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How was your experience being employed?
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kaylankonnor Offline
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Post: #1
How was your experience being employed?

Hello! Please share your employment stories, for the learning and insight of others..

How was your first job like? (Be it any kind.)
What did you learn from that job? Was it enjoyable, and did it help you to further a different goal?
What would you tell people who are seeking employment for the first time?
08-28-2014 08:21 PM
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brainiac3397 Offline
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Post: #2
How was your experience being employed?

Working in retail sucks. Cashier sucks. Wage slave sucks. Working for an employer sucks. Having more than one boss sucks. Having no authority sucks.

But always keep an eye out for advancement of position, even if that means brutally toppling the previous holder of the office. Record all mistakes of the superiors, all damages, all harmful effects to the business. Plan your own solutions, insert confidence, and proceed to smash the superior(pick one, can't take em all on. Choose the spot you could do best, or at least have more authority). Take their job, become authority.

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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08-28-2014 11:41 PM
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Post: #3
How was your experience being employed?

I am yet to have any kind of job.

Freelancing looks awesome though. I want to write those history textbooks.

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08-29-2014 12:44 AM
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brainiac3397 Offline
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How was your experience being employed?

Freelancing is a difficult thing to get into most of the time. Sure, many of those who fail mainly fail due to lack of discipline, self-motivation and bad time management. However, freelancers take it up the rear both financially and competitively.

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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08-29-2014 10:01 AM
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xcriteria Offline
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RE: How was your experience being employed?

Great question. I'll add more to this thread later, but I'll start with this:

(08-29-2014 10:01 AM)brainiac3397 Wrote:  Freelancing is a difficult thing to get into most of the time. Sure, many of those who fail mainly fail due to lack of discipline, self-motivation and bad time management. However, freelancers take it up the rear both financially and competitively.

That's not necessarily true. Freelancers can make a lot more, roughly the same, or less than their traditionally-employed counterparts. It simply depends.

A related topic is how many jobs -- including things like college faculty -- are increasingly being transitioned from traditional long-term jobs, to temporary contract employment. Often people do get paid less, have to deal with their own benefits, etc... but again it depends. And that's simply the reality of a changing economy.

A lot depends on your skill level and just the exact kind of work you're doing... and how you market yourself... and who you're working for. It can pay to look around.

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08-30-2014 01:25 AM
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xcriteria Offline
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RE: How was your experience being employed?

(08-28-2014 11:41 PM)brainiac3397 Wrote:  Working in retail sucks. Cashier sucks. Wage slave sucks. Working for an employer sucks. Having more than one boss sucks. Having no authority sucks.

It somewhat depends on where you're working and what your preferences are. Some people would prefer retail or being a cashier to other kinds of work.

It's worth trying various things out and getting a sense of what kind of work you like and don't like, and why.

Sometimes the same kind of work can be horrible, or wonderful, depending on the place you're doing it, the customers, employer, etc.

Being a cashier in one kind of store could involve a constant flow of customers and be overwhelming to one person, but like a game to another... another kind of establishment could have a lot slower pace of business and be comfortable for one person, but boring for another.

Getting to know yourself helps.

(08-28-2014 11:41 PM)brainiac3397 Wrote:  But always keep an eye out for advancement of position, even if that means brutally toppling the previous holder of the office. Record all mistakes of the superiors, all damages, all harmful effects to the business. Plan your own solutions, insert confidence, and proceed to smash the superior(pick one, can't take em all on. Choose the spot you could do best, or at least have more authority). Take their job, become authority.

There are usually better ways to succeed in the world than that. Things like collaboration, building a network, helping others with their strengths vs. weaknesses, and just finding the kind of organization or situation you'd like to work in can all help.

Not all organizations are set up in the strictly hierarchical mode that many used to be... and even those usually require long periods of complying before any kind of advancement is possible.

If you look at what at least some companies are doing these days, it looks a lot different from the dog-eat-dog hierarchical model brainiac's advice is based on.

One example that I've seen cited a lot: The Happiness Culture: Zappos Isn't a Company -- It's a Misison

"It's about giving employees permission and encouraging them to just be themselves," says Hsieh.

Also, faultfinding in others and trying to take them down as your main formula for success can just as easily cause you problems as get you anywhere...

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08-30-2014 01:36 AM
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brainiac3397 Offline
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How was your experience being employed?

Course I'm biased to dog-eats-dog because of my personal ambition of climbing to the top of whatever, and then pushing further up.

If you just want something comfy, fun and you like to do, then that's your choice. Not everyone is built to run headfirst into political conflicts and backhand scheming. Smile

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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08-30-2014 02:38 PM
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xcriteria Offline
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RE: How was your experience being employed?

(08-30-2014 02:38 PM)brainiac3397 Wrote:  Course I'm biased to dog-eats-dog because of my personal ambition of climbing to the top of whatever, and then pushing further up.

Reminds me of a song: The Climb...

"There's always gonna be another mountain,
I'm always gonna want to make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose...

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side.

It's the climb..."


(08-30-2014 02:38 PM)brainiac3397 Wrote:  If you just want something comfy, fun and you like to do, then that's your choice. Not everyone is built to run headfirst into political conflicts and backhand scheming. Smile

True. But I'd say there's a third option beyond those two choices.

Backhand scheming can turn very ugly and counter-productive. Pursuing challenges that actually get somewhere is another story entirely.

So, back to the question of employment. In short, people do differ in their preferences... and there are many more kinds of work than people are often familiar with. Even more so in a changing economy.

It's worth differentiating between a desire for conflict and interesting situations, and the actual best moves in given situations.

Thoughts on that?

And, there's more to discuss on the topic of employment / work / freelancing / ways to earn a living. Ultimately, that's why a lot of people are in school, so it's worth exploring for a number of reasons.

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08-31-2014 01:29 PM
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brainiac3397 Offline
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Post: #9
How was your experience being employed?

It all depends on whether you have an ulterior motive powered by a lust for power, or whether you just want something job specific.

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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08-31-2014 02:23 PM
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xcriteria Offline
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RE: How was your experience being employed?

(08-31-2014 02:23 PM)brainiac3397 Wrote:  It all depends on whether you have an ulterior motive powered by a lust for power, or whether you just want something job specific.

Yeah... or some other underlying motivation or purpose. There's more to life than just lusting for power... at least many people have different motivations.

It's worth thinking about the purpose of a job beyond just the paycheck, and what kind of work you do, though. Like, how it might be a step to something else, what you learn there, who you meet, and whether you're accomplishing some kind of other purpose.

This should probably go in another thread, but what kind of power are you looking for?

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09-01-2014 02:53 AM
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vonunov Offline
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Post: #11
RE: How was your experience being employed?

(08-28-2014 08:21 PM)kaylankonnor Wrote:  Hello! Please share your employment stories, for the learning and insight of others..

How was your first job like? (Be it any kind.)
What did you learn from that job? Was it enjoyable, and did it help you to further a different goal?
What would you tell people who are seeking employment for the first time?


I'll describe three "first" jobs that I had.

My very first remotely real job (taxed) was washing dishes at Pancho's. Largely meaningless, and short-lived because they never gave me a schedule, only called to tell me when to come in. So one time they didn't call for a few days, and then they called wanting to know where I'd been because apparently I'm supposed to magically know they wanted me to come in? Yeah, whatever.

So I guess from that I learned to get important things in writing, and I learned to let go of a little perfectionism because I got in trouble for spending too long on the dishes.

Next was the Navy. I got AFQT 92 and DLAB 137, so I was on the way to becoming a CTI and learning pretty much whatever major language I wanted, but I got into some legal trouble and screwed myself out of that. So I joined up anyway as an AV. I wasn't too excited about that but I didn't have anything else to do. I got sent home about a week before graduation with supposed personality disorders. I don't know that I really have any. The results of the testing were unreliable since I deliberately answered like a complete smartass. I think that if I'd been able to get the job I'd wanted, I would have been more motivated to excel in basic.

From this I learned to think of my future before doing anything potentially damaging, and not to get into something just because I have nothing better to do with myself.

Then my first real (full-time) private-sector job. Remote desktop support (removing viruses and setting up gramma's printer). Really fun. Worked from home and made not an amazing amount of money but more than I ever had before, bar the Navy where the pay is gravy. I didn't think I'd get the job since I had no formal training, just a history of fucking around on the computer, but I polished up the resume and got right in. I got high at work so much. It was fantastic. So that went on for nearly two years until I slipped up and shared some information about a loophole that would allow you to get free services in a way that could be traced back to my identity as an employee. Legal didn't like that, of course.

From this I learned to shut the fuck up.

General advice? Don't be afraid to take a shit job for now, and while you're in that shit job, don't fall into a rut of being too tired to look for a better one or to educate yourself. At the same time, don't be afraid to try for a job you're not sure you're qualified for. You wouldn't believe how many people go to work every day feeling like they have no idea what they're doing. And there's no penalty for not being accepted for a position. You just try again.
09-01-2014 06:22 AM
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Evan92 Offline
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RE: How was your experience being employed?

(08-28-2014 11:41 PM)brainiac3397 Wrote:  Working in retail sucks. Cashier sucks. Wage slave sucks. Working for an employer sucks. Having more than one boss sucks. Having no authority sucks.

But always keep an eye out for advancement of position, even if that means brutally toppling the previous holder of the office. Record all mistakes of the superiors, all damages, all harmful effects to the business. Plan your own solutions, insert confidence, and proceed to smash the superior(pick one, can't take em all on. Choose the spot you could do best, or at least have more authority). Take their job, become authority.

Finally someone who deals in reality, it's a sink or swim world out there. Worked my fair share of retail jobs when I was younger, nothing but a temporary job not a life long career. Typical manager has a God complex face it their in a dead end career and want to drag others down with them. Worked at home depot during a gap year in the front end. Not a bad company to work for they give benefits to part timers.

The store manager was a pretty decent guy but the front end supervisor made everyone's life a living hell. HR didn't have enough evidence to fire the old bitch and nobody wanted to rock the boat. Broke company policy so many times on various matters including scheduling. If I was a bit older at the time I would have kept records and at least tried to take her down. Oh well live and learn.
09-01-2014 01:48 PM
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vonunov Offline
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RE: How was your experience being employed?

Yeah, a lot of jobs suck. There seem to largely be two positions on this: the baby-boomer "suck it up" and the current-gen "fuck the system". I propose a middle ground: suck it up for now and work on finding something better, instead of sitting around until the ideal situation falls into your lap, as I see a lot of people do.

And if there's one piece of advice vital for any job you ever have, it's this: document, document, document.
09-02-2014 01:56 AM
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brainiac3397 Offline
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RE: How was your experience being employed?

Start your own business. Be your own boss.

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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09-02-2014 02:42 AM
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RE: How was your experience being employed?

(09-02-2014 01:56 AM)vonunov Wrote:  Yeah, a lot of jobs suck. There seem to largely be two positions on this: the baby-boomer "suck it up" and the current-gen "fuck the system". I propose a middle ground: suck it up for now and work on finding something better, instead of sitting around until the ideal situation falls into your lap, as I see a lot of people do.

And if there's one piece of advice vital for any job you ever have, it's this: document, document, document.

Agreed. It's always been said there's a difference between a job and a career.

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09-02-2014 04:10 AM
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How was your experience being employed?

My career plan doesn't have any direct job to it.

I mean, does anyone know of an entry level position for a career in "Global Domination"?

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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09-02-2014 07:12 AM
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How was your experience being employed?

Defect to Russia?

RIP GWEDIN
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RIP USERNAME

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09-02-2014 10:07 AM
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RE: How was your experience being employed?

That's one where you just have to show up already qualified. I recommend four to eight years of study in your secret lair followed by a sudden debut.
09-02-2014 10:13 AM
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How was your experience being employed?

I do have plans to start a secret society so I can have a nicely populated network of loyal minions ready to do my bidding.

I need to get myself a secret lair with a giant world map behind one of those clear boards where I can use dry markers on it, and some cool decoration.

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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09-02-2014 01:26 PM
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How was your experience being employed?

I never thought I'd see the day xcriteria mention Miley Cyrus, let alone one of her songs, in his discussions. Razz

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09-03-2014 02:23 PM
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RE: How was your experience being employed?

If I twerk dat ass, will I get bonus points?

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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09-03-2014 02:43 PM
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