Jobs: Nine to Five's vs Non Conventional

/

When it comes to jobs, I have covered my bases over the years. Banana stand girl, hostess at Crab Cooker, receptionist for boat rentals, Squaw Valley lift operator, uniform clerk, supplement sales person, Oakley customer care whipping boy, dog portrait artist, retail, retail, retail, and now finally a receptionist at a proper online advertising agency in Irvine. Coming from snowboard land and Surfside, it has been an interesting transition in to the office world and I have been looking back on my life in action sports (and whatever the hell else I’ve been doing), reflecting on my jobs and lifestyles, and going over the pros and cons of conventional hours and jobs vs those of freelancers and non nine to fivers.

These pro's and con's are based more upon my own experiences. The reason I mention this is just because plenty of my non conventional and freelancing friends are successful and probably make the money I never did in retail or other random ventures.

What I think I look like...

 ...What I actually look like

Office Job Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Money-it’s consistent and I might actually have some after the next few paychecks
  • Hours-counting the days until Friday and hearing hump day jokes seems daunting, but when you’re off at 5:30 every day, you can still make most happy hours
  • Weekends-they actually exist!!!! Champagne brunch forever and ever and ever
  • PTO-“paid time off” whaaaaat? This is totally foreign to a lot of us, but it sounds pretty sweet
  • Health care-also foreign to plenty of us, now I can break myself snowboarding and not be in the hole $10,000
  • Work environment-at least the office I’m at now is beautiful, it’s close to my house, I don’t get written up if I’m a few minutes late, and there’s parking and amenities (oh yeah, and free food!!!!)
  • Business casual-an excuse to shop for new blouses and shoes

Cons

  • Money-finally might have some, but I won’t have a discount at Surfside or all the free time to go on trips to spend it
  • Hours-sometimes I want to go to breakfast on a weekday
  • Weekends?-some of us get so accustomed to not having them, we don’t even know what to do with them. Plus, does this make me a snowboarding weekend warrior now?
  • Lack of flexibility-my favorite bartender works Thursday nights, but I know I have to get up Friday morning…forever. It also might be a bit harder to take sporadic mid week Mammoth trips.
  • Work environment- showing up hungover/drunk is generally frowned upon in the professional world, where it is completely accepted and somewhat encouraged in snowboarding and retail
  • Business casual-I guess that means my staple jeans and stained crew neck aren’t an option (but I do intend on instating Aloha Fridays)  

Consensus: I miss the mountains and wild life of snowboarding jobs, but I am still in the honeymoon phase of this new office job, so right now I'm going to sell out and say it wins mainly due to money and my dire need for health care (and that I am currently blogging at work), but get back to me in a few months and let's see if I still agree.