I feel like I'm imprisoned at my current job. How do I get out fast?
August 26, 2013 4:15 PM Subscribe
I've been working at the same company for 8 years. I initially started working there as a temp and wanted to quit within the first week, but didn't for some reason, and then I was hired permanently a couple of months after temping. Anyway, while I do have more duties since I was hired, my basic job has not changed at all. I work in an insurance company mainly doing data entry, project work and anything else they throw at me.
I have really grown to hate my job whereas before I just thought it was uninspiring. I've tried many times to get out of the current department I work in and into another department, like the law or marketing department, but I have not had any luck. The closest I came was earlier this month when I applied for an internal position and got an interview. The interview went well, but I realized 10 minutes into the interview that it was not a position that I would ever want to work in. It would have dealt more with customer service, and that's not at all within my realm of interest.
What makes this extreme dissatisfaction worse is that I work with my boyfriend in the same department doing the same duties. Because the department we work in is short staffed, and has been for the last 3 years, we are not allowed to ever take any vacation together. The only exception has been the occasional Friday, but that's only if the other guy in the department agrees to come in on Friday. See, we're short staffed, but for reasons that I can't fathom, he's still allowed a flexible work schedule and doesn't work on Fridays. They'll allow only 1 of us to be there on Fridays but not Mon-Thursday. This situation has made me so angry, and it only gets worse the longer I continue to work there. I fantasize about not going back all the time. The whole feels hopeless.
I keep trying to think of ways to get out. I first tried getting a paralegal certificate, but I didn't know that the job market sucks for paralegals, so I wasn't successful. I've taken a class on html and css, and found coding fun, but I'm not sure that I'd like web development enough to do it as a career. I'm currently taking a python class, and I'm finding it interesting, but I feel that learning programming is a long task and not something that'll get me out of this job soon enough.
What's a career I can enter fast with a BA in English, a Paralegal certificate and some basic programming knowledge? I've even considered taking up a trade to get into a new job fast, but I don't think being a plumber or electrician would suit me.
I have really grown to hate my job whereas before I just thought it was uninspiring. I've tried many times to get out of the current department I work in and into another department, like the law or marketing department, but I have not had any luck. The closest I came was earlier this month when I applied for an internal position and got an interview. The interview went well, but I realized 10 minutes into the interview that it was not a position that I would ever want to work in. It would have dealt more with customer service, and that's not at all within my realm of interest.
What makes this extreme dissatisfaction worse is that I work with my boyfriend in the same department doing the same duties. Because the department we work in is short staffed, and has been for the last 3 years, we are not allowed to ever take any vacation together. The only exception has been the occasional Friday, but that's only if the other guy in the department agrees to come in on Friday. See, we're short staffed, but for reasons that I can't fathom, he's still allowed a flexible work schedule and doesn't work on Fridays. They'll allow only 1 of us to be there on Fridays but not Mon-Thursday. This situation has made me so angry, and it only gets worse the longer I continue to work there. I fantasize about not going back all the time. The whole feels hopeless.
I keep trying to think of ways to get out. I first tried getting a paralegal certificate, but I didn't know that the job market sucks for paralegals, so I wasn't successful. I've taken a class on html and css, and found coding fun, but I'm not sure that I'd like web development enough to do it as a career. I'm currently taking a python class, and I'm finding it interesting, but I feel that learning programming is a long task and not something that'll get me out of this job soon enough.
What's a career I can enter fast with a BA in English, a Paralegal certificate and some basic programming knowledge? I've even considered taking up a trade to get into a new job fast, but I don't think being a plumber or electrician would suit me.
I agree region is very important.
I actually think your best bet to get out quickly (and given how you feel, I think quickly is more important than a perfect fit) is to talk to the folks who do staffing for the kinds of jobs that are similar to what you already have - Robert Half would be where I'd start.
posted by SMPA at 4:24 PM on August 26, 2013
I actually think your best bet to get out quickly (and given how you feel, I think quickly is more important than a perfect fit) is to talk to the folks who do staffing for the kinds of jobs that are similar to what you already have - Robert Half would be where I'd start.
posted by SMPA at 4:24 PM on August 26, 2013
Response by poster: I live about 30 miles north of Chicago. The last time I looked at paralegal jobs was back in 2011, and what I found was pretty disconcerting. The bulk of the jobs wanted someone with tons of experience yet only wanted to pay $9.00/hour for all that.
posted by hazel79 at 4:34 PM on August 26, 2013
posted by hazel79 at 4:34 PM on August 26, 2013
If you have the ability to obtain a security clearance, you might try an entry-level job at a defense (sub)contractor through a staffing company. Once you are inside, there are opportunities for advancement. No guarantees, obviously, but you have a shot. It worked for me...for a while, anyhow.
A lot of your career depends on you and your attitude. Maybe more than you think.
posted by ostranenie at 5:08 PM on August 26, 2013 [3 favorites]
A lot of your career depends on you and your attitude. Maybe more than you think.
posted by ostranenie at 5:08 PM on August 26, 2013 [3 favorites]
Strange, I've had the opposite experience as you-- and I'm about 30 miles west of Chicago. If you started looking now for paralegal jobs, you might be pleasantly
surprised!
posted by katypickle at 5:56 PM on August 26, 2013
surprised!
posted by katypickle at 5:56 PM on August 26, 2013
You've been working at a job you wanted to quit the first week but kept doing for 8 years. You should probably start by looking a little more into how that happened and what to change going forward to make sure that does not happen again. That recently you applied for an internal position that involves things you really don't like is also concerning.
You have a grab-bag of skills. I would apply for anything that would possibly work in any field and start going through a general search/interview process, remembering that you can always say no. It may also be worthwhile to get in touch with post-secondary institutions you've taken classes at to use the career services there. A smaller business with less-defined roles for employees may find your variety of training more attractive than a larger business that uses HR and standardized screening. It's okay to be lukewarm about your job but you shouldn't hate it.
posted by skermunkil at 11:10 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
You have a grab-bag of skills. I would apply for anything that would possibly work in any field and start going through a general search/interview process, remembering that you can always say no. It may also be worthwhile to get in touch with post-secondary institutions you've taken classes at to use the career services there. A smaller business with less-defined roles for employees may find your variety of training more attractive than a larger business that uses HR and standardized screening. It's okay to be lukewarm about your job but you shouldn't hate it.
posted by skermunkil at 11:10 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Well, I wanted to quit initially because it was boring, and then they put me on the phones, which made it worse. I was happy to have a better paying job, so I stayed. I also got to know the people I worked with, and they made the job better. Then I got other duties, which alleviated the tedium. I'm considered a subject matter expert at work now, and being the person that people come to is nice. However, my job hasn't really changed much, though I don't answer the phones anymore(YAY!). It's just so easy to get complacent, but I don't want to be working in the same job for 10 more years.
Also, that job I applied to didn't mention the more undesirable duties(undesirable at least to me). It sounded interesting on paper, but not when I learned more about the position.
posted by hazel79 at 6:24 PM on August 27, 2013
Also, that job I applied to didn't mention the more undesirable duties(undesirable at least to me). It sounded interesting on paper, but not when I learned more about the position.
posted by hazel79 at 6:24 PM on August 27, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by katypickle at 4:19 PM on August 26, 2013 [1 favorite]