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Analyzing My Job and What matters to you?

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 39 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Happy Tuesday everyone! Hopefully this week isn’t going too slow for you. I don’t have too much planned today except for the normal work and then boring classes.

I thought I’d join in with the others who have participated in From Shopping to Saving’s How to Analyze Your Job. It’s a very good way to look at your job and how you perceive it. Below I marked in red what I thought was important to me. I also thought this post would be interesting because I’ve noticed that a lot of readers and bloggers are currently looking for a new job. This might help steer you into the direction that you want to be in.

Here is a direct quote from her post:

“Here are the 7 factors that we like to take a look at to analyze our job as a whole. Work is not something that we all love to do but it’s something that pays for what we really want to do. Some of us are fortunate to have work that we do enjoy wholeheartedly and would possibly do for free, but sadly I’m not one of those people. “

My Job:

  1. Salary – What are all of the benefits of your job? This includes salary, insurance, pensions, etc.
    • My salary is pretty good, especially for the Midwest. Of course it would be on more average if I lived in an area such as LA or NYC, but it’s pretty decent around here. I also get bonuses, a retirement plan, free health insurance and other benefits. I would say that I’m pretty good in this area.
  2. Job Duties – What do you do? Is it difficult?
    • I enjoy what I do. Of course I would rather be laying on a beach and get paid for that, but I’m not a VS model, so that’s not possible. My job can be difficult at times but it’s something I enjoy doing and the time passes pretty quickly. I work mainly independently and I like that.
  3. Location/Commute – How is the drive? Is it really long? Horrible? Are there other ways you can commute?
    • The location is good. It’s in a nice suburb and only less than 15 miles from my house. I cannot take public transportation there (unless I want to spend around 2.5 hours on a bus). I don’t pay for parking and it’s located near a bunch of other places to eat and things to do.
  4. Co-workers – Do you like the people you work with? How are your work relationships?
    • I enjoy the people that I work with. I work at a pretty small firm, and we all get along. This is much different than a retail environment, where everyone is really catty.
  5. Atmosphere – How stressful is your job? How is your workplace?
    • The atmosphere is pretty nice at my work. Not too crazy. Pretty quiet and relaxing also.I listed to Pandora all day at work so that’s pretty nice too.
  6. Flexibility – Can you take a day off easily? Or is your boss/employer one of those people who denies all vacation requests?
    • I don’t have to clock in. It’s pretty easy to take off. I just have to put my name on the calendar. My boss pretty much lets me take off whenever unless it’s during a busy time of the work season.
  7. Advancement – Is it easy to get a promotion, or are you stuck?
    • There is definitely a path for advancement in my position. I was hired and told I was on a path for management/VP/President. So they flat out told me this in the interview.

If you couldn’t tell, I like my job. My job is pretty stable and reliable. I work in a very specialized area in the financial services industry as well, and there will always be demand for what we do, so I’m not too worried about our services and business tanking.

How does your job compare?   
A lot of people would say that money is the #1 motivator for when they look at a job. I would say that a combination of happiness, money, stability (especially stability), benefits and opportunity for advancement.

I know many people who work at a certain big billion dollar company in my city and they all hate their jobs. It all started out nice because the money was very attractive for them, but they are terrified everyday that they might lose their job and the environment is very hostile. Would you work in an environment where you would trade your sanity and happiness for money?

I don’t think I could. I am a person who likes stability and I enjoy not having to worry everyday about whether or not I will have a job the next day. I try my hardest at my job and of course I expect at least not to lose my dignity everyday as with the example in the above.

I also have some friends who I think are being entirely too picky. Some graduated awhile ago and are still waiting for the perfect job and still haven’t found anything. I believe you need to gain some sort of experience instead of just waiting around. Not many jobs are going to score a 100% for you. Yes yes I know, I’m probably a depressing person and I’m sure there are many people out there who love their jobs, but I’m just being realistic in my point of view.

Are you currently searching for a job? What are some things that you are looking for in a job? What’s one thing you would not trade?

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About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  2. Kraig @ Young, Cheap says

    I really liked this post. Also, this is the first time I've visited your blog and I think I'm going to really like it.Looking at my job in this light, I really see good things. My job is awesome is almost all of these areas. That really makes me excited to get up and go to work! Thanks for that!

    Reply

  3. Bridget says

    I also feel like people are just waiting around for the "perfect" job. It's not out there — or at least yu have to work at less-than-perfect jobs to get the experience you need to get the perfect job.I love my job, it's awesome <3

    Reply

  4. Live Simply- Live We says

    For me, I would say the most important thing is commute, even over money. I spent four years doing 55 miles each way, in rush hour traffic. Somedays, sitting in traffic for 2 hours put me in a horrible horrible mood. I would even take a lower paying job if the location was better.

    Reply

    • Michelle P says

      I would hate that! The only reason why I said that the commute isn't that important to me is because I live in St. Louis, and the traffic is not nearly as bad as other places. I can get to my work in 15 minutes during rush hour. If I lived in another city, then I would most likely place it higher, but no matter where I need to go in St. Louis, the traffic is never that bad, thankfully!

      Reply

  6. Stephanie says

    Haha, I'm one of those people for whom money is not a primary motivating factor. As long as I have enough to live comfortably and save for retirement, I'm happy. Which is good, because I work for local government, so the pay is not great. But I have awesome health insurance, I get to work flex hours (I can show up anytime between 7:30 and 9:30 and I just have to work 8 hours), and my commute is only 10 minutes! But while the proximity to my home is good, the courthouse where I work is right on the edge of a pretty bad neighborhood. If I walk out the door and go right, I'm good. If I walk out the door and go left… well, let's just say there was a shooting just a few blocks away last month, so I generally don't turn left. 😛

    Reply

  7. Emily says

    I'm a junior in college so I'll be looking for a job in the very near future. And my only guideline is I want to love and be interested in what I'm doing. I want it to be fun and I want to wake up and feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world because I have a great job. That's all I want :)xx Emily @ laughliveandshop.blogspot.com

    Reply

  8. Amanda says

    my dream job is laying on the beach too! Unfortunately that's only a dream. Right now I hate my job. I never used to but my old boss got a new job so now the new manager we have is terrible. Having a bad manager can ruin it for you, like it did for me. Hopefully soon I'll be able to find a new job..here's to hoping!

    Reply

  9. Rafiki says

    What's important to me?The people and the atmosphere.HappinessOpportunity for advancement.A good challenge 60%-70% of the time.I am currently searching for a job but I am also working at one that is pretty good for now judging from the same review I did. If it is one thing I would not trade is comfort in my surroundings.

    Reply

  10. Miss T @ Prairie Eco says

    I have always thought liking your job had numerous components. Salary isn't the only thing that is important. To me autonomy is a big deal. I like to be my own boss and trusted to do well. I don't like being micro managed.

    Reply

  11. Tanner says

    I currently really enjoy both of my jobs. Sure, there are smaller things I dislike about both, but overall, they are a PASS. Something they both fail on is mobility. There's no opportunity for advancement and I was told this at the time of hire. Which is ok, to be honest, as this is one of the 'first' jobs to gain experience and move on to be on better ground later on.

    Reply

  12. Jamie says

    I am currently looking for a job. It sucks. Money is most important to me but location is also imperative. I turned down a high salary job a few weeks ago because the commute was an hour. I have a daughter too so it has to be a great job for me to leave her for that many hours/day.

    Reply

  13. CC [AKA Frugalista] says

    I would never trade sanity and happiness for money at a job. I did that for years and it was AWFUL! I took a major pay cut to go where I'm at now and I'm happier then I've ever been. I like my job. Not much room to advance even with a Masters or PHd but I'm okay with that.Too funny! That pic you put up is my screen saver at work…so I'm not there but I'm dreaming about it all the time.

    Reply

  14. shopping2saving says

    Great analysis Michelle! You have an awesome job, and you sound like you like it. I feel like I'm on the same page except I'm excited to see more possibilities after I go to law school. Right now I feel like advancement may not be an option until 10 years down the road, and I'm not ready to put in that much time in this position yet. I'm trying to speed things up a bit by getting another degree!

    Reply

  15. femmefrugality says

    I'm going back to school so I can meet my new state's certifications. I absolutely love my job. It doesn't pay a ton of money, but it will pay enough for us to live comfortably. And if I can go in and do something I'd do for free and come out with a paycheck…shoot. That's the best.It sounds like your job is pretty amazing! I agree with you about sitting around. A gap on your resume is going to look worse than if you took a job you were overqualified for while you kept looking.

    Reply

  16. Kris @ Simple Island says

    I'd love to find a job with those characteristics. I am on the job hunt! I won't go back to working in an environment I hate just because the money is there. I won't allow myself to be as unhappy as I was at my last job (spent 3 years wishing I could quit). I wish I could make enough money to make things easier for my family – I like working hard, and I like working hard with people who are nice, in a job that I care about. That's about what I'm looking for.

    Reply

  18. youngandthrifty says

    That's a pretty good analysis and it incorporates the important things.I think a job should be challenging and supporting growth as well :)I would love to sit on a beach and be a VS model though it must be tiring. #not.

    Reply

  19. McVal says

    I love being able to work from home with my job. The house isn't any cleaner and dinner isn't always on the table when everyone gets home… but it's nice to have an entire lunch hour to get caught up on laundry or a tv show.The people I work with are great too. But that aside, being a model on the beach definitely has it's advantages too…

    Reply

  20. Jill Hardt says

    Where is the first image you posted from?I liked being able to read through that list and feel good about my job! I just recently finished grad school and even though I've been working all along, now it feels more important that I'm in a place the fits my wants/needs. I think working with a great group of people and for a great supervisor makes my days so much better. Also I really like that where I am now there are lots of opportunities to lead in different directions. So I think those are what I value most. with respect to money, I feel at this point I'm approaching it more like, I want the job I want, and then I want to get paid as much as possible doing that job. I don't think I'd choose higher pay if it meant sacrificing those things. We spend so many hours at work, and being unhappy there would be awful!

    Reply

  21. Newlyweds on a Budge says

    I'm pretty much on the same path as you. I'm happy with my job, it's not my life passion or anything, but it pays well, flexibility is great, benefits are AMAZING, and there's lots of room for promotion. Good enough for me!

    Reply

  22. Kate says

    What an interesting post! As a nanny I think it's less about money and more about happiness/respect. Of course I need to make enough to live on but my employers really value me and that's the best!

    Reply

  23. Annemarie @ Brunch a says

    I always love and appreciate your openness when it comes to careers, budgets, money, etc. I have to be honest, living in LA I have taken jobs before strictly based on salary, but I always regret it every time, without fail. Being a freelance writer now means a pay cut, but you can't trade anything for health & happiness, you know? It's such a tough subject, and I'm sure I'll face it again when it comes to another chapter in my career. Thanks for always writing such thought provoking posts! I always love coming to your blog and reading what you have to say! 🙂

    Reply

  24. The Borrower says

    I love this question – with my internship/job search, I've thought about this question in depth. Money is important, but it is such a minor detail compared to self-satisfaction for me. I really want to contribute to something larger than myself. I would really like to work for a non-profit or a company that does something that reaches many.

    Reply

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