Underemployed...on purpose.

**Xavier** · 07-09-2012, 02:07 PM

I am currently employed at a factory earning minimum wage...and as I sit on break and everyone is complaining about their job...I can't help feel something is wrong with me because I actually enjoy it! I have a Bachelor of Science in Education (i.e. Early Childhood Teaching Degree) but I find teaching absolutely exhausting....I was absolutely miserable and gained alot of weight last time I attempted a job utilizing my degree. So there I sit, a freak who could be making twice as much in a comfortable air conditioned school building...unable to bitch along with everyone else.

So the contemplation...is underemployment a common infp thing? Also, did anyone else wast $40,000 on a degree they wish they could simply return?

**mieu** · 07-09-2012, 02:13 PM

It's human nature to gravitate towards a state of happiness. Your current job fulfills your survival needs, and is low-pressure. You are happy, and that's all there is to it.

I went for my degree and am using it in a career, but looking back, I sometimes actually miss my old retail management job, where I was paid to help people with silly little things, let my mind wander while doing easy manual tasks, and basically 'hang out' on the job with a bunch of really fun people. I find a lot of fulfillment in meeting the challenge of my current job, but I didn't dislike my old job (essentially I went for a degree because I knew I'd be bored with retail, and out of a desire to create an asset of myself that would in turn open up many more opportunities and cushion against pitfalls).

'Underemployment' is subjective to whatever arbitrary standard you're holding yourself to. Your definition of it is not universal.

**DeaconSyre** · 07-09-2012, 04:06 PM

I'm not sure if it's an INFP thing, but there are many things in my life that I "can't" complain about because they are only that way because of my own choices. For instance I'm broke but I'm also self-employed. Can't really complain about that...

I think my therapist might like me to complain about those types of things but if I try my mind goes blank. I can't figure out a sentence that is me complaining about my own actions. See even in writing it's not coming out right. It's all... off.

**The Dan Keizer** · 07-09-2012, 04:14 PM

I don't know about underemployed but I definitely have two jobs that are beneath my abilities, are low stress and I love them.

**Vermillion** · 07-09-2012, 04:18 PM

	Originally Posted by Xavier To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	$40,000 on a degree they wish they could simply return?

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. I'm sure my brother feels the same way. He's been out of college for over a year and hasn't even gotten a job interview.

**reginoid** · 07-09-2012, 04:38 PM

Originally Posted by Xavier
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I am currently employed at a factory earning minimum wage...and as I sit on break and everyone is complaining about their job...I can't help feel something is wrong with me because I actually enjoy it! I have a Bachelor of Science in Education (i.e. Early Childhood Teaching Degree) but I find teaching absolutely exhausting....I was absolutely miserable and gained alot of weight last time I attempted a job utilizing my degree. So there I sit, a freak who could be making twice as much in a comfortable air conditioned school building...unable to bitch along with everyone else.

So the contemplation...is underemployment a common infp thing? Also, did anyone else wast $40,000 on a degree they wish they could simply return?

No, it's not. Just because you want less out of life that doesn't mean we all do. "Less" to you, of course, obviously means "more." But I guess your not going to post anything anytime soon about how much your life sucks and how you wish that you could get paid doing ideally nothing at all.

**Xavier** · 07-09-2012, 05:23 PM

	Originally Posted by reginoid To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	No, it's not. Just because you want less out of life that doesn't mean we all do. "Less" to you, of course, obviously means "more." But I guess your not going to post anything anytime soon about how much your life sucks and how you wish that you could get paid doing ideally nothing at all.

I was a housewife for 14 years so...I did basically get paid to do pretty much nothing...except enjoy watching my children grow.
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Honestly, I don't even have to work now...my husband still pays for everything, my money earned is mine to blow on whatever...but I got bored and actually enjoy working hard....so that's why I am where I am. "More" out of life does mean "contentment" to me...although having two vehicles and a house which are paid off is plenty for a 34 year old. What more could I want? So yeah, no posts about a sucky life coming anytime soon.

**katatonic** · 07-09-2012, 05:47 PM

I'm in a similar situation, although I never went to college. I don't really view a "career" as equating happiness. I'd rather have a low key job, that affords me my sanity in order to have a happier home life, than a high stress career that I may end up resenting because of the money and time it took to get there.

**karenann33** · 07-09-2012, 07:23 PM

I've done both. I've gone for more and I've had/done less. Everyone is different but for me I have chosen less money for less stress.

I don't regret my college education but that's only because it didn't cost anywhere near $40K. Ouch!

**watersign** · 07-09-2012, 09:03 PM

The more a job pays, the worse it usually is.

One of the best jobs I ever had was cleaning carpets..I literally drove around my home state one summer while on break from college and drank / smoked weed with a bunch of criminals all summer. I became good friends with them because I spent so much time with them and i'm a racist asshole. It didn't pay shit, the work was hard and the hours were long but I slept good every night because I put in an honest days work.

Alot of people leave good jobs to work shitty ones because they don't want to deal with the nonsense that 'real' jobs actually are.

**plotthickens** · 07-09-2012, 09:17 PM

You may want to look into Voluntary Simplicity. You're pretty much already there, just don't have a name for it.

**Purgatid** · 07-10-2012, 03:49 AM

The problem with happiness is that we strive to make ourselves miserable. This is so because of the normalization process. People who have been paralyzed in an accident and lottery winners report the same level of happiness after 2 years. Happiness is not a function of the surroundings per definition. Countries with terrible conditions report greater happiness than those living in better conditions. This means that getting a better paying job, or better working conditions will only make you happier for a while. Bad jobs are jobs where problems renew often, for an example heavy jobs where one physical ailment after another pop up due to the job. In short - the better paying job is not conductive towards your happiness, it will never be.

I too have had better paying jobs than the current one. But this job is in line with what makes me happy, therefore I have no desire to switch. we believe we "aught to be" switching jobs to the better paying one, because society is still stuck on the medieval mindset when defining a good job. In the past, a better paying job meant less problems. Pay today generally is enough to make a living and be safe, thus it no longer solves problems, yet we still strive for it because society's stuck on the idea, and its repetition is hammered into our minds from birth.

You just keep the job you got now. If it makes you happy, do it. Don't worry about the money - focus on having goof relations with other people. Focus on eating well, focus on experiencing the world. These are generally the tools for happiness.

**topquark** · 07-10-2012, 09:36 AM

I have a master's degree in physics but I do a job that only requires me to be able to write competently in English. I don't regret my education because I don't intend to ever earn enough to be obliged to make repayments on the student loan, so it was effectively free.

**Firebrand** · 07-10-2012, 01:30 PM

I've intentionally backed out of a lucrative career in IT doing programming and making $30+ and hour to far lower paying jobs. Mainly, because all the office politics and drama is exasperating. Not to mention, Web-app-development is akin to monkeys banging on pots and pans with sticks or going into your living room and combining all your technology with the software equivalent of duct-tape and twine. Security guard jobs I've had have required more thinking than that. I'd rather saw my own balls off with a chainsaw than do that crap-work. Money is not a worthy trade for misery.

**curiousgeorge01** · 07-10-2012, 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by Xavier
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I was a housewife for 14 years so...I did basically get paid to do pretty much nothing...except enjoy watching my children grow.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Honestly, I don't even have to work now...my husband still pays for everything, my money earned is mine to blow on whatever...but I got bored and actually enjoy working hard....so that's why I am where I am. "More" out of life does mean "contentment" to me...although having two vehicles and a house which are paid off is plenty for a 34 year old. What more could I want? So yeah, no posts about a sucky life coming anytime soon.

Sounds like you have it all: no money problems, low stress job, and a family. I'd be happy! Enjoy yourself! Life is good.

I live in NYC, I'll be paying off my 500K, 500 sq foot apartment when I'm 45 with no kids and wife. LOL.

07-09-2012, 02:07 PM	#1
Xavier Member [02%] MBTI: INFP Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 109	I am currently employed at a factory earning minimum wage...and as I sit on break and everyone is complaining about their job...I can't help feel something is wrong with me because I actually enjoy it! I have a Bachelor of Science in Education (i.e. Early Childhood Teaching Degree) but I find teaching absolutely exhausting....I was absolutely miserable and gained alot of weight last time I attempted a job utilizing my degree. So there I sit, a freak who could be making twice as much in a comfortable air conditioned school building...unable to bitch along with everyone else. So the contemplation...is underemployment a common infp thing? Also, did anyone else wast $40,000 on a degree they wish they could simply return?
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07-09-2012, 02:13 PM	#2
mieu Core Member [183%] $/)^3^(\$ MBTI: xNTx Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 7,340	It's human nature to gravitate towards a state of happiness. Your current job fulfills your survival needs, and is low-pressure. You are happy, and that's all there is to it. I went for my degree and am using it in a career, but looking back, I sometimes actually miss my old retail management job, where I was paid to help people with silly little things, let my mind wander while doing easy manual tasks, and basically 'hang out' on the job with a bunch of really fun people. I find a lot of fulfillment in meeting the challenge of my current job, but I didn't dislike my old job (essentially I went for a degree because I knew I'd be bored with retail, and out of a desire to create an asset of myself that would in turn open up many more opportunities and cushion against pitfalls). 'Underemployment' is subjective to whatever arbitrary standard you're holding yourself to. Your definition of it is not universal.
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07-09-2012, 04:06 PM	#3
DeaconSyre Member [28%] MBTI: INFP Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 1,123	I'm not sure if it's an INFP thing, but there are many things in my life that I "can't" complain about because they are only that way because of my own choices. For instance I'm broke but I'm also self-employed. Can't really complain about that... I think my therapist might like me to complain about those types of things but if I try my mind goes blank. I can't figure out a sentence that is me complaining about my own actions. See even in writing it's not coming out right. It's all... off.
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07-09-2012, 04:14 PM	#4
The Dan Keizer Core Member [110%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 4,402	I don't know about underemployed but I definitely have two jobs that are beneath my abilities, are low stress and I love them.
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07-09-2012, 05:47 PM	#8
katatonic Member [26%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 1,043	I'm in a similar situation, although I never went to college. I don't really view a "career" as equating happiness. I'd rather have a low key job, that affords me my sanity in order to have a happier home life, than a high stress career that I may end up resenting because of the money and time it took to get there.
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07-09-2012, 07:23 PM	#9
karenann33 Member [31%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 1,278	I've done both. I've gone for more and I've had/done less. Everyone is different but for me I have chosen less money for less stress. I don't regret my college education but that's only because it didn't cost anywhere near $40K. Ouch!
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07-09-2012, 09:03 PM	#10
watersign New Member [01%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 15	The more a job pays, the worse it usually is. One of the best jobs I ever had was cleaning carpets..I literally drove around my home state one summer while on break from college and drank / smoked weed with a bunch of criminals all summer. I became good friends with them because I spent so much time with them and i'm a racist asshole. It didn't pay shit, the work was hard and the hours were long but I slept good every night because I put in an honest days work. Alot of people leave good jobs to work shitty ones because they don't want to deal with the nonsense that 'real' jobs actually are.
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07-09-2012, 09:17 PM	#11
plotthickens Core Member [661%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 26,450	You may want to look into Voluntary Simplicity. You're pretty much already there, just don't have a name for it.
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07-10-2012, 03:49 AM	#12
Purgatid Veteran Member [63%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 2,548	The problem with happiness is that we strive to make ourselves miserable. This is so because of the normalization process. People who have been paralyzed in an accident and lottery winners report the same level of happiness after 2 years. Happiness is not a function of the surroundings per definition. Countries with terrible conditions report greater happiness than those living in better conditions. This means that getting a better paying job, or better working conditions will only make you happier for a while. Bad jobs are jobs where problems renew often, for an example heavy jobs where one physical ailment after another pop up due to the job. In short - the better paying job is not conductive towards your happiness, it will never be. I too have had better paying jobs than the current one. But this job is in line with what makes me happy, therefore I have no desire to switch. we believe we "aught to be" switching jobs to the better paying one, because society is still stuck on the medieval mindset when defining a good job. In the past, a better paying job meant less problems. Pay today generally is enough to make a living and be safe, thus it no longer solves problems, yet we still strive for it because society's stuck on the idea, and its repetition is hammered into our minds from birth. You just keep the job you got now. If it makes you happy, do it. Don't worry about the money - focus on having goof relations with other people. Focus on eating well, focus on experiencing the world. These are generally the tools for happiness.
Purgatid is offline post a comment

07-10-2012, 09:36 AM	#13
topquark Member [20%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 839	I have a master's degree in physics but I do a job that only requires me to be able to write competently in English. I don't regret my education because I don't intend to ever earn enough to be obliged to make repayments on the student loan, so it was effectively free.
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07-10-2012, 01:30 PM	#14
Firebrand Member [41%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,640	I've intentionally backed out of a lucrative career in IT doing programming and making $30+ and hour to far lower paying jobs. Mainly, because all the office politics and drama is exasperating. Not to mention, Web-app-development is akin to monkeys banging on pots and pans with sticks or going into your living room and combining all your technology with the software equivalent of duct-tape and twine. Security guard jobs I've had have required more thinking than that. I'd rather saw my own balls off with a chainsaw than do that crap-work. Money is not a worthy trade for misery.
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