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People start hating their jobs at 35

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Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#51
Just to be fair... according to the article, only 1 in 6 British workers over 35 say they are "unhappy" with their job.

That seems remarkably low, but I think an important life lesson that many learn is that one should not let "the job" determine well-being, satisfaction with life and happiness. I learned THAT in my 40's.

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#52
About work and happiness : the more I think about the reality of being a full time employee, the more I start to believe part-time is actually the right way to work and be happy.

I see little reason to spend something like 70% of waking hours commuting and working for someone else's profits if you can afford to do less. I've become pragmatic and realized the company I'm I work in is just a tool I use to make money while trying to extract valuable experience for my future. The rest doesn't matter

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#53

35 is probably the age where you have accepted the fact that you are just a cog in the machine, and the output will benefit someone other than yourself. For years leading up to it you already know youre just trading your life's precious hours away for money - which seems to have less and less purchasing power by the year. Once you realize the job is just a means of keeping yourself going, the perpetual cycle dawns on…

Sounds like you have never had a job outside the office. Go dig ditches for a construction company for six months and you'll run back to your 9-5 "slavery".

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#54
post #24

I think its because through experience people have figured out a lot of unspoken things about what its really like being an employee. They have figured out that its much more about connections and office politics than hard work. They have figured out that there is really no job security, and they could be one layoff wave away from unemployment. They have figured out that its much more about face time and spending lon…

These sound more like a list of things you figure out in your 20s so that you can successfully work them to your advantage in your 30s.

Also, if you embrace the "no job security" part above and don't sweat your "career" at any given shop, the rest of them stop being things you need to worry about.

Let the other guys stress office politics and fear for their job if they take vacation. You're the guy who knows what this job market is like, and that you have options.

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#55
post #37

I started with 28, maybe earlier, but 28 was when I finally snapped, haha. I worked 7 for the same company, while studying and a few years after I finished my degree. It was a small chaotic company, they were a startup that found a hand full of big corps to pay for the day-to-day expenses, but it never really grew up and never got product market fit. After a big re-write of the product, with much overtime on my side,…

Are you still freelancing?

Yes, I found out that I don't work as well with "bosses" as I work with "customers" :D

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#56
post #24

I think its because through experience people have figured out a lot of unspoken things about what its really like being an employee. They have figured out that its much more about connections and office politics than hard work. They have figured out that there is really no job security, and they could be one layoff wave away from unemployment. They have figured out that its much more about face time and spending lon…

I do think the stress piles on once your obligations overwhelm you outside because so much is dependent on keeping employment. you over commit and feel trapped.

Still one issue I did not account for was too much idle time while at home. I found that once I had something to do or more things I wanted to do that stress of the job lessened.

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#57
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an easy thing to say when you've come out the other end carrying a bag full of survivor bias. The reality is that there's a reason people don't do this very often and it's because there are tangible benefits to things like owning a home and not worrying about how you're going to pay for food. Not to mention the medical care situation in the US, which is outright designed to help trap people in their jobs.

> the medical care situation in the US, which is outright designed to help trap people in their jobs. Absolutely! so start working on something right now to free yourself from that. I left a perfectly good first-world country and permanently moved to another one because I liked the quality of life better - you can too!

Theoretically. In practical reality there are quite a lot of obstacles, none of which can't be overcome mind you, but then there's considerations for the other people in your life you'd have to leave behind, the flaws of the country you'd be moving to, etc.

It's risk/reward, like almost everything else. Don't be surprised when people rationally choose a lower risk path.

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#58
I was 23 when I lost all taste for ordinary work. After being borderline homeless to making 300k in 3 months in affiliating marketing, the though of office work made it unbearable. Little did I know the new found good life would crash around me and I'd have to do the unthinkable - work in an office. The next 4 years were the most miserable years of my life. I was saved by a remote job, followed by another remote gig which ultimately ended in a layoff. The whole experience has made it impossible for me to ever return to an office. Instead, I now struggle as a freelancer / wannabe consultant.

Re: People start hating their jobs at 35

#59
post #24

I think its because through experience people have figured out a lot of unspoken things about what its really like being an employee. They have figured out that its much more about connections and office politics than hard work. They have figured out that there is really no job security, and they could be one layoff wave away from unemployment. They have figured out that its much more about face time and spending lon…

Well said. It can be very sobering, that’s why I personally have no intentions of quitting the startup / freelance life.
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