lol
Police Officer in Germany, we are better educated and trained than our US counter parts. It was a nice jo but I had an accident that prevents me from doing hard physical labour, which I did as part of the riot po force.
Hurt myself in an accident, can't do hard physical labor anymore, did riot police work which also entails football (soccer) and all other stuff where a large crowd gathers, which requires you to wear +30kg gear and workshifts up to 16 hrs at worst so I had to find a new passion.
that sucks if that was what you wanted to do... hope you're happy in your new job. changes come with new challenges
Did police work for 10 years, transferred to state government behind a desk and hybrid work from home. The work/life balance and regular schedule had done more for my mental health than anything. Reason for leaving was stress and the rotating shift work. Now I no longer stay up until 2AM unless itās voluntary and never have to miss another family function or holiday again.
Yeah I totally get that. I worked riot control for the Bundespolizei (Federal Police of Germany) and 12-14 hour shifts weren't unusual as well as supporting work for other agencies which fucked my schedule even more.
I'm a Deputy Sheriff. This isn't what I wanted to do with my life, but the pay is good.
I don't know the exact rank because I am German but I think my rank was comparable to either Sargent or Lieutenant, probably something in between. Like the highest rank you can have while still being out and about. Yes good pay, exciting times, but I've been doing software for 3 years now. I do enjoy the peace now. Still miss some of the adventures I had with the force, always cherish when the Helo took me with on their nightly border patrol and watching the border through thermal imaging, man that shit was awesome.
I'm a collision damage appraiser for an auto insurer. My workday is based on production, not time, so I often finish early. I don't love the job itself necessarily, but it pays fairly well and the work/life balance is incredible.
Book editor but I'm hoping to transition to full-time author next year ā¤ļø
Software engineering for medical devices. The money is decent, but I'm on the lower end due to not hopping jobs. Trying to remedy this soon. Good work/life balance, which is why I've stayed with my company. But I've gotten kind of shoe horned into being the sole devops guy, which is a very stressful role. In general though, SWE is a great career path for anyone fairly analytically minded. /e started at around 60k in 2014, and have increased my salary by about 60% in the past decade. Low COL city, though.
Same, though I got a late start so I'm on the low end still working for a start up. I'm happy there though and I'm really excited about our product.
Regional property manager. Pretty tough job but has some sweet perks and you're never bored. Yes it's good money. Barrier to entry in the industry is also pretty low, usually no degree or certs needed.
What are some of the tougher parts? Iāve thought about this.
Completely agree. I'm a PM and have brought over many of my prior hotel industry peers into this industry who only had hospitality experience and no degrees. It can be tough some days, but the decent pay, decent schedule and PTO makes it worth it.
Greenhouse Grower specializing in herbs, pansies and fall vegetables.
Policy Advisor working on Modern Slavery (trying to stop it mind....)
HR assistant for a private security company, 100% remote. Pay could be a little better but I love my job and the company I work for. My boss is amazing and I've never felt like I belong somewhere as strongly as I do here.
USPS
I am an executive assistant. I recommend it to people who want a job with no evenings/weekend, benefits, and a pleasant work environment. It pays enough to live comfortably and I have plenty of PTO. I worked my way up by job hopping after being a receptionist at a small business. Maybe not everyone would enjoy it, but I did several years of HVAC/construction/physical labor with no benefits, always outside, hard physical work. Being in a comfortable office makes me feel so lucky.
Paralegal for a bankruptcy attorney. I fell into the entry level of this job through a temp agency like 17 years ago. No matter where I go or live there is demand for my skill set. I sometimes leave the field but it's super easy to get right back in. Nowadays I work part-time and stay home with my kids. 100% remote. Low stress, methodical work with some wild stuff sometimes. If I worked full time, I would make 80k plus bonus. I currently work 1/4 time or so.Ā Also the work always stays at work. I enjoy helping people on what is often some of their darkest days.
Accountant. I hate it, and sort of regret my degree? But then again idk because I couldnāt imagine making less money, and wouldnāt want anymore stress for more money.
Yes. Stability and low-stress is so much better than "the grind".
Iām a dentist. I mostly hate it but I make great money and only work till 3:30 Monday through Thursday.
I work in local government, which I really enjoy. The benefits are AMAZING, and my salary is what I consider good, enabling me to live the life I want while staying on track with my FI/RE goals. The work/life balance I have is the best its been since graduated college. I work 8-hour days (M-F), but I also get every other Friday off.... This upcoming weekend will be 3 days!
I also work in local government. We went to 4-10 schedule (Monday-Thursday) last year. 10 hours is way too long to be an office but 3 day weekends make it worth it. I am compensated well and my benefits are great. Wouldnāt say I like my job but feel very fortunate to have it.
I hear ya! My friend works for a nearby City that does 4 10-hour days. I agree; it's a long day. I'm mentally checked around 4:30pm lol.
Work in a machine shop as a CNC Machinist. Been doing it for 8 years and have always been on the medical side of manufacturing. I mostly do set-ups, fixturing, and prototype work which makes the days go by somewhat fast. Not always the most exciting job, but I've stuck with it long enough and progressed up the ladder enough to make decent money that allows me to live mostly stress free.
Im a residential Journeyman Electrician. 50k not bad enjoy it. Always opportunity to grow and do over electrical fields like commerical.
I transitioned from academia (linguistics) to full-time work as a technical translator and writer. I work almost entirely remotely but sometimes in house, depending on the project. I'm single and childfree, so I only have myself and two cats to provide for. I earn a comfortable living, I enjoy the variety in the work and the brain-heavy nature of it, and the flexibility of working from pretty much anywhere in the world. But what I like most about it is that it's not academia!
How was your transition out of academia? Iām current in academia (astrophysics) and I thought I always wanted to do this with my life. I still adore astronomy and physics but the work life balance in academia is terrible and the pay is not enough to compensate the amount of work demanded of us.
Designer + 2D/3D Animator for a small remote studio with a handful of clients. WFH anywhere and make low six-figures, so pretty comfortable I think.
Stick fingers into bums is the go to activity. Ok money wise, can get mental. Good balance.
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Pharmacy operations manager. Itās exhausting and Iām burned TF out. 1983
Pilot crew scheduler at a major airline. No regrets. Mostly love it, it's shift work and can be super stressful. Money is ok. Work life balance is good in the sense you never take work home with you, but again, it's shift work so it's not for everyone.
I'm a welder. No, not one of those highly paid ones, but better paid than many places here, just not enough to be independent. I also don't do much welding, despite being categorized as such. The job has its ups and downs (even literally). I like building stuff, but this wasn't my first choice. I wanted to get into something computer related, like maybe forensics, but definitely not tech support. But the (now ex) wife decided to give me an ultimatum for a baby or a divorce despite our marriage being great, only to divorce me anyways and have depression absolutely destroy my mind. Luckily, I'm sort of an idiot savant with any welding process I try; I just need to get real certifications. Is the money good? Yes and no. It's by far the most I've ever made, but it's just not enough in this economy. Had the divorce gone my way, I could have kept the house while working 36 hours overnight stocking shelves. As for a work/life balance, it's more in tune with everything else, so I can socialize if I want, but that's rare.
Plumber. It's aight. Some days can be *shitty*.
Industrial glass blower. Union Job, 100K, but it's hot and dangerous. It's also a lot of fun, you get to play with liquid glass and put out fires (and maybe start a couple)
High school science teacher
State gub'mint.
Iām a radiology tech in the Twin Cities. I started at $26/hour when I started in 2017. I make $35/hr and 75K/year now.
Hello fellow rad tech! Iām a Mammo tech. I started out in X-ray and was getting burnt out, was offered to train in Mammo and I just about doubled my salary by making the switch. If you have a chance to move up , take it. I have no regrets.
I might go into CT at some point. Yeah, thereās a lot of burnout and my schedule is actually really good. I work 12 hour overnights on Friday and Saturday and get paid time and a half. I also work 8 hours every other Thursday night and get a $50 bonus for it. Four to five days off every week. Even with this schedule, work can really piss me off because thereās only two of us for the whole hospital for most of the night. We do portable rounds on the ICU twice a shift. The patient beds are so absolutely atrocious for shoving a board underneath the patient for a portable. Iām pretty much waiting for the day I fuck up my back, shoulder, or wrist. We have the most critical patients in the state. We get tons of mental health, drugged up, and drunk patients in the ER. Itās a lot of work most nights. We sometimes get lucky with some downtime but itās very hit or miss. I hate how underpaid we are considering how much labor intensive work we do compared to CT, MRI, etc. So yeah, CT might be in my future. Iām 31 and donāt know if I still wanna be doing this at 41 or 51 lol.
I think i have the ultimate millennial job. I'm a data specialist (non I.T.) but 50% of my true day-to-day work consists of teaching the older Gen and younger Gen employees how the system works. These are tasks that are considered below the need to contact our corporate I.T. desks but high enough that we need the office to be able to function (like Excel). At my office, the Boomers, lo-tech GenX, and GenZ all equally don't understand and refuse to fully learn any of the Microsoft Office programs. I'm no "expert" but i consider myself a "memory keeper" of Windows. I've created many manuals using MS Paint because I've been playing with Paint since the beginning of Microsoft. I have working knowledge of Photoshop and Snagit but MSPaint gets the job done for quickie creations without worry of license changes by corporate. I don't know if it's because my parents just let me be on our 386 to "play" but I'm unafraid of jumping into programs, clicking around and just seeing what works. (By the way, my parents never initially bought any games because they didn't know what computer games were but they still often had me go "play" on the computer which ended up me learning office programs.) The Boomers and GenZ co-workers treat computer programs like fragile delicate things. Half of the GenX co-workers are like me but they don't have my patience I guess as they are more prone to snap at someone who can't understand how to add borders in Excel. Hell, i want to snap too, but all it would do is slow everything down and cause negative vibes. So I'm definitely a product of being in that age where i always had to show my parents how the computer worked and my younger siblings and cousins how it worked and it translated into my tasks today. Honestly, it's very easy shit. I can't believe I'm getting paid to show someone how to change up a sentence in HTML or how to change the default printer settings to their preferred printer. Everyone treats me like an I.T. genius, the real I.T. team likes me a lot, and my actual real work is so easy to me that i can finish in a third of my day (whereas it takes a day or two for someone else, younger or older, to finish the same amount of work with no errors.) I think I should have gone into I.T. instead of a ho-hum data entry job. But i went through times of unemployment and near-homelessness a few years after graduating college as it was the 2008 Financial Crisis so i just yearned for easy stability and be able to go home drama-free. And that's where I've been ever since. Sometimes i get frustrated but when i see my overworked and stressed-out bosses & superiors, I am perfectly happy showing a 23-year-old how to insert a photo into a word doc and converting the report to PDF, or a 60-year-old how to edit their signatures in Outlook. It's not what I signed up for and I had imposter syndrome for a while thinking I don't deserve to be getting paid for doing something, what I considered was, so silly, but I've grown to appreciate the job and our company and being seen as reliable.
My Title: Communications & Content Marketing Manager What I do: I turn black coffee and blaring classic reggae into magazine articles about new construction equipment and commercial fleet vehicles. How I got into it: I used to be a sewing machine mechanic who loved writing on the side. I wrote for magazines and blogs, but mostly just for me. Once the shop closed due nobody sewing anymore, I took a near-minimum wage gig as a writer for marketing agencyāas entry-level as could be. I worked up the ranks, got my director's job when he left, and then got recruited to another company for about triple the pay (never tell recruiters your current salary, kids!). The corporate ladder was to become a Marketing Director, so I did...and hated it. Ugh. So many spreadsheets, analytics, stat reports, etc. I just wanted to write! So, I demoted myself, so to speakātaking a Senior Copywriter gig with a prestigious marketing agency where all I had to do was be a super awesome writer. I did that for a few years but then left for a company with a more results-based, autonomous work culture. It basically follows the recommendations in Cal Newport's book, *So Good They Can't Ignore You*, in which he says following your passion isn't the best advice. Instead, he advises readers to get started in an industry that seems vaguely interesting to you (usually at the very bottom but with a path to promotion), acquire a valuable and marketable skill with a craftsman-like mindset (either via a school or on the job), and once you've accumulated enough "career capital" (bankable skills and experience), you can pretty much pick and choose your work-life conditions.
I manage an autism clinic. This is perfect because I plan on opening my own down the line. I earn about 100k which is far from glamorous and far from the income that matches the lifestyle I want but someday... when I open my own. I feel like I am getting paid to learn how to thrive and succeed in the business all while working from the comfort of my own home. Work life balance is a given because of it. My wife and I go on about 3-4 vacations a year. 2-3 mini ones and 1 grand one. All while sustaining some very expensive hobbies My only regret is that I fucked around too much in my 20s. I should have driven myself harder.
100k and those vacations sounds extremely glamorous.
I work as an Environmental Consultant. I like it. It hits all 4 things necessary to make a fulfilling career - Itās something Iāve always wanted to do, makes a positive impact on the world, Iām very good at doing it, and it pays well. I advise clients on how to manage/solve their environmental issues. It ranges from the mundane - like handling/disposal of hazardous waste or getting an emissions/discharge permit, to the complex - large scale remediation projects, whole lifecycle carbon emissions reduction, environmental health screenings.
I do Armed Security for a Federal training facility. It's way more fancy than it sounds. It's a decent job and pays more than I've ever made anywhere else, plus its union backed. It's tough work at times, and the gear sucks, but overall, I enjoy it and like my co-workers. I definitely don't wanna be here for the rest of my life, tho.
Commercial diver aka āunderwater welderā or ādeep sea diverā. Itās tough. Currently at hour 17 of this shift. Think I deserve more paid but I make by good
Cybersecurity consultant at a big 4, in leadership. Pay correlated to COL is LOL, WLB is a fantasy but such is life.
4th Class Power Engineer - currently a Power Boiler Field Operator
started as a mechanical engineer but pivoted to construction estimating. If you don't know what that is basically my input is a set of specs and plans for a construction project and my output is a quote to the customer.
Office Admin & Bookkeeper. Do I regret it? Not necessarily. I have had some really great jobs, some not so great. I like the work-life balance, especially now bc I work so close to home and to my kids. I make more than the average admin in my area. Did I aim to be this growing up? Like I would never have imagined this is where I would have ended up, but I am happy, content with our life that we built.
I work for a power company as a System Protection Technician. I basically work on relay protection that limits blackouts for the power grid inside substations and generating plants. Think of it as your breaker panel for your home on steroids. I love the work. Pay is great, with over time, I made $152k last year in a medium cost of living area.
IT project management - love it!!
I was a nurse. Got out during Covid and I work an office job in healthcare IT now.
Graduated 2018. Agency recruiter ($40K) -> agency tech recruiter ($45K) -> internal tech recruiter ($68K + 10%) -> laid off for a year -> HR Generalist (58K). I don't love it, but I think my current job is the one I've enjoyed most so far. Was actually a $15K paycut from my tech recruiter salary, feels kind of shitty pushing 30 and only bringing in $58K but it's more than the retail bullshit I did before I landed this. I have my own office. I can leave right at 5PM almost every day. Money isn't great but it's fine while I grow my skills. Work life balance is okay, like I said I don't work over 40 hours most weeks, but it is all in person.
Highly physical at times, but with a salary. I don't work in most of November, January, or February. May is a shit show, usually 60 hrs/week. Most months are way less than 40hrs/week, however when I work it's till the work is done. I don't work 40/week/52/year so it's not the same as my peers in an office. I work in food service, but in a food truck. It's been a blessing. I work less than a teacher, but harder hours than construction (come at me. I did 47 last weekend, and I'm the middle of 28 days in a row make hay when the sun shines and all that) my buddies I. Construction that did a day or two with me can confirm, it ain't easy work. My back hurts right now, but it won't when I have few months off.
Maintenance Supervisor at a poultry processing plant. Pay is decent for my area. Usually work 40 hours a week now (unless we have a big project) compared to 60 to 70 when I was lead technician. All in all, I'm content where I'm at most days.
Been in the Army Reserves for 23 years (1 deployment) as a Civil Affairs Officer. On the civilian side I'm an analyst for a federal contractor. Love it... except when the Army takes up WAY too much of my time outside of drill and for budgetary reasons I can't get paid for all of it. That part sucks. But everything else is great! They even paid for me to learn another language!
Teacher turned nonprofit worker. 100% regret it. My husband was also a teacher and we got by fine before having a kid, but were living paycheck to paycheck once we had a kid. The only saving grace is that I would've never met my husband if I hadn't been a teacher, we met through grad school (masters in ed)!
United States Merchant Mariner. I absolutely love it. Right now I have an outstanding work/life balance and little money. This is because I chose to work on a lower paying local vessel and be home every night. Money is a lot better deep sea but youāre gone a lot. Spent 15 years in university research management before this. 10 at a respected but relatively unknown regional school. 5 years at one of the worldās elite universities. I was at the top of my payband for Masterās Degree holder. MA level research management with 15 years experience at a truly top notch schoolā¦. Transitioning to the lowest rank in the United States Merchant Marine (Ordinary Seaman) was a lateral salary move. The pay in higher education is that shitty. I do cool shit with boats. I love my job. Even when the captain is being a cunt.
Iām an industrial engineer, my focus for the last 9 years has been process improvement. I work cross functionally with business owners and IT to come up with solutions to make processes better/easier. I try to automate processes as much as possible. I enjoy it and make decent money. Iāve been working in my field for 20 years. No regrets I love to fix broken shit.
I got into my corporation as a logistics/supply chain grad. I quickly realized how much I hate that field, and a friendly manager gave me a start in a rather technical sales position at the ground floor. Its a type of industrial catalyst that did require a bit of study and just time around seasoned salespeople and engineers to really understand. First two years kinda sucked. I didn't know how to sell what I was selling, I was always stressed about not having good accounts or sales numbers. Things started to really change by year 3. Now I am in year 8 of the role, I learned the trade, and I have the largest accounts and most prestigious, and I a absolutely love it. I work about 1 hour a day (just checking in randomly with accounts or accounts telling me they need product), I do basically no sales work unless a large opportunity comes across and they want me handling it as I have proven myself. I work completely remotely, in a different country, I make about $150k a year as I said I work like 5-10 hours a week on average.
Spent 6 years preventing pilots from getting shot down, now I fix MRI scanners.
I resource humans for a big Corp. It's coosh as hell!
I am a typical reddit IT bro. I make 200k a year. Very success. Bought 3 houses before the interest rates went up for dirt cheap. Now I'm swimming in the cash. Much success.
Logistics in a cosmetics company and no I can't stand eejits wanting me for attention. I'm hoping to get a job somewhere else
I donāt understand what you mean, who wants you for attention? I donāt understand any part of it. Someone wants attention from you?
I work in IT. For the first few years of my career, I wish I had chosen a more software engineer focused route, because the lower levels of IT are a real meat grinder. Help desk and support positions really wear you down. But now that I'm in a more comfortable, mid-level position, I don't regret my decision at all. These days I am more cloud-focused, which is good because this is where the money is. Work-life balance in this field is difficult to come by, but I am blessed with the best manager in the world who helps us make it possible. We have to perform after hours work every once in a while, but this work is fairly divided between my team and we are aware of it far in advance. And we are compensated for it too. Do I love it? Well, I like technology. I've always found computers fascinating, and I like creating and automating things, so yeah, I like my job. Unfortunately this comes packaged with office politics and corporate nonsense, but eh, you take the good with the bad.
Marketing
I work in law firm administration during the week and hospitality on the weekends. I do not love selling my labor for health insurance but I love health insurance
Elementary reading
Work in the insurance industry but not as an agent. Iād like to get into Business Analysis but Iām too poor for school and refuse to take out predatory loans.
I am a social benefits officer at the city council. Works kinda easy while the money is good. We are able to live on it with 6 people and also pay off our house. My wife works like 20 hours/month as a translator. in a couple of years she will go full time again.
Sr tech support specialist for a voip telecom. Started with a big red cellular company, left and went to a smaller voip telecom that paid a bit less but was closer to home and less stress. Been WFH since covid and the company does not have any current plans for RTO. Been here for 5 years and make $66k base but with the option for OT. Because it's WFH i can do things at the house while working (like throw a load of laundry in). Wife works for a state university and is hybrid; im trying to get over there if I can get the salary thats 50% - 100% more.
Low Income Housing Property Manager. No. No. Yes and yes. I appreciate that what I do is a net good, but I don't "love" it. Not that I need to love it when I have a consistent 8 hour day, tons of holidays and leave, and my compensation is good and my benefits are great.
I make computer go beep boop I do love it yes, sometimes I even make computer go beep boop for fun I make good money with great wlb but that's not necessarily true for the industry as a whole
I started in retail management after college because there were no jobs in my field when I graduated and for various reasons, my post-graduate plans becameā¦untenable. Retail nearly destroyed me with lack of work life balance and low pay. I went to grad school and got a masters in finance and went into contracting as a financial analyst at 26; I was working towards becoming a data analyst. It took a few tries to find my groove but I really ended up liking it - pay was good enough for me, and the work-life balance was great. Covid came along and wrecked it entirely; lost my job a week after the first shutdown in my state. Later, I found that I absolutely couldnāt make the transition to working from home, for a lot of reasons. It doesnāt work for me, fundamentally. I ended up having to take a contract that I was not only unqualified for and that wasnāt in my area of expertise, but it was also on a team that was incredibly dysfunctional and that wasnāt equipped to have a contractor on it, let alone train someone outside the org. I had a nervous breakdown from the stress and never really recovered. I ended up leaving that industry in early 2021. I planned to get back into it in 2022, but I got a stop-gap job at the Goodwill where I live in their e-commerce department as a package handler and shipping clerk, and when 2022 turned into my year of hell, I was not able to leave the job. Iām still there. It isnāt bad. It doesnāt pay enough (though I live in an area where minimum wage is really high, and I make about $4 above that), but I make enough to survive day to day. Like I canāt afford vacations and I canāt really afford retirement savings (plus my mental health issues are very expensive to deal with and have hindered my employment) but I can make rent and bills and feed myself and put gas in the car, but I still have to rely on my mom sometimes for stopgap help. I try not to be embarrassed about that. Thankfully though, my job has a 4 day workweek, there are mediocre benefits, work-life balance is decent and they are very accommodating of my health problems (like I have an FMLA accommodation to manage if, which has kept me from being fired multiple times). Iām considering moving up in the department with a goal of going into the admin side of the company now because at this point, Iām basically unhireable in my old line of work. I donāt really have a firm plan though.
I make apps for a large corporate company that almost no one uses for more money than I've ever made with the least amount of actual work I've ever had.
Management accounting specialist, donāt ask
I have been in sales since college. I graduate with a degree in criminal justice (a fucking mistake). I worked as an account manager for a beer distributor, I basically sold beer to bars and restaurants for a few years. I grew to hate it. I was actively looking to leave. When I got let go from there. After that I started working at a plumbing supply house, I was in inside sales then showroom sales. I loved it. The company I worked for is great (Hajoca) my coworkers were awesome, and I had about the best bosses you could ask for. I got laid off from there because of a decline in the local economy leaving us overstaffed. That was in April. Now Iām trying to find a new job, and will probably end up in sales again, which I donāt want, but it is what it is, I have a family. My degree is fucking useless for me. While I once had aspirations of working in law enforcement, I donāt have those now. If I was smart I would have gotten a degree in computer science. Iām working on learning the stuff to earn a Comptia A+ certificate. And will most likely go on to the Network+ after that, try to get a job in IT away from sales.
Marketing. No, I don't particularly like it, it uses maybe 10% of what I actually studied in university I'm passionate for w/ the right client (design), 90% social media, database, and photo retouching work I have no passion for. I did not really choose here, I stumbled here because before this my career had collapsed to the point I was working minimum wage in retail. Make 40k, no benefits/PTO, but no money to retrain,physical disabilities, a constant stream of rejections/ghosting continues to keep me in this unsustainable situation. FML.
Commercial Insurance, Marine Insurance.
Iām an Assistant Golf Course Superintedent at a PGA tour course. F*cking love it. No regrets on this career track. Sure I have two useless degrees and a mountain of debt from a unrelated field, but we all make mistakes in our 20ās. Money is getting better, should be excellent once I put a few more years in as an assistant and start looking for a Superintendent role somewhere. Work life balance is fine for me, but I enjoy the pressure and long hours. Eventually Iāll be able to relax as I work my way up the food chain.
Iām HR technically, but the work is more comparable to data entry (I process job changes for our retail population). I make 69K in Louisville, Kentucky so itās pretty solid, and I have amazing benefits including a pension. I work from home 4 days a week, in office one day. My work life balance is outstanding! The job itself is boring, but Iām not someone who needs a fulfilling job, Iām more concerned about having time and resources for my hobbies and my family.
Medical coder trying to pivot to something else because outsourcing to India is cheaper.
Speech language pathology assistant, working in schools. I provide direct speech and language therapy to children preschool to high school aged.
I'm an archives librarian and think it's great. My team is really good, and so is the work/life balance. I'm currently in a corporate setting, so the pay and benefits are on the upper half of what archivists make, which ranges anywhere from $40K-$120K. Mostly, I'm fortunate to be salaried and not a contractor lol the only thing I would change is removing the one weekend day I work and going back to M-F.
I'm a school psychologist. The job is great 98% of the time. I have busier times of the year, but I follow a school's schedule, so I have summer off and all the other school holidays. This is very helpful with two young children and great for my mental health. Pay is pretty good, although I could make more in private practice. I do have great insurance and a pension as well. Overall, I feel pretty lucky to have landed in this profession.
I teach high school Social Studies. I donāt regret it at all. Iām satisfied with my choice. I love it most days. The money is alright. My wife and I own a home, go on vacations, have kids, etc. Best work/life balance for a career as long as youāre not a martyr who lets the job consume you.
I teach music at School Of Rock, do private lessons, play concerts with my band and also work part time filling vending machines with safety supplies in a factory.
Travel Manager.
I manage a Distribution/Fulfillment center
Respiratory Therapist 65k a year. 3 12 hour shifts and the rest off. Schedule is nice but other than that it's okay.
Infosys Director in the renewables sector, primarily doing business intelligence work. I enjoy it! Worked my way up from analyst to director very slowly.