i helped a very sweet elderly man at work one day. he told me this was the key to his happiness and i think about it often. he asked me if i liked my job and we had a long conversation about how he decided to stop being an investment broker and settle down with his girlfriend at the time (now wife lol) and support her business. it was so interesting listening to him talk about falling out of love with his job and falling in love with life. he just quit and never really looked back because despite his former job being a cash cow it wasn't where he wanted to be and he wasn't doing what he wanted to do. gotta follow those instincts sometimes ig
Feb 5, 2025
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A senior-level colleague from a different department at work asked me this when we were collaborating on a project that's outside the scope of my regular job. I answered honestly that the work I do is not something I'm passionate about and I've done it out of necessity/because I lacked other opportunities, and that I would prefer to do something that's more intellectually stimulating and impactful.
Since that time he's been guiding me into opportunities to grow and develop lots of new skills and advocating for me along the way and it's been really nice! One of the best things to happen to me this year and it was really nice to have someone pick up on that and ask me.
Dec 11, 2024
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growing up i felt compelled to have a job that i felt contributed something "important" to the world. there is a lot of background pressure that a career should be a "calling" or something you feel so passionate about that they couldn't not do it for a living.
a really useful piece of advice i got a little over a year ago (meant to apply to scientific academia but applies just as much to humanities, arts, etc.): jobs that use the language of a "calling" do so to exploit labor. if your job is your passion, why shouldn't you burn the candle at both ends until you have nothing left but passive indifference (or, even worse, resentment) for something you once thought interesting enough to devote your entire life to?
i think a bit about what my life would be like if i just did undergrad in computer science and got an avg boring programming job. lots of choice about where you live, pays pretty well, work is intellectually interesting enough, and it actually ends at 5pm so you have enough free time to explore other things you enjoy. a few friends from college chose this path and it definitely has its downsides, but its worth considering, esp. if you are really uncertain about what you actually want out of your life.
Feb 17, 2024
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I started out working in a career that was meaningful and provided me with a sense of purpose (I was a high school teacher), but after being worn down by the lack of work/life balance and having no opportunity to pursue my passions outside of work, I transitioned to my current career, which is much easier, and thoroughly just a job.
Albeit, its not soul crushing (as far as jobs go), I work from home, I work for a public employer (so I'm not just making someone else rich), and I have great work life/balance. So having seen both sides, I thank my past-self nearly every day for making the transition.
Anyway, it sounds like we have similar philosophies, which is basically: jobs should be for money, and fulfillment and meaning should be found outside of work (at least in our current capitalist hellscape). So I guess it just comes down to whether or not the soul crushing meaninglessness of your job outweighs the meaning you're able to steal back from outside of it, due to its ease. I know... not really all that helpful, given that you basically already arrived at this conclusion/dilemma 🙃
Oh, I also think easy (and decent paying) jobs are hard to come by and that even meaningful jobs can very easily be made meaningless given the structure/motivations of society. You're also way more likely to be exploited in an industry that runs on passion and meaning due to the fact that social reproduction is valued way below economic production. But then again, change can also be good, and like in my own case, can lead to something even better... so who knows?
Feb 11, 2024
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that’s my baby right there. i’ll use it daytime, nighttime, but my darling porta 800 on an overcast day…sheesh she is STUNNING. she’s so versatile
Mar 10, 2025