Anyone dislike corporate jobs? Am I the only one?

[Zeze]

I want to try to stay at my job as long as I can, as there is more to it than pay. I will never make more money at this job and I accept that (of course it would be nice). There's also no jobs within the company that pay more, other than management which does not interest me one bit. (you also have less job security due to not being in union). I hit my 10 years a while back, have some money accumulated into a future pension, have stocks (the company contributes too if you buy into the program) and I also have 4 weeks of vacation, and just overall seniority. Finding a new job means starting all over with that stuff. The grass is not always greener on the other side, is how I like to look at it.

Now if I saw an opportunity where it's local so I don't have to move, and I could make like 30k+ extra right off the bat, and I had a very good feeling about the job security or me liking the job/environment, I would possibly consider it. But it would have to be a dang good opportunity. Or if I felt my company was about to eliminate my job, or things were starting to get really bad, such as a bad manager, then yeah, at that point I would say it's time to jump ship.

One big perk of my job too is that it's shift work with so the more 12h shifts I end up working, the more time off I get. I would absolutely hate going back to a normal 5x8 job and would not go to one by choice.

I bet you you can easily find +$30K if you spend few hours researching the right keywords in your resume for the position you want.

Also lots of jobs have good security and you can plant yourself into a good team fast.

My firm is growing fast. My last job was also growing super well but I personally failed. The job before that was growing super fast (telecom industry) and expanding to South America.

LOTS of companies are growing well over 10+ years. And I unwittingly landed on them.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

One Caveat to my point on moving around: At MINIMAL stay at a job for a year. When you start seeing month-length items on a resume that will ultimately turn more negative than positive.

 

[Zeze]

One Caveat to my point on moving around: At MINIMAL stay at a job for a year. When you start seeing month-length items on a resume that will ultimately turn more negative than positive.

I think every 3 years is tolerable.

 

[brianmanahan]

It's insane that kids TODAY out of college make $30K. What the hell. I barely made my ends meet with $36,000 13 years ago. Big Mac combo was $6~ then, not ROFL $9.73

i still just buy the 1$ cheeseburger and 1$ fry when i go to mcd's, lol. though i will occasionally splurge and get a big mac (or one of those fresh new quarter pounders which have gotten better recently)

apart from a few more vacations and a nicer apartment, i still basically live like i do when i graduated from college. pay has almost tripled and my cost of living has gone up from like 20-25$k to 35$k.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I think every 3 years is tolerable.

Meh, my first accounting firm was 1.5 years. I find that acceptable as long as it's not repeated multiple times thereafter.

Employers know it's very possible to have a shit job and want to move on quickly. They consider a red-flag when it's consistent job after job.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

i still just buy the 1$ cheeseburger and 1$ fry when i go to mcd's, lol. though i will occasionally splurge and get a big mac (or one of those fresh new quarter pounders which have gotten better recently)

apart from a few more vacations and a nicer apartment, i still basically live like i do when i graduated from college. pay has almost tripled and my cost of living has gone up from like 20-25$k to 35$k.

What I love about that type of shit (not keeping up with Jones') is I still continue to dress crappy - or rather, not like someone with a lot of money.

It's a good feeling knowing that if there was a hold-up / robbery that they would presume I didn't have much money

 

[Zeze]

What I love about that type of shit (not keeping up with Jones') is I still continue to dress crappy - or rather, not like someone with a lot of money.

It's a good feeling knowing that if there was a hold-up / robbery that they would presume I didn't have much money

Funny thing is it doesn't cost money to look fashionable. You just dress like a scrub

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Funny thing is it doesn't cost money to look fashionable. You just dress like a scrub

Meh, and I'm fine with that. I have no problem dressing like a slob with the horrors of a t-shirt and jeans when I'm out in public doing dumb tasks (shopping, banking, etc)

But meh - my jobs say otherwise since you have to dress pretty decent to get those Hell, the fact that I wore a full suit + tie might be a big part of the reason why I won over the other candidates in my latest interview.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I bet you you can easily find +$30K if you spend few hours researching the right keywords in your resume for the position you want.

Also lots of jobs have good security and you can plant yourself into a good team fast.

My firm is growing fast. My last job was also growing super well but I personally failed. The job before that was growing super fast (telecom industry) and expanding to South America.

LOTS of companies are growing well over 10+ years. And I unwittingly landed on them.

That would probably require moving, which I have zero interest in doing. Not worth it. Most places would also be more expensive, so I get less house, for the same money.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Well that's your problem, move around more and you can work remotely instead of in a cubicle and you can rub one out during work hours

Working naked is certainly freeing. I usually don't get dressed until noon.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

It's always interesting to lay out salary growth... it's commonly seen underpaid people get big jumps later.

For me...after my bachelor's:
0-1 year: $36,000
2-5 years: $45,000
6-8 years: $52,000 (new job)
9-10 years: $75,000 (new job)
11-12 years: $140,000~ (LOL) (new job)
13 year: $130,000 + 20% bonus + 7% of free salary towards 401k AND match 100% of my contribution upto 6%. (new job)
today And I'm not in Cali thank the fack.

It's insane that kids TODAY out of college make $30K. What the hell. I barely made my ends meet with $36,000 13 years ago. Big Mac combo was $6~ then, not ROFL $9.73

Well, if they worked for my employer they are competing directly with those in former Warsaw Pact Countries where my employer turned up many centers and hired thousands of employees over there because as one director put it "They make about 'one third' of what they would have to pay American workers." And we are talking about white collar technical jobs. These foreign work locations have also been exempt from workforce reductions (ahem, surplus) for the past five years. They get to play games in the break room, have sofas in the lounge areas, and can do whatever they like on their work computers. Additionally, they are completely unmonitored (e.g. no DeskOp, etc.) since they can do personal stuff on their work assets.

So, while you may be finding it a bit insane for the kids today this is what mature adults are struggling with (and losing).

 

[rh71]

I just changed to another global corporation after being in my first out of school for nearly 20 years. It was great there - remote work full-time, great hands-off managers, engaging work. But the pay was lower and it always angered me when they told us no raises or bonuses and they got me for cheap right out of school. My peers came over as experienced workers and because of the pay range, I knew they made at least 10k more than me - it always irked me. Now that I changed jobs and leaped beyond what I ever expected based on my skillset, I'm happy again - still remote and an easy-going team lead. The corp setting specifically doesn't bother me so much. I like that there's always work available from all angles and there's other people doing engagements for potential work for us. OP mentioned being 1 bad manager away from displeasure and it is true - this team likes doing these damn daily stand-up calls. They are useful for those who need help and wasteful for those who can handle their own shit. They only serve to make mgmt feel more connected to the team since we are global. At my last job, all we would need is chat messenger with our lead as necessary and mgmt meetings once a month if that. Work efficiency doesn't mean more meetings - we all know that, but they don't care.

 

[Ryland]

I specifically moved from working for a company that was the largest in the world for its field to a small consulting firm because I hated corporate BS. Well fast forward about 20 years and that firm got bought out by...drumroll..another contender for the worlds largest corporation in the same field...sigh.

 

[rh71]

Moving jobs is SO beneficial - I honestly can't think of any disadvantages

For me it was the potential to lose being remote 100%. One of the stipulations for me to accept the new job was the promise to be home. It was a $30k jump but I still needed it - it's like a drug after having it for 14+ years. I guess that's another benefit to being in corporate - everyone is so spread out anyway so it's no big deal that you never even meet your manager. I've never met my last 5 or so managers in person.

 

[purbeast0]

There is a reason I don't like large companies. I work for a small/mid company and the company feeling is great. Although it's a bit different than normal jobs in the contract world as I'm working with people on my day-to-day that are in other companies. But I see the owners regularly and have conversations with them, have drinks with them, etc.

I work with people who are in the HUGE companies like Boeing, Leidos, Raytheon, etc, and those people are noticeably more miserable than the people who work for smaller companies. It's funny when you see them interact with the higher ups of their companies, they put on a complete front and then the higher ups barely even know who they are. It's night/day with how it is at my company.

My current company owns though. Glassdoor would say so as well. I've been with them for over 6 years now and my salary has increased by $50k because they treat their employees great. Benefits are unreal compared to most companies. I am really happy with my job for the most part. The only bad part is that I can't work remotely and I'd love to move where it's warm year round. If that was the case, I'd have no reason to ever leave here for the most part.

But I travel to the Caribbean 3-4 times a year so I get my fix and always have that to look forward to.

 

[ultimatebob]

Yeah... corporate jobs kinda suck, especially in IT. I'd say that over half of the work you're doing in any given month is just busy work in order to make an auditor or middle manager happy, and less than half of it is actually producing something of value.

 

[ultimatebob]

My current company owns though. Glassdoor would say so as well.

That said, have you noticed that Glassdoor company reviews aren't as reliable as they used to be? It seems that the HR organizations of some really poorly run companies have realized that the site is costing them quality workers, so they are either bribing employees to write positive reviews or are just making them up.

 

[rh71]

But I see the owners regularly and have conversations with them, have drinks with them, etc.

I work with people who are in the HUGE companies like Boeing, Leidos, Raytheon, etc, and those people are noticeably more miserable than the people who work for smaller companies. It's funny when you see them interact with the higher ups of their companies, they put on a complete front and then the higher ups barely even know who they are. It's night/day with how it is at my company.

Not saying it's the case where you are, but this also has the potential for the decision-makers to play favorites when it comes to pay raises or job cuts. If there's one thing I hate in the real-world, it's kiss-asses doing things to move ahead. It even holds true in my kids youth hockey team - who plays first line, who makes the cut next year despite less ability, etc. Have drinks and smile with the guys who make the calls and you're golden. /puke.

 

[purbeast0]

That said, have you noticed that Glassdoor company reviews aren't as reliable as they used to be? It seems that the HR organizations of some really poorly run companies have realized that the site is costing them quality workers, so they are either bribing employees to write positive reviews or are just making them up.

I haven't paid enough attention to it to know. But my anecdotal experience is that the company I work for is highly ranked on there and the company takes care of us big time and employees are happy here. There isn't too much turnover and you have a lot of people who are here for 10+ years.

Not saying it's the case where you are, but this also has the potential for the decision-makers to play favorites when it comes to pay raises or job cuts. If there's one thing I hate in the real-world, it's kiss-asses doing things to move ahead. It even holds true in my kids youth hockey team - who plays first line, who makes the cut next year despite less ability, etc. Have drinks and smile with the guys who make the calls and you're golden. /puke.

When I say I have drinks with them, I'm talking about at company parties and events and stuff, that they are just as approachable as any peer in the company is. And yeah, that's definitely not the case here, and I know from personal experience.

That said, the first company I worked for out of school, on the sales side of things, that was DEFINITELY the case lol.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Corporations don't care about individual locations and they certainly don't care about employees. They stifle creativity and reward brown nosing. They lie, cheat and, steal but, it's alright because it's technically legal. The minimum requirements by law become the gold standard of business practices.

 

[Fritzo]

I worked a corporate job once...will NEVER do it again. I did contract work for a huge autoparts conglomerate and the things I saw happen were terrifying. CFOs with "private jet allowances" every month that were used for family vacations, using janitorial staff to clean executive homes, using IT to hook up summer home entertainment systems, and the worst: everyone was simply a number on a spreadsheet. One day everyone is making $50K a year, the next day the numbers don't line up and they fire everyone without a blink.

I've worked small businesses ever since. It's been hit and miss, but the relationships and the direct accountability to care for your employees is a big benefit.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I've pretty much only ever worked in Fortune 500 companies with the 4 jobs I've been at.

I guess I would struggle to even know how to find a job for small/medium businesses for my line of work with my level of pay expectations.

Stuff like sales tax is complex for big companies - not so much for small ones.

 

[rh71]

I worked a corporate job once...will NEVER do it again. I did contract work for a huge autoparts conglomerate and the things I saw happen were terrifying. CFOs with "private jet allowances" every month that were used for family vacations, using janitorial staff to clean executive homes, using IT to hook up summer home entertainment systems, and the worst: everyone was simply a number on a spreadsheet. One day everyone is making $50K a year, the next day the numbers don't line up and they fire everyone without a blink.

I've worked small businesses ever since. It's been hit and miss, but the relationships and the direct accountability to care for your employees is a big benefit.

My wife's company was like 75 people, but the CEO would call her to fix his internet via phone at his house. There was a lot more off-hours support responsibility than that too (always "on-call"), otherwise you get bad-mouthed - even by the CTO. I'd say it's more likely to happen at small companies than corporate.

 

[Zeze]

If you're not in corporate can you tell us what you do? I'm all ears.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

If you're not in corporate can you tell us what you do? I'm all ears.

First can you define what is "corporate" in your mind?

I worked for a mega accounting firm - which is ultimately a partnership though, not a corporation.

Or do you just mean a "large company" of 10,000+ employees?