I got my dream job and it's been hell ever since.

[viracox]

Original:

On mobile I will do my best.

I went from making well below median income for my area, to almost $10K above median. How? I applied for my dream job with a Word doc resume I built using ATS (applicant tracking system software) to make sure my resume got into the hands of a person to get an interview, and didn't die in the hands of a HR robot using ATS. (The site if you don't know about it yet is jobscan.co I used 2 of the 5 free uses and you can get more free scans by referring yourself or friends or their surveys)

Different perspective: I went from about $25 monthly wiggle room after base expenses, to nearly $3,000 saved in the bank in just 6 months. From paycheck-to-3-days-before-paycheck, to forgetting which day was payday because I had 0 money worries.

And I hate it here so much I am going to quit. My old job loved me because how hard I worked, so the door is always open. But I am going to try applying other places because I can't go back to constantly worrying if I can get my bills paid and asking for extensions.

It's crazy to think that if I have been in another department with the company I would have loved it here, but apparently this entire third of the company at this building (3 locations) are very poor morale and hate management because they're pretty terrible. And I'm no exception. My boss talking super loud about me before they even met me saying a lot of bad things about me to their boss,, even making fun of my name. Again, how? We'd not met yet. Boss's boss berating me for skipping a meeting they told me not to attend. The list goes on.

Of the 8 in my training class, 6 completed training. 4 immediately transferred to other locations. The 2 of us are stuck at this site, and apparently my time off work for having COVID means I cannot transfer out because I have "poor attendance issues" and with the stricter, more difficult metrics at this location I now also have "poor performance issues" because I'm still doing the job per regulations which takes longer. The other person stuck here chose to cut corners (only way to meet the metrics at our job site) but their boss is constantly hounding them upwards of 30 times daily over every mistake they make while cutting corners.

TL,DR: The grass is definitely greener on the other side, but my better-paying job is a hellscape so I'm using HR's software against them to get out.

Edit:

This is a vent post. This has been my dream job for TEN years. Originally it was degree only and now you have to prove you have several years of experience which I have. My parents died in high school so like, wtf was I supposed to do? I eventually went and got my GED and no surprise to me, I was 96th to 99th percentile on all the tests because my problem was my damn home life fell apart when I was a kid. Not that I didn't know anything. There's a couple judgy fucks in the comments like oH wOrK hARdEr or saying yOuR aTtItUde iS wHy U hATe iT. Fuck off. I have friends and a relative of long-time employees that are in the union but they work in the other locations. Out of 7 people that were long term all 7 said this location cannot keep staff for long and when they were briefly assigned here they got out as soon as they could. One of the departments in the main site want me but their area is full and they're not allowed to replace union workers and no budget for more workers even though they're understaffed.

I knew very intimately the type of work I would be doing years before I ever applied. I have worked very hard for everything I got, I'm usually a mom-type figure at work who performs in top 10%, example last job out of 60 people I did 4% of the work, so instead of 1.7% it was like 1 out of 25 people instead of 60. Job before that top 20%. Job before that top 15%, just before that unknown percentage but only the top employees got 1 free hour every month and I got it almost every time. But guess what THEY ONLY PAY $13 AN HOUR, RENT FOR 1BDR IS $1000 JUST FOR RENT, NO VACATION OR HOLIDAY PAY, DO THE DAMN MATH. I been homeless 5 times because it takes money to make money and when you have nobody and nothing you can't even pay to get a GED to get a job. Anybody who wants to see the title and the post and still try and say the management is my FAULT when it my PROBLEM but not my FAULT all I can say is stay classy. May all your glasses of water be room temperature and I hope your favorite pair of socks starts bunching up at the toes.

edit2: thanks for the gold stranger

 

[l123]

@viracox I had the same experience. Landed my dream job with what I thought was a great company. My standard of living went up enormously, but I quickly resented the toxic environment. I held my ground for nearly three years before I broke. It’s been almost three years since and my confidence/drive still have not recovered. My husband constantly talks about how much that company broke me and he wished he had told me to leave sooner.

 

[theodiskaz]

@l123 I have a family member with the same experience. The toxic environment broke them. They haven’t been the same since. They’ve improved but glimpses of their depression pop up here and there.

 

[l123]

@theodiskaz I hope they manage to recover from this soon. It’s so awful and so unnecessary. I am considered the strongest emotionally in my family so many of my family members can’t understand how this happened…. it can happen to anyone. Thinking of you and yours

 

[curiousquestionposter]

@viracox You are in a good position to search for a better or similar job.

• It's easier than find a job when you have a job.
• You have additional training.
• You know it's possible.

Meanwhile don't let their crap stick. Do your work. Get your money and ignore the rest' while you find an exit. Don't take it personal.

All the best!

 

[resjudicata]

@viracox Just get your shit in order before you leave. Also, your grass is greener than it was. U just have some pesky weeds now

 

[pete71]

@viracox Hey, you don’t have to justify hating this job. I worked at a very large tech company that was a dream job for so many, but I hated it. I excelled at it, my metrics were 2x the average, I played the games, and I was headed to a promotion within a year or two or a lateral within a year. It’s a difficult company to get into. It made my life financially secure, I saved 1k a month, I ate like a queen with free lunches, and work life balance was decent, but…it was for an ethically murky company, the things they were doing benefited pretty bad corporations. I quit after 9 months. It was so boring, it didn’t challenge me, i was a cog in a machine of bullshit, I had to fake a smile every day and pretend what we did was “good” for society. Fuck that. I saved my money and went to school for nursing. I took a job making 1/3rd what I made there during school, just enough to survive again. I’m half way through nursing school! I had to take out student loans but it is what it is. The earnings potential is huge and I’m much, much happier. There’s more to the story, as I’ve been an EMT for years, but that was my experience chasing money.

Do what makes you happy, and make some money too.

 

[sap]

@viracox One thing I'd caution, if you're in the US damn near every employer is toxic in some way, shape, or form. From shitty to nonexistent PTO, poisonous backstabbing coworkers, incompetent and even abusive managers and/or owners, etc, it's generally the norm here in the US. Sometimes you have to pick your toxicity, pick your battles. The place I'm working at right now isn't great in a lot of ways, but it's far better than some shitholes I've worked at. So, by all means, improve your situation if possible, and try and keep or better your salary. But bear in mind much of the toxicity in companies, as with families, happens behind closed doors, and you don't really see it until you're in a position to actually see it, first hand and in your face. So be careful, read those Glassdoor and indeed reviews. Check the average tenure of past employees on LinkedIn if you can. You can sometimes get insight into how things really work in these companies. Check the distribution of the reviews too, especially for places with a lot of them. Generally they should start forming a bell curve. But, if there are a lot of really bad and really good reviews but few in the middle, that's the opposite of what should be trending, and likely HR or ownership is 'encouraging' employees to leave good reviews, or flat out planting fake good reviews themselves, to offset the shitty ones.

 

[resjudicata]

@viracox No advice but working is about money. That being said even if you hate the atmosphere of the place it's still experience. I would just keep your head down while continuing to gain experience while at the same time plan your escape route to another job with similar or even better pay...

 

[ozbaptist]

@viracox Dream jobs don’t exist. My dad told me this from the start, to focus on going into a job that will almost always be necessary and not destroyed by a robot. I decided on dentistry. Do I like it? Somewhat. Is it my dream job? Nope that would have been teaching. But hey it pays the bills and then some… The only thing thats saves my sanity when a Karen starts telling me how much they hate going to dentist, is thinking how much more screwed economically I would have been as a teacher. So fact of the matter is jobs will always suck, so might as well do something that will secure you financially and maybe even let you retire early. At least thats my strategy.

 

[trinity47]

@ozbaptist I’m with you on this. I think some people do get lucky enough to work their “dream job” but those people are few and far between. My gramps convinced me to abandon the idea of taking out a bunch of loans to go to college and to join the military instead. I’ve been grinding it out in the army ever since. It sure as hell is not my dream job but I’ve done well for myself over the years and it’s allowed me to become financially stable, debt free, and I was able to pay for my degree with the army tuition assistance program without touching my GI Bill benefits yet. I’m just a few years away from retirement then I can focus on my real passions and interest after that. This path isn’t for everyone but not being saddled with student debt while being able to mostly enjoy life outside of work and deployments has been good. Not my dream job but it helped me escape generational poverty and provide stability and a future for my kids that I never had which is more important to me than landing a dream job.

 

[ktb]

@ozbaptist I wouldn't go as far as to say that there aren't dream jobs. Instead, I'd say that a job is reality and not a dream. So, in reality, people are jackasses sometimes, clients aren't always nice, work is hard sometimes.

I have my dream job, which is intellectually stimulating 95% of the time, generally has tons of flexibility, a lot of job security, pays me a high salary... and I have to work 10-12 hour days throughout Christmas and my wedding anniversary every year. There's no possibility of calling off, getting the work done early, nothing.

 

[jvision]

@viracox I am terrified of this. I’m at a pretty sweet gig right now but income-wise it might not be wise if me to stay there forever, and I’ve looked into some other companies it would be cool to work for, doing what I do, and I worry about toxic work environments a lot. Ours is pretty great all things considered, so it would take a lot to get me to leave right now.

I hope you can find a better place to do what you love, and make a good living for yourself.

P.S. Full disclosure, not in poverty myself but lived paycheck to paycheck for a long time before getting my crap together. I still follow this sub to offer encouragement if I can, and keep a varied perspective.

 

[adb]

@viracox So I know this is such a minor detail but it jumped out at me, over in r/Assistance I posted offering to cover someone's GED for them, and I was told that the state will cover GED expenses for anyone who qualifies for other income based aid. To the point where no one has claimed my offer because they had theirs covered. I had no idea there was GED financial aid! and I bet there are lots of people who NEED that assistance who don't know either!

 

[maikkemom]

@viracox Join r/antiwork. Some great advice there.

 

[resjudicata]

@maikkemom Seconded

 

[excpomelo]

@viracox My dude, I am at that first step, good relationship with co-workers, and horrible pay. I have a bachelors degree and am getting $12. Same issue with rent in the area being above my pay.

I’m looking for a better paying job but I’m worried I’ll have the same experience with the soul-sucking work environment.

 

[theshire]

@viracox You’re making the right choice. I hope you can leverage this position to find something equal or even better and this becomes a forgettable experience. You deserve to be treated with respect.

 

[gospeljb]

@viracox What an experience. I hope this functions as a step up because despite all of this stress, the next employer may see that you're a driven person with a desire to improve yourself.

I hope these clouds clear up for you soon.

 

[joshl87]

@viracox I remember working at a place where every night beforehand I would have anxiety about going in. It’s a terrible feeling.