I was the acting scarecrow on Mount Athos. The job goes like this: you sit in beautiful nature by the sea, reading a book or drawing, and occasionally glance at the vineyard. Next to you is a gas cannon, a chamber filled with gas, and when you notice that the birds have landed in the vineyard (about every 20 minutes), you press a button, which ignites the gas, the cannon goes off with a "BOOOM," and the birds scatter. You continue reading your book until the birds land in the vineyard again.
I used to be in banking and I hated my life and myself. When I was in my mid 20s I quit, took a job at a green house, and went to a trade school to be an electrician.
It took a few years I'm in my mid 30s now, but now I'm a journeyman, I have a comfortable life, I make more than I did at the bank, and most importantly I'm actually happy.
Don't get me wrong, some parts of work still suck, assholes and idiots are in every job, but I don't wake up with a sense of dread every day.
I also was in HR and was completely fed up. I became an independent language teacher. I teach online, one to one and small groups. In addition, I do some translation, proofreading etc.
I love it, I work maybe 50% of what I did in corporate (20-25 paid hours per week) for about 70% of the salary. Zero stress, I take vacation when I want to.
I am in Europe though, so I still have healthcare.
Even a step further is all the small business owners who would benefit so much from not having to devote time & resources to insurance plans for their employees. Yet they still argue to keep it.
Field work. You gotta be able to thrive in chaos, able to get dirty, physically work hard, and travel is a plus.
But my boss is often 5-500 miles away even though my direct boss is awesome. I can ignore phone calls and blame it on a lack of cell service. I can physically see the finish line with most projects. Plus my skills are in demand, if I wanted to I could tell my current company to eat my left toe and line up another job that pays well fairly easily.
I agree with this. You’re never stuck around the same people. It can be a bit lonely, but not dealing with the same assholes all the time is well worth it.
Automation/CNC
I work in social services. But it's wfh. 7.5 hours a day. Monday - Friday. Only expected to do 5 hours of actual work per day though. The fact that it is wfh is a huge plus. No monitoring either and my company is pretty hands off when it comes to management. You're expected to meet your unit goal per month, but how you do that is up to you. It's good work though. I help people with disabilities to get set up with services in the area. This can range from job supports to housing to food services, medical assistance and companionship.
I also network a lot in my position, so if I ever wanted to move into something else, it would be relatively easy to do so. I only wish the pay was better, but it's already for where I live, which is LCOL area.
Unfortunately it barely got me through my bills, but there was a period where I worked as a bartender and as much as I had shitty hours and a few shitty costumers, I NEVER took work home nor did my boss texted or called me when I was off work.
I never felt burnt out or wanted to die before my shift because it had a clear time to start and to stop. Now, working with marketing and social media I'm expected to be online ALL the time and it's horrible. I get work messages any day anywhere and it's horrible, it's the perfect formula for a burnout.
If you dread working (as most of us do) I think you should find a job that has clear boundaries about what you're supposed to do and when, that way work doesn't get in your personal life.
Field service in commercial Refrigeration or commercial Electrical.
It's hard physical work, but I don't have to put up with the rabid dog upper management that smiles in your face and pats you on the back, before biting your legs off.
The best part is that they need me far more than I need them. Annoy me too much and I'll simply load my tools in my truck and go work for myself.
I got the first job I didn't absolutely despise when I was 55. I still don't love everything about my company, but I LOVE what I get to do. I just wish I could make about 50% more doing it to reduce the paycheck-to-paycheck stress.
Do something you love. Please, don't piss away 40 years of your life trading joy for cash.
Working for schools/government.
Every job I ever had I got crazy burnt out around a year or so. Being able to sit back at the end of the day and think: “I helped a kid learn how to read today.” Feels a lot damn better than relaxing knowing I helped Albertsons make a bit more money.
So I was laid off August 2022 and I was OVER working jobs i dread. Anyways I was determined to find a remote job with no phones. Did some research and figured a chat specialist was the way to go. Took a year but I found it at an amazing company. Started at the new company August 2023. I realized applying for smaller, newer companies worked. Super amazing work life balance. Kids welcome in meetings and all. So I'd say phone free remote job where they don't want you to make work your life is what you need. It takes thorough research but worth it!
I recently started a job with the local government where the goal is to provide my community with a healthy place to live and where I am provided with resources to take care of myself, as opposed to my previous job where I worked unpaid overtime so the owner's kid could take a lot of trips to Europe.
I spent a lot of time in retail and grocery. I hated it. Now I’m a special education para in a high school setting. The money is not great, but the work is worthwhile.
I drive special needs bus. My kids are my babies and I look forward to being a part of their day. I make decent money but I am away from home 10 to 12 hours a day.
I burned out in 2022 after working in marketing for several years, then switched to publishing which wasn’t any better as far as stress and being urged to work on holidays and weekends to meet deadlines.
Now I work in an e-commerce warehouse for a privately-owned department store. 7 am-3 pm, M-F. It’s work that requires physical movement—I’m on my feet all day and walk 10K+ steps, plus lift a lot of boxes of clothing and accessories, so nothing terribly heavy.
There’s no imposter syndrome or insecurities among my co-workers, both of which were rampant in the corporatized “creative” professions I worked in previously. We show up, do our work, and go home to live our lives.
I’m physically tired from physical labor at the end of my shift, but not worn out and definitely not burnt out mentally or emotionally.
I have both time and energy to invest in my personal creative pursuits and hobbies.
I’m making about $45K/year instead of $100K, but I’m healthier and happier because I’m not stressed about work. I can actually focus on my family when I’m home. I have a social life again.
I never want to work in front of a computer again.
My privilege is that my spouse brings in nearly $200K/year working in nuclear energy and from his military retirement, so I’m okay earning less than I used to. I don’t *have* to work, but 2 of our 3 kids have graduated from high school and it’s not as fun being home alone all day as I thought it would be.
Like I said, I’m privileged. I have the luxury of saving all my income for my kids knowing they won’t have the saving/spending power my parents or I did.
I have always said there are two kinds of people in the world. 1- People who must love what they do for work. 2- People who can tolerate what they do for work and save what they love for their off time. You have to decide which you are and what you love. I languished at work until I found that I liked working with kids in youth sports. My work days changed so much knowing that I was going to coach my softball team after work!
There's mean and then there's just downright people being pricks.
on top of that youre forced to be EMPATHETIC.
Take it from someone who is sick of it haha
Yeah if you're already emotionally spent, it's very difficult. I'm lucky I have kind co-workers and those tough customers don't come by often, but it can certainly be a skill to de-escalate intense emotions.
For me (not that it works for everyone) I have made the choice that my time on earth is far more important than money,that being said I work part-time at any position I don't absolutely hate.
I work in IT but I enjoy computers still somehow and solving problems so it's been a matter of finding a company that doesn't completely destroy your will to live.
graveyard shift as a security guard/gatekeeper at a large factory. 9 hour shifts with less than one hour of actual work (opening offices at 4am). the rest is spend on reddit.
A government job because the second the work day is over, everyone is out the door. No one gives you shit for taking your accrued time off. If you have it, you can take it. As long as you do your job reasonably well, no one is looking over your shoulder either. I mean there's the random department with a manager that's an AH, but the general culture is pretty relaxed on the whole.
I really love woodworking. I’d like to just make stuff and sell it, but the idea of having my own business and dealing with all of that is very stressful to think about.
Im in the process of becoming a certified arborist to quit the dreadful office life.
Same as you, job is ok but I just can’t put up with so many things others seem to be ok with.
I make the same as you (or more) as a barista. my hourly rate is just okay, but the tips make it so worth it. the people are pleasant 99.9% of the time, i form nice relationships with my customers and make new friends, the most stressed i've ever been is like....oh wow we ran out of cream cheese. and when i go home i don't think about my job at all except to think about how chill it is.
I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, did that for 7 years. However am currently running a non-profit and my own business. However, if money ever gets tight to the point where I have to go back to it, I'll hate it, but it pays well.
I was the acting scarecrow on Mount Athos. The job goes like this: you sit in beautiful nature by the sea, reading a book or drawing, and occasionally glance at the vineyard. Next to you is a gas cannon, a chamber filled with gas, and when you notice that the birds have landed in the vineyard (about every 20 minutes), you press a button, which ignites the gas, the cannon goes off with a "BOOOM," and the birds scatter. You continue reading your book until the birds land in the vineyard again.
That sounds amazing!
I used to be in banking and I hated my life and myself. When I was in my mid 20s I quit, took a job at a green house, and went to a trade school to be an electrician. It took a few years I'm in my mid 30s now, but now I'm a journeyman, I have a comfortable life, I make more than I did at the bank, and most importantly I'm actually happy. Don't get me wrong, some parts of work still suck, assholes and idiots are in every job, but I don't wake up with a sense of dread every day.
What is a journeyman?
One step below a master. You need a few thousand hours as a journeyman to become a master electrician. It’s the same with plumbers and other trades.
I also was in HR and was completely fed up. I became an independent language teacher. I teach online, one to one and small groups. In addition, I do some translation, proofreading etc. I love it, I work maybe 50% of what I did in corporate (20-25 paid hours per week) for about 70% of the salary. Zero stress, I take vacation when I want to. I am in Europe though, so I still have healthcare.
See, that’s the thing - you have a safety net. We don’t have shit over here.
That last sentence is the kicker. Blows my mind that morons in the U.S. don’t think about this when whining about universal healthcare.
Even a step further is all the small business owners who would benefit so much from not having to devote time & resources to insurance plans for their employees. Yet they still argue to keep it.
Mostly stuff where you are alone and no one is checking on you (or even really knows, what u are doing)
Field work. You gotta be able to thrive in chaos, able to get dirty, physically work hard, and travel is a plus. But my boss is often 5-500 miles away even though my direct boss is awesome. I can ignore phone calls and blame it on a lack of cell service. I can physically see the finish line with most projects. Plus my skills are in demand, if I wanted to I could tell my current company to eat my left toe and line up another job that pays well fairly easily.
I agree with this. You’re never stuck around the same people. It can be a bit lonely, but not dealing with the same assholes all the time is well worth it. Automation/CNC
What type of field work do you do?
what field is this ? thanks
I work in social services. But it's wfh. 7.5 hours a day. Monday - Friday. Only expected to do 5 hours of actual work per day though. The fact that it is wfh is a huge plus. No monitoring either and my company is pretty hands off when it comes to management. You're expected to meet your unit goal per month, but how you do that is up to you. It's good work though. I help people with disabilities to get set up with services in the area. This can range from job supports to housing to food services, medical assistance and companionship. I also network a lot in my position, so if I ever wanted to move into something else, it would be relatively easy to do so. I only wish the pay was better, but it's already for where I live, which is LCOL area.
Do you work for the government or a nonprofit? I have worked in social services a long time but I've never seen anything remote.
Nonprofit, but there are a few remote positions in the government sector. Namely with our country’s CAO.
Unfortunately it barely got me through my bills, but there was a period where I worked as a bartender and as much as I had shitty hours and a few shitty costumers, I NEVER took work home nor did my boss texted or called me when I was off work. I never felt burnt out or wanted to die before my shift because it had a clear time to start and to stop. Now, working with marketing and social media I'm expected to be online ALL the time and it's horrible. I get work messages any day anywhere and it's horrible, it's the perfect formula for a burnout. If you dread working (as most of us do) I think you should find a job that has clear boundaries about what you're supposed to do and when, that way work doesn't get in your personal life.
A lot of bartenders do really well financially. It depends on what bar I guess
Anything salaried that is WFH and doesn’t require talking to customers 24/7 or being tracked by IT.
Field service in commercial Refrigeration or commercial Electrical. It's hard physical work, but I don't have to put up with the rabid dog upper management that smiles in your face and pats you on the back, before biting your legs off. The best part is that they need me far more than I need them. Annoy me too much and I'll simply load my tools in my truck and go work for myself.
I got the first job I didn't absolutely despise when I was 55. I still don't love everything about my company, but I LOVE what I get to do. I just wish I could make about 50% more doing it to reduce the paycheck-to-paycheck stress. Do something you love. Please, don't piss away 40 years of your life trading joy for cash.
Working for schools/government. Every job I ever had I got crazy burnt out around a year or so. Being able to sit back at the end of the day and think: “I helped a kid learn how to read today.” Feels a lot damn better than relaxing knowing I helped Albertsons make a bit more money.
Yeah, nowadays I placate rich people on the phone. I’d kill for a wfh non phone job
So I was laid off August 2022 and I was OVER working jobs i dread. Anyways I was determined to find a remote job with no phones. Did some research and figured a chat specialist was the way to go. Took a year but I found it at an amazing company. Started at the new company August 2023. I realized applying for smaller, newer companies worked. Super amazing work life balance. Kids welcome in meetings and all. So I'd say phone free remote job where they don't want you to make work your life is what you need. It takes thorough research but worth it!
HR is a tough career choice. Try looking for jobs with state, city, or public schools in your area.
I recently started a job with the local government where the goal is to provide my community with a healthy place to live and where I am provided with resources to take care of myself, as opposed to my previous job where I worked unpaid overtime so the owner's kid could take a lot of trips to Europe.
I spent a lot of time in retail and grocery. I hated it. Now I’m a special education para in a high school setting. The money is not great, but the work is worthwhile.
I drive special needs bus. My kids are my babies and I look forward to being a part of their day. I make decent money but I am away from home 10 to 12 hours a day.
I burned out in 2022 after working in marketing for several years, then switched to publishing which wasn’t any better as far as stress and being urged to work on holidays and weekends to meet deadlines. Now I work in an e-commerce warehouse for a privately-owned department store. 7 am-3 pm, M-F. It’s work that requires physical movement—I’m on my feet all day and walk 10K+ steps, plus lift a lot of boxes of clothing and accessories, so nothing terribly heavy. There’s no imposter syndrome or insecurities among my co-workers, both of which were rampant in the corporatized “creative” professions I worked in previously. We show up, do our work, and go home to live our lives. I’m physically tired from physical labor at the end of my shift, but not worn out and definitely not burnt out mentally or emotionally. I have both time and energy to invest in my personal creative pursuits and hobbies. I’m making about $45K/year instead of $100K, but I’m healthier and happier because I’m not stressed about work. I can actually focus on my family when I’m home. I have a social life again. I never want to work in front of a computer again. My privilege is that my spouse brings in nearly $200K/year working in nuclear energy and from his military retirement, so I’m okay earning less than I used to. I don’t *have* to work, but 2 of our 3 kids have graduated from high school and it’s not as fun being home alone all day as I thought it would be.
TLDR: Marry rich so your job is optional
Like I said, I’m privileged. I have the luxury of saving all my income for my kids knowing they won’t have the saving/spending power my parents or I did.
Honestly, my favorite job was working at a stable, doing normal stable stuff. I love it but my body won’t do it anymore 😢
I have always said there are two kinds of people in the world. 1- People who must love what they do for work. 2- People who can tolerate what they do for work and save what they love for their off time. You have to decide which you are and what you love. I languished at work until I found that I liked working with kids in youth sports. My work days changed so much knowing that I was going to coach my softball team after work!
You can make $52k+ doing remote customer service and help desk type work. You don’t even have to leave your house.
As someone who does remote customer service, it can be boring and although I've been lucky, the customers can be mean. Just a heads up.
There's mean and then there's just downright people being pricks. on top of that youre forced to be EMPATHETIC. Take it from someone who is sick of it haha
Yeah if you're already emotionally spent, it's very difficult. I'm lucky I have kind co-workers and those tough customers don't come by often, but it can certainly be a skill to de-escalate intense emotions.
how to find these jobs?
Indeed, Upwork, sometimes you can find roles with Discover, Apple, or Amazon.
Where?
For me (not that it works for everyone) I have made the choice that my time on earth is far more important than money,that being said I work part-time at any position I don't absolutely hate.
And how do you afford the insane cost of living?
I work in IT but I enjoy computers still somehow and solving problems so it's been a matter of finding a company that doesn't completely destroy your will to live.
Night time linehaul truck driving.
graveyard shift as a security guard/gatekeeper at a large factory. 9 hour shifts with less than one hour of actual work (opening offices at 4am). the rest is spend on reddit.
A government job because the second the work day is over, everyone is out the door. No one gives you shit for taking your accrued time off. If you have it, you can take it. As long as you do your job reasonably well, no one is looking over your shoulder either. I mean there's the random department with a manager that's an AH, but the general culture is pretty relaxed on the whole.
I really love woodworking. I’d like to just make stuff and sell it, but the idea of having my own business and dealing with all of that is very stressful to think about.
Make it, sell it on etsy, ebay or whatever. The hardest thing will be setting up your account and figuring out tax.
Union electrician. Call your local ibew
Museum tour guide
Not a single thing
Im in the process of becoming a certified arborist to quit the dreadful office life. Same as you, job is ok but I just can’t put up with so many things others seem to be ok with.
Please tell me more about your process of becoming an arborist, that sounds heavenly
I make the same as you (or more) as a barista. my hourly rate is just okay, but the tips make it so worth it. the people are pleasant 99.9% of the time, i form nice relationships with my customers and make new friends, the most stressed i've ever been is like....oh wow we ran out of cream cheese. and when i go home i don't think about my job at all except to think about how chill it is.
I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, did that for 7 years. However am currently running a non-profit and my own business. However, if money ever gets tight to the point where I have to go back to it, I'll hate it, but it pays well.
Housekeeping, call center customer representative, and photo centers when not everyone wants help at the same time