https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/1iahxww/how_many_people_loved_their_job/
created by awakeningat40 on 26/01/2025 at 15:52 UTC
209 upvotes, 409 top-level comments (showing 25)
My husband (49) despises his job but definitely has golden handcuffs, he wants out of his industry. I remember my father hating his job. Do you, or did you love your job? Or is it called work for a reason.
Comment by AutoModerator at 26/01/2025 at 15:52 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See this post[1], the rules, and the sidebar for details. Thank you for your submission, awakeningat40.
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Comment by armandcamera at 26/01/2025 at 16:05 UTC
122 upvotes, 4 direct replies
I love mine. I could have retired a couple years ago. I run camera on a National TV music production. Been here 45 years.
Comment by DrunkStoleATank at 26/01/2025 at 16:20 UTC
106 upvotes, 2 direct replies
My job is hilarious. I am a contract cleaner in a bio waste plant. Never met anyone from my company.
Place is really, really hard to find 🤣 Postcode takes you to a different town, down by the plant's weighbridge, with 3 locked gates.
Got the job without an interview, as they couldn't get anyone else to work there, on account of the smell. Company that originally hired me got taken over ages ago, they very occasionally email me, but never bother me otherwise.
The guys from the waste company i work with are great, treat me like one of the team, i work part time, i get the work done in half the time i am paid to be there.
I turn up on a mountain bike, plastered in mud (still cleaner than my co workers), get changed and stuff my cycle clothes in tge laundry, first thing i do is make a cup of tea and find the biscuits.
On paper, job is awful, in reality i do not mind doing it at all, and as soon as i clock off i dont think about it again until next time i am in.
Previously i was a supervisor in a law centre, but left due to burnout.
Comment by Brilliant_Badger_709 at 26/01/2025 at 15:59 UTC
65 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Absolutely love my job, and it's in a part of my field I swore I would never touch. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and try new things to find out what you'll enjoy.
Comment by myDogStillLovesMe at 26/01/2025 at 16:01 UTC
61 upvotes, 4 direct replies
I am a public school teacher in Toronto, I love my job. I taught in Japan for 6 years before that. I loved that too. I ran a Bed and Breakfast for 2 years, loved that too. If your partner hates their job, look for a new career while still employed, and get out!
Comment by rhrjruk at 26/01/2025 at 15:59 UTC
36 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I had 4 x 10 year careers.
I enjoyed each career more than the previous, and definitely retired from the workforce happier than I had entered it!
(But I would not have done so if I’d stuck with my first career)
Comment by deadeyeAZ at 26/01/2025 at 16:06 UTC
34 upvotes, 3 direct replies
I had a very challenging technical job i loved, I absolutely hated the office politics and back stabbing, and glory seeking, and dysfunctional personalities. I miss the work NOT the management.
Comment by yogurtcup528 at 26/01/2025 at 15:57 UTC
81 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I hate my job and I’m actively searching for another one. I don’t need to love what I do, but I need to not want to die when I step into the doors.
Comment by Chuck1705 at 26/01/2025 at 16:02 UTC
29 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Forty years ago, I applied for a part-time job as a weekend DJ in a radio station in Stroudsburg, PA. It's turned into a career that's been rewarding in almost every way. Never made a ton of money, but found other ways to generate income. I love my job and always have. I'm probably in the minority.
Comment by Embarrassed-Comb6776 at 26/01/2025 at 16:11 UTC
28 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Twenty years ago I gave up my engineering job and started a boat repair business. Being my own boss, I loved my boss. I looked forward to going to work most days. When it was raining out, I stayed home and did the paperwork. If it was a several day storm, I might get some projects done at home and work extra hard when the weather is nice. The corporate world rarely can grasp a concept like that. Most days were in some way challenging, and my customers appreciated me. Never did I need to think, TGIF.
Comment by b9ncountr at 26/01/2025 at 16:11 UTC
26 upvotes, 3 direct replies
I used to say I love my work but I hate my job.
Comment by Jewboy-Deluxe at 26/01/2025 at 15:59 UTC
22 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Love is a strong word but I enjoy my job and the people that I work with very much.
Comment by DainasaurusRex at 26/01/2025 at 16:10 UTC
18 upvotes, 2 direct replies
First career was 25 years, and I loved about 20 of those. At age 52, I decided to make a change. Packaged up all my freelance/business ownership and volunteering skills and got a job in a completely different field. Now I truly love my job again - I work for a mission-driven non-profit with great people and feel like I’m actually contributing to the world. I think your husband should go for something different, but I notice you said “golden” handcuffs. Talk openly and honestly about what you can change in your lifestyle to potentially take an income hit that would allow him to be happy. We’re only on this earth once, and work takes up a lot of our lives. It makes sense to do anything to at least be in a tolerable situation.
Comment by 520Madison at 26/01/2025 at 16:12 UTC
18 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I absolutely loved being a NYC Union Ironworker, working with awesome men and women stealing pieces of sky, creating buildings that cast a shadow a mile long every sunrise and sunset.
Comment by eileenm212 at 26/01/2025 at 16:04 UTC
15 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I love my job. I’m a nurse and really enjoy caring for people.
Comment by godzillabobber at 26/01/2025 at 17:12 UTC
14 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I am a jeweler. 12 years ago (after 35 years of working for others), I opened an online store featuring my own designs exclusively. No guarantee of success. It was sink or swim. It has been a dream. After 3 years of growth, my wife was able to give up her Fortune 200 corporate job and take over the customer relations, marketing, social media, and general management. She loves her job too. Our studio is at home and our schedule is completely flexible. We make a living working around 20 hours a week because we have hardly any expenses. That means reasonably fair and normal pricing puts four times the profit into our pockets. 30 years ago I had a store and didn't get profitable till the 4th quarter. And back then I had to work 70 hours a week.
My life is as exciting as those early days in my high school jewelry class where every day was filled with possibilities and wonder.
Comment by Rock_Paper_Sissors at 26/01/2025 at 15:59 UTC
14 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Every job has its challenges and moments of frustration but overall loved my job! I still miss my job but like being retired more.
Comment by CocoaAlmondsRock at 26/01/2025 at 16:04 UTC
12 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I love my job. I wouldn't do it if I won the lottery, but if I need to earn a living, I'm super happy with the job I have.
Comment by hicksreb at 26/01/2025 at 16:00 UTC
12 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I am 51, and have been in my industry since 2003. I love what I do, it's blue collar, paid well, and will provide me with a great retirement. I was with my first employer for 19 years and hired on at where I'm at in 2022. It was the best possible decision I could have made. I really grew to resent the first company's treatment of it's employees and business practices.
Comment by ChillBoomer61 at 26/01/2025 at 16:12 UTC
10 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I absolutely hated my job, but the money and bennies were good. I’m happier and much healthier since retiring. I won’t do it in the next life. It’s pretty bad when the alarm goes off at 3:30 am, and you silently scream FUUUUUCK!
Comment by Realistic-Weird-4259 at 26/01/2025 at 16:05 UTC
10 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I've had jobs I LOVED, and I've had jobs I HATED. I have a conflicted relationship with my current job.
Comment by DIYnivor at 26/01/2025 at 16:06 UTC
9 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I've had jobs that I hated, and jobs that I tolerated, and jobs that I sort of liked. Never a job that I loved.
Comment by parrothead_69 at 26/01/2025 at 16:19 UTC
7 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I loved my first job working at Disney World mid 70s
Comment by Aggravating_Call910 at 26/01/2025 at 19:04 UTC
7 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I love, and loved, my work. Ageism forced me into episodic employment, which has made me bitter and angry at the end of a long career, even though I’m far more valuable to employers than I would have been 30 years ago. I’ve prepared well for retirement, so it’s not that. I like working. I am trying to take the high road, and keep my eye on my own joy. And, at the same time, fuck these jerks.
Comment by Art_Music306 at 26/01/2025 at 16:10 UTC
7 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I’m thankful to have my job, but the longer I’ve been there, the more it has changed from the job that it was when I started.
Pay is worse due to inflation and no raises, benefits are worse each year, while simultaneously costing more, and expectation creep is a real thing. The longer I’m here, the more tasks are added for less compensation.
While I remember how things used to be done, the past, as they say, is a foreign country, and the position and expectations have changed considerably since I first came on.
I suspect that my experience is similar for a lot of careers. The longer you are there, the more you know, and the more things change.
It’s never what it used to be by the time you get to the end.