Anyone else hate their job?

So I really hate my job..  and not in the "they pay me crap" sense because actually I get paid PHENOMENALLY well- my last raise was almost insane (something like 20% increase!!).  I hate my job in the sense that I hate what I do and what they expect out of me and I feel like the work we do is pointless. 

I'm a tax accountant at one of the big CPA firms and have been here for about a year.  Basically, either I am bored out of my MIND with nothing to do (hmm like today!) or I'm so busy and working such long hours that I want to cry!  It really sucks because since I am still just a lowly staff, I never have any idea of what my schedule is going to be and thus what time I might get to leave in the evening.  I really really love these 6:00 aerobics classes at my gym, but unless I leave my office at exactly 5:00, I can't get home and changed in time for the classes!  I get so mad when I'm forced to stay late and can't get my work out in.

See, at a firm like this, they expect this job to be your life, for you to be available at all times.  I HATE IT!  I have a magnet from The Office on my desk that says "If this were my career, I'd have to throw myself in front of a train."  That's exactly how I feel because even when I do actually have a good amount of work (as in have enough to keep me busy, but can leave at 5), I feel like it is the most pointless work EVER!  I mean, who am I benefitting, how am I improving the world by doing this random company's taxes?  Half the time it's not even like I'm actually preparing the taxes, it's some other even dumber crap that has to be done. 

We have all these meetings about what you need to be doing to make manager or partner and I just think who on EARTH would want to do that?  I can't wait to get out of here, but the problem is, I don't know what I want to do instead!  I feel like I will hate any job that has anything to do with accounting, but for the past 5 years (if you count college), my goal has been to become a CPA.  And now I just feel like if I stick with accounting, I'm going to be miserable all my life... And let me tell you, I am really tired of being miserable!  Sometimes the next year and a half that I will have to work here to put my husband through school seems like an eternity.  It gets so I have like a sick feeling in my stomach on Sunday evenings when I realize that yet again I have five looong days ahead of me before another break.

So I guess I just wanted to throw this out there and see if anyone else has felt this way, especially in the accounting field, and found a way to get through it or has found a better career to switch into!

Thanks for reading my rant!

I was a software consultant at an accounting firm and had the same scenario.  The money was outstanding, but you never knew how late you would be working any given day, or when you'd be called in the middle of the night to go work on a problem.  At 4:55, you wouldn't know yet if you could leave at 5 or had to stick around till 11.  It was the uncertainty that finally sent me packing.  Now I work in-house for a former client, doing essentially the same job I did for them as a consultant, for nearly half the pay.  But I haven't worked more than a 40-hour week in 5 years!  Money isn't everything, you have to enjoy your life too and I still don't regret the decision I made.  I do miss the money though!!!

ok, I just finished my accounting degree, but decided about a year ago that I really have no desire to get my CPA.  I want to get into private accounting, working for a company.  I don't want to have to sort through someone else's stuff, or do mundane stuff all day that doesn't seem to matter.  At least by working for a company, I will know what the benefits of what I do are.

As far as hating a job, yes I do.  I'm working a temp job at an insurance company, and although my boss isn't a bad person, we have very different ideas on how a company should be run.  That and since I'm a "temp" (I've been here for 3 months) I don't have a lot to do.  And it drives me nuts to be bored!

I have an idea for you though...why don't you pack a workout bag to leave in your car so you can head straight to the gym?  That way you'll up your chances of making it to your class!

I could've written your post last year!  You sound EXACTLY like me!  I spent two years before college working in the oil and gas field.  Then I spent all four years of college and the four years after in the same field.  I thought I wanted to be a geologist, but I realized in college that I hated it.  The only reason I didn't change my major was because I didn't want to deal with my mom being angry about me "wasting" her money.  So, I've worked in a string of geology related jobs and hated all of them.  I made a ton of money at my last job, but I just didn't enjoy it.  The people were wonderful, but I had the same feeling you're experiencing.  I felt like everything I did was pointless.  I'd work on a prospect, and then they'd decide not to drill there, or move to another area instead.  All the work I'd done became useless.  Not to mention, I had a 9 month old that I never got to see because I was always at work.  I decided to quit at the beginning of the year, and I've been staying home with my son.  I still want to go back to work, but I have to find another field.  I'm trying to figure out what I'd be happy doing, and I think I want to do something totally different.  I'm kind of thinking of nursing or physical therapy.  I like the idea of helping people and feeling like I'm actually making a difference.  My mom thinks I should go into accounting.  LOL! I really have no interest in it, and  after reading your post, I don't think that's a good idea. :) 

I am with you.  I hate my job, but I am getting paid exceptionally well, can't complain about that.  But I hate the work itself.  I am an engineer but find that I am miserable.  I liked getting my degree, it was always a challenge, and I always had some one to go to when I couldn't figure out how to do something but now, if I am not doing lamo work, I am trying to do calculations that I have no idea how to do, but feel like I should, and there is no one to go to for help, becuase it is all on my shoulders, I am the only one doing them.  I am frustrated.  How to I calculate the amount of bending allowed in a pipe without over stressing the pipe?  That is my current quest that I have no clue how to do!  Help!!!

I don't know the first thing about your particular field, but let me tell you this: life is wayyyy too short to hate what you do for a living!

You will spend more time working at a job, than raising children or being with a spouse or doing other extracurricular activities. You should enjoy what you do. Doesn't have to be fun every minute of the day, but if it's torture and you HATE it, that is a serious drain on you. No matter how much it pays. Yes, you have to make enough to keep a roof over your head... but if you do what you love, financial compromises become easier. And often, the financial rewards just seem to flow to you.

You're still young; it's not too late to go back to school, retrain, try something different. My DH is 44 and he's got several degrees and has tried several careers on for size, it's one of the things I love about him... ultimately he figured out that he is most happy being a student while working in an academic environment. He simply loves to learn.

It's funny you posted this now, because I've been depressed lately about my own job. However, I do really love my field. I just feel ... burned out in my current position. I can't get motivated. Yet I can't afford to quit my job and go back to school, I have teenagers and a retirement to fund.

You're YOUNG! You can still do that.  Do it now, while you can. Be happy. Find something you love that makes you can't wait for that alarm clock to go off in the morning!

If you're not sure what that is, maybe it's time to take a break. Can you? I don't know your situation, but often a temporary break can do wonders to focus you and help you listen to your heart.