I Just Quit My Job
I got my first job in my new home since I became a new immigrant a few days ago.
Start of the third shift, I quit.
I'm not old, but I'm not young either. I grew up in an economically deprived area where job opportunities were few and far between. Since I graduated college, I was forced to take menial labor to put bread on the table. I've fallen into absolute hellscapes of corporate greed over and over for more than a decade with no signs of slowing down: call centers, retail, warehousing, agency work... it's all been soul destroying. Why is it so hard to find a stable career? Is that too much to ask?
Some places I was just a temporary hire. Others I left after a month or so, some over a few years, one or two after a single shift. I can't find anywhere that doesn't make me completely and utterly miserable. Most of these companies I worked for have actually dissolved and no longer exist. That's how bad my track record has been in my home climate.
I thought here would be different.
Instead, I find a job that management outright lied to me about and wants you to walk 13-15 miles a day on average with barely 30 minutes downtime. It destroys your body. Management even recommended taking painkillers for the first few weeks until you physically got used to it. No one should have to take meds to do their job. Especially not one that's barely above minimum wage.
After 1.5 shifts of training, I was thrown to the wolves today and left on my own. My trainer promised to be around but couldn't be found at all. I tried to do the job and remember what I had been taught, but I struggled and tried to find help. Others got angry at me for getting in the way, and I fumbled through knowing I was doing something wrong for the sake of getting rid of the work. When another colleague got snappy at me, I marched to the manager's desk, dropped my keycard on their keyboard, and told them I quit.
I barely lasted 40 minutes today.
Now I'm back to square one yet again and I feel horrendous. Every job seems to be some kind of hellish trap which I can't escape from. I don't ask for much and I don't have ridiculous expectations. I just want something stable that I can actually live with to help me build a life for myself. Why is it so hard? Is it really me? My fault?
I want to work. But why do I get so abused just trying to make a living? It's like no one wants me to live. Please tell me it gets better.
@MelancholicMage
I read your post a few times and hoped someone had better words of wisdom for you.
In my experience no job is going to fit your every want in fulfillment and money etc .... It is Really hard to make determination of how this job will be after such short times on the job. A few jobs i thought "this sucks " quickly but after a while I found my groove.... and could see a longer term situation.
Yes, there are bad companies and managers............ but if it every place you may have unrealistic expectations. Did you work prior to university?
If you are not getting jobs you think you should perhaps related to your degree or field of study it can be frustrating.
In taking other type jobs you have to re-frame the situation to not immediately assume this is beneath you, maybe see it as temporary financial support.
Focus your time to find what you want to do and what steps or networking will it take to get there. Many people find their Fit and happiness by accident not the career they pictured at first but found a type of work they CAN enjoy and feel appreciated in.
@toughTiger6481 I hear what you're saying. I stand by it's not me, however.
I've worked for over a decade in many jobs (some I was at for 4 years) and did not go to university. Cultural differences: I graduated school at 16 which was the leaving age at that time, and college was the next step in education but lower than a university degree. Confusing, I know. I couldn't afford university.
I hear the 'stick at it' advice too often. It never worked for me and only made things worse. If you're a bad fit, you're a bad fit. Getting screamed at over the phone every day, and walking 12-15 miles a day, is just physical and mental abuse that I won't take. The first one landed me in hospital - literally - for trying to do the 'right thing' and 'stick it out'. I lasted 8 months.
I don't expect to love any job. I just want to get by without the mental and emotional degradation. I wouldn't know where to start to gain connections for becoming an author or an artist. They're my main skills and not exactly an easy industry to walk into. I'm also inexperienced which no one will hire me for without experience and round and round we go.
I'm just venting cause I've been here one too many times and I'm not alone. Job hopping is a norm now. Not out of want, but out of unrealistic expectations, impossible targets, dead career progression, hyper-focused statistics, and lack of work/life balance. It never used to be as bad as this.
Having a career is for the lucky ones. As it stands, they want to throw people under the bus and keep you down with too much hard work that deserves more than minimum wage but that's all they'll pay you.
I don't think you'll find many people who would run for 8 hours for minimum wage an hour. This job might as well have been that.
@MelancholicMage
It is not about sticking it out as much as researching and not applying for things that would not be you. Of course just asking in interview or such ....
no one expects a person to stick it out in certain situations but I have known so many that NO job was ever going to be "right"
@toughTiger6481 ? I'm not sure what you're trying to say.
@toughTiger6481 If you're basically telling me to apply for things I ordinarily wouldn't, then I understand but I already did that (call centers) and they destroyed my mental health.
Taking the risk to do, say, care work with people who are disabled, when you know you have low tolerance and high discomfort with those kinds of people, isn't worth the risk. Or the time or effort of the interview.
I apply for a variety of roles and my track record shows that. If you feel neglecting certain jobs to safeguard one's own health is being too 'above them' then so be it I guess.
@MelancholicMage
Call centers or care giving are textbook examples of what will not work for many people. I never implied taking a job that was harmful to health either mental or physical.
Is walking a lot as you described in one job hard and not for everyone YES.....It is hard on someone if they are not used to it...this can apply to any job i had a physical job for years then took an office one sitting for hours hurt my back at first...... will they build up the resistance to change walking / sitting , in time most do. The place telling you others have taken (most likely OTC) pain relief is not saying job cannot be done without drugs that or is promoting drugs.
I just feel that because you have not found a good fit ...............the idea that ALL jobs are crap and all companies are horrible....... is creating an attitude bias that nothing will ever meet your expectations. I see you were venting and most likely only wanted someone to say you are right. So you are right work sucks.
The jobs I was speaking of are ones that some people may not even know are out there. Many jobs do not live up to ad because they are hard to explain or behind the scenes that most people do not notice.
@toughTiger6481
I understand fully what you're saying but honestly you're not helping. Whether you intend to or not, I feel like you're talking down to me. I used to work for Amazon so, again, I know how hard it is to take up a physically demanding job - especially for the first time. Your body needs to acclimate. This job however didn't pay enough for what you had to do to you body.
Good on those who hung in there with it, but when even my own manager said she hated it, I knew it wasn't for me. I couldn't break myself in like I did in Amazon again and I promised myself that. This place used smoke and mirror interview tactics to get people in to do the job. There's a reason they're so desperate to get more people to fill the role and they were still carrying out interviews while I was there.
I'm not saying that workplace promoted drugs, but in general being advised to take them when you first start during orientation doesn't sit well with me.
I didn't say all jobs were crap or all companies are horrible. I realise I've had a bad run of it but I didn't say this – you did. I frankly find your comments insulting by the way you imply that my expectations are too high.
I appreciate you trying to help, and thank you for doing so, but your comments aren't empathetic and instead come across as haughty and self-important. I wish you all the best.
Got a new job that actually utilizes my skills in electronics and technology. The place genuinely cultivates individual growth and recognizes that even though people can be bad fits for a job, there's always the opportunity to refer them elsewhere where they can thrive.
It's a fantastic workplace that cultivates an actual human culture within. Not just writing on the wall.
Ignore the haters. Never give up.
Congratulations for the new job, I am very happy for you and I wish you all the best in your professional journey!
P.s.: wish me luck, I really need it too :(.