So I recently (several months ago) left my job with the government of almost a decade for the private sector. While it wasn't the only or the biggest reason in my decision to leave, I had just been passed over for a supervisory position for someone that had been at our shop for less than 2 years (even though I have significantly more technical knowledge and experience, I'm not in the “good ol' boy's” club).
My new job is absolutely amazing. While I really enjoyed my last position, this new one beats it on almost every level, and I'm doing essentially the same job.
My daily routine consists of:
- Unlock the shop at 5am
- Make coffee
- Check my email and get the work list for the week from my boss (via email)
- Hang out on reddit until my coworker comes in a few hours after I get there (theres only two of us, and we have to have two employees on the floor to work, OSHA rules)
- Repeat step 2 while he does step 3
- Maybe do some work if there's anything actually in the yard (just because it's scheduled doesn't mean its available). More often than not its less than 2 hours of actual work. Some days there is literally nothing to do.
- Have lunch.
- Go home around 1 in the afternoon and have the rest of the day to do whatever I want.
As long as everything is running, my boss is happy as a clam. And I'm making significantly more than I was at my last job for significantly less work. It feels unreal to have landed this job, or that I'm not somehow screwing it up (I'm used to working my ass off every day). My boss actually texted me the other week and said that he was really happy with how I was doing and he's glad to have me onboard.
I haven't ever felt this valued as an employee, the other benefits the company has are great: they've already paid for a bunch of certifications for me, and every one I've completed I've gotten a raise, I get annual raises regardless, and a bunch of annual stipends for tools and safety items. It's seriously bonkers, because this is a huge corporation, but I feel genuinely happy to be here, and actually feel valued.
tl;dr: Quit old job, have new job, I make way more for way less work, feel valued by company.