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stratozyck
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

Joined: 28 Jun 2022
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 366
Location: US

31 Oct 2022, 8:37 am

I have a job that I don't think should exist. Its a great career for me I cannot complain. I got an advanced degree and all - people assume I must be doing something important.

In case you are wondering, I work in a regulatory banking role. We write reports that a regulatory agency reads and they write smaller reports on our reports.

If I had dictatorial power over the country, I would change the laws so that this job doesn't exist. It's a complete waste of time.

I go through long stretches of having not much to do. I can't complain with remote work now. It used to be really awful when I had to go in every day. We'd have long meetings and I struggled to stay awake during them. Now when I dial into a useless meeting I can be doing something else.

I would feel bad for being so lazy but they pay consultants sometimes to do our job and they pay them 5x at least per report. So, I feel like I am saving them money.

At the beginning of my career, the salary wasn't really worth it because I had to live in a big city. Even when I got raises, the commuting often made me regret my career choices. But since remote work I've not been commuting regularly and I have more time to do things I want to do. Its the perfect career for someone who doesn't take it seriously. I'm not saying don't do your work on time - I am saying this job shouldn't be your identity.

Occasionally we get new coworkers who aren't jaded or haven't realized what we do is made up work, and they take it seriously for a year or so. The ones that don't grow out of it get annoying. We had one guy that was like that and thankfully he left.

See - you have to realize that the bank doesn't WANT us to work hard. If we work hard - we actually COST the bank more money. The ideal thing is we do just enough to keep the regulators off our backs, but not enough to cause the bank to spend more money. The guy I mentioned had this perfectionist attitude and everyone was glad when he left. He was causing more work for everyone, which leads to higher costs.



shortfatbalduglyman
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 4 Mar 2017
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,709

12 Nov 2022, 10:12 am

There is a book "BS Jobs", by graeber. It claims that "BS jobs" come in five categories:

Flunkies
Goons
Duct tapers
Box tickers
Taskmasters

______________

My job, Lot Attendant at home Depot

Pushing carts and loading merchandise

Carts don't really "need" to be pushed. Customers will get their own carts. Besides, the homeless encampment often takes the carts

Merchandise *does* need to be loaded. But the day laborers can do it. The day laborers loiter at home Depot every day, from sun up til sun down. There are a lot of them. They make me uncomfortable. Sometimes they have the nerve to scream "Chino" at me. (Day laborer is *not* a BS job. However, it is home depots property and home Depot has a legal right to tell them to leave.). Day laborers loiter in the bathroom. There are not enough toilets.


Or other employees or customers could load merchandise.



MuddRM
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

Joined: 2 Sep 2021
Gender: Male
Posts: 437
Location: Beautiful(?) West Manchester Township, PA

12 Nov 2022, 11:29 am

stratozyck wrote:
I have a job that I don't think should exist. Its a great career for me I cannot complain. I got an advanced degree and all - people assume I must be doing something important.

In case you are wondering, I work in a regulatory banking role. We write reports that a regulatory agency reads and they write smaller reports on our reports.

If I had dictatorial power over the country, I would change the laws so that this job doesn't exist. It's a complete waste of time.

I go through long stretches of having not much to do. I can't complain with remote work now. It used to be really awful when I had to go in every day. We'd have long meetings and I struggled to stay awake during them. Now when I dial into a useless meeting I can be doing something else.

I would feel bad for being so lazy but they pay consultants sometimes to do our job and they pay them 5x at least per report. So, I feel like I am saving them money.

At the beginning of my career, the salary wasn't really worth it because I had to live in a big city. Even when I got raises, the commuting often made me regret my career choices. But since remote work I've not been commuting regularly and I have more time to do things I want to do. Its the perfect career for someone who doesn't take it seriously. I'm not saying don't do your work on time - I am saying this job shouldn't be your identity.

Occasionally we get new coworkers who aren't jaded or haven't realized what we do is made up work, and they take it seriously for a year or so. The ones that don't grow out of it get annoying. We had one guy that was like that and thankfully he left.

See - you have to realize that the bank doesn't WANT us to work hard. If we work hard - we actually COST the bank more money. The ideal thing is we do just enough to keep the regulators off our backs, but not enough to cause the bank to spend more money. The guy I mentioned had this perfectionist attitude and everyone was glad when he left. He was causing more work for everyone, which leads to higher costs.


Try going through the bullsh!t I’m currently experiencing with a bank I have never done business with!

I have getting calls from so-called debt collectors regard a debt I supposedly incurred at this institution. I have asked for written verification of this debt, and the collector says they have already sent it months ago. The bank wants their money, now, else they have filed charges on me with fraud and theft in County court. I have gotten this hostility from 4 different collectors, 3 here in PA, and 1 in Florida. I start telling them to talk to my attorney, at which point, the verbal abuse begins. I have spoken to my attorney, who did a search on the county prothonthary’s office, and has found no paperwork regarding any such legal action. He advised me to contact the PA attorney general’s office to file a complaint, contact the local police and tell them these debt collectors are violating 18 PA C.S. 7311 paragraphs (b.1) and (f), and contact the Federal Trade Commission stating the bank in question and their debt collectors are violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I have since blocked those phone numbers. :lol:

While I have done so, it still isn’t doing my mental or physical health any good. I’m paranoid even at the best of times, and my diabetes is now completely out of control, with my CGM showing high number continually, since I’m back to stress eating.



JWCLondon
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 29 Apr 2015
Posts: 7
Location: London, UK

16 Nov 2022, 2:19 pm

I have a similar issue.

My work is in banking and in reality my work for the company I work for is so simple and straightforward that a monkey in a bow tie could do it.

This is made doubly so by the fact that despite having the word “Chief” in my job title? I am constantly second guessed by colleagues in a different country who don’t have the experience in the field that I do.

So far, so weird.

The obvious thing to do is to quit and go work elsewhere but I get paid about 30% more than others in my peer group and if I went elsewhere, I’d be getting paid less, for more work.

It’s frustrating as anything and I know that I and my job are surplus to requirements but no one else seems to have noticed.