What is your job and do you like it?

michelle06 · #1 18th October 2016, 00:48

I'm 32 and still trying to figure out what to do with my life. Obviously, social anxiety hasn't helped, because I've avoided people for so long, but I'm bored of that now, so I need to push through it. I'm wondering whether to volunteer to gain some experience working with vulnerable people before applying to train to become a social worker. The trouble with me is I'm liable to change my mind! Plus, finances may come into play!

I know some people with SA have jobs, some don't and some volunteer. What do you do? Do you like it? What would be your ideal job/ career?

Mo34 · #2 18th October 2016, 08:13

My last paid job was working for a children's charity as the play coordinator. I haven't worked for quite some time though due to sa.

I volunteer for a local family centre which is a bit hit and miss tbh. Not sure i see it helping me back into work but hey ho.
I also volunteer at an animal sanctuary which I love (except for some of the older terribly middle class people who are very nice on the surface but awesomely judgmental behind ppl's backs). I started at another animal charity recently too which is ok. Need to find something else I suppose.

I'd love to do vet nursing as a career but finding a training placement is tremendously difficult , I suspect i'll end up back working with children which is somewhat depressing to me. I loved my previous job but it was fairly unique and not childcare, the idea of having to work in a nursery

for min wage doesn''t thrill me. The joys of sa (and money) limiting potential.

Mo34 · #3 18th October 2016, 09:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinny

^ I do what Mo is worried about

Ooops! Sorry.

I dislike the idea of it cause it's not really me, I have no passion for it at all and I can just see myself getting 'stuck'. Plus...parents

.
Good Luck with your interview

Azi · #4 18th October 2016, 10:17

Currently I'm a checkout supervisor at a supermarket. It's like the curate's egg: good in parts. I actually really enjoy the social side of things and it's really helped my SA. It's busy and intense and doesn't give me too much time to ruminate. The downsides are the crappy hours and that it can be stressful. There's also stigma in working in retail that I find difficult at times.

I used to do learning support work but there were never enough hours to live on and, depending on the course the student was taking, could be quite dull. Note taking in early years policy lectures nearly killed me!

Hackpen · #5 18th October 2016, 10:55

I volunteered as a stepping stone back into work.
Working with vulnerable adults with mental health problems, which led to part time paid work for a disability charity. Which then led to full time commercial cleaner. I currently work in property maintenance for a letting agency. Next step is obtaining my lgv licence. Office cleaning tends to be out of office hours, so v little contact with anyone. Property maintenance ,the properties are between tenants so also minimal contact. Ideally I'd like to manage holiday let's somewhere hot n gorgeous. I'd just potter about fixing stuff n getting tanned

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

michelle06 · #6 18th October 2016, 14:40

I think being a social worker appeals to me, because I like the idea of helping and supporting vulnerable people; people on the fringes of society. A social work qualification could also come in handy if I wanted to be a parole officer or something along those lines, and the idea of working with ex-offenders does appeal to me. However, I could be romanticising the whole thing and find out that dealing with people just stresses me out and gets me down!

I'm currently a freelance writer and have a dodgy sexting job on the side. Work is sporadic, not very well paying, and it enables me to avoid people, which is good and bad. It's obviously less anxiety-inducing, but it also means I just avoid dealing with people, even though I get depressed by being so isolated. Nothing's ever simple, is it?!

Tembo · #7 18th October 2016, 16:10

I quit my office job as it was incredibly stressful, soul destroying and was making me ill.

I now volunteer 3 days a week as a classroom assistant in a primary school. I am really enjoying it. Staff and children are great. For some reason, I am constantly exhausted doing it though despite only working part time there, which makes me wonder if I could do it as a full time paid job. Or if I could actually be a proper teacher - the whole reason I'm doing this is to gain experience to be able to get on a teacher training course at uni.

A lot of teachers are constantly moaning at how exhausted they are. So I wonder if it's right for me. However, I've noticed a lot of teachers have never worked as anything else , so might not realise how stressful other jobs are, such as office work, especially with such long holidays. I guess I need to spend more time at this volunteering to see if it's right for me.

My ideal job? No idea. I don't like to admit it, but I'd quite happily not have a job at all. I just want to spend my time going on holidays, eating at restaurants, watching tv and listen to music

Queenfan · #8 18th October 2016, 16:39

Court Clerk so I deal with lots of people, including social workers (who get a lot of abuse btw). When court is finished I have the court room to myself to do things like posting on here!

Ideal job - a musician, drums or piano.

BorrowedMum · #9 18th October 2016, 18:57

I foster children. It can be very hard work and emotionally draining but also very rewarding. I dislike the gaps (sometimes huge ones) between placements as I start to get bored; think too much (negative stuff); get anxious and generally procrastinate! When I've got children here I'm too busy to get down about stuff and I do things that I would never otherwise do, like going to see a film; going to a fun fair; going out for a pizza etc. its all about the child and that has a very positive effect on my mind. I'm very creative too though I have let that talent slip over the years!

lonely_mummy · #10 18th October 2016, 19:25

I am currently a network engineer, I love my job but hate some people who I have to work with. I would say it is quite suitable for SA sufferers because it's not essential to be very sociable to achieve although it helps like most jobs. My previous is even better, you can do your work all day without having to speak to anyone, job was highly regarded so no one would try to bully you (unlike now!

).

Mr. Nobody · #11 18th October 2016, 20:01

I work in a large building company running the stores,
I don't mind it too much, but I always seem to have real trouble dealing with people in close proximity.
I usually need to deal with tradesmen all day long, but that's fine as they come and go again, so I'm not stuck with them,
but for quite a while now, I've had to work with someone all day every day, and I just can't bear it,
it's making me feel like I need to change jobs or something.
I can trace my downward spiral to the time they started working beside me,
and now, 8 years on, I'm so much worse than I ever used to be.

some people's energy feeds you, and some people just seem to suck whatever life I had out of me.

I think I really just can't bear being in close proximity with certain types of people all day, every day, it's just getting me down,.
I think I really need to work alone or not at all.

Victoriablack · #12 18th October 2016, 20:39

I work with adults that have learning disabilities along with challenging behaviour.
Things I enjoy about my job are I like working with some of the residents and staff. It's social but with a small group of people and routines so it feels safe and predictable. It can be a lot of fun sometimes.
Things I don't like are sometimes people get a bit catty. And I feel as though we take good care of people physically but I don't think we do a good job with their psychological needs. Communication can be extremely difficult and people want things that we cannot provide eg some of them would rather be living with their family. Choice is exalted in theory but frequently impossible to implement. Inclusion is desired yet unacceptable behaviour is expected to be smoothed over.

Rockysocks · #13 18th October 2016, 22:43

Receptionist at a government organisation that provides services and care to the elderly and disabled. It's a temp job and in less than four weeks I am gone. The job sounds nice but instead I have realised how shit, snobby and entitled some people are.

Ronnie_Pickering · #14 18th October 2016, 23:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mo34

My last paid job was working for a children's charity as the play coordinator. I haven't worked for quite some time though due to sa.

I volunteer for a local family centre which is a bit hit and miss tbh. Not sure i see it helping me back into work but hey ho.
I also volunteer at an animal sanctuary which I love (except for some of the older terribly middle class people who are very nice on the surface but awesomely judgmental behind ppl's backs). I started at another animal charity recently too which is ok. Need to find something else I suppose.

I'd love to do vet nursing as a career but finding a training placement is tremendously difficult , I suspect i'll end up back working with children which is somewhat depressing to me. I loved my previous job but it was fairly unique and not childcare, the idea of having to work in a nursery

for min wage doesn''t thrill me. The joys of sa (and money) limiting potential.

I've seen animal welfare assistants people required sometimes. Grooming animals, that sort of thing. Possible thing to look out for maybe.

Ronnie_Pickering · #15 18th October 2016, 23:04

I am briefly unemployed but I have done admin work, shop work, manager at a bookies, factory work, housekeeping work(once), archiving work, stock counting work and volunteered in a kitchen.

Mo34 · #16 19th October 2016, 18:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ramon

I've seen animal welfare assistants people required sometimes. Grooming animals, that sort of thing. Possible thing to look out for maybe.

Thanks, yes, I saw one advertised recently which might have been interesting. It was a veterinary group looking for an assistant. Not what I want but maybe a start in the right direction.

les · #17 19th October 2016, 23:52

I work in a local government adult social care team, dealing with adult protection and deprivation of liberty's under the direction of the Court of protection. I am a small cog in a very big machine and sometimes the job does get me down as I can't discuss my work in much depth but on the whole I like it.

ConverseCody · #18 24th October 2016, 08:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelle06

I think being a social worker appeals to me, because I like the idea of helping and supporting vulnerable people; people on the fringes of society. A social work qualification could also come in handy if I wanted to be a parole officer or something along those lines, and the idea of working with ex-offenders does appeal to me. However, I could be romanticising the whole thing and find out that dealing with people just stresses me out and gets me down!

I'm currently a freelance writer and have a dodgy sexting job on the side. Work is sporadic, not very well paying, and it enables me to avoid people, which is good and bad. It's obviously less anxiety-inducing, but it also means I just avoid dealing with people, even though I get depressed by being so isolated. Nothing's ever simple, is it?!

My Dad is a social worker and also suffers from S.A.. I think it's a very rewarding career but can be very stressful. He used to work in a children's home but found it too hard. He now works with adults with mental health issues which he seems to prefer much more.

Volunteering sounds like a great idea as you'll be able to figure out if it's for you.

Good luck

Cheshire Cat · #19 24th October 2016, 10:24

Some really interesting jobs here. I'm not surprised to learn a lot of people with social anxiety work in some sort of care or helping others roll, as people with SA are usually very sensitive and giving towards other people.

I'm a freelance musician, dividing my time between piano accompaniment and now teaching. My anxiety is intense during accompaniment work, feeling everybody is judging and watching me, and it's a daily battle with blushing and trying to resist the desire to hide my face behind the piano. Teaching is a little better as it is slowly allowing me to open up a bit more.

Martin74 · #20 25th October 2016, 19:32

I develop software for a living and by and large I find it interesting and enjoyable (except the boring parts). I suppose I'm lucky to have a job at all. It's good to have a routine and a sense of purpose but that doesn't really stop me from feeling that something is missing from my life.

Professor Willow · #21 25th October 2016, 20:07

My job is mainly as a HGV and Agricultural mechanic although I do also do odd bits of other work like fabrication jobs and in the summer a bit of work on my grandfather's farm.

Like every job there are good and bad bits, I defy anyone to say that starting up an engine you have just rebuilt isn't enjoyable and also getting a pass at MOT is obviously rewarding, the weather can put a downer on things if I'm working on site somewhere and SA wise dealing with new people can be uncomfortable.

On the whole I do like it

Sunshine Recorder · #22 26th October 2016, 23:56

Just over a week ago, I started a new job as an RMA Assistant at a technology company. It's not the most glamorous job in the world, but it pays above the minimum wage (unline my previous job), and isn't as intensive and repetitive as some other jobs (like my previous job

). I basically have to unbox (often 'granny-wrapped', like your grandmother would wrap Christmas presents) faulty products, enter their serial numbers into the RMA system, then send out replacements.

As I've only been there just over a week, I feel like I've only scratched the surface of what my job role entails. There are many things I'm discovering about my role each day (such as what to do when a customer sends something unexpected). I've already had forklift training booked in for me next month (which I'm actually looking forward to!)

So, yeah, early days, but I'm enjoying it so far. It's quite SA friendly too, yet giving me the opportunities to test the waters of my anxiety.