I actually had a job shelving books as a teenager. It is to date the best job I ever had. No one bothered me. I just took books from the return slots at the library and put them back for a few hours after school. Sometimes I even dared to get a list of reservations to find and shelve elsewhere.
Always interesting how the world works I spent from 2007 - 2018 in shit jobs where baby boomers were in control of everything and I hated it… They’re arseholes
Now it’s 2026… I’m nearly 40 and insecure Gen X managers (actual psychopaths) are doing everything they can to destroy people my age and younger.
Now before anyone starts up telling me I’m the same. I work with a few Gen z people and I do everything I can to prop them up, I want to help them I don’t want any of them to fail… When I was starting in IT support I got shit on by baby boomers and 50% of Gen X (the other half helped me).
Life is too hard to be cruel to people just trying their best. Every time I see a young person struggling and I help them out makes me happier that baby boomers will all die soon and Gen X will all fuck off into retirement.
I can’t even explain now many entitled psychopaths I have to deal with are all Gen X… They were the generation of “Fuck the rules, fuck the police”
Now they’re all old and they’re “Fuck the rules, give me what I want and give me it now! I am more important than everyone and you need to treat me like I’m a king/queen”
So uh…we are all clearly unhappy, is any of us going to do anything about this? (I already stated I am, some community idea).
The greatest gift of my career was getting old enough to not care.
I wish factory jobs paid better. Many of them are chill and easy.
some of they are brutal apparently, like that one union one with kellogs? or that chip factory. that was in the news years ago.
Except not that gross 24 corporate ladder thing. But I guess 18-2x I was studying web design and had aspirations of making the next big web 2.0 site, back when it was still popular to idolize Google.
But by 24 I was already drinking the foss kool-aid and becoming jaded toward the tech industry.
Get your library science degree now, there are only a few accredited programs. I thought about doing this earlier this year and was surprised at how complicated it actually was to become a librarian.
you need a masters for the most part. a covoluted booking system, dewey system(i was helping them in my HS years very confusing to put which books where. plus also internet research for the unitiated from reputable sources.) of course public libaries you have to deal with Homeless people/bums that would smell or try to do drugs(these libraries tend to have security too), or people watching PORN.
I actually started climbing the ladder and to be honest, I fucking hate it and am looking for a way out. I have never dealt with so many people that are willing to sacrifice their own dignity to be a sycophant for the sake of money.
Same. It fucking sucks but it’s the only way I’ve found to making enough money to do the shit I actually want to do. Which I’m still not making enough money for because inflation keeps up with half my pay raises…
I’m 40 and getting my massage therapy license out of nowhere. Similar line of thinking.
I’ve heard that has a time table before your hands wear out. Is that true?
Probably! We’ll see! I’ve read there are ways to minimize the strain, e.g. using your forearms and elbows. But I start classes in three weeks. I don’t think it’ll take me into old age, but if I can charge $90ish starting out per 60-minute massage, then increase a bit as I go, I should be able to get at least a few solid years out of it/my body. It’s a hail mary, Lord knows there are potential downsides. 🤞
RMTs often work alongside physiotherapists in a practice. If that’s where you end up, there might be a perk of after-hours PT sessions to keep your joints in shape. If not, then engaging the services of a physiotherapist a couple times a year can definitely help.
make sure you keep your shit stretched and use what you learn on your own forearms / wrists / hands
You could go check for bugs in tea shipments…
I’ve climbed the corporate ladder and traveled all over the world until I got near the top where the nepotism is thick. Said ‘fuck that’ and bailed out early.
New plan: “Work for myself.” Took me a decade to get here because of little things like health care and capital.
Been on my own for almost 2 years now and it is glorious.
I had the job shelving books. I’d show up in a button-up shirt and slacks and I could shove all day with no problem at all. No one would bother me. I’d show up in ripped jeans, a Metallica t-shirt, and 4 years since my last haircut and people would ask me for help every moment of the day. Libraries are weird.
Good example of outfits sending signals.
Slacks and a button-up probably made you look like management just out picking up slack, and people subconsciously left you alone - “oh, they’re probably really busy with management stuff and also had to go shelve books… I’ll leave them alone”
Casual clothes in contrast would have signalled “worker” - “I’ll just go ask that person, it’s not like they’re doing anything important, they’re just shelving books!”
It probably didn’t help that I was a 17-year-old that looked like I was in my late twenties.
Bernard! Bernard! Bernard look! Look Bernard! Bernard!
MANNY!
One of the best jobs I ever had was night shift stocker at a grocery store. I’d clock in as the store was closing and would clock out about an hour after it opened. I’d get stoned out of my mind, listen to music or audio books the whole time and restock cereal and stuff.
My job now is pretty cushy now, but I do reminisce when I didn’t have to think about work during off hours.
Internet Archive?
