What do you do for work? Sick of customer service

[Jefenator]

Pre-COVID I was a glassblower by day, and an ETSY store proprietor (like OP got burned out on customer service). Now I am the "Operations Assistant" at the food bank where I had been volunteering.
I'd love to get back to doing music gigs for half my living give or take. Maybe by next summer...

 

[marchone]

I worked in retail for six years in the late 70s. I met every jerk in Manhattan twice. Then I learned to cook. Front of house wasn’t for me.

 

[ebo]

Not everyone belongs in “customer service”. Good thing we will always need someone to drive garbage trucks and backhoes.

 

[fig]

I don't know how old you are, but have you considered military service?

Plenty of opportunities for IT folk these days (according to commercials I've seen on TV LOL) If you have college behind you, consider going in as an Officer.

No, I'm not currently in. I retired after 20 years in 1996. I was Enlisted, not Officer.

But, here's the reality. 20 year retirements in companies are mostly a thing of the past. They even were when I joined the Navy as an Aviation Electricians Mate in 1976.

So, here's your bottom line choice. 20 years is gonna come and go, no matter what. You still want to be bouncing around, job to job, in a gig economy 20 years from now, or do you want to commit to 20 years and earn a guaranteed income month after month?

That retirement income is the only thing (and liking aircraft LOL) that made me join at 18. By 38, I was getting a monthy check that continues today at 63.

Man, if you're a sight reader in music, join any of the services as a musician. 20 years in music. Retire and get a monthly paycheck. There's a thread or three in here with current, former, and retired musicians from the military ranks.

Anyway, just wanted to throw that out.

I tried one customer service job after I retired. Wasn't for me. Some folk just pissed me off and I won't restrain myself when a level of stoopid has been passed. Call it a character flaw LOL.

 

[bholder]

Programming has been very, very good to me.

 

[Mike N]

Auto mechanic since 1983, been at the same shop since 1987.

I don't typically have to deal with customers face to face, but sometimes the long term customers like to talk directly to me since I've been there for so long. 99.9% of the people I deal with are reasonable, the other .1% I let management handle.

The stress of my job comes in the form of flat rate pay, dealing with rusted junk and the new policies and processes that upper management tries to implement on us.... Fwiw, I haven't met an upper management person yet that understands how a retail automotive repair shop really works. Yes, they have an MBA and they know numbers, but I've got the real world experience that they don't.

At the end of the day, I've made good money doing what I do, but it's not a job for everyone, I've seen more guys come and go than I can count. Anyone can change parts, it's knowing what part to change that makes you the money.

 

[India_Sierra]

I've been a police officer for twelve years now. I've always found it hugely enjoyable. I've been in some grim situations, seen some awful sights and been through things I'd rather never go through again, but overall it has been nothing short of an absolute blast. We just have such a great laugh every day. I've been on the frontline the whole time, moving soon to traffic. Just a great time.

 

[sharkbait130]

The customer is always right.......Nope
The customer is usually wrong.
Often , the customer is an idiot.
This was taught to me during a state sponsored advanced plumbing class that I took years ago.

 

[motoman]

Outdoor power equipment mechanic.

 

[buldog5151bass]

This is about the worst possible time to be changing careers. LOTS of skilled people looking for work.

 

[Mike N]

This is about the worst possible time to be changing careers. LOTS of skilled people looking for work.

Send those people to Western NY...... there's more places here looking for people that you could shake a stick at. The problem is, no one seems to want to work. I can't tell you the number of guys I've had pass through my shop that would rather state at their phones versus get their hands dirty.

 

[bolophonic]

I am at home full-time with my kids now that the pandemic has taken over. Before that, I was a technician in a prosthetic fabrication lab, which sounds cool — and it was — but I hope I never set foot in that world ever again. They burned me out. Their loss.

 

[charlie monroe]

Send those people to Western NY...... there's more places here looking for people that you could shake a stick at.

I could hire a CNC programmer, a couple or three plant maintenance mechanics, a process technician or two and a dozen or more machine operators next week.

 

[68Goldfish]

Automotive mechanic at a Honda dealership. Don’t recommend it....
Edit: That might just be my old age and worn out body talking. There’s good money to be made, especially if your motivated. But I’d hate to be on the bottom trying to work my way up.

 

[ElectroVibe]

It seems like it would be easy to help people who were so lacking in knowledge. Like their problems would be simple ones.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

There are jobs out there. You have on the one hand folks laid off via covid, and on the other hand folks dead from it in the worst (but most etymologically correct) form of predecessor, and also people who have moved or re-evaluated their lives due to it leaving openings behind as well.

I'm presently self-employed / contracting (over-educated low-voltage electrician) but have already turned down 3 jobs this year because they were not safe and I'm not immortal. The last job I worked on was sketchy as heck with maskless morons, and I opted to stop doing those.

That may speak to not leaving right now if your current job offers a fairly safe work environment unless your proposed new job also does, or you may be immortal. In any case, there are plenty of jobs in a variety of fields out there, from what I see right now.

 

[Mike JV]

I worked in 2 CNC machine shops, one from 1986 until August of 1998, then I went to another shop until June of 2014. The hours were very long in both but I actually enjoyed what I was doing. Lots of laughs as well. Politically correct did not exist in those shops and everybody was in the crosshairs. Made for some hysterically funny moments!

After than I was a contract worker at one of the major automotive companies where I worked in the quality department taking care of getting replacement parts for the prototype builds we did. I really enjoyed that job. Then in mid 2019 I was "volun-told" I would be part of the procurement group. Started off okay but then it got real stressful real quick. Got let go in March (as others did as well) due to the virus coming to town. My original plan was to work until March of this year then retire. But when I was let go the unemployment numbers were exploding and I said I've had enough of the daily grind and decided to retire.

Life is good, I'm never bored, lots to do, I know how to occupy myself and sleeping in is great!

 

[48thStreetCustom]

Maybe you could get a job teaching IT.

 

[bajaandy]

Thirtieth year as a shop teacher. In the school I graduated from. Took over my shop teachers job after getting a degree and a teaching credential and after a stint in the stair building and cabinetmaking trades. 158 days from grabbing the gold ring. Yeah, it's a poopy year to retire on... How the hell do you teach high school kids wood shop online? Pretty much it's turned into the "watch my teacher build stuff" show. Oh well. But I am ready to be done with the teaching gig. It's been good... I know for a fact that I've had a profound impact on a number of students who otherwise wouldn't have done well after high school. And I'm still at the top of my game. I always said I wanted to go out when the district would have to ask "How will we ever replace him?", and not "Why didn't he retire 5 years ago?". But it hasn't always been candies and nuts. Every job is just that... a job. You get in to it and you persevere. Or you don't and you get out of it and do something else. I got lucky. Shop teacher is a pretty cool gig. But I'm not gonna retire a millionaire, that's for damn sure. But the cool thing is, I've got this rad skill set... I'm a woodworker. And a pretty good one. So now I'm gonna retire from one career and go back to the other one that started it all. Woodworking is in my DNA. I have to do it.

To the OP, I hope you find what you're looking for. It's out there. Best of luck to you.

 

[hbarcat]

Industrial painter.

For the past 25 years I've worked for the same small company that makes model train cars for model railroad hobbyists.

The owner and my coworkers are fantastic and they leave me alone to do my job without micromanaging me. My paint room is isolated from the rest of the building so I go through most days without having to deal with others.

This isn't the type of job for everyone and it realily doesn't pay well, but I'm satisfied with it.

Long ago, I worked in retail as a sales clerk in a high end camera shop. I'd say 95% of customers were just fine, while 5% were unreasonable or obnoxious jerks.