I’m lucky that I can say yes. That said, I still wouldnt do it for free. What about you, how do you feel about your job/career/field in general?
911 dispatch, yeah, kind of important.
Wish I could do it for just fire and EMS, and not police, but that’s the way the system works, and the most interesting calls I get are for police I suppose.
In a more ideal world where people don’t have to work just to survive and make ends meet, I probably would still do it, just not on a full-time schedule. It’s one of those things that needs to get done but that absolutely not everyone is cut out for, so I think it’s important for those of us who can hack it to step up to the plate to do it.
As far as whether I’m proud of what I do, well I’m proud that I get to help people, I’m proud of the skills I have that allow me to do it well, but otherwise it’s just a job, I don’t brag about what I do (although I do have a ton of interesting stories from it that I like to share)
And since it is a full time gig and I have tons of things I’d rather be doing, I’m looking forward to hopefully being able to retire someday and never having to go into the office again.
No and no. I help produce luxury goods for obscenely rich people… 2 units of our product, depending on configuration, is my entire years salary…
I used to study architecture so this doesn’t sound bad to me at all 🥰🤣. I have already mentally prepared myself in case i need to live that life.
Not that proud, as it’s a fairly trivial IT thing with niche elements. “Anyone” could do it, but there are so many different elements, all of which are trivial separately, that there aren’t a whole lot of people in the world who can do what I do because of the odd combinations.
So while my work is (mysterious and) important for the particular industry I’m in,I’m sure any IT geek with networking and linux experience could do it after a few years of training.
As for importance, kinda. The higher-ups consider it important enough to grant me every demand I stated when they tried to poach me from my previous employer. I was looking for an excuse to turn them down, but they agreed to everything. For example, my contract stipulates that any flight over four hours warrants business class.
My biggest point of actual pride is the fact that I got to where I am despite growing up on a dairy farm and never finishing hischool.
Yes and yes. I’m a health inspector.
Would absolutely not do it for free. There’s a lot more that I do than just inspecting restaurants and beauty premises:
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inspection accommodations (hotels, motels, rooming houses, student forms, hostels, camps)
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respond to environmental complaints (dumping, pollution of storm water, failing septics, installation of septics)
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residential complaints (the worst!! People don’t want to talk to each other and problem solve like adults so they threaten each other by dragging me in to sort their shit out for them. If they don’t get the result they want, it’s my fault 🙄)
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emergency response (we suddenly had importance when covid came around, but the nation still wouldn’t acknowledge us as important because we’re not in the “response” side like nurses and doctors. We’re prevention, and nobody cares about us; bushfires, floods, air quality)
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mosquito detection (for diseases they carry and treat the areas that we find have carrier mozzies for diseases like Japanese encephalitis, Ross River, etc.)
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pest control, hoarding, land use, subdivisions, swimming pools, drinking water quality, disposal of dead carcasses, cemeteries, exhumation, outbreaks like gastro, too many things to list. We’re pretty much involved in everything that affects human health.
But we’re underpaid, underappreciated, perpetually short staffed and quickly burning out, and mostly unknown to those who don’t run businesses that require council registration by law.
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No and no, I’m thinking about working for myself as an independent automotive diagnostician. That would still be somewhat unethical and hard work, but at least I’d face real challenges and be helping people on an individual level. I can’t just quit my day job right off the bat due to health insurance. I’d have to start doing work on the side, but business insurance plus equipment and subscriptions would make it difficult to break even. Plus I haven’t worked on cars professionally in about 12 years so I’m not up to snuff on working on newer cars.
That would be a pretty difficult path. Good luck figuring it out
The work I do is fun, and there have been quite a few times I was proud of who I was able to help out.
But a lot of what I do is supporting organizations I vehemently disagree with, even if I like the people I’m helping. And that mostly outweighs the good I feel I’ve done.
If I had to use Windows or wear pants it wouldn’t be worth it.
My job isn’t important, but I make good money and my work-life balance is excellent. I get to spend time with my wife, my kids, and my cats. So I’m good with it.
I’ve never been able to picture myself at an important job. I don’t know what that would be.
Yes, Buddhist academic makes me feel good. I get to study what I love, teach those interested, and pursue interesting research. It’s also right livelihood so that’s a plus.
Thats a super unique gig, good for you!
I do maintenance at a telescope and occasionally fill in as telescope operator. It doesn’t pay great but the work has been fulfilling. A telescope operator recently quit and they implemented a temp salary (removing my overtime) without discussing the numbers first and ended up putting me at the bottom of a lower pay scale. I thought I was stuck but eventually complained and got reverted back to hourly, but they screwed me out of 200+ hours of overtime because “I didn’t complain soon enough and therefore that is the same as me accepting that salary”. I’m going to quit soon because I don’t work for free.
That’s a neat job. Do you work for a university or something?
University of Arizona. They have the largest astronomy budget in the country for a university.
No and no. I make way too much money for the value that my job adds to society, which is nearly none, and I want to totally blow up my career and do something that helps people. It’s harder when I have folks relying on me but I am moving in that direction
Im a teacher so yes. Do I still eagerly await retirement? Yes.
My job at the minute isnt important but im super proud of it. Im basically an ATM but a human version. I get to help the blind, deaf, super-technophobe-old, mentally enfeebled etc. Im literally no better than an ATM, but because im helping people who struggle im feeling that job satisfaction.
My previous job in a meat processing factory was relatively important, if I fucked up lots of food never made the shop shelves or made a lot of people poorly. My job satisfaction was in the negative though I hated it so much.
I do work that I love and find rewarding, I continue to create systems I am very proud of, and I work for a company I have high respect for that makes products I believe in.
I can’t think of any work I’d do for free, those are called hobbies.
That’s good to hear!
No. I just try to work places that don’t actively work to harm the world.
Yup. Psychiatric nurse. I think the field needs a lot of advancements and a lot of the tools I have are barbaric but I’m doing the best I can with what I have and trying to contribute to my field by teaching and pushing for advancements.
