Psychot jeffhergert I do love my job, most of the time. But I've come to the conclusion that I don't love the company. About 19 years ago, I had a chance to go to work for the Iowa Interstate RR. I didn't, but for a while afterwards I wondered if I made the right decision. Those feelings faded. Now I'm again wondering if I made the right decision back then. Jeff If you don't mind sharing, what factors caused you to stay with Uncle Pete and not switch over to Iowa Interstate?
jeffhergert I do love my job, most of the time. But I've come to the conclusion that I don't love the company. About 19 years ago, I had a chance to go to work for the Iowa Interstate RR. I didn't, but for a while afterwards I wondered if I made the right decision. Those feelings faded. Now I'm again wondering if I made the right decision back then. Jeff
I do love my job, most of the time. But I've come to the conclusion that I don't love the company.
About 19 years ago, I had a chance to go to work for the Iowa Interstate RR. I didn't, but for a while afterwards I wondered if I made the right decision. Those feelings faded. Now I'm again wondering if I made the right decision back then.
Jeff
If you don't mind sharing, what factors caused you to stay with Uncle Pete and not switch over to Iowa Interstate?
We were in the process of buying our house in Ogden, IA. To go to work for the IAIS would've probably required moving. Their closest terminal was Newton, IA and they gave a 90 minute call to work. That would've been close timing in good weather.
I had put in applications for them for years before. Even the first couple years with UP, I kept them current in case I was furloughed. I was to the point where I was pretty safe from being furloughed, so I hadn't renewed one with them for over a year and a half. They went through their old applications and had found mine.
Had I gone to them, I would be about at the top of their seniority roster now. They also moved their terminal out of Newton, IA. They built a new shop and yard complex between Homestead and South Amana, IA. The area I'm originally from.
Convicted OneI could tell you a long story from another job I once had, but let me just summarize it briefly by saying some employers will push push push for productivity, and when you finally hit your quota they reward you by laying off team members.
While I was in USAF, at one unit we had an in-house project building GATR racks. Not a complicated job, but kept us busy when we weren't on the road.
One fellow got pretty good at building the racks, to the point where he was building one a day. Then he got even better and figured out he could build five racks in four days. At that point, he went to his supervisors and asked if he could have Fridays off if he finished the five racks in four days. Not believing he could do it, they agreed.
So he did it, at which point management said that if he could finish five racks in four days, why not work on Friday, too, and build a sixth rack.
Last I heard of that story was that he was down to one rack a week...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
When I was in college, I rode a bus home at night from Cincinnati to Greenhills Ohio. This was an Ohio Bus Lines operation that grew from routes that the Cincinnati & Lake Erie Interurban had. Running from Cincinnati to Dayton and Hamilton etc. The regular bus driver was very professional and enjoyed people, and his job and it showed. I always thought of how lucky it was to enjoy what you do. And how that feeds back to how you do it. I don't know whether he had any issues with management or the bus maintenance or his union. If you rode with him once, he remembered where you got off and if you didn't get up to get off there on your next trip, he would inquire if you wanted that stop this time. His route included the last two round trips of the day to Greenhills and he knew all the regulars and if someone was not where they usually boarded when he got there, he would dwell a little and look for them. I have known many men who loved what they did but many companies today don't respect loyalty or extra effort and demand strict adherance to rules and sometimes seem to want to squeeze the employees to do more than is reasonable. On the other hand, I have seen employes who have no respect for rules or the companys property, or of the customers and their fellow employees.
I worked for a company that had a good reputation, treated me well, gave me what I needed to do the work I did, and had good benefits. Some of the benefits were due to the negotiations with the unions that worked for the company. (I was management) And I would say that I liked almost all of the union men I worked with. So I liked my career.
Psychot Pride in a job well done is one of the things I live for,
You are certainly entitled to set that as one of your (own) priorities, however, you seem to be missing that not everyone shares that priority.
I could tell you a long story from another job I once had, but let me just summarize it briefly by saying some employers will push push push for productivity, and when you finally hit your quota they reward you by laying off team members.
Lessons such as that are hard to unlearn, and tend to become institutional knowledge instead. So people learn to produce "just enough" to survive the system....can you really fault them?
BaltACDThe ideal job is doing something and getting paid that you would enjoy doing, even if you didn't get paid. There are those people and they have those 'jobs'.
Sometimes, getting paid for it takes the fun out of it. People expect you to show up and perform on their schedule, not yours.
Knew a woman who divorced her husband, then later moved back in with him, without remarrying. All the comforts of home, yet either one could walk out if and when they felt like it.
I had a similar experience. The executive VP at Fields told me (a young clothing buyer) one day, "Charlie, ask yourself this. Do you have passion for this? If so, great. If not, you'll do OK but you'll never get to the top and you'll end up with regrets, like me." True but sad.
Flintlock76As far as the job is concerned, a manager I had thirty years ago summed it up pretty well, at least as far as I'm concerned... "Do I love my job? Well, I like my job. I think if you like your job you're ahead of the game. Nobody loves to work, at least nobody I know! Wouldn't we all rather be playing than working?" Sound reasoning. At least I liked the job I had the past thirty years!
"Do I love my job? Well, I like my job. I think if you like your job you're ahead of the game. Nobody loves to work, at least nobody I know! Wouldn't we all rather be playing than working?"
Sound reasoning. At least I liked the job I had the past thirty years!
The ideal job is doing something and getting paid that you would enjoy doing, even if you didn't get paid. There are those people and they have those 'jobs'.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
charlie hebdo Dave: I'm sure it wasn't meant to be an all-inclusive list, but there are quite a few other countries that are similar in terms of freedoms.
Dave: I'm sure it wasn't meant to be an all-inclusive list, but there are quite a few other countries that are similar in terms of freedoms.
I'm sure there are, but David had to cut off the list somewhere!
As far as the job is concerned, a manager I had thirty years ago summed it up pretty well, at least as far as I'm concerned...
Amen for this thread also.
daveklepper The people who are faced with one-third of their awake hours devoted to drugery still have a better life than much of the World's population for whom almost all of awake hours are spent in drugery. A subsistance farmer in Africa? A rice-grower in China? A Yadzi refugee? A Christian girl torn from her parents by Islamic fundamentalist for prostetution? A Chinese Christian wife whose husband is in a concentration slave-work camp and is forced to have a child by a Chinese atheist? At least in the USA and Canada and the UK and Israel it is possible to enjoy the music one wishes, practice and/or view the sports one wants, vote in the hope, sometimes realized, that the person elected will truly represent one, walk the street in relative safety, go to the house of worship that meets one's needs and/or belief system or not go, travel by modes that one can afford, etc. Lots of places in the world these freedoms don't exist.
The people who are faced with one-third of their awake hours devoted to drugery still have a better life than much of the World's population for whom almost all of awake hours are spent in drugery. A subsistance farmer in Africa? A rice-grower in China? A Yadzi refugee? A Christian girl torn from her parents by Islamic fundamentalist for prostetution? A Chinese Christian wife whose husband is in a concentration slave-work camp and is forced to have a child by a Chinese atheist?
At least in the USA and Canada and the UK and Israel it is possible to enjoy the music one wishes, practice and/or view the sports one wants, vote in the hope, sometimes realized, that the person elected will truly represent one, walk the street in relative safety, go to the house of worship that meets one's needs and/or belief system or not go, travel by modes that one can afford, etc. Lots of places in the world these freedoms don't exist.
Amen.
daveklepper They (we?) may have pride, a sense of self-worth through children, hobbies, cooking for friends, charity work, politics, etc. I feel fortunate that I had work that was interesting and economically sufficieint, plus the railfan hobby and music, but I regret I did not have the pleasure and pride in a family. So I can understand a person who has all those pleasures and pride but does not derive anything except economic self-sufficiency from his or her work.
They (we?) may have pride, a sense of self-worth through children, hobbies, cooking for friends, charity work, politics, etc.
I feel fortunate that I had work that was interesting and economically sufficieint, plus the railfan hobby and music, but I regret I did not have the pleasure and pride in a family. So I can understand a person who has all those pleasures and pride but does not derive anything except economic self-sufficiency from his or her work.
I can understand having sources of pride in one's life other than work - but given that at least a third of each weekday is spent at work, why not be the best you can at it? Pride in a job well done is one of the things I live for, whether it be at my job, doing DYI in my house, or playing sports.
And getting to hear, and eventually even participate in lots of wonderful music.
Come to think of it, a lot of my loving the profession of architectural acoustics derived from more than the actual design work, testing, inspecting (sometimes in hazadous or and/or dirty locations), writing reports, doing calculations, eventually with computer help, programming computers, etc, and was also due to:
meeting some wonderful people and making new friendships
train travel to and from job sites and client meetings, with the scenery, find dining-car meals, and the above on the trains
visits to distant family members and friends paid for by travel necessary foro the job, including trips to Israel
On one occasion I was with Richard Horstmann and Lehigh Valley 353 all the way from Portland, OR to New York (his trip originated in Seattle, but I missed the Seattle - Portland portion) returning from two consecutive jobs in Portland, where I also visited my cousin Kenneth Lewis. Much ealier, a Reading Rail Ramble was included Philadelphia - Harrisburg as part of my travel to Pittsburgh for a project.
I worked there 1972-1974. First in Atlanta Yard, then out in Lithonia. It was all black first-generation EMD Geeps (GP7s mainly), and some SW9 switchers in the yard.
I still have dreams that I go back to work on the railroad. In my dreams it's still the early 70s. And there always guys who are not thrilled to see me come back!
BaltACD Lithonia Operator Makes me want to climb up in the basement and find my ETT.
Lithonia Operator Makes me want to climb up in the basement and find my ETT.
Atlanta 1963 according to the source I got the photo from.
Wow! Thanks, Balt, for linking that! Covered wagons were long gone when I worked for the GARR. Although I have seen photos of a few, I have NEVER seen one in color.
Is that in Atlanta? Great photo.
Lithonia OperatorMakes me want to climb up in the basement and find my ETT.
I think it is reasonable to expect any employee to be loyal, dedicated, and perform their duties to the best of their abilities. I have little patience for sandbaggers.
But at the same time, I recognize that not everyone is an "A-teamer". I was good enough at what I did that the company I worked for sent me around to it's various offices to help sort out problems at underperfoming locations. And yes, I did derive a sense of pride being that person. But success for me was being able to teach the personnel on location how to deal with those problems more effectively, not to fault them for ineptness. It takes very little talent to find problems and make a spectacle over them. Finding what is causing the problem for some branch office in timbuktuu and helping them over come it.....is more worth my time than fault finding.
I often felt that the other side of that was, forever after home office could blame me if such problems persisted....that may well have even been their motive to begin with. Which was a sterling incentive to me to get the problem fixed in such a way that it stayed fixed, so I wouldn't have to go back.
Makes me want to climb up in the basement and find my ETT.
charlie hebdo I guess the member who questioned whether you were a railroader now has a sufficient degree of proof that you were.
I guess the member who questioned whether you were a railroader now has a sufficient degree of proof that you were.
If you or any of the members here (friend or foe) collect memorabilia such as old pay stubs. I have all my NY NH & H stubs from 1963-1968 (the end) send a SASE and I will send you one.
charlie hebdo For many people, their jobs are not intrinsically rewarding. They work to live, not live to work. Those folks who really love their work are fortunate.
For many people, their jobs are not intrinsically rewarding. They work to live, not live to work. Those folks who really love their work are fortunate.
In spite of Amtrak and their destructive, dangerous managerial and operating procedures I enjoyed my job. I never lost the esprit de corps that was instilled in me many years ago when the railroad was run by railroaders. Doing my job well gave me a sense of accomplishment and pride. When folks ask if I miss my job I tell them I miss what it was not what it has become.
I still have my first pay stub.
I've always preferred to be on a project, as opposed to maintenance.
With a project, there's an end in sight, and the satisfaction of having completed it.
With maintenance you know that you'll be back again, and again, and again. That's one reason I retired when I did. The project was over and now I was changing passwords every two months on a system with no outside connection.
In our society there is a great value placed on "loving" one's job. I think a lot of people, when asked, will say, "I love my job," because they think that's what they are supposed to say.
I had a great career as a self-employed commercial/editorial/stock photographer. If I had it to do over, I probably wouldn't change much. But did I "love" my job? No.
I love my wife, sex, our cat, sailing, railfanning, watching IndyCar and Formula 1 on TV, playing/hearing music, good food, good beer, and spending time with good friends.
I think of the people who say they love their jobs, about 80% are exaggerating or just plain lying. I have met very few people who seemed to truly love their jobs.
OTOH, I have known a lot of people who have/had rich full lives, but did not particularly like their jobs. The happiest guy I know was an auditor for the state of New York. He worked hard, saved every dime he could and invested it, and became quite wealthy. On the first day he was eligible to retire he was out the door, and he never looked back.
Despite not loving my job, I got a lot of satisfaction from it, and most of the time I gave it my best effort.
No one should feel they are not complete if they do not love their jobs. There are many different ways to proceed through life.
Regarding railroads (trying to vaguely stay on topic), I'm glad I got to be a railroader for a couple of years. I enjoyed a lot of it. Hated other parts. Was so-so about many aspects. Never "loved" it. But would never trade away having had that experience.
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