Mid-20s. Graduated from college. Took me a while to get my first job related to my degree. Finally got it, and I was over the moon. So eager to prove myself, not just as a young person starting out, but as someone who struggled so much to get my first real job opportunity to begin with.
A year later and I feel stretched thin. I look around and see all my colleagues logging on at 7am, 8am, others logging on at 9pm, 10pm, weekends, you name it. This is not what I want. People didn’t die during the labor movement for millions of employees to volunteer to work copious amounts of unpaid overtime every week.
My old boss recently got promoted within the company. He was a good guy, and I’ll always remember him for giving me my first chance in the “real” working world.
He and I still touch base monthly to chat. And I can tell in his demeanor that he’s very proud of himself in his new role, mainly in the proximity that he now gets to the C-level executives at our company.
I’m happy for him, but it occurred to me that there’s currently no part of me that would ever endeavor to work that high up the corporate ladder, much less be proud of it. There’s no part of me that takes any innate pride in having some highfalutin job title and getting to work shoulder-to-shoulder with higher-ups.
I just want a solid job where I feel relatively happy, I can manage my workload, and I make enough to trend towards my financial goals. Nothing more.
I don’t hate my job. It’s actually more or less what I saw myself doing with my life. But I know more than ever that I want to retire early. My degree is in finance, so luckily I have a bit of a firmer grasp on money management and investing than a layperson.
But the idea of perpetually working my way up the corporate ladder for more money, more clout, more prestige is nauseating and does not appeal to me in any way, as I’m sure most of you will relate. Because guess what. You can work 40 years. Devote your time and livelihood for more and more work achievements. But the moment you put in your intent to retire, they will post an opening for your role and replace you. The firm will move on. Your colleagues will move on. Employees can be replaced. Your well-being cannot.
Submitted September 29, 2020 at 10:30PM by Negative_Plastic https://ift.tt/3mZHA26
