Boredom with the office job?

drewbee · 07-02-2008, 04:08 PM

Please consider this more of a rant then anything else.

I am currently a business analyst for McGraw-Hill Education involved with the oh so wonderfull Oracle ERP Suite. My areas of expertise go across the modules dealing with Order Management, Subscriptions (OKS), and Service Requests (CSS).

The job is good to me, pays well, decent benefits, and the team that I work with (Business Solutions) is wonderful too. The job is a sort-of psudo-techie as we outsource our programming, however still getting our hands dirty when needed.

Usually there is a nice divided line between programmers and analysts. The analaysts are the personable, work with the customer, gather requirements etc then pass it off to the programmers. In my situation, I feel that I get the best of both worlds. Because of this psudo setup, my role consists of the analyst part and partial programmer part. However, most of the programming is strictly SQL. This means that I don't have to deal with everyday tedious programming tasks.

So what is missing? Why do I feel so bloody bored everyday? Is every office based job always boring? As you can see, I spend more then a good part of my day on TalkPHP (teehe), dodging getting 'caught' by someone realizing im doing something I am not suppose to be doing.

I hate it because everything seems like I should just be happy with everything... and yet I am not. I don't know know if it the job really is that boring... I know I have plenty to do. Perhaps man was just not meant to be contained in an office all day long. I don't know. All I know is that I need some change in my life, but I don't want to just leap frog from one job to another (after all, if that is all to gain and maybe a few extra bucks a check; I'd rather have my current team with me).

Does anyone else get like this with their job? Any thoughts on this? I want to change or rather need a change, however it would just be the same thing over and over again. I just don't want this to boil up over so much time that it just all gathers and ends up exploding, and I end up doing something incredibly irrational that could hurt myself.

I think personally I would be much happier doing freelance working on my own terms, but that seems like to big of a risk to take... but then again, maybe that risk is what I need. Not to mention the work amount is never unknown, atleast here what I have will always be consistent.

Perhaps it is my comfort that bores me?

delayedinsanity · 07-02-2008, 04:43 PM

You need to do what makes you happy in the end, I think. You gotta pay the bills too, so you can't just run out and quit your job and expect things to fall in your lap the very next day of course, but that just means you gotta be smart about it. Plan what you want to do, consider what you need to do, and save up as much of a runaway fund as you can while you think about it.

I've debated many times what I'm doing in school. I used to do a lot of computer related work when I was 17, and I got sick of being at a desk all day, so I went into trades and restaurant work. Restaurant was fun, making tips was decent money and the people I worked with made it a blast, but it wasn't great money by any means. Trades is excellent money and I got to work with my hands, which is so much funner than almost anything out there, I think. But I think that was fun because it's building something, and so is programming, just in a much different style... so I'm making a go at the office jobs again. Worst come to worst I wind up with a little variety in my work life and my resume guarantees me a job in either of two industries.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that I don't think people should just settle with whats comfortable. Sometimes you may need to, when you have a family or other people relying on you, but if you can, go out and test the waters. Try new things. Don't contribute to the stagnation of our society by all those damned families with a 9 to 5, 2 point 4 children and a minivan. Do something exciting.

Village Idiot · 07-02-2008, 05:28 PM

Freelancing work is more fun than office work, but so much less secure. I chose an office job and am somewhat bored with it, but it gets bread on the table till I finish my degree. (Computer Engineering then a JD)

At the moment, I'm at my office waiting for my next task to be ready. But that will all change in about a week, I wont have time to be bored working consistent 50 hour weeks (will peak at 60 at times).

Jim · 07-09-2008, 01:26 PM

I found this topic from the same reason you are talking about. I'm also bored here at work while I have enough to do.

I work at a full service webdevelopment agency as my boss likes to call it. I'm now 19 years old and I started here when i was 17 years old (part-time). At start I liked this work, it was (is) paying pretty good for my age and the work was challenging at the time.

That all changed over time. The work that I need to do here didnt change at all, I'm still just writing quick if - else - query code. Not a challange at all. Even when I can start a new big project where I can start on a chalanging way, in some way it always gets me bored in a few days of working on it. This made me wonder if I would actually like to work in the webdevelopment business when I get older. The only thing that seems to get me going is working on my own projects.

Life can be difficult...

drewbee · 07-09-2008, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Don't contribute to the stagnation of our society by all those damned families with a 9 to 5, 2 point 4 children and a minivan. Do something exciting.

I think you just listed one of the greatest quotes ever! nice!!

I do agree though. This stuff gets to oneself after a while. Unfortunately the comfort is the only thing keeping me around. The fact that I don't hate the job, and really have no reason to hate it other then the drearyness of it.

You guys sound like you are all pretty young. I am 24 and definately am not ready to call this crap my career choice. My sanity couldn't handle it :D

I actually have no problem working 50-60 hours a week when I enjoy what I am doing. It just becomes a hobby, which is one of the greatest jobs you can ever have. Getting paid for a hobby! (and a career too; just doesn't feel like it)!!

Yeah Jim,

I did webdesign for Nationwide Children's Hospital using Cold Fusion (intranet applications). That was actually kind of interesting as no two applications were even remotely the same (save the user accounts / login etc). I actually regret leaving that job as I had a blast there; but I was just an intern and there were no openings coming up anytime soon... and those good old student loans were coming up on me fast.

Its kind of interesting. I feel so much like the chap in office space. lol. I do the absolute minimum required to keep everyone off my back and not get me fired; and its like no one even notices that I am not doing anything. I think I would hate it even more if they were more strict though; because then I would be forced to do work that I dont want to do LOL.

I know this isn't laziness... well, it could be a form of it. However, I have never been this unmotivated in my life. Especially at something that is suppose to be my 'career'.

Jim · 07-09-2008, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drewbee

I think I would hate it even more if they were more strict though; because then I would be forced to do work that I dont want to do LOL.

It's the exact opposite for me. When I have small jobs that just have to be done in like half a day, I get myself up and force myself to work. And the weird thing is that I enjoy that, I like being pushed to work pretty fast.

When (like now) I'm working on a big project, a functionality update takes some days before you can show something new to the boss. Those times I become very lazy and I don't enjoy it anymore.

I think working for yourself would be much more fun. So not even making websites for clients, just creating your own websites. Of course this is a big gamble, but imagine you can start with building some service websites already when you are young. You might have the chance of earning enough money for a house with your own websites. Of course that still remains unsafe, but you can always work like 50/50. One day for a boss or client, one day your own projects.

Thats how I'm trying to build my future :) (with Welcome to Minna Media :>)