Did you end up as Blue Shirt Picard?

[rhubarbodendron]

Blue shirt. I'm like a walking lowkey Greek tragedy.

as the example of Homer shows, low key Greek tragedies occasionally become bestsellers over 4 milennia

In my experience a blue shirt job can be far more fulfilling than a red shirt one since it gives you time to concentrate on actually moving things and causing a tangible effect instead of just administrating the work as the bosses do.
I wouldn't trade with my boss for all the tea in China - he has so much administrative stuff to do that he hardly ever gets around to doing the real work. The only prob I have is the ever growing red tape and data avalanche (in my native language we fittingly call it paper-war). My tea mug is starting to fit - it has written on it: "I just don't have time for a burn out".

 

[Nakita Akita]

I have three brothers and two are well off and as families go I don't actually talk to mine either at all or very infrequently, other than my father.
But the brother that is most likely the wealthiest, always seems bitter.
I'll take my average house and crappy car and happiness over a house in Cabo San Lucas in the winter etc.
Happiness is worth so much more than money or prestige.

 

[galleywest]

So, I took the chance and got another job in an entirely different line of work, doing something I know I'll love, and I start in two weeks. It's what I've always had a passion for, got two Master's degrees in, and find very meaningful work. It pays nearly half as much as my current job, and I'll have a worse commute. But I am SO excited. My current boss and another coworker discouraged this and are upset that I'm leaving. They've actually said "how can you do this to us?" It's basically unheard of for people to leave my current employer, as it's a very safe and stable job. People gasp when I tell them (which I have to say, I delight in). But then they're happy for me when they see the genuine smile on my face, which is probably something they haven't seen in years. I could stay at this place and be "okay," but I want more than that.

Spot's Meow, I too took a giant leap into something others saw as absurd, moving from a stable job with promotional opportunities to go back to get a PhD. People also said to me, "how could you do this to us?!" and thought I was insane. It was difficult and I doubted myself a LOT.

I have never made a better choice in my life. Because I did this, it changed not only my career but my perspective on work and life. It has made me a better person--more whole, more open, and much happier. I found a job I absolutely love and look forward to every day. Because I became a happier person and liked myself more, I found someone I truly love and who loves me back (believe me, I never would have done this as the person I was before). I have a job that is meaningful to me, where I am able to give something back to my community and my profession.

You are doing the right thing, and I am very, very happy for you. You ARE Red Shirt Picard!

 

[Spot's Meow]

Thanks! It's interesting to see how people in your life interpret your big life changes. Thankfully, most are kind and supportive, but a few manage to make it about themselves somehow. It's too bad for them.

Good job on making your own changes, despite the naysayers!

 

[galleywest]

Thank you! And big congratulations on your life change--I hope you will keep us updated!

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Can I be a red shirt in a blue shirt's body? I'm where I was meant to be, even if I took a while getting there.

 

[Gary7]

Spot's Meow, I too took a giant leap into something others saw as absurd, moving from a stable job with promotional opportunities to go back to get a PhD. People also said to me, "how could you do this to us?!" and thought I was insane. It was difficult and I doubted myself a LOT.

I have never made a better choice in my life. Because I did this, it changed not only my career but my perspective on work and life. It has made me a better person--more whole, more open, and much happier. I found a job I absolutely love and look forward to every day. Because I became a happier person and liked myself more, I found someone I truly love and who loves me back (believe me, I never would have done this as the person I was before). I have a job that is meaningful to me, where I am able to give something back to my community and my profession.

You are doing the right thing, and I am very, very happy for you. You ARE Red Shirt Picard!

You are definitely the red-shirt Picard, and I salute you.

Sadly, these day's I'm dirty teal shirt Ensign nobody. I'm in a sad work predicament and I haven't figured a way out as yet. Sometimes I really wish I could push the reset button... (of course, no point if you can't take the wisdom with you). I hope that one day this year, I'll be able to come back here and say "I'm command shirt Gary7," found the path leading to my calling, and on the way towards the life I've long wanted to live.

What field do you work in, galleywest?

 

[Gary7]

So, I took the chance and got another job in an entirely different line of work, doing something I know I'll love, and I start in two weeks. It's what I've always had a passion for, got two Master's degrees in, and find very meaningful work. It pays nearly half as much as my current job, and I'll have a worse commute. But I am SO excited. My current boss and another coworker discouraged this and are upset that I'm leaving. They've actually said "how can you do this to us?" It's basically unheard of for people to leave my current employer, as it's a very safe and stable job. People gasp when I tell them (which I have to say, I delight in). But then they're happy for me when they see the genuine smile on my face, which is probably something they haven't seen in years. I could stay at this place and be "okay," but I want more than that.

So it's kind of funny, I'm leaving a "command post" not because I lack ambition, but because I have the ambition to go for what I really want, even though that means a lower rank. I've learned that success has a different definition for everyone. From the outside my current life probably looks like success, but for me it felt like failure. When I got the call offering me the new job, my thought was, "I made it. I did it."

Maybe some day I'll be ready to take on a leadership role again, but not anytime soon!

Kudos to you, Spot's Meow! Wow, 2 Master's degrees--quite an accomplishment. I wish I had the money to afford going back to college. USA really sucks for that. Education is too expensive. And it's largely due to corrupt politicians who have starved the US educational system. Fuckers.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

sadly, over here in Europe, too, you have to have rich parents to be able to afford a good education.
On the other hand, oligarchs and top-politicians all over the world prove every day that money doesn't necessarily have anything to go with good taste or good knowledge.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Kudos to you, Spot's Meow! Wow, 2 Master's degrees--quite an accomplishment. I wish I had the money to afford going back to college. USA really sucks for that. Education is too expensive. And it's largely due to corrupt politicians who have starved the US educational system. Fuckers.

What really helped me was scholarships (I must have applied to 100+, received 2 of them) and choosing cheap state schools. I also enrolled in the Honors program because they took about 50% off tuition the first two years. I paid for it all myself and didn't have to take out any loans. There are ways to work the system, if you're willing to devote a lot of research and time to the process, but it's getting harder every day! And I feel lucky that I live in California, where we have the very affordable CSU system.

 

[Crazyewok]

I am red shirt.....except my ships on fire, my crew is half dead and the bulkhead are coming apart!

 

[Pondwater]

I’m the Blue shirt Picard. I walked...ran away from a more lucrative career opportunity because I did not have the heart for it. I lost familial respect, friendships and a boyfriend over that fact. But I really have no regrets about it.

 

[Sibyl]

I’m the Blue shirt Picard. I walked...ran away from a more lucrative career opportunity because I did not have the heart for it. I lost familial respect, friendships and a boyfriend over that fact. But I really have no regrets about it.

Being happy with your choices better than any other indicator. However, I believe the moral of the story is that Blue Shirt Picard was, in the end, unhappy that he was in the position he was and regretted not taking on that Naussican, etc, and taking the easy way out the rest of his life.

 

[Armus]

Blue shirt, red shirt-it's all about perspective...A blue shirt Picard is still a healthy, functional adult serving on the flagship!

 

[Sibyl]

It's all about your own satisfaction with your own path. If you're satisfied, even if you have no power over others, you're a Red Shirt Picard. If you're unsatisfied in whatever you do, you're a Blue Shirt Picard.

One of the keys is how others treat those without power. I have a family member that almost never thanks any cashiers or housekeepers/janitors. I would treat the President or any monarch the same as I'd treat the "lowest" staff or homeless person.

 

[publiusr]

I tend to play it more towards the safe side)

Same here. I played not to lose. Blue shirt Picard here too.

 

[MacLeod]

I’m the Blue shirt Picard. I walked...ran away from a more lucrative career opportunity because I did not have the heart for it. I lost familial respect, friendships and a boyfriend over that fact. But I really have no regrets about it.

I think I would rather be in a job I was reasonably happy doing even if it paid less than a job I would be miserable. One would hope that those close to you would support you if you said you didn't think that opportunity was for you.

Being happy with your choices better than any other indicator. However, I believe the moral of the story is that Blue Shirt Picard was, in the end, unhappy that he was in the position he was and regretted not taking on that Naussican, etc, and taking the easy way out the rest of his life.

I suspect many if not all of us have regretted decisions we made in the past and from time to time think about the road not travelled. Be that in terms of work, relationships or something else, but one shouldn't dwell on the past too much, what's done is done however we can always decide to try and change aspects about ourselves that we are dissatisfied with.

 

[Sibyl]

Same here. I played not to lose. Blue shirt Picard here too.

I guess it's better than aiming high and failing, as I've always done, but in the end, if you're unsatisfied, you're unsatisfied, whichever path you took.

 

[Butters]

I never really worked out what blue shirt me or red shirt me would look like. In many ways, I am red shirt, I have a job that gives me the opportunity to do things I enjoy doing, but I also work with twats, so there is a strong blue hue there too.

 

[auntiehill]

I'd happy to even reach the level of Blue Shirt Picard.