How much of your identity is wrapped up

[scrhsa]

I hadn't really thought about it before because I've never had "career". I've had jobs. Jobs mostly in the child/education fields. Looking back, I've always been the "kid" person. I always got stuck entertaining other peoples kids where ever I ended up. I just LOVE kids and get along really well with kids. That's just who I am. So I would have to say that I'm pretty wrapped up in it . Though as I get older I find myself having less and less patience. Well, maybe not less patience but with less of a desire to be the one always entertaining the kids. Or just burned out maybe.

 

[RedAngie]

Very little. While I enjoy my job for the most part and it's in the field of my college major, I don't identify myself or my self-worth by it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Quite a bit. I’ve been a nurse practically my whole life as even when I was growing up I spent time with patients in nursing homes because my mother worked there, and perhaps now even more so as I’m pretty much caring for Mom exclusively now.

I imagine it also might be more difficult to “get away from” when you are always the one caring for people in your family, answering questions, making referrals, and working irregular schedules like many of us do that see you working weekends and holidays and such.

I don’t really mind, though, because I like it and I’m glad I found something I enjoy, especially when I know I’ve helped people, even if it’s in a small way. I’ve been away from work a couple of times when I was sick, and I missed it - it was like being without my right arm or something as I can best describe it.

I realize not all nurses feel this way! But many do.

 

[MamaBelle4]

Out of curiosity, I asked my DH. He said "Probably a lot." He's a welder/fitter for structural steel. I've mentioned on here before that his company actually built part of Pandora (his boss got free tickets to come down then). Disney actually has stricter requirements than most bridges and buildings and sends their own QC to oversee. Right now, they're working on restoring a covered bridge that Lincoln's funeral train passed through (or something like that).

He also does ornamental welding on the side.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Quite a bit, but I’m one of the lucky few whose job actually ties into their passion. My current job isn’t exactly what I want to be doing, but it’s a stepping stone in the industry I want to be in. I’m interested to ask my peers this question; I think a lot of them would say the same.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Not much. I work at my job from 8:00 to 4:00, and when I leave, work stays there to be picked back up the next day. I enjoy my job, but it doesn't define who I am.

 

[aprilchem]

I'm a college professor, so pretty much all of it.

 

[lovesmurfs]

A lot more than I ever knew. When I was unemployed for six months, I downward-spiraled and had trouble leaving the house because I couldn't handle people asking me what I did, or how the job search was going. This was 10 years ago, and it still feels like yesterday.

 

[1GoldenSun]

A huge amount. I would say "too much" but it works for me and I'm happy. I have a lot I'm looking forward to in retirement so it's not like I'm going to lose myself when that time comes.

 

[Kitty 34]

When I subbed at the schools for over 30 years my identity was totally teaching those kids and being Mrs. "Smith". But at home I tried mostly to be just Mom and wife.

Now I'm just Gramma Kitty and of course BJ gambler at the casino. I run into students over there once in awhile. They still think of me as their teacher/sub, which is fine.

 

[ronandannette]

All of it. ALL.

I'm a college professor, so pretty much all of it.

May I ask what you mean by this? As somebody on the other side of the coin, I'm not sure I understand.

 

[Snowysmom]

I try to keep my work separate from the rest of my life so it doesn't really define me. I have a degree in accounting and work in accounting now. I have been a stay at home mom and worked in libraries for several years. Once I leave work each day I leave it there.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

My career was in the arts, I trained for it and was making a pretty decent living doing freelance work, besides working as a holiday designer for a big company in Philly. I was always The Artist in the family. The Artist. THE ARTIST.

And then I had my breakdown and suddenly I couldn't work, even freelance stuff. The anxiety was just too horrible, and so was the Depression with a Capital D. I didn't know anymore how to think of myself, and pretty much spiraled off the deep end. I'm better now, after medication and lots of therapy. Still can't work. But I try very hard to not look back and think of myself as a failure.

 

[belle'ssister]

Before I retired two and a half years ago I would say quite a bit. I owned and ran a dance studio. I loved it most of the time.There was teaching, choreography, costumes, and performances and so much more. I still miss it but for health reasons I needed to stop.

 

[Jennasis]

May I ask what you mean by this? As somebody on the other side of the coin, I'm not sure I understand.

Well, I'm a riding instructor, horse trainer and boarding farm owner/manager. My job is 24/7. I wake up to horses...I spend all day working with my horses...and I sleep thinking about the horses LOL. It's not just a job or even a career. It is a way of life. It is WHO and WHAT I am.

 

[powellrj]

I would say 0 when I was working. I was wrapped up in being a mother/daughter more than a food broker.

 

[becalubob]

A LOT. I do case management for people with intellectual disabilities. Before that I was a direct support staff in a group home for many years. My role now allows me to advocate for my clients and be a voice for them when they (or their guardians) can’t or don’t know how. I absolutely love my job. Next to wife and mom, it’s how I define myself.

 

[aprilchem]

May I ask what you mean by this? As somebody on the other side of the coin, I'm not sure I understand.

Well, as a college professor who has had 9 years of training and 18 years of experience in my field, I'm totally immersed in it. I teach it, research it, publish papers in it, help to develop the newest innovations in it. I live and breathe chemistry 24 hours a day. I have life-long tenure and thus I am guaranteed my job for the rest of my life, so that alone makes it different than other jobs. Any many faculty members do just that - stay in one job, at one institution, for their entire careers. It's just a different kind of profession.

 

[Scifidiner]

Zip, I went to school for a long time to do what I do, but it does not define me. I work to fund my life and trips to WDW.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

In my former job I had a lot of my identity wrapped up in my profession. That's just who I was, I was a librarian. I'm doing something very different now and I absolutely love it, but it's not my identity anymore. I do still take the stress of my job home with me a lot, and now my job carries so much more stress. More often than not I send up a prayer of thanks when I get home and my daughter's bus is late because it gives me a chance to sit in the car for a few extra minutes and decompress from a rough day before I have to be a happy, carefree mama.