“Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy”
– Groucho Marx
There are people who would argue that there is no difference between what would be considered a “job” and a “profession”. I would tend to disagree with this argument.
A profession is something that someone throws themselves into lock, stock, and barrel. What they do for a living in many ways defines who they are as a person. There is a certain level of excitement and enthusiasm involved with having a profession. You live and breathe what you do, can’t wait for the next day to begin so you can engage in activities directly related to that profession.
On the other hand, a job is something that a person does to put food in their bellies and a roof over their heads. A job is often something that is soul-crushing. While we may as individuals be proud of what we do , the work we do doesn’t define who we are as individuals. It’s something that we must do in order to take care of the ones we love, to feed ourselves, and something we just have to do in order to get through life in one piece. Many people who have jobs hate what they have to do in order to survive, and if they had a real choice, would probably be doing something else.
In my adult life, I have had both jobs and professions. Ironically, I’ve had both with the current company I work for, all within the space of about four years.
When I first started, and for the first year or so I was excited about doing what I was doing. I worked with great people, great managers and leaders, and believed what I was doing had an impact on peoples lives. People would see the company logo emblazoned across my chest and back, and I was proud to wear that logo. People would ask me, “Are you with (that company name)?”and I would always proudly reply that, yes I am.
Now, when someone asks the question, say, when I’m standing in line to buy a cup of coffee, I cringe. Because I know what’s coming - the complaints. Bad craziness from people who think that if I talk to the guy from that company, shit will get fixed. There I am, relatively innocent, getting abused by a stranger for reasons I have zero control over.
Nope, I no longer have the same feelings as before. Now it’s a job and nothing more. The way I have at my disposal to pay my rent, put food in my wife’s stomach, pay my alimony. A lack of leadership and basic Managerial Cluelessness have caused my faith to wane, hard. Try as I might to focus on the positive and forget about the negative, I’m afraid that it just isn’t working.
– Groucho Marx
There are people who would argue that there is no difference between what would be considered a “job” and a “profession”. I would tend to disagree with this argument.
A profession is something that someone throws themselves into lock, stock, and barrel. What they do for a living in many ways defines who they are as a person. There is a certain level of excitement and enthusiasm involved with having a profession. You live and breathe what you do, can’t wait for the next day to begin so you can engage in activities directly related to that profession.
On the other hand, a job is something that a person does to put food in their bellies and a roof over their heads. A job is often something that is soul-crushing. While we may as individuals be proud of what we do , the work we do doesn’t define who we are as individuals. It’s something that we must do in order to take care of the ones we love, to feed ourselves, and something we just have to do in order to get through life in one piece. Many people who have jobs hate what they have to do in order to survive, and if they had a real choice, would probably be doing something else.
In my adult life, I have had both jobs and professions. Ironically, I’ve had both with the current company I work for, all within the space of about four years.
When I first started, and for the first year or so I was excited about doing what I was doing. I worked with great people, great managers and leaders, and believed what I was doing had an impact on peoples lives. People would see the company logo emblazoned across my chest and back, and I was proud to wear that logo. People would ask me, “Are you with (that company name)?”and I would always proudly reply that, yes I am.
Now, when someone asks the question, say, when I’m standing in line to buy a cup of coffee, I cringe. Because I know what’s coming - the complaints. Bad craziness from people who think that if I talk to the guy from that company, shit will get fixed. There I am, relatively innocent, getting abused by a stranger for reasons I have zero control over.
Nope, I no longer have the same feelings as before. Now it’s a job and nothing more. The way I have at my disposal to pay my rent, put food in my wife’s stomach, pay my alimony. A lack of leadership and basic Managerial Cluelessness have caused my faith to wane, hard. Try as I might to focus on the positive and forget about the negative, I’m afraid that it just isn’t working.
A lot of people I know are bailing out, leaving the sinking ship. Others are actively seeking other ways to pay for shit, and not all are by definition morally upright things. Still others have their resumes handy on their desktops and pounce on opportunities as they become available.
Kinda sad, really.
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