I dont like my job, but I make a lot of money

[Yetra Flam]

Who else here is, or has been, in a similar situation?

Anyway, hi bbmb! Maybe some of you remember me talking about me having some moral issues with my job. (We sell animals. In large amounts. To anyone who has the money. Neither me or any of my coworkers legitimately know where or who they come from.) also (The boss is probably a pedophile, often travelling to Brazil to pay young boys to have sex with him, as well as engaging in many legally questionable business running practices)
I'm still there. Aaaand I dont love what i'm doing, it is certainly not what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. I get pissy, frustrated, tired, frequently. It is not uncommon for me to be at my place of work for more than 60 hours a week. I'm even embarrassed to tell people what my career/trade is, because most people dont take it seriously. (But it still is a skilled trade.)

But, my paycheck is seriously more than anything I could make at any other job that I am qualified for. I am college educated, but only in Fine Arts. In new york, everyone is an "artist" and having come from all over the world to settle here, it is certain that their work is of a much higher standard than mine. My degree can not reasonably get me any other kind of job. I mean, apart from a low paying, entry level job.
Having grown up with both parents on welfare, living in the shittiest houses in the shittiest neighborhoods, not having shit, and certainly never being familiar with the concept of a "disposable income," i feel like this is what it's gotta be for me.

So i guess my question to you people of the bbmb is; is this what it takes to be successful? Is this what you have to do to be comfortable, and not have to worry about paying bills, not have to worry about being able to afford the things you want? Or am I not opening my eyes? Is it possible to do something that you love, and make a comfortable salary, and still have enough spare time to spend the money that you earn?

[M|X|Y]

If you're making a lot of money, use it to fund what you think you'd rather be doing.

If you have a moral problem with what you're doing, use the money to drink till you forget... or get in touch with Arnold Diaz

[Bob]

are there no other similar types of employers you could go to? you've been doing your job for a while now, would your current experience help you get hired somewhere else? or do all the other jobs (assuming there are any or that they're hiring) pay shittily because they aren't paying their employees a "don't tell anyone about the shady things we do" premium?

this is probably a useless question because i have to assume you've already thought of this but it's the first one that comes to mind

[The Notorious LOL]

I have a friend who does a lot of community work and has lots of connections. She told me about a few different job openings Id be interested involving a lot of neighborhood revitalization, etc etc stereotypical white liberal dream jobs.

When she told me the pay scale, its about half of what I make now. I kinda have been re-evaulating it though and realizing that Id much rather have something that makes me happy than I would the extra money. I save a decent amount regardless of my income. Id be fine just eating cheap bland boring meals to cut costs.

[Bob]

yeah i think that's another element of it - these low paying entry level jobs, how shitty a paycheck are we talking? is it enough to live comfortably at all, or would you have to move in with roommates or roaches or drug dealers or whatever?

i guess basically what i'm asking is do you want to stay where you are now because this is the amount of money you need to make to live comfortably and not have to worry about bills and all that, or do you have more of a general sense of not wanting to take a step down and make less money?

[Documad]

I need to like my co-workers and respect my supervisors. I found out a long, long time ago that I can't work for a boss unless I think the boss is smart. Thankfully, right now I also like her personality but I'm able to work with difficult people if they're smart.

I've thought about moving, but the places I'd consider moving to are all more expensive to live in. I enjoy visiting those places but I have doubts about whether I'd enjoy living in them if I couldn't afford a nice dinner or an opera once in a while. And I'm too old to share an apartment with people I barely know.

Yetra: I think it's fantastic that you're able to support yourself. I'm in awe of people who can find a way to live there. You typically have to put up with more shit at your age. The trick is figuring a way to work into something more satisfying in the future.

[tejana]

been there.

first, remember: a job always looks better from the outside than when you're down in it. could be a fancy job, could be a do-gooder job, no matter.

every job has the same problem: PEOPLE. There are gonna be rude, dorky, unethical, etc. people everywhere... conversely, there are kind, interesting, smart, etc. people, too-- sometimes it's just your attitude, sometimes it's a corporate/institutional culture that attracts a certain type. accept responsibility for when it's just you being whiny. otherwise,...

examine your ethics. what's more important? are you (individually) doing something bad? is your company? how bad? if you don't work there, what will you do? don't ever leave a job without a plan, unless you have a HUGE safety net. Don't complain, LOOK for a new job, THEN decide!

your boss is a mess, but i don't see why you should punish yourself. If his problems are so obvious, he'll get what's coming to him. Unless seeing him daily makes you physically ill, then look for the NEW job.

[tejana]

AND i like what DOCUMAD said, too. Several good points there.

[Yetra Flam]

Originally Posted by Bob

are there no other similar types of employers you could go to? you've been doing your job for a while now, would your current experience help you get hired somewhere else? or do all the other jobs (assuming there are any or that they're hiring) pay shittily because they aren't paying their employees a "don't tell anyone about the shady things we do" premium?

My trade in general pays pretty well, I feel like I would probably be in the same kind of situation no matter where i went. I'm not so sure if its the place I work at, or the actual job that I'm doing that I have the most issue with.

Originally Posted by Bob

yeah i think that's another element of it - these low paying entry level jobs, how shitty a paycheck are we talking? is it enough to live comfortably at all, or would you have to move in with roommates or roaches or drug dealers or whatever?

i guess basically what i'm asking is do you want to stay where you are now because this is the amount of money you need to make to live comfortably and not have to worry about bills and all that, or do you have more of a general sense of not wanting to take a step down and make less money?

I guess an average entry level job would pay like $12 an hour, maybe more, maybe less. To be realistic, you really can't live off that in New York. Well, i mean you can, but you would have to live in a not-so-hot neighborhood with a thousand roommates, and really make an effort to save every penny. Shit's expensive here.

And also I guess I dont want to step down and take less money. Its lame, but it does give me confidence and a sense of worth, knowing that I'm doing well for myself. Its like Jay Z said; (yes i'm quoting Jay Z, i'm silly) "If you grew up with holes in ya zapatos you'd be celebrating the minute you was havin' dough"

Originally Posted by tejana

every job has the same problem: PEOPLE. There are gonna be rude, dorky, unethical, etc. people everywhere... conversely, there are kind, interesting, smart, etc. people, too-- sometimes it's just your attitude, sometimes it's a corporate/institutional culture that attracts a certain type. accept responsibility for when it's just you being whiny. otherwise,...

You're definitely right about that! People are absolutely what frustrates me the most. The most irritating part of my job is the customer service element. I do enjoy working with dogs; they dont yell at you, call you stupid, or a bitch, tell you that you're no good at your job, write shitty reviews about you on yelp.

[Bob]

yeah, $12 doesn't seem like enough to live in a city like new york. i live on the outskirts of boston with three roommates and even with that $12/hr would be cutting it pretty close, i don't think there's anything wrong with not wanting to lower yourself to that

i dunno, i've only recently found a job myself so i guess i'm not too qualified on this, but my advice would be to stay put, try not to feel guilty, and keep your eyes open for something better that pays at a level you're comfortable with. then if you find it, fucking bolt for it. look into those other jobs in your trade, maybe it'll turn out that it's just your company that's shitty.

there's definitely no rule that says that you have to do something you hate to live comfortably. the job i have now (which i lucked into, i'll admit) pays fine and doesn't make me hate myself. i wouldn't say i love it or that i have a passion for it, but after 17 months of unemployment and finding a non-law job that's willing to look past my law degree/license i'm happy as a clam to be doing it.

and that sounds like bragging probably, i don't mean to, i just mean that it shows that you don't necessarily have to hate your job to make a comfortable amount of money. keep your eyes open for something better, but in the meantime, you have a job and can support yourself, so try not to feel too bad about being able to look after yourself. someone has to!

but yeah, i dunno. i'm not great at the job advice thing. i went to law school to avoid that problem, then i ended up doing something else after 17 months of nothing anyway so perhaps someone more experienced/less dumb could weigh in

[Dorothy Wood]

If you're unhappy, quit. Just save up a bunch of money first, and make a plan for a solid next step. But do it now and make the plan and just do the plan, don't just think about it all the time, do it.

I hemmed and hawwed about quitting my last job because my supervisors were assholes and basically swindling the public, but it was steady work and I could do whatever I wanted and I made a decent commission. So I stuck with it for 4 years, and I was so fucking depressed. I just drank all the time and was so tired, every day. then one day my hours got "suspended" (they took me down to 12 hours a week, vs. the full time I had been working for a "trial" period ) based on a bunch of made up things, and instead of just taking it, I quit. and shit was hard for a little while, but I'm glad I left and found something so much better. I don't make a ton of money, but I'm very in control of my working environment, I like my coworkers, and I'm respected by my bosses.

I gained the confidence to leave the shitty job because at one point, about a year before I quit, I took a small 1-2 day a week second job in a field I was competent in (tutoring). Participating in a different environment took me out of the routine at my shitty job. So it kinda broke the spell. And then when I quit, I just asked for as many hours as I could get at the tutoring place to keep my head above water. It ended up working out alright. I was only unemployed for about 3 weeks. Glad it happened before all this crazy mess.


I guess, in my rambling, I mean that you should take another job, or save money to go back to school. Take further training in your field. Research places that do what you do, but in a more ethical manner. Volunteer there, see about getting a permanent job there, if maybe it's a non-profit or something. I don't know. I think whatever you're doing sounds awful, I would not and could not work at a place like that in good conscience. If you love animals, you need to be an advocate for them, not a profiteer.


sorry dude, it's a sticky situation.

[tejana]

REALLY question how morally troubled you are about your job, versus how much is just an idealistic wish to escape an unpleasant situation.

Like Dorothy, I've worked at some places that were truly disturbing. And like she says, you don't walk out: you develop a strategy to escape. and the environment NOW is not the same as it was even a few years ago. it needs to be a REALLY GOOD strategy.

that doesn't automatically mean you're gonna end up in the same industry, OR at an entry level job! sometimes that's hard to see, but you're at the early part of your career, it sounds, so it's easier to change. instead of brokering animals, broker ____ (or however you'd describe it). Same verbs, different nouns.

you're young, i'm guessing: you're not locked into anything. but also: don't expect a job/coworkers to make you happy. that's your responsibility.

[abbott]

travelling to Brazil to pay young boys to have sex with him, as well as engaging in many legally questionable business running practices...

Sounds like working for Darth Vader...

Sure get paid, but die when the death star is destroyed....

reminds me of a bad story of a time I called Child Protective Service...

Anyway, I found out about a girl ... 8 years old... had been tied up, duck tape over her mouth and messed with by her dads brother....

What do I do, forget about it, or make the call.

I made the call then feared for my life. A few years later this girls grand dad came to me and asked me if I would have a beer with him and said they had gone through some bad shit and he was thankfull for my call.


I told him, .. what are you talking about? and walked away, but at peace with some guy in jail, granted I might get killed for it...

[jackrock]

Use this experience as a catalyst to campaign against puppy mills in some way.