Are Most 24 26 Year Olds Miserable at Their Job?

“I hate my job”

“I’m miserable at my job, man”

“I’m just going to grind out this job, but I can’t wait until I can leave”

It’s quite surprising how many of these types of conversations I’ve had with my friends in reference to their job. I felt the same about my first job out of college as well. Is this normal? Is it just too much of a shock to go from a free flowing, free willed college atmosphere to an up tight corporate one? Is it because most people at my age graduated in a tough economy so took the first job they could get their hands on? Is it possible I could write a whole blog post full of rhetorical questions? It is QUITE possible.

I’ve been told a first job is kind of a rights of passage, you’re supposed to learn a lot, make connections and tough it out. Is it always going to be that way? With the way technology is these days, people have more of a choice and hopefully a better chance to find their passion. Problem is, most people just out of college don’t know their passion right away. I certainly didn’t, so I took a job that would hold me over, until I figured out what I wanted to do next.

I know some of my friends went to a high paying banking job, so they can “suffer” now to reap the benefits later. It’s tough to figure out what you want to do “when you grow up.” So maybe that’s why most people my age are miserable at their job, they’re just figuring it out. As long as we’re all on the road to finding our passion, we are on the right track. 

The way I see it, you spend most of your life working, so the sooner you start doing something that you love and enjoy, the better off you’ll be.