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Appreciating your job

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alphacat

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I'm an EE student, and so far finished two years in the degree (two to go).

During my second year, I just couldn't wait for the summer to arrive so I could start looking for a job, hoping to find one that will let me not having to dedicate most of the time to studying, and also give me the opportunity to gain first experience in the field.

So when I finally found one, I was so motivated to succeed in it, that I took a year off from the university (the job was very obligating and not easy to handle).

Now that I'm working here for 11 months already, I don’t appreciate what I gained during this period, and really not happy at the job as I used too be.
I'm also not as motivated as in the beginning.

Well, how do you keep the same job for years and remain happy and dedicated to it?
I'd love to hear your opinions on it.

Thanks.
 
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Get the degree. Whatever happens in your life, you will still have it.

or

If you stay in a job where you are not happy, get familiar with your new friend: alcohol. Go to happy hour every day after work to forget your troubles at the job. Have beer or wine with lunch. It helps the afternoons go by just fine. The years will just flow by so smoothly and quickly you'll wonder where the time went.
 
First, GET THE DEGREE!!! Trust me on this.

As for how to stay happy, hell if I know. I've quit jobs after as few as three months before, longest time I've stayed at a company is a year and a half. I have no trouble getting hired on because I'm smart, know a ton for my age, and very engaging personally and interview well. But damn if I don't start getting all existential and depressed after a while - probably that whole being bipolar thing. So maybe I'm not the guy to ask.
 
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I think Bob Scott forgot to add a happy face after the alcohol recommendation. Alcohol is a depressant.

Do get the degree. Don't allow yourself to be misdirected by short-term promises. Even Bill Gates would agree to that.

Aside for that, set your mind to what you are doing and do it. Not every day is a joy ride, but you will or already have other responsibilities, and they should be your top priority.

John
 
Well, how do you keep the same job for years and remain happy and dedicated to it?
It can be difficult.
Most jobs are exciting when you first start, sometimes in the first day or two you think "what the hell am I doing here?", but usually it is OK.
Then as time goes by things change, and what was a super job turns into a real grind, often there is nothing you can do about it to change it, you just have to bide your time, suck it up and look for something new elsewhere.
As time goes by and you get more experience you will learn that there are downsides to every job, just work your way through the rough parts until things are smooth again.

JimB
 
School and working are a tough combination, but if you drag your way through it, and get the degree, your outlook will change. Your employer will now have a more valuable employee, who has better chance of stepping up to a better paying job, so they will be more likely to want to keep you around. You demonstrated that you have the drive and motivation to reach goals, something most companies seek in employees. If your current job still sucks, after earning your degree, you can usually find a better one. Very few people like to work for other people, you are going to feel a little bummed out no matter what. After you get one really bad, messed up, dysfunctional job, you'll appreciate some of the jobs you had in the past, more.

You usually can't improve things at your job much, but you can improve yourself. Might consider studying the bible (doesn't matter much which one) sometime. It can teach you a lot about how to get a long with the people around you. I'm telling to get religious, go to church, or become a theology major, but there is a lot of good stuff for dealing with exactly the same problems you are having now, and pretty much every job you ever get.
 
If you work at a place doing something you are passionate about, you never work a day in your life. Tough part is finding this passion and pursuing it.
 
Get the degree, you'll always have it.

Salary reasons alone should motivate you to get the degree.

If you find a job you love, great. Remember, there's a reason they have to pay you to go to work.
 
Go back to Uni and put your all into your degree and get a good gpa. You'll then be able to choose who you work for and what you do. Good gpa, rewarding job. Bad gpa, crap job.

Mike.
 
Yes, McDonald's really appreciate a good GPA :p

Behave, just because the UK education system has fallen apart and GPAs don't mean anything anymore does not mean that the rest of the world has dropped to the same level.:(

Mike.
 
Behave, just because the UK education system has fallen apart and GPAs don't mean anything anymore does not mean that the rest of the world has dropped to the same level.:(

Unemployment rate - Australia 5.8% - UK 7.9%

Not that much different.

So are university graduates guaranteed jobs in Aus then?, they aren't elsewhere, those days are long gone.
 
You are correct, graduates are not guaranteed jobs. However, those that graduate with a high gpa are so much more likely to get a good position and that is why I thought it worth mentioning. Your quip about Mcdonalds is pathetic. I try to encourage a poster and you belittle them. Shame on you.

Mike.
 
I suggest to finish your studies to have something which nobody can take away.

A degree doesn't guarantee a good job, but at least is should be easier to get a well paid one - and search for one which is well paid and gives you satisfaction.

I flew combat jets for 23 years of my life and never went to work with a feeling to dislike my job. Once in the air I was my own boss, responsible for myself and for the aircraft.

Every military pilot should at least be able to fly. Those abilities are not even criteria for personal ratings and promotions. Besides flying I concentrated on electronic war fare and without showing off I was the best which I proved several times during the "cold war".

After I retired I used my knowledge in the field of aerodynamics to work for a UK company on own discretion producing fans for big buildings. The work was not boring at all and after I got well known to handle planning flaws to correct the installation I was called to construction sites all over Europe to correct the messed up air handling units. (Doing that kind of work requires just an index finger. :))

Besides that my little electronics knowledge was good enough to produce custom made circuits like small current to voltage converters, comparators and air data computers if they were required.

I worked 18 years for that company and never expierenced frustration concerning work and different customers.

After that time I decided that Germany's politics (and politicians) would make me mutate to a terrorist, and so I preferred to say good bye to Germany.

Living in Thailand makes many things easy, simply because people are easy.

Boncuk
 
As others already mentioned, finish your degree... easier now then once you have a domestic life with family, social responsibilities, etc.

As for staying interested in a job, set small goals for yourself to attain. Take timme to attain them, sort of savoring it along the way to stretch things out a bit. Talk to your boss to see if he/she will give you a project or other responsible task to work on.
In the meantime, take a night classes on another vocation should you find that your present one isn't fulfilling afterall. You'll be in a better position to switch fields.
 
Your quip about Mcdonalds is pathetic. I try to encourage a poster and you belittle them. Shame on you.
Mike.
No, I think Nigel's right-on. Fast food businesses are looking for bodies to be placed behind their counters despite that they may try to make a worker believe otherwise. Only store managers and franchise owners make the money. For that matter when a franchisee steps into Fast Food Corporate HQ with their $100,000 cash to start a franchise, their GPA isn't in question by the head honchos. It's more of sustainability via the various factors. Customers patronize fast food places for quick service, reasonably tasty food, and low cost; not because the cashier happens to have a degree and made the Dean's list!
 
I Thank you guys for your support.

I'll certainly adopt the idea of setting small goals in order to feel more satisfied with the job (Thanks HiTech), and of course do my best to complete my first degree in EE.

Don't get me wrong, my job is (or at least was) very interesting.
Since its a startup that comprises only a number of people, I got to do lots of stuff - circuits design, soldering, 'Scope measurements, writing low-level code (programming UC), writing HTML code for our website, plastics design, handling orders, everything that needs to be done to have a product complete from scratch.

The problem is that it’s a long time now that we're holding everything back until we find investors, so it's been a while since I messed my hands up with circuits or wrote low level code (which I really like doing both), and most of the time I only work on presentation files and handling the plastics design.

So what I'm trying to do now is overcoming this boring period which makes me feel like a secretary, and not an engineer.
Its really hard, getting up early in the morning just to sit all day in front of the computer, and work with all these microsoft office SW.
 
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I'll certainly adopt the idea of setting small goals in order to feel more satisfied with the job (Thanks HiTech), and of course do my best to complete my first degree in EE.

I also agree, finish your degree off - I fully believe you should - my point wasn't against that, just against the blind optimism that getting a good GPA would allow you to walk into a high paid job.

If you're not enjoying your current job, either move elsewhere, or try and move within the existing company to a different job that you will enjoy. But bear in mind, it's called 'work' because it's what you do to earn a living - enjoying it is a nice bonus, but even hating it puts food on the table while you look elsewhere.
 
How do we stay at one job for years? Easy. Buy a house with huge mortgage payments, a new car with high car payments, start a family and try to keep up with those expenses. Then, look at how much your benifits would cost if you quit ( healthcare, etc ) Soon, you'll realize there is no other choice.

Good luck :)

~Danny - Out of work ASIC designer.
 
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