So, the big question?

[adagio]

First of all, apologies for the rambling nature of this post.

 

Anyway i'm recently 24 and currently employed Part Time in a convenience store. Despite my plans of remaining there only for a couple of months until i found a proper position i am approaching my third year. I joined up after completing my HND in Business and Finance and just needed some easy money to give me the ability to do what i wanted. I only earn rounghly £4,500 a year but my lifestyle means that just about carries me.

Anyway after a year of trying i have finally landed a full time position working as an Admin assistant, and am due to start in a month. And heres the problem.

When i was studying i always said that there was no way that i would work in a customer driven environment and instead get a good job in a office. Since getting this job however i have finally been forced to look at myself and have discovered that actually been cut of in an office is my worst nightmare. I'm not a social person, and not exactly the type of person that will engage strangers in conversation but the feeling of being stuck with the same people 8 hours a day no longer appeals.

So before accepting i drew up some pro's and con's. Once upon a time i used to have a large friendship base, but as happens time got in the way and i no longer see any of them. In fact the only people that i see are my fellow workmates at the convenience store. I enjoy their company but they are all still teenagers and so the things they enjoy are the things i experienced years ago and in truth quickly grew tired of. So by joining this new workplace i will have the chance to meet some new people, or at least i hope. I won't pretend that the prospect of making this move and starting afresh is not scaring the crap out of me because it is, but it is something i will have to cope with. The new place of work is also outside the nearest town, which means that i will be stuck at the premises all day, which concerns me because i would like the chance to disappear for an hour but here i wont get the chance.

The job itself is menial. Answering phones, filing etc. All jobs that i could have performed years ago without wasting thousands on education fees. In fact the jobs and pay would be very similar to what i could achieve at my current place of employment if i went full time (ive asked and it wont happen), which makes me wonder why i have accepted it and gone to all this bother. Until yesterday that is when i realised why i had said yes. First of all let me say that pressure from the company and my parents had a large part in the decision (im not talking to them right now out of spite).

So anyway i realised why i said yes to a job i dont want and heres why. I bought a book by Po Bronson a couple of years back called 'What should i do with my life?' and even though i enjoyed it first time round it didnt have much relevance. However recently re-reading it i noticed the following:

-"Most people need the context of a company and an industry and a title and a salary-level and regular performance reviews to provide a measure of self worth"

 

And i realised for me this is true. Or at least it was. My five years of studies meant that somewhere along the line i was gullible enough to believe that i needed to work in an office, in a recognisable company, with a set wage to be successful. The thought of staying where i am is not an option beacuse it is just a small store, with a few employees, in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't matter if i enjoy it. I need to be out there making a shit load of money, wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. So i was wondering how many other people out there are in the same position. Does all this matter to you?

Ultimately i will take his job (unless a case of devine intervention mainfests itself). I don't think i will stick it out long. It may have come late but i think i belong in the retail market and hopefully will find enough challenge and passion and responsibility there sooner rather than later. So thanks for reading, and maybe you will let me give you this parting piece of advice. It wont apply to all of you. Don't allow your job hunting to be influenced by your parents or friends. Next time im looking for a job, or considering any offers i plan to tell my parents thank you but i dont want you to be involved in any way. Because for me, whether they meant to or not, they put pressure on me, and i usually fail to cope in these circumstances.

[raggamuffin]

Why dont your work there for a little while and keep on look for a job in a place that interests you? That seems to be logical to me.

 

If you think about it most things in life we do are to increase our own self worth or happiness I mean why else do it if its not going to have some advantage in your own life. Even people who work for pittance helping homeless people or people in third world countries do it because helping other people less unfortunate than themselves makes themselves feel better. Its just the way life is.

 

I think telling your parents to let you make your own decisions regarding your career is a pretty good idea.