Were they tough working years?

[georgegeorgia]

I'm grateful I have a relatively easy job where I can take umpteen coffee breaks etc being a hospital cleaner

 

But ...just reading on here a poster saying he worked 30 years in a paper mill

 

How someone do that day after day after day 

 

Did any of you do it tough during your "working years" , 

 

Thai expat  You Tuber Steve Rosse says he had to travel from New Mexico to Texas and back every single day to work as there was no work in NM, a ,90 minutes drive each way every day !!!!

 

Or did you have it easy in your job?

Or did you earn every penny ? 

[Photoguy21]

Work is only really tough when you don't like your job.

[noobexpat]

Had (and currently having) it pretty easy. 

Not worked full time since 35.

Now lording it up 555 on my elite visa at 48 in thailand

 

Some folks put in a shift though. I hope reincarnation doesn't exist!

[charleskerins]

WTH does 555 mean?   Heavy Equipment operator /teacher       yes some tough work

[wwest5829]

Fortunate to spent my working life as an educator. Middle school (a manic age where you can see children transforming into young adults … ha! Yes with all the angst. High school … there I saw the real issues coming to the fore … And then 27 years teaching undergraduate survey courses in American and European History. The latter, in addition to the teaching included directing our city’s “Sister City” program. In these years I was quite busy but, the advantage was, I had so many different facets to attend to that I was never bored. Only downside was inadequate compensation and so retired to a lower cost country where I find I feel rather compensated for my 41 years efforts (no thanks to some administrators who pressured to silence my questioning of their ideas).

[novacova]

Tough? No.

Challenging, absolutely yes. The kind of challenge that one lives for. Though retired, still have a level of interaction, input and involvement in my profession.

[ravip]

15 minutes ago, charleskerins said:

WTH does 555 mean?   Heavy Equipment operator /teacher       yes some tough work

WTH does 555 mean?  

555 = Ha Ha Ha = 😂

5 in Thai is ha

[Expat68]

Toughest for me was working 12 hour night shifts and only been allowed 20 minutes break 

[sirineou]

like your job and you will never work one day

I loved my job so much I often went to work even when I did not have to.

[Ralf001]

Some year were physically tough... now they are mentally tough.

[ravip]

Most times the work per se is good, even at extremely busy times.

The toughest part is when you have sluggish, incompetent and boot licking colleagues around.

With a super team, work is bliss!

Edited October 26, 2023 by ravip

[charleskerins]

42 minutes ago, ravip said:

WTH does 555 mean?  

555 = Ha Ha Ha = 😂

5 in Thai is ha

thanks

[BusyB]

2 hours ago, charleskerins said:

WTH does 555 mean?   Heavy Equipment operator /teacher       yes some tough work

 

It's Thai for LOL 555

 

[brianthainess]

The only thing tough in any job I had was, working with Formans or  supervisors who because it seems I had better experience than them, and imo scared of loosing their position, so would go out of their way to set me up to fail. 

[zzaa09]

Steve Rosse?

Oh dear.....

[Will B Good]

Stressful at times....looking at corporate manslaughter charges on two occasions.....not fun.

 

Retired at 39.

[Skeptic7]

Had a great job traveling the world with all top-shelf benefits and perks. 35 year career from which I retired 3.5 years ago at 59. For 25 of those years always said I was overpaid for working so few days per month/year. And for all of those years and still today I say...It sure beat working for a living❗🍻

[Presnock]

13 hours ago, charleskerins said:

WTH does 555 mean?   Heavy Equipment operator /teacher       yes some tough work

555 equals ha ha ha (sound of Thai speaking 555)

[georgegeorgia]

14 hours ago, Expat68 said:

Toughest for me was working 12 hour night shifts and only been allowed 20 minutes break 

Guess it depends what you did ?

[georgegeorgia]

Some people really had hard work jobs , how would you like to be a cop somewhere on a Friday or Saturday night

Some of you really did it tough over your working years ,then there was no work life balance 

[KhunLA]

I had it easy and any job that was difficult or I didn't like, was very short lived, 1 day to 1 week.  Never 'had' to work any job I didn't tolerate at least.

 

Only 1 job was a pain, but not the job, the commute of 2.5 hr each way.  Below Philadelphia, USA, to Newark NJ airport.  Did that for couple months till I for an apartment, though that was about half way.  Still had to allow 1/2 for parking and getting to the airport once there.  The few days I actually drove the work.

 

Advantage was, 20 mins from Princeton airport, and use to fly up to work 4 days a week, so less than an hour drive/flight time, since flight used the gate at EWR next to ours.  Coolest commute ever.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 10/25/2023 at 9:37 PM, georgegeorgia said:

Thai expat  You Tuber Steve Rosse says he had to travel from New Mexico to Texas and back every single day to work as there was no work in NM, a ,90 minutes drive each way every day !!!!

Where I live there is a traffic jam twice a day as hundreds of people do exactly that ( but obviously not in the USA ). They must be screaming as the price of petrol climbs inexorably to unheard of heights.

 

In London I spent 3 hours every working day on a tube train to and from work.

 

One does what one has to do to make money.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Some people really had hard work jobs , how would you like to be a cop somewhere on a Friday or Saturday night

Some of you really did it tough over your working years ,then there was no work life balance 

I had no life when working in London, but I did it for the 5 weeks in Thailand every year.

For the first year when I was working for an agency I worked 4 weeks straight ( every day ) and had one weekend off before going back for another 4 weeks straight.

After that I became a permanent hospital staff so I could live in the accommodation and not spend 3 hours in a tube train.

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, sirineou said:

like your job and you will never work one day

I loved my job so much I often went to work even when I did not have to.

I only "loved" the year I spent in Antarctica. I liked being in the military as it was mainly interesting and saw lots of the world, but the maniacs in charge spoiled it.

Nursing was good at first, but the bullying by managers made it a trial, so for most of my time I just did it for the money. Had I had a better option I'd have left in in a heartbeat. I must have done thousands of hours of unpaid overtime, as we had too much work to do in the paid time. It was a thankless job, but ( in Saudi and the UK ) the money was good and the holidays were ample, so I was able to do what I really wanted and spend as much time in Thailand as possible.

[simon43]

I spent half of my working life as a space and satellite design engineer.  Little stress, great team, great pay.  Then I spent time building/running small hotels in Phuket.  That was the most stressful and tiring time, working in a 24/7 airport hotel and having to put up with the cr*p from mad ex #2.  Then many years teaching mostly in Burma and Laos, no stress, lots of fun.

 

I'm precisely 20 months away from my official UK retirement date.  I only teach science to young students online now, no stress, some tiring times since I teach in both local and EU time-zones.  Overall not a bad working career.

[Expat68]

3 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Guess it depends what you did ?

Prepress (planner/platemaker) in the printing industry. No such thing has I can finish it tomorrow on newspapers

[observer90210]

The toughness of harsh jobs is often realised only when  one quits.  A bit like fear in an extreme situation - it comes only once it's over.

[Adumbration]

Of course the OPs job is easy.  It is make believe.  More fake content.

[EVENKEEL]

4-6 month job assignments. Worked 7 days a week, sometimes every 3rd week could have a day off......sometimes and sometimes no days off. 12-15 hr days were common, but that's how you make money. 

[sirineou]

12 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I only "loved" the year I spent in Antarctica. I liked being in the military as it was mainly interesting and saw lots of the world, but the maniacs in charge spoiled it.

Nursing was good at first, but the bullying by managers made it a trial, so for most of my time I just did it for the money. Had I had a better option I'd have left in in a heartbeat. I must have done thousands of hours of unpaid overtime, as we had too much work to do in the paid time. It was a thankless job, but ( in Saudi and the UK ) the money was good and the holidays were ample, so I was able to do what I really wanted and spend as much time in Thailand as possible.

Antarctica is certainly a place  I would love to see. Sometimes I regret not having gone in the military,but I am not sure I would want to do what might be required from me to do. Nursing . or any medical field in the military would combine  the benefits of being in the military and helping people. 

I am sure you had a great adventure.  

I was   a Union Carpenter in NYC local 212, we specialized in the nessacery concrete forms to build a concrete High-rise building. 

  I started as a line carpenter, moved to site safety management ( a thankless job stuck between the workers trying to do their job, and Management trying to reduce their liability) .

Smallest building  I ever worked on was 19 floors. 

Then moved back on the managements  side of the Highrise  industry and that's where things really became interesting. My best friends son was a part owner of the company and I worked with him almost every day .  My task was to detail the architectural plans and translate them in to  the concrete forms ,necessary to build that building , A bit stressful because on mistake could cost more money than I made in a year, Most of the forms were premade , Doka and Symons, but there was a lot of custom forms that needed to be made in our make up yard, where I supervised ,and got to play with  the equipment all day. Also to deliver the custom   forms and other things we stored at the makeup yard since ,  the shop was union, and the jobsites were also union , so I had to also get a Teamsters book, and a CDL licence so that I could manage the delivery drivers  that were also Teamsters. So I got to play with some of the big trucks, forklifts, Lifting cranes  etc.  

All the carpenters and drivers were great guys. At the end of the day  the owner  of the company who was also a hands on guy and was present at the job sire , would show up at the Makeup yard with a case of beer LOL , and we would go over , what went on at the jb site that day , and what we would need made up for the next days , when to deliver . etc. 

All great guys.  Sometimes  I would "work" seven days a week. 12 hrs a day but I loved it.  , It Did cost me my marriage. But I loved working, loved the camaraderie, the adrenaline rush, the pride of driving around Manhattan and pointing out to my daughter , " I build that building, and that one" and my daughter would joke " You build it all by yourself Dad?)  😂

Been retired for about 5 years now, They have tried to real me back in with offers that would allows me to keep my pensions, and it has been tempting.  I really miss work and the people I worked with,

but many of those people are also retired, and my health and mind is not what it used to be, so I am afraid I will embarrass myself.  Now I play in the dirt at our farm.  One way or another I always manage to get dirt under my fingernails  😂