I hate to complain b/c I know I’m lucky to have a good paying job but I hate it and I am stuck here at least a few more years…I never complain about it until now…
Anyone else stuck in a job they don’t like?
Been there done that. Law firms weren’t easy on me. In the first one, they didn’t pay for two months and they paid pennies for the third. The fourth would also have been pennies and the fifth would have been double pennies, which would still have been pennies. I quit at the end of the third.
The second law firm paid a multiple of what the first one did, but the jobs were more menial and less developing, plus I had to work more hours and it wasn’t all that great in some other aspects. They didn’t prolong the contract with me upon the third expiration.
So I started teaching Legal English which took a boost from having worked for top law firms. And then I took up translation, which took a boost from teaching Legal English and having worked as a lawyer where you worked in English much or most of the time.
I didn’t really like teaching so much (I like lecturing and mentoring, but not the school kinda teaching) and translation has its bad aspects like anything, but it’s a good job. Definitely not the target one but we’ll see yet. Maybe I’ll be able to skip the junior associate stage and jump in as a qualified lawyer right from being a legal translator (which is far less menial than being a junior associate).
So, from my experience, suck it up if you don’t really want to lose that job and keep in mind that the market isn’t a good aunt and it won’t be kind on you. Change isn’t a merry ride and being new to a job isn’t all that great. You always kinda start anew. And you tend to regret losing well-paying jobs after some time seeking a new one. But if you really can’t keep it up and you know you’re wasting your time and talent, do move on. Make sure you have the skills not to be confined to a single job description and get yourself a good resume (CV) and covering letters and portfolio and recommendations (from teachers too, doesn’t have to be employers) and be ready.
And possibly you might be one of those people who are never happy until they start their own business. It’s not that difficult in the States. You just file a DBA (Doing Business As), you probably have to do some paperwork with the tax authorities and you can actually get money from the local authorities for the start-up of your business… or some free know-how or other free thing (which from their point of view is a worthy investment in the future of the nation, in which they are completely right). So if you have that kind of thoughts, maybe it’s worth a try. If you hire good accountants, you might be able to write off consumables (resources needed for your job and running out as you use them, such as printing paper and printer cartridges, possibly petrol and stuff), perhaps advertising and marketing expenses etc from your taxes, so it might actually not be so bad. Besides, while being a “senior this” or “manager of that” looks rather good in a resume, “owner” never looks bad, even if it’s street sweeping.
I’ll probably be starting a business soon too, you know. The only thing keeping me back is that as a freelancer with neither an own business nor institutional ties to someone else’s business, I get a sweet 50% deduction from all takings (known as “authorship costs” in my country and translation counts as authorship). But I kinda long to become the owner of my workplace, you know. It gives you a certain measure of comfort.
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But it pays the bills.