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WORK Right now I am a Certified Nursing Assistant at a nursing home. I'm going to a community college to get my Registered Nurse Degree. Now that I'm in the field I see how badly treated and unappreciated nurses are. I'm reconsidering being an RN because the schooling is terribly hard to get through and they are a lot of waiting list for classes. I just don't know what I should do go for nursing or pick something else to do. I kind of wanted to do something in the medical field. I just don't really know what. I'm confused I guess.
--I think you should stick with nursing. I know it
is hard work, but it is worth it. It can be a very fulfilling job, and the
pay scale has improved immensely. If you enjoy it, you can always continue
your schooling to be a nurse practitioner or physician's assistant.
I have an acquaintance who thinks her work is superior to everyone else's. Then she calls me for hours when she gets stuck and asks "How do I do this?" She did a terrible job for one of her clients, and I felt sorry for him because he paid thousands of dollars for a service and she did such a poor job. So I called him and offered to fix it. Now she is VERY angry with me. It is wrong of her to take money for a job that she doesn't know how to do. As long as the client had paid her in full, and was finished doing business with her, you did not steal a client. I think she is just embarrassed that she lost a client and she is taking it out on you. I feel like I am grasping at straws, trying to decide the best course of action regarding my future. I am 35, single, with 2 daughters, 14 and 19. I have a decent job as office manager of a construction company, but without the second income of my ex-fiancé it doesn't pay the bills. Because I gave up the child support (I was "getting married" and "we didn't need it"), I have the option of staying in my current position and finding a second job and a room mate, OR, there is the option of going back to a company I used to work for, in sales this time, and making enough to pay the bills with only one job and no room mate. The company has offered me the position on several occasions, mostly because they respect me as a good employee, but also because I am well liked by the boss and I'm friends with his boss. I've never done "sales" in respect to construction (only alcohol as a bartender), but I feel comfortable that I would do well, simply because of my personality and drive. People hungry for security often make the best sales people, right? THE PROBLEM: The boss' BOSS....knows I
was romantically interested in him, and would pursue it now if I had half a
chance. There has never been anything remotely physical between us, only
friendship, chemistry and playful 'banter'. HE was interested in me, too, but
after our discussion last night, during which he gave me the clear impression
that he might want to carry our interest further (I left planning which sheets
to have on the bed next week when he comes into town again), he called me
shortly afterwards to say that we "need to keep things professional, because we
may work together again". I took it well and said OK, didn't make a big issue
out of his mixed signals. He still wants to meet for dinner next week, so our
friendship is still intact. I spent last evening trying to figure out if he did
it because he weighed my financial need and his business need against our
personal wants and decided to go with the need, or if it was simply a man thing
where he decided he'd rather leave things as they are, whether for good or just
until he knows I am over my past relationship and not running foolishly into the
next one without looking. -- First of all, get your child support back. I am not getting paid enough at work. After paying for rent, groceries & babysitter I can barely scrape by. My biggest disappointment was my son starting school, and he qualified for free lunch. My boss has more that hinted that he will give me a "big raise" if I will put out. Working hard hasn't made me more money, and he is really good-looking. Should I go for it? NO! He is lying and it isn't worth it. You need to find a new job that will value you and your office skills. I don't enjoy my job at all. It's not horrible, but I'd really like to find something else to do. I have a college degree that relates to what I'm doing now, but I don't have any training or experience in any other fields. I don't even know what it is that I want to do. I'm not particularly good at anything. I just feel like I'm average in every way. I'm not even that good at my job - I'm just good enough to get by. I'm in my late 20s and I don't know what I want to do with my life. How do I figure out what my life's work should be? You are way ahead of the game. If you have a college degree and a job, you are doing better than most people. Getting to work on time and every day will keep you employed. Don't stress. Many people change careers at least once, you don't have to figure it all out now. Don't quit your job until you find a better one. Do you have hobbies? Do you belong to a gym? Have you tried volunteering somewhere? Would it help if you got to know your co-workers better? I have a friend that organizes once-a-month theme lunch at work (Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Greek, or Salad day). Another idea is happy hour once a month, or every Friday. In short, make the best of where you are, until you decide your next move. Here are
some links that might help: -- Volunteer! Take noncredit (or credit) classes. Join (or visit under the guise of joining) a service club (Quota, Rotary, etc.). This will expose you to people and new experiences and will awaken a part of you that has been dormant. How do you find out about these? Read the paper, visit the library and ask the nicest librarian there (some of them are cranky), call your local university extension office, call the local United Way. All these experiences will help you see what you enjoy and maybe more importantly, what you don't enjoy, or need to work at. Plus, you'll network with people who can hook you up with other opportunities or insights. I feel like I am being taken advantage of by one of my friends. I offered to help her get her business going, free of charge. Actually we were supposed to barter for services, but she didn't hold up to her end of it. After two years of this, I started to bill her, but she complained that the bills were too high. I am charging her 1/4 of what I charge my other customers. She is a very demanding client, and needs a lot of attention. She is always asking me to help with her business, but she doesn't help with mine. She offers to recommend my services, to help my business, but it never pans out. I don't want to ruin a friendship, what do I do? Let me get this straight. For two years she got your services for free. Now she is complaining about paying a fraction of your going rate? You need to separate your business from your "friendship". If she is that demanding, just tell her that you don't have time to keep her on as a client. If she can't accept that, than she wasn't much of a friend. I recently graduated with my Master's Degree and got a job in my field. Right away I was able to afford to buy a house. I feel uncomfortable knowing that I have already exceeded my parents income, when they always worked so hard. You should feel proud of yourself, I'm sure your parents are very proud of you. Remember that your parents worked hard to send you to college so you can be successful. So this is also their success. So when you show your parents around your new house, or your new car, make sure you give them credit and say "Mom & Dad, I couldn't have done this without you". I recently graduated with my Master's Degree. I have been getting lucrative job offers left and right. The problem is, my wife hasn't. Although she also has a Master's Degree in the same field, and is highly qualified, she comes from a communist country (China) and just recently because a U.S. citizen. How do we both find jobs in the same city, when she has so little experience? If you are getting that many lucrative job offers, you should use your wife as a bargaining chip. Instead of offering you more and more money, and a bigger benefits package, tell them you will only consider employment with them if they will also hire your wife. I have seen this work well to everyone's benefit on more than one occasion. Your employer will not regret it. I just got my first "real job" after college. I'm making more money than ever before, but it doesn't seem to last very long. I thought having a good job meant you could spend whatever you want and not worry about it. After my car payment, insurance, rent, I don't have as much money left over as I thought I would. Buy the book "Personal Finance for Dummies". Put yourself on a budget, and stick to it. Nobody gets to spend and not worry about it. Fast food, soda machines, bottled water, coffee, are great ways to waste your hard earned money. Buy a car that is a year or two old that isn't too expensive. Never lease a car. Save up your money to buy a house. You can save money by renting out rooms to roommates. I love my job. I have been working there for 6 years, ever since I was in college. My sister just graduated from college, and her starting pay is more than I am making! My mom says I should look for a new job, but I LOVE my job. My boss is my best friend! You spent all that money on college and studied hard so you would have a good career. If you aren't making enough money to support yourself, you need to find a new job. Sometimes companies use the "One Big Family" treatment as an excuse to under-pay you, or they just don't have the money. You can keep in touch with your former boss, have lunch with her occasionally, and even offer to come in the weekends or evenings if they need help with a special project. I work in a small office, and my boss is very religious. She keeps leaving religious pamphlets on my desk, asking if I want to attend a lecture with her, asking if I would like to go to her church service, sharing what she read in the bible that morning. I feel like she is putting a lot of pressure on me, and I just want to do my job. Hand her a copy of the labor laws for small offices. Calmly explain to her while she wants to share, discussing religion in an office setting isn't appropriate and it makes you uncomfortable. Your employer needs to learn she shouldn't preach, if God is in her life, it will show. I Was Told copyright 2006 |