- checking login information
Loading...Hate Your Job? 3 Ways to Find a Better Job
- Robert Pagliarini
- April 16, 2012
- 7:00 am
- 16 comments
What to do when you hate your job? You definitely can’t talk about it. Your spouse may commiserate with you but will ultimately tell you that you have to keep earning a living. Your friends will tell you to suck it up and to be happy you even have a job. And, of course, they are right. You’ve got to pay the bills and there are millions who are unemployed that would kill to have a job they hated. So what should you do? If you’re feeling particularly philosophical (or maybe nostalgic for early 80s pop music), you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”
Just because you have to earn a living and just because there are people who are unemployed doesn’t mean you have to (a) love your job or (b) be condemned to a life where you hate driving to work every morning. Here are three options to help you create a richer life by getting out of a job you hate:
- New skills. If you’re on a dead-end career track and don’t see things getting any better for you, use the other 8 hours to get some new skills. But not just any skills. French for beginners and watercolor painting don’t count. I’m talking about very specific and marketable skills you know companies are seeking. Something you can learn and immediately use to get several better paying job offers. Maybe it’s data entry, customer service skills, medical billing, or paralegal training. If you’re short on money and/or time, don’t bother with a degree — these are too general, and you won’t learn a specific skill you can use on Monday morning. Instead, get a certificate or designation. These are much more specialized and are what some companies want to see on a resume.
- Bouncing. If you don’t have any skills and are stuck in a real dead-end job (e.g., one where moving up to “fry guy” is a promotion), you’ve got to get creative. Stay employed at Dead End, Inc., but use the other 8 hours to learn a specific and marketable skill (see above). This one skill won’t get you your dream job, but it should pay better than your current job and give you a new experience. Once you’ve got this new job, use the other 8 hours to learn a new skill. This new skill might help you move up the corporate ladder where you are employed or (more likely) it might be in a completely different industry. Again, this new skill needs to be in demand and the job you get should pay better than the job you have. Guess what? You keep doing this — learning new skills and getting better paying jobs — until you are making good money doing something you love.
- New career. Whether you’ve bounced your way up or you are just not satisfied with your current career choice, you can use the other 8 hours to get a new career. First you’ve got to figure out what you want to do. Focus on your strengths and identify a career that you’d not only be good at doing, but one that you’d be happy doing. Learn what it takes to get that job. Do an informational interview. What education is required? What skills are needed? Get a book from the library and research the career. Nearly every industry has a trade magazine. Get old copies. Start reading what they read. Attend a trade-show or conference. Immerse yourself in the career you want. You can ask yourself “How did I get here?”, but a more proactive and solution-focused approach is to ask “How did they get here?” Learn and model what others have done and are doing. This takes time, but that’s what the other 8 hours are for.
If you’re in a job that you hate, don’t feel guilty about wanting something better. Use your unhappiness as a motivator to make some changes. You’ll spend more time at your job than you will with your family and friends. You might as well make it as rewarding as you can. If you don’t, at the end of it all you may ask yourself, “My God! What have I done?”
(Dilbert Nightmare image by Tim Patterson, CC 2.0)
Are you ready to create more money, time, energy, and passion in your life? Learn how to live your best life now with these free resources:
Get the “Achieving Peak Performance” ebook and video now!
(free for a limited time)
You can also join a community of passionate people at Richer Life who want to achieve more in life and at work. With your free membership, you can participate in conversations I have with experts, celebrities, authors, and thought leaders that are laser-focused on practical ways to drive more money, motivation, and meaning into your life. Take the first step toward creating a better life by joining Richer Life for free now!
Robert Pagliarini
Robert Pagliarini is obsessed with improvement, making the most of his time and energy, and inspiring others to live life to the fullest by radically changing the way they invest their time and energy. He is the founder of RicherLife.com, a community of passionate people who want to learn and achieve more in life and at work and the co-founder of The Band of Brothers Foundation, a non-profit helping kids around the world.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
people are talking
Great collection of ideas!
and don't go hungry.
The more we know, the less we know why...
If you feel in the slightest bit in the dark as to how your information is being shared. Make sure…
ty
16 comments
+ add your ownthanks
Where am I supposed to be? Discover your passion and as the article suggests, use the other hours in the day to find the place that works for you.
What a brilliant article .... thank you so much Mr. Robert Pagliarini :)
Thanks.
Thanks. My brother could sure use this.
Ben O., I know how you feel, even though I'm not retired yet (wish I was), but just wanted to tell you I love the little sign on your forehead - I feel like that quite often. Lol
I did retrain in Marine Engineering. I studied my socks off for two years to get a Diploma. I was also hailed by the college as a "Student of the Year". Guess what, now I`m working as a Care Support Worker for not much more than minimum wage. That in itself is another vital yet underated and underpaid job.
Until potential employers stop exercising their prejudices against women in engineering, and until they stop typecasting us as stay at home baby factories, I can see little prospects for the professional aspirations of women in the specialism for which I was trained.
I lost my job (thankfully) at a very unethical bank 2 years ago and I'm still looking for a new one. I am grateful for the extra time with my children, and to my fiancee who was stay at home dad until a year and a half ago. Now I'm stay at home mom. I am thankful we do not have to send our children to anyone else to raise, but it's not easy and money's tight. We have one car but are in walking distance of school, our bank, and some stores, so that helps a lot. Someday we'll get to a better place, but we're doing the best we can with what we have. Keep your chins up, I know things can be pretty rough but hold on to your dreams and keep working toward them!
Thanks.
I need encouragement to look for something else that pays better. I need a positive atitude.
login to add your comment
use your care2 login
add your comment