Ambition once came with a promise: a home, a salary, progress and fulfilment. What happens when that promise is broken? Meet the women who are turning their backs on consumerism, materialism and burnout

  • ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    5 months ago

    The low stress I got now is amazing and that’s going to be hard to let go of. . . . I basically am doing a 10th of the work at twice the pay of the last job.

    Those are absolutely great reasons to say no, and if you’re happy where you are, stay there. You’re also in a fantastic mental position from which to refuse whatever jobs or titles you don’t want and to bargain for what you really do, because you don’t NEED whatever’s offered. You’re looking for quality of life and interest as well as the paycheck, and mentally that gives you a very strong hand should you ever decide to go looking for more than what you have.

    But if you do nothing else for now, and you’re not sure the current situation is necessarily going to remain as stable as it is today, then at least start thinking about what YOU want, what interests you beyond the paycheck in the work you do, so that if you ever have to start moving in a different direction, you have an option or two already picked. If there’s something more interesting in tech for you – you said “sysadmin” but, just as an example, maybe you realize the security end of things interests you a lot more than network closets – then that’s a direction you could start finding out more about.

    At the very least, if you start looking into different sysadmin related titles and skills and finding out a little bit about everything that’s out there, you will be able to bullshit better if you ever have to switch jobs. You’ll also have a much better idea than many about how all the parts work together (or don’t) in a corporate organization. Knowing the lay of the land is a sort of experience too.

    So coast all you want, keeping your eyes open and remaining curious while you do. But don’t sell yourself short. That’s really the part I wanted you to hear, because at that point it’s not other people shutting the door of opportunity on you, that’s you shutting it on yourself, and lack of experience in itself is not a good reason. I hope you find out what interests you and where your best fit lies.