When did you start to feel like you were good at your job?

[~kaos~]

Probably in the USN when I was 19..... I was put in charge of 1/2 of the flight line for my squadron (20 birds) and the ground crews (15 people).

[BrickHaus]

My laat job was field service for a CnC manufacturer i felt I was good at it about 2.5 years in. Right about the time I was comfortable walking into any situation at the customer site, and I was a crack shot at phone support troubleahooting ( try networking a Dos based PC to windows 10 with a machinists over the phone.)

But in the same vein, I felt pretty undervalued shortly after I felt valuable so it also lead to my departure.


My current job, Im an electrical tech for a custom automation company. I get kuddos all the time for work efforts, but I feel there are so many skills required to do this job, Ill never be " good" .

[vijil]

The best way to get a raise is often to quit and go somewhere else. Bosses get complacent.

I once quit a job after being denied a raise. A month later they realised their mistake and offered me what I'd asked - but I'd long since moved on. Seems to be some quirk of employer psychology. Don't know what you've got til it's gone.

[Brandon85]

Never to be honest. Every day feels like a new f*ck up...even doing my job right

[iamthelazerviking]

Same

[Chappy]

Been here 22 years. I'll let you know

[foughtwolf]

Probably never. Seven years ago I wanted to be a mechanic snd I wish to god I’d have just kept delivering pizza. I made more money, worked with a crew I had a blast with and generally enjoyed life. Now I just feel trapped with an ungrateful old raisin of a boss who treats me like I couldn’t find my own ass with a map and a flashlight in broad daylight.

[vijil]

Here in NZ, due to covid, it's absolutely a jobseekers market. There are massive shortages in most industries, and wages are spiking. Changing job in this environment can be a great way to get a big raise and better conditions. It might be worth checking whether the same applies where you are? Could be a good time to move on.

[Schmitti]

The previous position I held at my current agency... I was in the position for 12.5 years and got to the point I was producing training modules for new staff and prior to the craziness of last year I had done several in person training events. But in my world of regulators there is no way up the later unless you can show them you can, and want to, do other things. So I transferred to a new position and started at the bottom in hopes that I can get a promotion in the next year.

One month shy of having been in the new position for a year and I still barely know what I'm doing because they keep handing me stuff the old supervisor did (I haven't been promoted to that seat yet). So it keeps me on my toes.

E

[Cunha]

We talked about this in the other thread but there is the unfortunate thing where someone who is really crushing it at their job is often overlooked for advancement because they become so pivotal in their existing role.

And there is some advantage of having a role you can fill and master and a more well managed stress load, where your work is clearly defined and you excel at it and are on the right side of all of your interactions because they are exemplary.

But then you want to get into a position that might suck and cause much more stress but you get yourself right in the crosshairs because that's where the action is. I'm in the type of position where I am jumping in front of bullets for the hazard pay (not actually) but after 6+ years of it I can see the advantage of my previous jobs where I could have established mastery and a low outside-of-work stress level that might let me enjoy life more and maybe do more of my own side projects rather than trying to channel all of my ambition into my salaried job.

[moosetraxe]

Took a new job in a new field about 3 months ago. 3 months is definitely not long enough to feel comfortable yet, still drinking from the fire hose

[nerdcore]

I suppose the subject matter doesn't really age. Necro thread ahoy.

I never feel good at my job, because when i start feeling comfortable, additional duties are thrust upon me.

[DocsMachine]

Got my first machine tool in '94, been doing this schtick full-time since '98. I figure in a couple more years, five at the outside, I should have a pretty good handle on it.

Doc.

-Maybe another five years'll do it....

Doc.

[k_obeastly]

just before a failure.

[Jordan]

I've been a mechanic since '02(?), still don't quite feel up to snuff on some things. The trade has changed, a lot, in the last 20+ years and there's always something to learn.

[RPP]

That's the sign of a good worker though... always willing to learn and change.

[Daltech]

The real questions is how do you get fired. That’s the real line in the sand. I haven’t found it yet. But I’m still looking. Apparently when you find out the worse you do and don’t get fired for lack of performance the fear of not being good at your job goes away.

[cockerpunk]

i have always felt like i was good at my job.

but now, 15 years in, i finally feel like the organization has given me the trust and power to change the things i have known i need to to fix the fundamental problems i have seen for over a decade. and so i find myself flexing my experience and knowledge far more often. and rather than debate minor technical details cause i know what im talking about, look at fundamental structural problems and fix them, and let the minor stuff get solved by solving the bigger stuff. create self solving problems basically.

and i have also disconnected my personal identity from what i do to such an extent now that professional success isnt really a thing i strive for anymore. and so i can kinda let go of more. it helps that i have been very professionally successful up to this point too, so im sitting on a big pile of success.





its always wild to me thinking that something so core to my personality and how i confront and solve problems first revealed itself to me through paintball. i have a lot to thank for in my life due to paintball and its effect on my from 15-25 years old. moving to racing has also changed and revealed much about my life to me as well. confronting powerful but wrong men has been a thread that my entire life has revolved around, i think its one of the reasons i have so many women friends too.

[RPP]

When I did construction I felt really good at my job after 3-4 years. I had 3-4 products I worked with everyday and was able to really focus on a specific skill set. it was really fulfilling, but really hard on the body. Now that I've moved into the engineering field its been 10 years and I'm still learning everyday. I feel like I'm good most days, but then one or 2 problems roll around and I feel completely useless, until I get my bearings straight. Those moment steal the joy I guess.