Man, I just can't take these long weeks. I drive 40 miles each way to and from work every day. And when I get here I just sit around. Literally, I just sit here all day and stare at my monitor. I generally waste about an hour first thing in the morning just browsing some sites, but then I get extremely bored. It hardly seems worth the drive in, but I have to come if I'm going to get paid. I've been doing this for 6 years and it's beyond rediculous.

I need a new job. Has anyone else had a steady but boring ass career and successfully made the move to another career or job? There are only a couple things I can think I'd like to do, but making them happen all while paying bills and trying to live life seems near impossible. But the thought of being here at the same job 5 years from now is scary.

Anyways, just thought I'd vent because I'm bored and nodding off at my desk.

Haha wow man 6 years of that! I know what you mean about just sitting here as your desk staring at the monitor sometimes though as that's what I've done that past two days. What is your profession? Sometimes you just get all your work done early and have too much time to kill which makes you not like you job ya know. But in a seriousness if you don't like your job now then get out and do what you want to do. Just ask yourself do you really want to do this for the rest of your life? If not then make what you want to do happen. Start planning and applying to different places while keeping your current job. Just think of it as a temporary regularity until then....

I'm a network administrator. But i don't like it so I've demoted myself to help desk work so I can be lazy.

I definitely know I don't want to be doing this forever. If I could go back and do college over, or just not go, I would. Just not sure how to correct a long term mistake I made when I was 18. I'm trying to buy a house, get engaged, etc so I can't exactly just quit and learn something new.

housegsx said:

I'm a network administrator. But i don't like it so I've demoted myself to help desk work so I can be lazy.

I definitely know I don't want to be doing this forever. If I could go back and do college over, or just not go, I would. Just not sure how to correct a long term mistake I made when I was 18. I'm trying to buy a house, get engaged, etc so I can't exactly just quit and learn something new.

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Wow, ^ I'm 25 years old and You sir Are my next role model @ took the job because of the lazyness....

I work as a Purchaser at my job, I stare at Two screens all day.. I started this job March 09. The exact way that you think is what I do at my job. I do nothing for the first 2 hours checking sites, finding the last page of the internet etc... Me and my younger brother bought a house, but because of his DUI he got, he changed everything and decided to go back to College and we lost out on our earnest money we put down... So now I'm back in an apt...

I used to be cut, 5,9 155lbs in good shape and felt good, tons of energy. Now since march 09 because of this job just sitting here at this desk 8-9 hours a day with the same eat what you want diet.. I believe I shrank, I'm 5,8 and weigh 193lbs as of yesterday, I'm More negative than ever, I went to the doctors in November thinking I was having a heart attack but they diagnosed me with Hyper tension and anxiety. I can honestly feel my body slowly dying.... My gf and I fight alot more, Think of a large turd on the sidewalk moving slowly like a slug. That's how i feel.. I make $20 ish an hour but it just does not seem to do anything for me. I'd rather almost take a $10 an hour job doing something I like....

Anyways 2010 just got here and my new years resolution is to start working out and stop drinking soda, and eating out everyday.. I'm a few credit hours away from my Associates degree, but I don't want to finish that yet.. I've also thought about becoming a Driver for UPS. Yeah it sounds weird but I've worked for them before, you stay in shape, get to drive all day, and after 4 years the drivers are at their top pay scale $30+ hr/ + full benifits.. I might have to get on that.

housegsx said:

I drive 40 miles each way to and from work every day. And when I get here I just sit around. Literally, I just sit here all day and stare at my monitor. I generally waste about an hour first thing in the morning just browsing some sites, but then I get extremely bored. It hardly seems worth the drive in, but I have to come if I'm going to get paid.

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Wow, sounds like Office Space. Anyone ever tell you, you got a case of the Mondays?

Turbo Monk3y said:

Wow, ^ I'm 25 years old and You sir Are my next role model @ took the job because of the lazyness....

I work as a Purchaser at my job, I stare at Two screens all day.. I started this job March 09. The exact way that you think is what I do at my job. I do nothing for the first 2 hours checking sites, finding the last page of the internet etc... Me and my younger brother bought a house, but because of his DUI he got, he changed everything and decided to go back to College and we lost out on our earnest money we put down... So now I'm back in an apt...

I used to be cut, 5,9 155lbs in good shape and felt good, tons of energy. Now since march 09 because of this job just sitting here at this desk 8-9 hours a day with the same eat what you want diet.. I believe I shrank, I'm 5,8 and weigh 193lbs as of yesterday, I'm More negative than ever, I went to the doctors in November thinking I was having a heart attack but they diagnosed me with Hyper tension and anxiety. I can honestly feel my body slowly dying.... My gf and I fight alot more, Think of a large turd on the sidewalk moving slowly like a slug. That's how I feel.. I make $20 ish an hour but it just does not seem to do anything for me. I'd rather almost take a $10 an hour job doing something I like....

Anyways 2010 just got here and my new years resolution is to start working out and stop drinking soda, and eating out everyday.. I'm a few credit hours away from my Associates degree, but I don't want to finish that yet.. I've also thought about becoming a Driver for UPS. Yeah it sounds weird but I've worked for them before, you stay in shape, get to drive all day, and after 4 years the drivers are at their top pay scale $30+ hr/ + full benifits.. I might have to get on that.

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Yeah, that's what I do. I finished reading the Internet a long time ago, so now I resort to coming in late and taking alot of naps(although it's hard to nap in the Winter because I can't go outside and sleep). It's not that I don't have motivation, I just don't have it for this job. I feel stuck and it's a horrible feeling.

Also, I probably have hyper tension and anxiety disorder too, partly from the job, partly from the rage I get during my long commute. I have been to the hospital once too. Thought my heart was coming out and felt like I was having a stroke or something. They didn't find anything, it may have been brought on by the tons of caffeine I drink all day to stay awake. (think 5 20oz Pepsis just during work)

As far as the weight, I am 6'1" and weighed 196 in the spring. I switched from pepsi to diet pepsi. I lost 11lbs in a few weeks time. I hated the diet stuff for about a week, now I love it. Then a few months ago I pretty much stopped snacking completely. No chips and candy etc. I just eat my few meals everyday, eating what I want but much less bread, french fries, and pasta. Another couple months and I was down to 171lbs. So I'm right at 170-175 now, not too bad for sitting at a desk all day long.

Sounds like a situation my buddy went through. If I recall correctly, he just stopped showing up to work. Then some consultants came in and fired all his friends off, but promoted him even though he had been skipping work lately.

His friends were pretty pissed at the company, as was he (because he hated his job), so they wrote a computer virus that dropped the remainders of bank transactions involving interest into a bank account they opened.

RoasT BeeF said:

Wow, sounds like Office Space. Anyone ever tell you, you got a case of the Mondays?

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Worse than Office Space. You know, I saw that movie in the theater during my senior year in high school and still went on thinking college and an office job sounded like a good idea.

I have the Mondays M-F.

Turbo Monk3y said:

Wow, ^ I'm 25 years old and You sir Are my next role model @ took the job because of the lazyness....

I work as a Purchaser at my job, I stare at Two screens all day.. I started this job March 09. The exact way that you think is what I do at my job. I do nothing for the first 2 hours checking sites, finding the last page of the internet etc... Me and my younger brother bought a house, but because of his DUI he got, he changed everything and decided to go back to College and we lost out on our earnest money we put down... So now I'm back in an apt...

I used to be cut, 5,9 155lbs in good shape and felt good, tons of energy. Now since march 09 because of this job just sitting here at this desk 8-9 hours a day with the same eat what you want diet.. I believe I shrank, I'm 5,8 and weigh 193lbs as of yesterday, I'm More negative than ever, I went to the doctors in November thinking I was having a heart attack but they diagnosed me with Hyper tension and anxiety. I can honestly feel my body slowly dying.... My gf and I fight alot more, Think of a large turd on the sidewalk moving slowly like a slug. That's how i feel.. I make $20 ish an hour but it just does not seem to do anything for me. I'd rather almost take a $10 an hour job doing something I like....

Anyways 2010 just got here and my new years resolution is to start working out and stop drinking soda, and eating out everyday.. I'm a few credit hours away from my Associates degree, but I don't want to finish that yet.. I've also thought about becoming a Driver for UPS. Yeah it sounds weird but I've worked for them before, you stay in shape, get to drive all day, and after 4 years the drivers are at their top pay scale $30+ hr/ + full benifits.. I might have to get on that.

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It takes a long time to get on full time with UPS ~8years or so. I used to work there just as a loader though while in college. But dude its not really that hard to stay in shape having a desk job. I'm the most cut/strongest I've even been in my life. You just have to eat right and I always head to the gym for a bit right after work (7-3:30) and have plenty of time after for modding, etc. Sure being as the screen all day does have its down points but you gotta think about the pluses also. I mean your not outside bustin your balls and getting frozen all day doing construction you know. Anyways good luck to ya'll with desk jobs that you don't care for, but I greatly enjoy mine; am a web application developer btw.

mini zilo said:

His friends were pretty pissed at the company, as was he (because he hated his job), so they wrote a computer virus that dropped the remainders of bank transactions involving interest into a bank account they opened.

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Wow, genious! I don't think I'm going to take it that far. Only thing I take is unused computer parts and I also took some scrap steel from server racks to patch the rocker panels on the Talon.

housegsx said:

Yeah, that's what I do. I finished reading the Internet a long time ago, so now I resort to coming in late and taking alot of naps(although it's hard to nap in the Winter because I can't go outside and sleep). ....tons of caffeine I drink all day to stay awake. (think 5 20oz Pepsis just during work).....

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I take naps across the street @ the mall in th recliners over lunch periodically and limit myself to only 3x cups of coffee to get me through the day

That's nice. There is nowhere to nap here. Just outside in the park area during summer. Or in the Talon in the parking garage, but it need to be in the 60's otherwise it'll be too cold.

, taking naps at work is fun, i used to go work at a sporting goods store and i would walk all the way to the back of the stock room and lay down to take a 30 min power nap just about everyday. then i got fired for showing up late a few times, the manager is my cousin and she is kind of a jerk, .

probably the best thing to do in your situation would be to stay at your job maybe put some projects on hold and start saving money with the extra cash that you have. With the money that you will be saving you could invest in property,stocks,bonds(), anything that you think would be a solid investment. Then once you have a solid build up of resources you can virtually do what you want.

Suggestion: Stop whining about a job that pays you to do nothing. I will gladly trade with you.

caboose said:

the extra cash that you have.

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Lol!

And I bet you get a lot of the "well at least you have a job" comments from everyone 20+ years your senior. Welcome to my world. I was just about OUT of this place with my new position laid out for me and it was going to be a brand new life of honest work which I enjoyed to do. I was in that position from November 2007 until December 2008. Then the economy failed and I'm back in the office environment for the time being. I was told Jan 2009 that it would only last a month or two. One full year later and I'm way past my emotional end. I just turn the brain off from 9-5 and reboot it on the drive home.

SpawnedX said:

Suggestion: Stop whining about a job that pays you to do nothing. I will gladly trade with you.

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Trust me, doing nothing for 9 hours straight every day isn't fun. I'd rather be digging a ditch or something.

I'm not whining, but I was a little off topic here anyways. My main question was how to go about making a career transition. And to see if anyone else has sucessfully accomplished it.

Start branching out a little at a time until you're into a new field. There are hundreds of certifications out there that you can get and then mover laterally in the company to something more exciting. Have you ever considered trying to be an IT auditor?

TimG said:

I just turn the brain off from 9-5 and reboot it on the drive home.

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Wow, I tell people I turn off my brain at work all the time. Never heard anyone else say it. Yeah, I'm glad I have money coming in and health insurance, but that isn't everything.

About 1-2 years into this job I saw no real room for promotion and was already sick of this career so I didn't bother to further my education as far as schooling and certifications. So it's just stay here and idle through life or do something drastic. Drastic is probably the better choice, but I know it would be rough for the short run.

the_mork said:

Start branching out a little at a time until you're into a new field. There are hundreds of certifications out there that you can get and then mover laterally in the company to something more exciting. Have you ever considered trying to be an IT auditor?

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Seems like you need to have some more background in finance or accounting to get into auditing. However I did apply for Auditing positions at Alcoa and a couple of the major SOX auditing firms. Seems like they only want people fresh out of college, not someone with years of SOX auditing experience. I know what they look for and when I get audited I can't believe how much they overlook.

Thing is I don't really want an office job of any type unless it's too much money to pass up. So I don't see how I'm going to branch out. And our business only pays for schooling or certs related directly to your job, not one you hope to have some day. So going back for an MBA is out of the question.

housegsx said:

I know what they look for and when I get audited I can't believe how much they overlook.

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Not trying to bust balls at all but if you know they're missing something why don't you spend some of your time fixing your control issues? Afterward you can put some of your control fixes in the suggestion box. It might help you open opportunities you didn't know existed.

the_mork said:

Not trying to bust balls at all but if you know they're missing something why don't you spend some of your time fixing your control issues? Afterward you can put some of your control fixes in the suggestion box. It might help you open opportunities you didn't know existed.

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I almost always pass an audit just fine. But the minute you give an auditor a hand or make the slightest mistake they will throw you under the bus. I think I missed sending out backups offsite once when I was out sick and got a ton of shit for it.

OP- Just do what I did. Up and leave. That's all there is to it. Your life basically sucks for a while. And I've honestly had way more bad days than good so far. But there's almost a light at the end of the tunnel.

You'll miss home. You'll miss how much easier and stress-free your life ways. You'll get horribly lonely. You'll have no friends. And every waking second of every signle day, you'll contemplate just saying "Fcuk it. I'm going home."

But every now and then you'll have a moment. Driving home from work and seeing a gorgeous view that's alien to your hometown for example.

That single moment. That little "Wow." Makes it all worth the trouble. Promise.

thatblondechik said:

OP- Just do what I did. Up and leave. That's all there is to it. Your life basically sucks for a while. And I've honestly had way more bad days than good so far. But there's almost a light at the end of the tunnel.

You'll miss home. You'll miss how much easier and stress-free your life ways. You'll get horribly lonely. You'll have no friends. And every waking second of every signle day, you'll contemplate just saying "Fcuk it. I'm going home."

But every now and then you'll have a moment. Driving home from work and seeing a gorgeous view that's alien to your hometown for example.

That single moment. That little "Wow." Makes it all worth the trouble. Promise.

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Exactly. That sounds quite refreshing. Not sure how long it would last, but I think it would definately be a fun adventure for a bit. Would definately miss my friends, but honestly I've met more people just driving around my car than anything else.

I fix some of the rustiest cars in the world, in a freezing cold 100+ year old garage, that's infested with mice and elderbugs, just so I can struggle to pay the bills every month. I deal with customers who are all in a shitty mood because their car is broken, and they think I'm ripping them off simply because they are too ignorant to understand what they are buying or why. Most of them think nothing of wasting an hour or so of my day to look at something on their car with my $8000 scanner, just to say "Oh forget it, I don't want to spend $XX (or any) amount to get that fixed." Then they're like, " What do you mean you need to charge me for diagnosis?", and they always expect to be first so they park their car blocking the garage door.

You can't take their checks or they'll bounce, and the credit card processing fees are completely arbitrary because they have open access to your business checking account. Last month it was a $125 PCI compliance fee, followed by a restructuring of the billing policy that results in them skimming around 5% from every sale. Furthermore, after 12 years in business, suddenly the state decides they need everyone to renew their sales tax certificate of athourity to the tune of $50. Therse are just some of the new expenses for December 2009, I can't wait to see what January 2010 has in store.

If I could sit at a computer all day and sleep for money, and not have the outrageous overhead costs of running a business, I would do it in a second.

If you're bored, get a hobby. Your life far from sucks. There are people who lost their jobs and all their savings with the economy being what it is.

I am in the same boat as you. I am in the Air Force and Intelligence is my job. I get bored as hell sitting at a computer all day. And sometimes i really want to just up and leave. Then i think, "oh yeah, i'll go to prison if i do that". It sucks. I wish I had just become a garbage man or a lumberjack. I dunno, something other than a powerpoint ranger.