Why I Will Never Work Again
After 3 years of having career break, I came back to work and found that the Bullshit jobs are still there.
In 2018, I quit my last job because I lost interest and I was burned out working. We moved to Spain and decided to stay at home, full-time. We agreed to this; despite the fact, I was a type-A personality and a high achiever. I was 38 years old who always chased degrees, certifications, and top companies to work for. Hence, I worked for big names such as DOD, Kaiser Permanente, Children’s Hospital of Colorado, just to name a few.
Initially, I was afraid I would be bored as a SAHM. My friends were telling me that they can’t imagine me, not working. Or that I would get crazy. Well, they were far from the truth; and the past three years of not working were the best years of my entire life.
I enjoyed spending time with my daughter and my husband, making new friendships, learning new languages, and going to flamenco classes. Also, I enjoyed the lockdown, moved to the village, and built a new community. I was satisfied with my life, lost weight, and slept like a baby.
In January 2021, a recruiter from a top pharmaceutical company on LinkedIn contacted me via email to offer me a position as a Medical Information Specialist. I responded with a big yes.
“Let’s try a new opportunity. Build my resume, again,” I told myself. The job was remote. And the salary was lucrative. It was hard to say no.
What went wrong?
The first thing that comes to mind when I started working again is:
“What happened to work again? It seems that everything has turned into samsara.”
Not everything was doomed, and I met wonderful people. The team was made of young and smart professionals representing every language in the world. It was nice to work with all the different accents and an upbeat, young, and motivated crowd.
The problem was the job, which was full of silly corporate rules…
We could only answer questions if customer called by reading a script. We had a multitude of boring meetings, and projects while sitting on the computer for nine hours a day from Monday through Friday. This included performance cards each month to critique if you followed the rules, and the silly script.
For me, this job was as you may call it — a living hell.
I completely forgot how corporate companies babysit you with stupid rules and behave like we are all children back in school. I lasted for almost a year, after which I couldn’t take it anymore. It was soul-sucking and within a year I became depressed, hated my life, and was unmotivated.
It was hard to wake up in the morning and put the computer on. However, it made me realize that this isn’t me who is a creative and independent thinker.
The author David Graeber describes these useless jobs in his book BS Jobs:
“Bullshit jobs are jobs which even the person doing the job can’t justify the existence of, but they have to pretend that there’s some reason for it to exist. That’s the bullshit element. …But instead of freeing ourselves from the suffocating 40-hour workweek, we’ve invented an entire universe of futile occupations that are professionally unsatisfying and spiritually empty.”
It was hard for me to quit because of the high salary, but beyond the $$$, there was nothing else. A job that offers only a salary kills my motivation and passion for life.
When I turned in my resignation letter, I told them the reason for my resignation, and the management and the HR were cool with my honesty (maybe they knew too it was a BS job).
Quit soul-sucking, BS job. It isn’t worth your short life.
Please, quit the BS job, it isn’t worth wasting your life. It doesn’t matter how much it pays. I saved enough to quit. That’s why it is so important to live in an affordable place; and have minimal expenses. This way you can quit any job without the guilt.
I promised myself I would never work for a corporate company again. Only if I have no other options or starve to death.
Otherwise, not a chance.
Quit sooner than later. The longer you stay at the BS job, the more likely you get addicted to a steady paycheck. Also, as a corporate employee, you become comfortable, which kills creativity. It is very difficult to have a side hustle if you have a BS job because it sucks your energy and you are exhausted and tired all the time.
Lessons learned from the BS job
The lessons learned from this job were paradoxical. Instead of being burned out, I became super creative and motivated. But I believe this depends on your attitude and your mindset.
I started writing again, spending more time with my family and the community.
I appreciate each day more than the day before. My free time is the highest currency right now. Free time is more important than money. Nobody can give you time back. You can’t earn time, but you can earn money.
I want to use my talents and contribute to society instead of slowly dying in the BS job even if it pays well.
If you are in a BS job or considering getting one, I encourage you to quit soon. Don’t waste your life on something that doesn’t matter.
The key is to find something that you are passionate about, then it won’t feel like work. Work should not feel like a torture. It should be something that you enjoy, otherwise, it will kill your soul. It did mine for sure despite resurrecting myself in time.
I encourage you to watch the Ted Talk called “How To Find Work You Love” by Scott Dinsmore it change my view on scripted BS jobs. He left the position that made him unhappy and spent the next four years trying to figure out how to do something he loved while being happy. He discusses what he learned in this Ted Talk, which emphasizes identifying what matters most to you — and then getting started doing it.
He speaks my language. As he states:
“ I read something from Warren Buffet and he said: Taking jobs to build up your resume is like saving up on sex for an old age.”
Scott Dinsmore
Go! Believe in yourself and conquer the world. Build your passion. Inspire others. I am giving it another shot to expand mine and try again.