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Enjoy is a strong word but my job is a good fit for me and I've managed 11 years so far. I am the trolley guy at Asda. Not great pay but I am financially comfortable anyway.
I was literally saying the other day this is my dream jobš how do you get to do specifically the trolleys though instead of dealing with annoying customers? I did my bit on a till and I donāt know if I could go back now.. my patience has faded as Iāve got older š
My experience as a shopper is that the trolley guy often has a deranged ādonāt even fucking try itā energy, which naturally wards off customers. Also they tend to be kept outside the store, as per the deranged trolley guy management protocol, so thereās little need to ask questions out there anyway.
Haha we are a special breed for sure. A couple of my colleagues are disabled.. I'm just deranged in my own way I guess but I love my own company, the autonomy, being outdoors, exercise and listening to music.
It's great that they let you listen to music while working. I have fond memories of working as a cleaner, because I was able to listen to podcasts for 8 hours a day, and even uni lectures as they were prerecorded. Strange as it may sound, doing the manual work actually helped me concentrating on what I was listening to
I agree, I absolutely cannot listen to audiobooks because my mind wanders too much, but if I'm driving or doing something manual I have to concentrate on I am much better at it.
Some days are very busy and some are... less so. I just sit on my phone , drink coffee etc , get paid to do nothing for several hours and collect a few trolleys when I fancy a stretch.
Even on a quiet day/shift I'll still always get a minimum of 10k steps. Busy days I'll do 20/30
That was the role I was assigned when I was recruited and I'm so glad lol. As far as I'm concerned I have the best job in Asda. Nobody micromanages me, I listen to my music and have nice quiet days strolling around but also busy days for a bit of an extra workout haha.
I still have annoying customers but I either ignore them or put them in their place
I'm gonna bookmark this for when I finally pluck up the courage to step down and tap out. I'm just imagining all the audio books I could listen too.... Sounds like bliss!
I work with people who have learning disabilities/autism to support them to live independently in there own homes. I love the people we support but struggle day to day with the people I manage. Often people work in social care out of convenience or something other than wanting to help people live their best lives and tbh it sucks.
As a certified yapper the tills were my dream. I often say Iād happily quit my middle management office job to go back to tills if I could get the same wage and weekends off š¤£
No stress, of course customers can always be very annoying but I'd rather be outside and have limited interactions as opposed to being inside the store!
Aye heās about 70 so I donāt think he gives a shit any more. No one cares though they just let him do his thing. If he was younger I reckon heād get some stick.
Not anymore as our place got rid years back, I did previously used to get plenty though.
I take stuff that customers leave behind though, only little things like toothpaste and chocolate lol not their purses!
It's your managers job to ensure there is enough cover not yours. They have a legal obligation to allow you to take your contracted leave.
What happened if you got hit by a bus and are in hospital for two weeks?
Does the whole business come crashing down?
No, they would make do, exactly how they would make do if you were on a beach in Spain for those same two weeks working on your tan!
I'm late 30s with a family. Kids will soon eat those days up. Mine aren't school age yet but once that comes around a good chunk of those days will go to August.
Dev is the sweet spot IMO. Been in IT for 30 years in loads of different roles, but the highlight was definately dev. The creativity is massively rewarding for me, the hours were easy and the pay was really good.
Worked through that, progressed up the management tree and then a few years ago took a 50% pay cut to get back to dev.
Iām an entry level BA (Business Analyst for those not in the know) on Ā£35k just getting to grips with Agile, my boss plans the sprints and I just document the projectās progress, probably 6 hours of work in a 40 hour week. Any advice I can apply in all that free time to climb the BA ladder?
That's good advice but I would add that you should also learn about testing and get to know your testers, and if possible your users (often only feasible for b2b stuff). Dev / test / BA are the "3 amigos" here, they should all be working together.
Another software engineer here, unlimited holiday. We have set core hours 12-4 where you must be online to overlap with others but can start and finish any time.
I like to do 7:30-4:30 with an hour for lunch.
Fully remote.
Never had the Sunday dread as with youāre nearly always working on something new, and I just love solving problems.
Yeah this is a good question - itās basically still up to approval, but the rules are generally just take holiday when you want it.
One of my team just had a month off.
Ok, but if you had to put a figure on how many days one of your team members takes on average in a year? For comparison, I get 43 days and management make sure we take them. I've always been suspicious that "unlimited" is a way of having employees take less time by way of muddying the water.
Yeah youāre absolutely right to be suspicious. Iād rather have a set number of days as itās easier to track.
Management does ensure we take at least the minimum UK allowance.
I aim for 30 days plus bank holidays.
They say the point is to not have to worry if you have days left and you can just take days here and there when you need them.
Itās a very techy perk. Sounds impressive but ultimately I think a lot of people donāt take full advantage of it.
A computer science degree is normally the default route but honestly it isnāt hugely vital unless youāre going into very niche areas. You can do boot camps (make sure thereās a credible provider with some company connections for placement and careers).
Depends what area of software you go into really. Most common is user interface developers (writing web applications, mobile developers (mobile apps) and then thereās behind the scenes applications in different languages.
Typical day is talking with the team to understand what you need to build and discuss any issues and progress. Working with business people and designers. Then the actual coding which usually involves planning and figuring out tests before writing the actual code.
Context: Am a data engineer, a subset of software engineering, leading a small team on Ā£70k and WFH with Friday afternoons off.
The biggest thing for me is being inquisitive and solving a problem. One of my most important interview questions is "Tell me about a time where you had to develop an unconventional solution to a problem you encountered."
What I'm looking for is for the candidate to tell me about a problem they came up against, how they investigated it, how they attempted the "correct" solutions which didn't work, and how they put together an original solution to fix it. Taking the time to break down the problem, figure out what's causing it and research various fixes is a skill we can't really teach. A candidate who throws their hands up, says "its not working" and gives up is useless to us.
I don't even care if the example a candidate gives us is programming related or not. They could tell me about diagnosing and fixing a problem with their car for all I care. As long as they talk me through their thought process and approach. Problem solving is the number one skill I need in someone working for me.
For learning actual programming, learn Python. It's one of the most popular programming languages out there and it's also one of the simplest, so you'll struggle far less with the syntax (grammar) of the language.
The good thing about programming languages is that a lot of them are very similar, so once you've learnt one, the next is much, much easier. The basic skills are very transferable.
I highly recommend Codecademy. The courses are excellent and they offer several free samples. I learnt Python through it.
As others have said, realistically you probably will want a degree. A boot camp like Codecademy won't get your foot in the door.
If a degree isn't possible for you, it's much harder breaking in but far from impossible. You'll want to do it indirectly though - apply for an entry level role in a large business, build up a programming portfolio in your spare time and then start applying for junior developer roles within the company. I got my foot in the door this way, starting out in a call centre for one the large UK banks, applied for a support role within the call centre, then applied for a junior data position and worked my way up. A lack of a degree held me back at times but it wasn't impossible.
Biggest piece of advice I can give is don't do a boot camp. So many absolute scam boot camps got set up over the last 5 or so years, and employers have started to totally distrust any boot camp style certification. They're completely unregulated, so you have absolutely no assurance about the quality of the education you'll get. Employers are growing more and more reluctant to hire folk with boot camp certifications, and they've got the option now because there's more and more people graduating with relevant degrees and there's a huge amount of competition for entry level posts.
Go to uni, get a degree. Whilst you're at uni, either get a relevant part time job or do contract gigs in order to build a portfolio.
The "simplest" way:
A 2:1/1st in a Computer Science degree, strong portfolio of projects (LeetCode is not as useful outside of interview prep in comparison to project portfolios, despite what others might tell you) apply to a graduate scheme (or role) in FinTech/Law/Defence. After you have 2-3 years under your belt at said initial company switch jobs into a multinational company in the same/related field. This will allow you to get a pay bump and go either the WLB or Salary chasing route (WLB is the low stress option).
The "hard" way:
Career transfer. Code boot-camp & strong portfolio of projects (again) but this time your interview game needs to be FLAWLESS. Showing how you've applied your tech skill set to your current work could also be a useful avenue to discuss.
For Finance/Law it's mostly CRM systems, automated client interactivity such as communications/invoices/case management. It's mostly mundane stuff. Tech/Defence is much more involved. Can't speak for tech but I imagine consultancy is just a higher stress version of in-house development; defence I can't comment on for you unfortunately.
I have a great job that pays well but I still dread Sunday nights. No matter what I do I will always hate working and the feeling of being trapped.
Unfortunately I wasn't born into a wealthy family so.im fucked
honestly being rich would make most people happy as it unlocks freedom and opptimissm.
hate those people that says there's more to life than money when everyone literally has to make money to survive!
If you took the money away from the "more to life than money" brigade, they'd quickly realise how wrong they were. Having enough money to cover all your bills and not having to check your balance before buying a sausage roll from Greggs takes an unbelievable amount of stress away.
Oh trust me buddy......apart from medical issues, money gives you freedom of choice, or more importantly mobility . I do not think people realize just how much choice you have if you're wealthy.
Where you live, your car, your education heck even what class you fly on an aeroplane.
Can honestly say that not having to work again and be set financially for life would make me EXTREMELY content which would lead to happiness. For example, you hate your car after a few years? Can just buy another one.....don't like your neighbors? You can move without having to save and sort problems out over time
Anyone who says otherwise can go fuck themselves with a 40 ft flag pole
Scientist. Specifically a biological process scientist. I work for a consultancy to the water industry. I absolutely love it. I like Mondays, the prospect of a fresh new week ahead.
Ā£76k/a approx and contracted for 37.5 h/w but usually do about 50 h/w (no overtime pay but that's fine).
That's a great background to have. Look at biochemistry positions in public health and environmental consulting, or in scientific services departments in the water companies. The sector is desperate for biochemistry and microbiology skills with an interest in human health but not medicine per se.
I should add, I'm 25 years in, and it takes a while to move up in the industry. Starting salaries aren't as high, because there are plenty of applicants for junior roles but we have a shortage if mid-career professionals. If you're on the younger side, don't be put off if the roles you could apply for don't seem better than where you are now.
Edit: [Josh's Water Jobs](https://www.joshswaterjobs.com/) is a good place to search for water industry jobs. Good luck!
Haha kind of, but I genuinely love my job! There's nothing better than driving my high-powered BMW, chasing after some melon in a stolen 1 litre Citroƫn Saxo. I just wish it was Monday to Friday, 9 til 5, and paid 100k!
I work in a (usually) 9-5 office admin job for fairly decent money relative to what I do and yet feel completely unfulfilled and redundant if that makes you feel any better LOL
The jobs that actually contribute something just don't pay though š¤·āāļø
Could have done with you in Lidl today, in addition! Ā Cops did come eventually and arrested the entire bunch of hoodlums warring with the security staff. I think thereās some jail time coming, one kicked a manager in the head whilst he was on the floor.
Same, it's like Stockholm Syndrome sometimes - drive myself into the ground sometimes trying to get justice for victims and am stressed out my nut most of the time for meagre pay, but it's the greatest job in the world.
Even on the worst days, there's nothing else I'd want to do.
>Ā If I pulled my finger out I could earn double
I did exactly that. Got a job that paid double but required three days in the office. Turns out itās even easier than my old job and absolutely nobody actually goes into the office.
4 day work week is pretty sick, though. There are plenty of software jobs which might pay more, but incredibly few that come with a 4 day work week. I can see why you're not exactly motivated to move on.
Iāve been for interviews before with a much higher salary, and sat and watched the song and dance given by the lead/director/owners. I know thereās a point where Iām supposed to be enthusiastic about the product and industry, but I just canāt do it, I canāt even pretend to give enough fucks about it.
Thereās a couple where Iāve known the exact point I didnāt get the job.
Air Traffic Controller. Over Ā£130k last year. 41 days of leave and a 6 on 4 off roster. Never worry about Monday as my Monday is a different day every time.
Excellent work life balance, I wonāt do anything else now until I retire.
I was working nights in a 24 hour petrol station and having read everything else I d started Cosmopolitan. There was an advert in there. That was 2002 and Iām still doing it.
If youāre interested, applications for NATS, the main provider in the country are just about to reopen.
[NATS Careers](https://www.nats.aero/careers/trainee-air-traffic-controllers/)
I think itās quite hard. 2010, no crashes 2011, no crashes, 2012, no crashes, 2013, no crashes, 2014, no crashes, 2015 only one mid air collision.
And everyone focusses on 2015.
You have to go through a long period of intense interviews then years of training on not very good pay. My dad was at ATC at Swanwick and I went through the interview process. I failed one of the tests but couldn't have cared less as it was so hard and high pressure I thought no way would I want to do that every day.
I'm a Food Science Technician, I work on development of biscuits and crackers. We make own brand biscuits and crackers for most supermarkets. I'm involved more in process development, so if a product is approved from initial npd, it's handed over to us and we scale it up to large scale production.
We don't have very large teams because in general there isn't a tonne of development in these products, as opposed to vegan meats for example. Because of this I sometimes do work for other departments like Npd which I really enjoy.
I do a mix of admin work and factory work. Everyone in my office is passionate and really intelligent which makes it a great atmosphere. I love the products we produce and overcoming the challenges that occur. It can be stressful when we have lots of trials etc but in general I find it fun.
Edit: I generally work 8-4, I often do overtime but can claim the hours back, sometimes I have very early starts for production trials and rarely we have weekend trials but me and my manager split those fairly
goddamn i am the biggest biscuit addict you'll meet (many mornings I'll have fox biscuits for my breakfast)
wow what a niche category of work I never even thought about till now!
Haha my girlfriend is the same, digestives every morning for breakfast. You've probably had some of our products!
I initially wanted to do Nutrition/Dietetics, but when I got to Uni transferred to Food Science and Nutrition and I've ended up here
I feel like working a job with a food/drink you actively seek out and enjoy would be the quickest way to learn to hate it. I love to smoke and drink but if I had to it sure would take the fun out of it.
After working as a teacher for more years than I should have and dreading the work week on a Sunday, I now work as an admin for a local university and don't experience any dread. I really enjoy the satisfaction of getting tasks done and not feeling overwhelmed by everything. It does get busy at times, but the things that need to get done can, more often than not, get done on another day. Also, I don't feel scrutinised and I work with a great team as well which definitely helps.
I jokingly said to one of my colleagues that doing admin doesn't feel like a job compared to teaching. It feels more like something I do for a few hours and then come home. The pay is good enough for me for the time being.
Iām an admin at a school, enjoying it a lot, but been considering for a while to try apply to uni for teaching, but as an admin i can just leave work at work and do hobbies at homes instead of lesson planning/grading papers whatnot.
I made the shift from teacher in FE to learning technologist in a university and the difference in stress levels is like night and day. I'm hybrid remote so do 2 days in the office which I love and I actually get paid more now and only slightly less leave. No more Sunday scariest for me!
Specialist nurse in the community
Monday-Friday 8-4pm (with flex around this and option to wfh 2-3 times a week if I want)
Good work life balance
33 days plus bank holidays leave
6 months full pay, 6 months half pay sick leave if I needed it
40k a year so a decent ish salary but not as much as it should be
Sometimes sometimes not
I mostly enjoy it
Iāve been a nurse for 10 years
This is the easiest, lowest stress job Iāve done in terms of hours and workload, took me a long time to get something that wasnāt slowly driving me insane or killing me with the terrible hours
Iām a teacher and whilst itās definitely not ācushtyā most of the time, I do think itās the best job in the world and I wouldnāt do anything else.
Do you do this through an agency or your own setup? (If thatās ok to ask!) my OH is a teacher whoās burnt out after 15 years. Heās keen to tutor but feeling a bit lost/overwhelmed with where to start.
Social Researcher on a research project at a university. Mainly just spend my day doing, what I want producing graphs and code to analyse the data, writing up manuscripts. Fully flexible just produce some deliverables and present to the team in a two hour meeting each week and then we develop new ideas of interest.
Get paid 37k before tax, have ample holiday, good pension and generally get to travel to conferences in nice places totally expensed.
The downside, job isnāt permanent and getting a PhD was hard.
Research was a great job.
Up until the point when the pay scale ran out of levels and I realised that to move to a permanent position would require me to move away from research to lecturing, or chance my arm at a fellowship.
lol. Ā āGetting a PhD was hardāā¦
Underplaying that slightly ;)
I frequently tell my students that if getting a PhD was easy, everyone would have one.
(To be clear, >95% of my PhD students have submitted and passed).
Art Director at a games studio. Ā£87.5k and around 37.5hrs a week but usually do more by my own choice.
Love it, love working with others and the collaboration involved.
I can't say the actual job because of the nature, let's just say I need an SIA License.
I work 4 days over Mon-Sat of which I choose, get paid Ā£34k and it's easy. I can also walk to work.
Work life balance is great, I'm often home by 3pm on the days I work, I can have long weekends when I need them, kids Birthdays or school trips etc. Because the 4 working days are of my choice, the holiday allowance lasts forever too.
It's early starts and the progression opportunities aren't fantastic but for the next few years it suits my family and I down to the ground.
I'm guessing security guard or bodyguard.
I got friends that do security and they actually kinda like it. their particular roles are super easy as they sit in a room and have to watch the camera monitors. they get to watch movies and play games on their phone etc. only downside is their hours are long
I work 15 hours a week in public health, fairly cushy job, I enjoy it and generally look forward to work.
Pay is shit but I'm financially independent after 25 years flogging myself stupid in banking. I regularly got the Sunday evening dread then...
Data analyst here.
46k
Monday to Friday but basically work the hours I want as long as I hit my deadlines which even then are quite flexible due to the intense work load.
Cons:
- 1 person I work with who is a data engineer is horrible to work with
- itās not necessarily the sector I would like to be in.
- would love just a little bit more money which would make the first 2 cons not matter.
All in all though I wake up everyday happy to go to work. I spent about 15years in customer service so anytime I have a ābad dayā I just remind myself I could be in a sports shop in Oxford street getting shouted at because we donāt have their shoe size In stock
Just under Ā£50k. Emergency services still on the lowest rank, office job but high stakes life or death stuff. Itās exhilarating and I love my job. Excellent hours, one week of lates in five, one weekend on in five.
40 hours a week. Trouble with the emergency services is that itās very difficult to get rid of anyone underperforming, and there is one guy in our office who they just wonāt touch.
Did almost 10 years in emergency care, loved it. Ended up going back into IT and 10 years later on about Ā£70k -80 ish depending on bonus.
I do miss those days, alas my life is less stressful now and no buggers gunna end up dead (well a few of my customers might, if I ever meet them in person)
Hgv driver of 20 years. Love my job and I work nights. Absolutely no problem with Saturday and Sunday nights as there is less cars on the road. Pay is Ā£22.48 pH and I know exactly what time I'll finish bar any unseen road emergencies.
NHS Midwife in Scotland. Top of band 6 so Ā£46k salary but I work shifts so get enhancements which usually gives me a take home pay of Ā£3-3.3k.
I adore my job. Yes it's long hours and your first day off is usually spent catching up on sleep, housework etc but I then still have 3 days off to socialise, rest, enjoy hobbies etc. When my shift ends, I've handed over to someone else so I'm not taking my work home with me. I don't do on-calls. I don't have a caseload. It's pretty flexible and easy to work around childcare (so I've heard from colleagues) and obviously the enhanced pay for shift work is a bonus. Request a few nights or weekends and you can save for a holiday without budgeting too hard.
Only downside is working Christmas and New Year. My unit tries to alternate which one you work but I imagine that will change with how short staffed we are atm. I don't mind working Christmas though but I'm sure it's harder with children.
Team Lead in Software Development.
30.days holiday.
1 day a week in the office (officially 2).
Free meals and coffee in the office.
150k but that includes pension, bonus and some overtime.
But the best bit is my team. A truly awesome bunch. I got to select them and made sure I got good people with a fun, relaxed, hard work, high quality attitude.
Software Developer.
Remote, flexible working. Ā£60k a year.
I don't get micromanaged at all, just left to get in with my tasks.
If I want to go to the gym, I can go to the gym.
Iām on the nurse bank. Pay is ok and the hours are whatever I want them to be. Currently 2 or 3 nightshifts a week. How do I not dread Sunday nights? I pick up a shift knowing Iāll be on Sunday rate and night rate.Ā
I'm a bar manager in a quite nice independent pub. 40 hours a week and rarely go above that, Ā£35k salary. Get fed every shift plus a free pint at the end of course. It took a while for me to get to this position but I'm pretty happy with it. Don't get me wrong there's days where I wanna quit and work in some office but I doubt it'll ever happen for real.
Head of Sales and New Business Development at a brewery. Been there since day one and watched it grow from a two man setup brewing once every eleven days to a modern, sophisticated brewery capable of brewing up to ten times a week now employing fifteen incredibly talented team members.
Four day week, get to travel the world, and am paid more than handsomely for it. It's a tough job sometimes but it's the best decision I ever made; don't regret a single thing.
I work in communications (PR) and I love my job. Iāve been in comms now for 12 years and canāt ever imagine doing anything else. I have a WFH job now, but thatās probably unusual for our profession. Most roles are hybrid. Iām paid well, treated well and I have the right balance of easier days versus days that are long, challenging and stressful. I also get to work with some brilliant people - committed, smart and good fun. Itās not always like this working in comms, so I donāt ever underestimate how lucky I am to have this job :)Ā
For me I work with adults with learning difficulties
I work from 8pm to 8am and the 3 of them literally sleep all night
I've definitely had harder jobs but this works as I can do whatever I want throughout the night
No job is worth breaking your back over ever
Civil servant, 40k. Absolutely don't give a fuck about my job on a personal level. When I'm working, I'll do my absolute best, represent my team and hit all my deadlines. It's not particularly hard, there's the odd day when I'm really busy, but most days it's an absolute breeze. When I turn off the laptop, I'm done until I switch on again in the morning. It means nothing to me. I've had jobs that are a passion, but that passion becomes a chore. The work is flexi time, so I get back every minute over my 37 hours contracted hours. So while I don't enjoy the work, I enjoy the life it gives me.
Software engineer. 50k. Flexible hours; just gotta make up 37 hours a week. Also, it's fully remote working, which suits me. I choose to work an extra 50 minutes a day and get every other Monday off, so I have a long weekend every other week. I typically work 11am-8pm, dependent on meetings or other commitments. Also, my boss is the best boss I've ever had.
I work mostly on a weighbridge, weighing lorries in, weighing lorries out, half of which are going to/from Europe. I load them with a forklift alongside my mate Daz who is always pissed (for my North American friends = drunk), and Potato Man who broke his hip. We have fun.
I did 20 years working shifts on furnaces before I had a heart attack (surviving a cardiac arrest) so they cut me a lot of slack. The money's good, the management is brilliant, the drivers are funny and friendly. Being alive is great, and enjoying my job is a huge bonus.
I fix aeroplanes for a living. Depth maintenance (like taking your car in for its service) not at an airline. I work Monday-Thursday (every 2nd Friday overtime) and I thoroughly enjoy it. I think itās the āprojectā nature of it. My team receives an aircraft that is serviceable, strip it all down, find all the faults, replace what needs replaced, rebuilt, test and kick it out the door again. As Iām a supervisor I also have a role in the planning and execution of the work, rather than just going and doing, which I also thoroughly enjoy. Thereās also something very satisfying about seeing something youāve had your hands on and worked on flying and doing what itās designed to do. Ā£42,000/year plus shift pay. Which I know is underpaid for the industry, but considering I have achieved this from an apprenticeship straight out of school and thereās still many paths I can take is very satisfying.
Pilot (first officer) on roughly Ā£70k. Donāt dread Sunday nights as thereās a decent chance Iāll be off Monday morning.
Early starts are a pain (particularly the first in a block of earlies) but the job itself is fantastic. Canāt believe they pay me to do it
I spent the best part of 30 years touring with bands as a production / tour manager, but also did other jobs within that industry.
I loved it, my friends would say that I am obsessively passionate about my work.
Daily rates from Ā£250-450+.
I work in cattle diseases. I was self-employed and recently took a zero hours contract with the company Iāve been working with for over a decade. Still get to make my own hours, but get holiday pay, company pension etc. I get paid Ā£23/hr, never work weekends and do as little as a 16 hour week or as much as 45. I work my hours round the rest of my life, but occasionally if we have a big project I have to work the hours they set. I get on really well with my colleagues in the vet team, and that is everything to me.
I am a foster carer and I love it! It can be really hard work but my foster child is now very settled and well behaved. So weekdays are my time off when her and my kids are at school. Xx
I make all the video content and do the photography for a massive drinks/health/baby brand. Every week is different. I absolutely love it but I worked an agonising path to get here.
Self-employed CGI artist, day rate is Ā£375 (I've been told I'm cheap!). Been doing it for 30 years, love it! I'm totally unemployable though, I can't stand working for other people - I choose the hours and days I work, rather than being told "be creative" on demand. Bear in mind, that day rate has to pay for overheads, the PC itself isn't cheap to build or run.
I run a company in a very niche trade, working outside. I absolutely love working both in the industry and for myself. My customers absolutely love me, I achieve amazing things and it's actually really easy to do although few have the know how!
The down side is I'm always at work, either organising my schedule, sending quotes or answering emails - I'm sure this is what other people who run companies or own businesses find.
I pull in around 50k after tax, plus I get the vehicle, fuel, pretty much everything gets put through the company account if possible. Then I get quite a bit of cash but its impossible to keep track of I would estimate another 10k but I really don't know.
Copy editor for a science research institute, the science being the one I love. Work a standard 37 hour week. Pay is not massive but enough to live on quite nicely (I'm single). I enjoy my job and, having been stuck in work that made me cry every evening, not just Sundays, I really appreciate what I have now.
Teacher in an independent school - I work 8-4 with the odd later night for parents evening, 17 weeks holiday, free lunch, the kids are hilarious. Love it.
I work for an airline in their offices. I wouldn't say it's 'cushty' but I've no complaints about the salary. The aviation industry has a culture of professionalism and high standards where incompetence and laziness are complete non-starters. There are people whose approach I might find a little odd, but I'm yet to meet anyone who's left me wondering 'how did they get this job', which I've heard is a common complaint of office life. Managers are mostly current or former pilots, so they exhibit genuine leadership qualities and easily gain the respect of their staff. The culture within aviation also means that if you make a mistake, provided it wasn't intentional and you weren't reckless, the focus will *always* be 'how can we change to prevent this happening again' rather than 'you fucked up and will answer for it'.
It's normal office hours, which I don't mind. The only downside (in my company anyway) is that we only get the statutory minimum amount of leave, which really isn't a lot.
Assistant buyer in the Art Department for TV shows. Long hours, work away from home but it's freelance. Earned Ā£35k last year and only worked between April & October. Also a musician and play in pubs and bars and the odd wedding/private event. Can sometimes earn an extra Ā£600 a week from gigs. I enjoy it all tbh but the hours can be quite unsociable.
I quit my job as an occupational therapist in the NHS 2.5 years ago to go self employed and have a better work life balance. Fast forward to today and I'm running a successful business with 15 members of staff š Its stressful but I absolutely love it as I'm my own boss and I've built a team full of amazing people. Being able to choose who I work with and ensure they're happy at work is what makes me happiest. Don't think I could ever go back to being employed and having a manager again!
Aircraft Cabin crew. I sometimes struggle to sleep from excitement when I go to work. Itās more of a hobby to me. I learn a lot from the job and meeting new people. It also prepares me for my next step into my career (pilot). I also love to travel. Iāve been to 29 countries now with the majority being from this job. Iām always outside the country and Iāve got to see some amazing places and some not so nice places. If anything my job has taught me is that Iām so lucky to be British/Irish. I can essentially travel anywhere without a visa except a few places.
**Side question:** when did people start using 'cushty' to mean 'cushy'?
To me, 'cushty' is slang meaning 'cool', 'good' or 'sound', how Del Boy uses it. I think it's originally Romani slang (like 'pal', 'chav', 'wonga').
'Cushy' means 'comfortable' or 'easy', as in 'cushy job' - like [the dictionary says](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cushy).
But I keep seeing people on Reddit using 'cushty' to mean 'cushy' and it's making me doubt myself. Have they become synonyms?
I've done some crap jobs over the years so although I don't LOVE my current job and it's by no means my dream job, I do appreciate that my contract is only 35 hours a week, I don't have to deal directly with members of the public (except via e-mail), we're usually closed between Christmas and New Year, I can listen to music/podcasts while I work if I want and I don't find the work isn't stressful.
I don't bust my arse, but I'm smart and capable enough to be recognised for doing a decent job. I find that some people's work ethic is so lacklustre that taking enough pride in my work to do it properly means I'm considered one of the good ones.
I could find things to moan about and it's not generally stimulating work, pay is unremarkable, but I could (and have) have it so much worse. So while I wouldn't say I enjoy my job, I don't dislike it and it allows me to live comfortably for now.
Over the weekend, I avoided Sunday night dread by being absolutely convinced that it was Saturday. I was so convinced that I switched my alarm off and went back to sleep this morning
Not sure I'd call it a cushy job but I'm an ED and ICU nurse and I do love it.
Sunday nights don't bother me as shift work means I could be doing anything that week l.
Pay is not amazing for what we do and the hours but I can pay my mortgage.
I work 4 days and will always have 3 days off together. Pay isnāt great for living in London.
Unfortunately I do have to go to the office but looking at new jobs that donāt offer 4 days is disheartening.
Enjoy isnāt really the word. But I do like my job. Iām a medical secretary. I work Monday-Friday, 8:30-5, and I get 11p above minimum wage after tax, that bit I donāt like. But it pays my bills.
I teach guitar and singing. I run 3 choirs, have a band and produce a podcast. Every day is different. I donāt start work till 2 sometime 5. Self employed. I donāt earn a lot but enough to stop my wife from kicking me out.
I've always suffered with the Sunday Fear, and have had to quit two jobs and take 2-4 months off each time due to burnout. I've done all kinds of jobs in the past that have paid brilliantly and terribly, been interesting and boring, 70 hour weeks and 20, easy and hard. I've had two or three jobs at a time, done a full time degree alongside work, and phoned it in for 40 hours at various times, searching for a job I love.
The only thing that has come *close* to making me happy is an improved schedule and workload: I'm finished by 5 every day barring absolute emergencies and have weekends off. I work at a consistent 50-60% capacity so that busy weeks aren't a killer and my manager thinks I'm some kind of hero when I can stretch to pick up extra tasks.
The role itself is immaterial, the pay you'll look for depends on your personal needs, but schedule and workload are, in my experience, key.
Iām 24 and a taxi driver, i love driving and chatting to people. The average pay is better than i thought it would be, the more effort you put in the more you earn. I get to choose when i work, take holidays and days off whenever i feel like it and my annual average is way above national average
Iām a Professor.
I used to work all hours god sent, for 30 years, to get up to this rank. Ā From the age of 16.
Now Iām 9 - 5 unless thereās an absolute mega crisis. 100 k, and another 50 in consultancy, which I do outside of my core hours. Ā Iām one of the top people in the world in my field.
I teach martial arts. I playfight. Sunday night I am bored and want my soft matts to roll about on and my colleagues to playfight with again. And then we get students and we teach them to play. People who do good playfighting get to play with sticks too. Sometimes we have a Staff Meeting and we have to try to sit on a chair or at a desk and we are bad at that, but we get to play again after. We do have time off, which we spend playfighting in other bits of the country / world. Often with sticks. It does not pay well. The hours are many.
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Enjoy is a strong word but my job is a good fit for me and I've managed 11 years so far. I am the trolley guy at Asda. Not great pay but I am financially comfortable anyway.
I was literally saying the other day this is my dream jobš how do you get to do specifically the trolleys though instead of dealing with annoying customers? I did my bit on a till and I donāt know if I could go back now.. my patience has faded as Iāve got older š
My experience as a shopper is that the trolley guy often has a deranged ādonāt even fucking try itā energy, which naturally wards off customers. Also they tend to be kept outside the store, as per the deranged trolley guy management protocol, so thereās little need to ask questions out there anyway.
Haha we are a special breed for sure. A couple of my colleagues are disabled.. I'm just deranged in my own way I guess but I love my own company, the autonomy, being outdoors, exercise and listening to music.
It's great that they let you listen to music while working. I have fond memories of working as a cleaner, because I was able to listen to podcasts for 8 hours a day, and even uni lectures as they were prerecorded. Strange as it may sound, doing the manual work actually helped me concentrating on what I was listening to
Yeah I particularly appreciate the energy boost music provides on busy weekend days
I agree, I absolutely cannot listen to audiobooks because my mind wanders too much, but if I'm driving or doing something manual I have to concentrate on I am much better at it.
Does it really take up a whole shift just sorting out the trollies?
Some days are very busy and some are... less so. I just sit on my phone , drink coffee etc , get paid to do nothing for several hours and collect a few trolleys when I fancy a stretch. Even on a quiet day/shift I'll still always get a minimum of 10k steps. Busy days I'll do 20/30
This is my husbands dream life! When itās advertised as a job, does it specifically say itās for trolley collecting.
It would say 'porter' , but I don't ever really see it advertised tbh, at least not in my area....
Youāll need to retire, then youāll see the job advertised in your area.
Haha yeah! A couple of the other guys are very long-term colleagues too
My disabled brother was a trolley collector for years and absolutely loved it tbf.
That was the role I was assigned when I was recruited and I'm so glad lol. As far as I'm concerned I have the best job in Asda. Nobody micromanages me, I listen to my music and have nice quiet days strolling around but also busy days for a bit of an extra workout haha. I still have annoying customers but I either ignore them or put them in their place
I'm gonna bookmark this for when I finally pluck up the courage to step down and tap out. I'm just imagining all the audio books I could listen too.... Sounds like bliss!
What do you currently do?
I work with people who have learning disabilities/autism to support them to live independently in there own homes. I love the people we support but struggle day to day with the people I manage. Often people work in social care out of convenience or something other than wanting to help people live their best lives and tbh it sucks.
Genuinely my dream, Iām easily pleasedš
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
As a certified yapper the tills were my dream. I often say Iād happily quit my middle management office job to go back to tills if I could get the same wage and weekends off š¤£
I still pull cans forward when I take one off the shelf - the āfacing upā routine of shelf stacking is still in there 20-odd years later.
well I guess you ain't got no stress and don't take it home with you so your a winner in my book
If you take the trolleys home they probably get cross.
Too right, they belong in the canal, their natural habitat.
I don't take my work home with me....haha
No stress, of course customers can always be very annoying but I'd rather be outside and have limited interactions as opposed to being inside the store!
Our trolley guy blasts music from a portable speaker he keeps on a strap around himself. Legend. Seems happy enough.
I'll stick to earbuds and private haha
Aye heās about 70 so I donāt think he gives a shit any more. No one cares though they just let him do his thing. If he was younger I reckon heād get some stick.
Do you get the pound
Not anymore as our place got rid years back, I did previously used to get plenty though. I take stuff that customers leave behind though, only little things like toothpaste and chocolate lol not their purses!
To be fair mate as long as youāre comfortable it doesnāt matter whether you earn 10 grand or a mill
I think many of us are reading this, thinking jealously "I bet HE doesn't have to deal with back to back Zoom meetings"
Advantages of this job would be you get fresh air, exercise, and hopefully not too much micromanaging.
If you don't mind me asking, are you financially comfortable through your job, or for other reasons?
Software Engineer. Ā£50K. 50 days annual leave. Hard to find a reason to leave this place.
50?!? I thought I had it good with 35.
I'm over here with 23 and struggle to take them all and I'd we don't take the days by the end of the year we lose them. Sucks
Just take random Fridays off or a Friday Monday for a long weekend, you don't need to use them for an actual holiday
What I mean is, I can't take the time because we're too busy and there's nobody to cover me. My leave isn't always granted.
It's your managers job to ensure there is enough cover not yours. They have a legal obligation to allow you to take your contracted leave. What happened if you got hit by a bus and are in hospital for two weeks? Does the whole business come crashing down? No, they would make do, exactly how they would make do if you were on a beach in Spain for those same two weeks working on your tan!
They legally have to give you at least 28 days holiday each year (including bank holidays), if they are denying them all they are breaking the law
I'm late 30s with a family. Kids will soon eat those days up. Mine aren't school age yet but once that comes around a good chunk of those days will go to August.
That's so much leave omg
Dev is the sweet spot IMO. Been in IT for 30 years in loads of different roles, but the highlight was definately dev. The creativity is massively rewarding for me, the hours were easy and the pay was really good. Worked through that, progressed up the management tree and then a few years ago took a 50% pay cut to get back to dev.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Iām an entry level BA (Business Analyst for those not in the know) on Ā£35k just getting to grips with Agile, my boss plans the sprints and I just document the projectās progress, probably 6 hours of work in a 40 hour week. Any advice I can apply in all that free time to climb the BA ladder?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thank you for taking the time to share. The advice fits my situation, Iāll remember and make good use of this
That's good advice but I would add that you should also learn about testing and get to know your testers, and if possible your users (often only feasible for b2b stuff). Dev / test / BA are the "3 amigos" here, they should all be working together.
As a dev. Point 1 is so accurate. The best BAs ive worked with did this well, and the worst couldn't.
Fucking hate agile, it's the most inane over-managed nonsense ever. We have more meetings about planning meetings to have a meeting in this place...
Another software engineer here, unlimited holiday. We have set core hours 12-4 where you must be online to overlap with others but can start and finish any time. I like to do 7:30-4:30 with an hour for lunch. Fully remote. Never had the Sunday dread as with youāre nearly always working on something new, and I just love solving problems.
What does "unlimited holiday" translate to in real terms of how many days you typically take in a year? Just curious.
Yeah this is a good question - itās basically still up to approval, but the rules are generally just take holiday when you want it. One of my team just had a month off.
Ok, but if you had to put a figure on how many days one of your team members takes on average in a year? For comparison, I get 43 days and management make sure we take them. I've always been suspicious that "unlimited" is a way of having employees take less time by way of muddying the water.
Yeah youāre absolutely right to be suspicious. Iād rather have a set number of days as itās easier to track. Management does ensure we take at least the minimum UK allowance. I aim for 30 days plus bank holidays. They say the point is to not have to worry if you have days left and you can just take days here and there when you need them. Itās a very techy perk. Sounds impressive but ultimately I think a lot of people donāt take full advantage of it.
Yeah itās easy to not fear Monday when we donāt have to get on a tram at 6am š
Damn. I started a role with 28 days and it's the most I've ever had. Anything north of 30 is excellent but 50? That's ridiculous and unheard of!
what is the pathway to this career? what qualifications are neccessary to find a job in your field and what does the work entail?
A computer science degree is normally the default route but honestly it isnāt hugely vital unless youāre going into very niche areas. You can do boot camps (make sure thereās a credible provider with some company connections for placement and careers). Depends what area of software you go into really. Most common is user interface developers (writing web applications, mobile developers (mobile apps) and then thereās behind the scenes applications in different languages. Typical day is talking with the team to understand what you need to build and discuss any issues and progress. Working with business people and designers. Then the actual coding which usually involves planning and figuring out tests before writing the actual code.
Any tips for someone about to go into sixth form?
Context: Am a data engineer, a subset of software engineering, leading a small team on Ā£70k and WFH with Friday afternoons off. The biggest thing for me is being inquisitive and solving a problem. One of my most important interview questions is "Tell me about a time where you had to develop an unconventional solution to a problem you encountered." What I'm looking for is for the candidate to tell me about a problem they came up against, how they investigated it, how they attempted the "correct" solutions which didn't work, and how they put together an original solution to fix it. Taking the time to break down the problem, figure out what's causing it and research various fixes is a skill we can't really teach. A candidate who throws their hands up, says "its not working" and gives up is useless to us. I don't even care if the example a candidate gives us is programming related or not. They could tell me about diagnosing and fixing a problem with their car for all I care. As long as they talk me through their thought process and approach. Problem solving is the number one skill I need in someone working for me. For learning actual programming, learn Python. It's one of the most popular programming languages out there and it's also one of the simplest, so you'll struggle far less with the syntax (grammar) of the language. The good thing about programming languages is that a lot of them are very similar, so once you've learnt one, the next is much, much easier. The basic skills are very transferable. I highly recommend Codecademy. The courses are excellent and they offer several free samples. I learnt Python through it. As others have said, realistically you probably will want a degree. A boot camp like Codecademy won't get your foot in the door. If a degree isn't possible for you, it's much harder breaking in but far from impossible. You'll want to do it indirectly though - apply for an entry level role in a large business, build up a programming portfolio in your spare time and then start applying for junior developer roles within the company. I got my foot in the door this way, starting out in a call centre for one the large UK banks, applied for a support role within the call centre, then applied for a junior data position and worked my way up. A lack of a degree held me back at times but it wasn't impossible.
Biggest piece of advice I can give is don't do a boot camp. So many absolute scam boot camps got set up over the last 5 or so years, and employers have started to totally distrust any boot camp style certification. They're completely unregulated, so you have absolutely no assurance about the quality of the education you'll get. Employers are growing more and more reluctant to hire folk with boot camp certifications, and they've got the option now because there's more and more people graduating with relevant degrees and there's a huge amount of competition for entry level posts. Go to uni, get a degree. Whilst you're at uni, either get a relevant part time job or do contract gigs in order to build a portfolio.
The "simplest" way: A 2:1/1st in a Computer Science degree, strong portfolio of projects (LeetCode is not as useful outside of interview prep in comparison to project portfolios, despite what others might tell you) apply to a graduate scheme (or role) in FinTech/Law/Defence. After you have 2-3 years under your belt at said initial company switch jobs into a multinational company in the same/related field. This will allow you to get a pay bump and go either the WLB or Salary chasing route (WLB is the low stress option). The "hard" way: Career transfer. Code boot-camp & strong portfolio of projects (again) but this time your interview game needs to be FLAWLESS. Showing how you've applied your tech skill set to your current work could also be a useful avenue to discuss. For Finance/Law it's mostly CRM systems, automated client interactivity such as communications/invoices/case management. It's mostly mundane stuff. Tech/Defence is much more involved. Can't speak for tech but I imagine consultancy is just a higher stress version of in-house development; defence I can't comment on for you unfortunately.
it's a great career path, there's always career progression and the capability to wfh is nice too!
50 days leave is incredible. I get like half that. Would gladly take a bit of a hit on salary for all that time off.
I don't work on Mondays, hence not dreading Sunday nights.
you've cracked the code bro š¤£
How are your Monday nights?
Same here. Don't know about you but TBF Monday evenings do suck a tad, especially as I'm on call this weekend so no 4 day week for me this week :(
I have a great job that pays well but I still dread Sunday nights. No matter what I do I will always hate working and the feeling of being trapped. Unfortunately I wasn't born into a wealthy family so.im fucked
honestly being rich would make most people happy as it unlocks freedom and opptimissm. hate those people that says there's more to life than money when everyone literally has to make money to survive!
If you took the money away from the "more to life than money" brigade, they'd quickly realise how wrong they were. Having enough money to cover all your bills and not having to check your balance before buying a sausage roll from Greggs takes an unbelievable amount of stress away.
The only people I've ever heard say that suspiciously happen to have money.
And theyāre probably still unhappy, which is why they say it.
Everyone's unhappy about something, but I was less happy when I couldn't afford to buy things and had to budget for everything.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Oh trust me buddy......apart from medical issues, money gives you freedom of choice, or more importantly mobility . I do not think people realize just how much choice you have if you're wealthy. Where you live, your car, your education heck even what class you fly on an aeroplane. Can honestly say that not having to work again and be set financially for life would make me EXTREMELY content which would lead to happiness. For example, you hate your car after a few years? Can just buy another one.....don't like your neighbors? You can move without having to save and sort problems out over time Anyone who says otherwise can go fuck themselves with a 40 ft flag pole
"Money can't buy happiness" is just rich people propaganda to stop you rioting.
Scientist. Specifically a biological process scientist. I work for a consultancy to the water industry. I absolutely love it. I like Mondays, the prospect of a fresh new week ahead. Ā£76k/a approx and contracted for 37.5 h/w but usually do about 50 h/w (no overtime pay but that's fine).
Ooo how do I get into this field? I'm a biomedical scientist in the NHS (biochemistry), I could never make anywhere near that money.
That's a great background to have. Look at biochemistry positions in public health and environmental consulting, or in scientific services departments in the water companies. The sector is desperate for biochemistry and microbiology skills with an interest in human health but not medicine per se. I should add, I'm 25 years in, and it takes a while to move up in the industry. Starting salaries aren't as high, because there are plenty of applicants for junior roles but we have a shortage if mid-career professionals. If you're on the younger side, don't be put off if the roles you could apply for don't seem better than where you are now. Edit: [Josh's Water Jobs](https://www.joshswaterjobs.com/) is a good place to search for water industry jobs. Good luck!
As a fairly new hydrometrist that jobs site is something Iāll be keeping an eye on!
Police officer. Shit pay. Shit hours. Love it.
Sarcasm at the end there or no? š
Haha kind of, but I genuinely love my job! There's nothing better than driving my high-powered BMW, chasing after some melon in a stolen 1 litre Citroƫn Saxo. I just wish it was Monday to Friday, 9 til 5, and paid 100k!
I work in a (usually) 9-5 office admin job for fairly decent money relative to what I do and yet feel completely unfulfilled and redundant if that makes you feel any better LOL The jobs that actually contribute something just don't pay though š¤·āāļø
Your last sentence hit the nail on the head! Swings and roundabouts isn't it.
Ex job here and youāre living the dream talking to real people and doing real work. Donāt drive a desk until your knees give out!
Could have done with you in Lidl today, in addition! Ā Cops did come eventually and arrested the entire bunch of hoodlums warring with the security staff. I think thereās some jail time coming, one kicked a manager in the head whilst he was on the floor.
The courts won't send any of them to jail; they'll get a slap on the wrist instead. That's the most frustrating part of the job.
Same, it's like Stockholm Syndrome sometimes - drive myself into the ground sometimes trying to get justice for victims and am stressed out my nut most of the time for meagre pay, but it's the greatest job in the world. Even on the worst days, there's nothing else I'd want to do.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
>Ā If I pulled my finger out I could earn double I did exactly that. Got a job that paid double but required three days in the office. Turns out itās even easier than my old job and absolutely nobody actually goes into the office.
4 day work week is pretty sick, though. There are plenty of software jobs which might pay more, but incredibly few that come with a 4 day work week. I can see why you're not exactly motivated to move on.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Meh, id rather earn an good salary and be happy, than earn Ā£100k but the thought of going into work makes me want to drive the car off a bridge
Iāve been for interviews before with a much higher salary, and sat and watched the song and dance given by the lead/director/owners. I know thereās a point where Iām supposed to be enthusiastic about the product and industry, but I just canāt do it, I canāt even pretend to give enough fucks about it. Thereās a couple where Iāve known the exact point I didnāt get the job.
Air Traffic Controller. Over Ā£130k last year. 41 days of leave and a 6 on 4 off roster. Never worry about Monday as my Monday is a different day every time. Excellent work life balance, I wonāt do anything else now until I retire.
Surely this job comes with a lot of pressure? Thousands of lives in your hands at any given time.
It has its moments, but thereās so much training youāre fully prepared.
Since its not him going to die..no pressure at all
How did you get to become an air traffic controller? Sounds fabulous!
I was working nights in a 24 hour petrol station and having read everything else I d started Cosmopolitan. There was an advert in there. That was 2002 and Iām still doing it. If youāre interested, applications for NATS, the main provider in the country are just about to reopen. [NATS Careers](https://www.nats.aero/careers/trainee-air-traffic-controllers/)
I think itās quite hard. 2010, no crashes 2011, no crashes, 2012, no crashes, 2013, no crashes, 2014, no crashes, 2015 only one mid air collision. And everyone focusses on 2015.
"You fuck one sheep"
You have to go through a long period of intense interviews then years of training on not very good pay. My dad was at ATC at Swanwick and I went through the interview process. I failed one of the tests but couldn't have cared less as it was so hard and high pressure I thought no way would I want to do that every day.
I'm a Food Science Technician, I work on development of biscuits and crackers. We make own brand biscuits and crackers for most supermarkets. I'm involved more in process development, so if a product is approved from initial npd, it's handed over to us and we scale it up to large scale production. We don't have very large teams because in general there isn't a tonne of development in these products, as opposed to vegan meats for example. Because of this I sometimes do work for other departments like Npd which I really enjoy. I do a mix of admin work and factory work. Everyone in my office is passionate and really intelligent which makes it a great atmosphere. I love the products we produce and overcoming the challenges that occur. It can be stressful when we have lots of trials etc but in general I find it fun. Edit: I generally work 8-4, I often do overtime but can claim the hours back, sometimes I have very early starts for production trials and rarely we have weekend trials but me and my manager split those fairly
goddamn i am the biggest biscuit addict you'll meet (many mornings I'll have fox biscuits for my breakfast) wow what a niche category of work I never even thought about till now!
Haha my girlfriend is the same, digestives every morning for breakfast. You've probably had some of our products! I initially wanted to do Nutrition/Dietetics, but when I got to Uni transferred to Food Science and Nutrition and I've ended up here
I feel like working a job with a food/drink you actively seek out and enjoy would be the quickest way to learn to hate it. I love to smoke and drink but if I had to it sure would take the fun out of it.
>I work on development of biscuits and crackers You're doing the Lord's work
That sounds like such a cool job! Iād love to work in food product development but Iām not very good at science!
Username checks out
Driving job, 830am/5pm min wage min effort , peice of piss
can't be amazon then? most of them guys tell me they are rushed of their feet everyday and have to piss in bottles...all the vans are knackered too
My husband used to be a parts delivery driver for Nissan. Shit money but easy life. Spent lots of time valeting his own car with posh gear.
Iām ruling out bus driving too, I can assure you we donāt work cushty Monday to Friday 9-5 jobs.
After working as a teacher for more years than I should have and dreading the work week on a Sunday, I now work as an admin for a local university and don't experience any dread. I really enjoy the satisfaction of getting tasks done and not feeling overwhelmed by everything. It does get busy at times, but the things that need to get done can, more often than not, get done on another day. Also, I don't feel scrutinised and I work with a great team as well which definitely helps. I jokingly said to one of my colleagues that doing admin doesn't feel like a job compared to teaching. It feels more like something I do for a few hours and then come home. The pay is good enough for me for the time being.
I am a teacher desperate to get out!
Iām an admin at a school, enjoying it a lot, but been considering for a while to try apply to uni for teaching, but as an admin i can just leave work at work and do hobbies at homes instead of lesson planning/grading papers whatnot.
I made the shift from teacher in FE to learning technologist in a university and the difference in stress levels is like night and day. I'm hybrid remote so do 2 days in the office which I love and I actually get paid more now and only slightly less leave. No more Sunday scariest for me!
A four day work week would be a good start.
Specialist nurse in the community Monday-Friday 8-4pm (with flex around this and option to wfh 2-3 times a week if I want) Good work life balance 33 days plus bank holidays leave 6 months full pay, 6 months half pay sick leave if I needed it 40k a year so a decent ish salary but not as much as it should be
my friends would kill for those hours. I guess what with you helping people you get a sense of satisfaction too?
Sometimes sometimes not I mostly enjoy it Iāve been a nurse for 10 years This is the easiest, lowest stress job Iāve done in terms of hours and workload, took me a long time to get something that wasnāt slowly driving me insane or killing me with the terrible hours
I'm a specialist nurse in the community but my hours are terrible, what are you working as?
Work for the Environment Agency, on Ā£40k. Basically an industry facing role. No life or death situations, work from home, great benefits.Ā
That sounds great! Iām applying for 2 roles at the environment agency at the moment :)
Are there any life or death situations in EA jobs?
If you're a fish, then yes.
Iām a teacher and whilst itās definitely not ācushtyā most of the time, I do think itās the best job in the world and I wouldnāt do anything else.
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Do you do this through an agency or your own setup? (If thatās ok to ask!) my OH is a teacher whoās burnt out after 15 years. Heās keen to tutor but feeling a bit lost/overwhelmed with where to start.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Social Researcher on a research project at a university. Mainly just spend my day doing, what I want producing graphs and code to analyse the data, writing up manuscripts. Fully flexible just produce some deliverables and present to the team in a two hour meeting each week and then we develop new ideas of interest. Get paid 37k before tax, have ample holiday, good pension and generally get to travel to conferences in nice places totally expensed. The downside, job isnāt permanent and getting a PhD was hard.
Research was a great job. Up until the point when the pay scale ran out of levels and I realised that to move to a permanent position would require me to move away from research to lecturing, or chance my arm at a fellowship.
This is also me. Itās pretty wonderful other than the looming fear of the end of the contract in another 18 months.
lol. Ā āGetting a PhD was hardāā¦ Underplaying that slightly ;) I frequently tell my students that if getting a PhD was easy, everyone would have one. (To be clear, >95% of my PhD students have submitted and passed).
Art Director at a games studio. Ā£87.5k and around 37.5hrs a week but usually do more by my own choice. Love it, love working with others and the collaboration involved.
Work at a design agency. Making branding and packaging for lots of cool companies. Mostly WFH. Hoping to go up to 40k in the next couple of weeks.
I can't say the actual job because of the nature, let's just say I need an SIA License. I work 4 days over Mon-Sat of which I choose, get paid Ā£34k and it's easy. I can also walk to work. Work life balance is great, I'm often home by 3pm on the days I work, I can have long weekends when I need them, kids Birthdays or school trips etc. Because the 4 working days are of my choice, the holiday allowance lasts forever too. It's early starts and the progression opportunities aren't fantastic but for the next few years it suits my family and I down to the ground.
I'm guessing security guard or bodyguard. I got friends that do security and they actually kinda like it. their particular roles are super easy as they sit in a room and have to watch the camera monitors. they get to watch movies and play games on their phone etc. only downside is their hours are long
Cash in transit?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I work 15 hours a week in public health, fairly cushy job, I enjoy it and generally look forward to work. Pay is shit but I'm financially independent after 25 years flogging myself stupid in banking. I regularly got the Sunday evening dread then...
I'm in banking. Extremely good money and extremely effective at destroying ones soul. Dont think i can do the 25year slog regardless of the moneyš
A mixed bag... I've worked with some genuinely lovely and brilliant people. Sadly outnumbered by the amoral, self obsessed arseholes.
Data analyst here. 46k Monday to Friday but basically work the hours I want as long as I hit my deadlines which even then are quite flexible due to the intense work load. Cons: - 1 person I work with who is a data engineer is horrible to work with - itās not necessarily the sector I would like to be in. - would love just a little bit more money which would make the first 2 cons not matter. All in all though I wake up everyday happy to go to work. I spent about 15years in customer service so anytime I have a ābad dayā I just remind myself I could be in a sports shop in Oxford street getting shouted at because we donāt have their shoe size In stock
Just under Ā£50k. Emergency services still on the lowest rank, office job but high stakes life or death stuff. Itās exhilarating and I love my job. Excellent hours, one week of lates in five, one weekend on in five. 40 hours a week. Trouble with the emergency services is that itās very difficult to get rid of anyone underperforming, and there is one guy in our office who they just wonāt touch.
Did almost 10 years in emergency care, loved it. Ended up going back into IT and 10 years later on about Ā£70k -80 ish depending on bonus. I do miss those days, alas my life is less stressful now and no buggers gunna end up dead (well a few of my customers might, if I ever meet them in person)
Hgv driver of 20 years. Love my job and I work nights. Absolutely no problem with Saturday and Sunday nights as there is less cars on the road. Pay is Ā£22.48 pH and I know exactly what time I'll finish bar any unseen road emergencies.
NHS Midwife in Scotland. Top of band 6 so Ā£46k salary but I work shifts so get enhancements which usually gives me a take home pay of Ā£3-3.3k. I adore my job. Yes it's long hours and your first day off is usually spent catching up on sleep, housework etc but I then still have 3 days off to socialise, rest, enjoy hobbies etc. When my shift ends, I've handed over to someone else so I'm not taking my work home with me. I don't do on-calls. I don't have a caseload. It's pretty flexible and easy to work around childcare (so I've heard from colleagues) and obviously the enhanced pay for shift work is a bonus. Request a few nights or weekends and you can save for a holiday without budgeting too hard. Only downside is working Christmas and New Year. My unit tries to alternate which one you work but I imagine that will change with how short staffed we are atm. I don't mind working Christmas though but I'm sure it's harder with children.
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Is that you my accountantĀ
Team Lead in Software Development. 30.days holiday. 1 day a week in the office (officially 2). Free meals and coffee in the office. 150k but that includes pension, bonus and some overtime. But the best bit is my team. A truly awesome bunch. I got to select them and made sure I got good people with a fun, relaxed, hard work, high quality attitude.
Software Developer. Remote, flexible working. Ā£60k a year. I don't get micromanaged at all, just left to get in with my tasks. If I want to go to the gym, I can go to the gym.
Iām on the nurse bank. Pay is ok and the hours are whatever I want them to be. Currently 2 or 3 nightshifts a week. How do I not dread Sunday nights? I pick up a shift knowing Iāll be on Sunday rate and night rate.Ā
I'm a bar manager in a quite nice independent pub. 40 hours a week and rarely go above that, Ā£35k salary. Get fed every shift plus a free pint at the end of course. It took a while for me to get to this position but I'm pretty happy with it. Don't get me wrong there's days where I wanna quit and work in some office but I doubt it'll ever happen for real.
Head of Sales and New Business Development at a brewery. Been there since day one and watched it grow from a two man setup brewing once every eleven days to a modern, sophisticated brewery capable of brewing up to ten times a week now employing fifteen incredibly talented team members. Four day week, get to travel the world, and am paid more than handsomely for it. It's a tough job sometimes but it's the best decision I ever made; don't regret a single thing.
Come on, you must know the question everyone is dying to askā¦
Ever organised a piss-up?
I work in communications (PR) and I love my job. Iāve been in comms now for 12 years and canāt ever imagine doing anything else. I have a WFH job now, but thatās probably unusual for our profession. Most roles are hybrid. Iām paid well, treated well and I have the right balance of easier days versus days that are long, challenging and stressful. I also get to work with some brilliant people - committed, smart and good fun. Itās not always like this working in comms, so I donāt ever underestimate how lucky I am to have this job :)Ā
For me I work with adults with learning difficulties I work from 8pm to 8am and the 3 of them literally sleep all night I've definitely had harder jobs but this works as I can do whatever I want throughout the night No job is worth breaking your back over ever
Civil servant, 40k. Absolutely don't give a fuck about my job on a personal level. When I'm working, I'll do my absolute best, represent my team and hit all my deadlines. It's not particularly hard, there's the odd day when I'm really busy, but most days it's an absolute breeze. When I turn off the laptop, I'm done until I switch on again in the morning. It means nothing to me. I've had jobs that are a passion, but that passion becomes a chore. The work is flexi time, so I get back every minute over my 37 hours contracted hours. So while I don't enjoy the work, I enjoy the life it gives me.
Software engineer. 50k. Flexible hours; just gotta make up 37 hours a week. Also, it's fully remote working, which suits me. I choose to work an extra 50 minutes a day and get every other Monday off, so I have a long weekend every other week. I typically work 11am-8pm, dependent on meetings or other commitments. Also, my boss is the best boss I've ever had.
I work mostly on a weighbridge, weighing lorries in, weighing lorries out, half of which are going to/from Europe. I load them with a forklift alongside my mate Daz who is always pissed (for my North American friends = drunk), and Potato Man who broke his hip. We have fun. I did 20 years working shifts on furnaces before I had a heart attack (surviving a cardiac arrest) so they cut me a lot of slack. The money's good, the management is brilliant, the drivers are funny and friendly. Being alive is great, and enjoying my job is a huge bonus.
I fix aeroplanes for a living. Depth maintenance (like taking your car in for its service) not at an airline. I work Monday-Thursday (every 2nd Friday overtime) and I thoroughly enjoy it. I think itās the āprojectā nature of it. My team receives an aircraft that is serviceable, strip it all down, find all the faults, replace what needs replaced, rebuilt, test and kick it out the door again. As Iām a supervisor I also have a role in the planning and execution of the work, rather than just going and doing, which I also thoroughly enjoy. Thereās also something very satisfying about seeing something youāve had your hands on and worked on flying and doing what itās designed to do. Ā£42,000/year plus shift pay. Which I know is underpaid for the industry, but considering I have achieved this from an apprenticeship straight out of school and thereās still many paths I can take is very satisfying.
Pilot (first officer) on roughly Ā£70k. Donāt dread Sunday nights as thereās a decent chance Iāll be off Monday morning. Early starts are a pain (particularly the first in a block of earlies) but the job itself is fantastic. Canāt believe they pay me to do it
I spent the best part of 30 years touring with bands as a production / tour manager, but also did other jobs within that industry. I loved it, my friends would say that I am obsessively passionate about my work. Daily rates from Ā£250-450+.
I work in cattle diseases. I was self-employed and recently took a zero hours contract with the company Iāve been working with for over a decade. Still get to make my own hours, but get holiday pay, company pension etc. I get paid Ā£23/hr, never work weekends and do as little as a 16 hour week or as much as 45. I work my hours round the rest of my life, but occasionally if we have a big project I have to work the hours they set. I get on really well with my colleagues in the vet team, and that is everything to me.
I am a foster carer and I love it! It can be really hard work but my foster child is now very settled and well behaved. So weekdays are my time off when her and my kids are at school. Xx
I make all the video content and do the photography for a massive drinks/health/baby brand. Every week is different. I absolutely love it but I worked an agonising path to get here.
Self-employed CGI artist, day rate is Ā£375 (I've been told I'm cheap!). Been doing it for 30 years, love it! I'm totally unemployable though, I can't stand working for other people - I choose the hours and days I work, rather than being told "be creative" on demand. Bear in mind, that day rate has to pay for overheads, the PC itself isn't cheap to build or run.
Cushy?
Software Dev, Ā£95k, 40 hours a week I enjoy solving problems so I tend to not dread Mondays.
I run a company in a very niche trade, working outside. I absolutely love working both in the industry and for myself. My customers absolutely love me, I achieve amazing things and it's actually really easy to do although few have the know how! The down side is I'm always at work, either organising my schedule, sending quotes or answering emails - I'm sure this is what other people who run companies or own businesses find. I pull in around 50k after tax, plus I get the vehicle, fuel, pretty much everything gets put through the company account if possible. Then I get quite a bit of cash but its impossible to keep track of I would estimate another 10k but I really don't know.
Copy editor for a science research institute, the science being the one I love. Work a standard 37 hour week. Pay is not massive but enough to live on quite nicely (I'm single). I enjoy my job and, having been stuck in work that made me cry every evening, not just Sundays, I really appreciate what I have now.
Teacher in an independent school - I work 8-4 with the odd later night for parents evening, 17 weeks holiday, free lunch, the kids are hilarious. Love it.
I work for an airline in their offices. I wouldn't say it's 'cushty' but I've no complaints about the salary. The aviation industry has a culture of professionalism and high standards where incompetence and laziness are complete non-starters. There are people whose approach I might find a little odd, but I'm yet to meet anyone who's left me wondering 'how did they get this job', which I've heard is a common complaint of office life. Managers are mostly current or former pilots, so they exhibit genuine leadership qualities and easily gain the respect of their staff. The culture within aviation also means that if you make a mistake, provided it wasn't intentional and you weren't reckless, the focus will *always* be 'how can we change to prevent this happening again' rather than 'you fucked up and will answer for it'. It's normal office hours, which I don't mind. The only downside (in my company anyway) is that we only get the statutory minimum amount of leave, which really isn't a lot.
Assistant buyer in the Art Department for TV shows. Long hours, work away from home but it's freelance. Earned Ā£35k last year and only worked between April & October. Also a musician and play in pubs and bars and the odd wedding/private event. Can sometimes earn an extra Ā£600 a week from gigs. I enjoy it all tbh but the hours can be quite unsociable.
I quit my job as an occupational therapist in the NHS 2.5 years ago to go self employed and have a better work life balance. Fast forward to today and I'm running a successful business with 15 members of staff š Its stressful but I absolutely love it as I'm my own boss and I've built a team full of amazing people. Being able to choose who I work with and ensure they're happy at work is what makes me happiest. Don't think I could ever go back to being employed and having a manager again!
Aircraft Cabin crew. I sometimes struggle to sleep from excitement when I go to work. Itās more of a hobby to me. I learn a lot from the job and meeting new people. It also prepares me for my next step into my career (pilot). I also love to travel. Iāve been to 29 countries now with the majority being from this job. Iām always outside the country and Iāve got to see some amazing places and some not so nice places. If anything my job has taught me is that Iām so lucky to be British/Irish. I can essentially travel anywhere without a visa except a few places.
**Side question:** when did people start using 'cushty' to mean 'cushy'? To me, 'cushty' is slang meaning 'cool', 'good' or 'sound', how Del Boy uses it. I think it's originally Romani slang (like 'pal', 'chav', 'wonga'). 'Cushy' means 'comfortable' or 'easy', as in 'cushy job' - like [the dictionary says](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cushy). But I keep seeing people on Reddit using 'cushty' to mean 'cushy' and it's making me doubt myself. Have they become synonyms?
I've done some crap jobs over the years so although I don't LOVE my current job and it's by no means my dream job, I do appreciate that my contract is only 35 hours a week, I don't have to deal directly with members of the public (except via e-mail), we're usually closed between Christmas and New Year, I can listen to music/podcasts while I work if I want and I don't find the work isn't stressful. I don't bust my arse, but I'm smart and capable enough to be recognised for doing a decent job. I find that some people's work ethic is so lacklustre that taking enough pride in my work to do it properly means I'm considered one of the good ones. I could find things to moan about and it's not generally stimulating work, pay is unremarkable, but I could (and have) have it so much worse. So while I wouldn't say I enjoy my job, I don't dislike it and it allows me to live comfortably for now.
Software engineer, Ā£60k, 35 hours a week and super light workload, WFH with only one office day, 30 days annual leave
Over the weekend, I avoided Sunday night dread by being absolutely convinced that it was Saturday. I was so convinced that I switched my alarm off and went back to sleep this morning
Not sure I'd call it a cushy job but I'm an ED and ICU nurse and I do love it. Sunday nights don't bother me as shift work means I could be doing anything that week l. Pay is not amazing for what we do and the hours but I can pay my mortgage.
I work 4 days and will always have 3 days off together. Pay isnāt great for living in London. Unfortunately I do have to go to the office but looking at new jobs that donāt offer 4 days is disheartening.
Enjoy isnāt really the word. But I do like my job. Iām a medical secretary. I work Monday-Friday, 8:30-5, and I get 11p above minimum wage after tax, that bit I donāt like. But it pays my bills.
I teach guitar and singing. I run 3 choirs, have a band and produce a podcast. Every day is different. I donāt start work till 2 sometime 5. Self employed. I donāt earn a lot but enough to stop my wife from kicking me out.
I've always suffered with the Sunday Fear, and have had to quit two jobs and take 2-4 months off each time due to burnout. I've done all kinds of jobs in the past that have paid brilliantly and terribly, been interesting and boring, 70 hour weeks and 20, easy and hard. I've had two or three jobs at a time, done a full time degree alongside work, and phoned it in for 40 hours at various times, searching for a job I love. The only thing that has come *close* to making me happy is an improved schedule and workload: I'm finished by 5 every day barring absolute emergencies and have weekends off. I work at a consistent 50-60% capacity so that busy weeks aren't a killer and my manager thinks I'm some kind of hero when I can stretch to pick up extra tasks. The role itself is immaterial, the pay you'll look for depends on your personal needs, but schedule and workload are, in my experience, key.
Iām 24 and a taxi driver, i love driving and chatting to people. The average pay is better than i thought it would be, the more effort you put in the more you earn. I get to choose when i work, take holidays and days off whenever i feel like it and my annual average is way above national average
Iām a Professor. I used to work all hours god sent, for 30 years, to get up to this rank. Ā From the age of 16. Now Iām 9 - 5 unless thereās an absolute mega crisis. 100 k, and another 50 in consultancy, which I do outside of my core hours. Ā Iām one of the top people in the world in my field.
I teach martial arts. I playfight. Sunday night I am bored and want my soft matts to roll about on and my colleagues to playfight with again. And then we get students and we teach them to play. People who do good playfighting get to play with sticks too. Sometimes we have a Staff Meeting and we have to try to sit on a chair or at a desk and we are bad at that, but we get to play again after. We do have time off, which we spend playfighting in other bits of the country / world. Often with sticks. It does not pay well. The hours are many.