Is your job/career consistent with your political beliefs and values?

[undeterred]

The career that was really consistent with my beliefs and values turned out not to be vary marketable.

Now that I am in a technical field I can work almost anywhere - but the more I knew about the last corporation I worked for, the more I wonder how I could work there. But in these economic times, it seems like a luxury to seek employment only where I could go along with everything a company does.

[autorank]

1. YES

[demnan]

2. As a contract for the Federal Government

I felt a hell of a lot better about it when Clinton was President.

[blondeatlast]

48. I don't doubt that--and on so many fronts, too. nt

[Protagoras]

3. Yep

:D

[ElsewheresDaughter]

4. totally

[tk2kewl]

5. yes, it is

[wtbymark]

6. Yes, but i'm under attack

I work for PBS

[Jo March]

7. My job - no, it's not consistent at all with my beliefs/values

I work for a large bank.

My second job? Yes. It is consistent with my beliefs & values but I can't pay the bills and still eat if I just work the one job. Such is life. Mr. Arnheim and I are hoping for the day when I can do what I love and not have to feel so slimy about what I do in my "day job."

[IndianaGreen]

8. No n/t

:cry:

[BR_Parkway]

9. Yes, I run a sustainable small business and get to educate other

people in the process.

[sui generis]

10. 180 degrees

I work for the "senior partners" at Wolfram & Hart, or close enough, except they're not as nice.

:hide:

[Jara sang]

11. No, I am Satan's lap dog.

:evilfrown:

[undeterred]

14. Tony Blair, is that you?

John Howard?

[chalky]

59. What's the line from The West Wing?

I'll paraphrase--My company isn't Satan. My company runs to the store to get Satan a pack of cigarettes.

Just the latest in their iniquities are in this post I made a few months ago.

[triguy46]

12. Yes for me, large public university, soon to be under attack

Yes for wife, but as a public school teacher is under attack, yes for son who is working for a national non-profit providing education and learning opportunities that address bigotry, hatred, racism.
daughter still in college but made quite a name for herself defending Title IX in discussions in one of her lecture classes, taking lazy 18 y/ males to task, (she's full ride academic, varsity volleyball, 4.0) and was outraged that they dissed Title IX. Hell, they weren't even athletes.

We think of ourselves as the last normal family on earth. Please tell me I'm wrong.

[undeterred]

19. I love hearing about your daughter

I was at the end of high school in when Title IX was passed. Our boys cross country team won the state meet 4 years in a row and had a great coach. I and some other girls were feeling inspired by this, and we found a few phys ed teachers willing to coach us - just a club, nothing official. There was an indoor track, and our teachers asked the coach if we could use it sometime during the week- his answer was: before 5:30 am or after 10:00 pm. He had way to much power for us to do battle. I felt resigned to cheering for the boys- and I attended many sporting events, but I always felt a little cheated, and I've never been very athletic.

Years later I met someone at work who had gone to the same high school and we got to talking about this subject... her little sister had just won first in state at the cross country meet. Now that's progress!

[alarcojon]

22. Yes, I'm a professor at a mid-sized public university

and I'm teaching young people how to think. These days, there is also plenty of activism to be done around curricular matters (tenure under attack, Horowitz's bleating about hiring more conservative faculty, discussing the war in the classroom, etc.)

My wife also teaches at the same institution. So I guess we're another normal family. B-)

[entanglement]

39. You have graph theory as a hobby!

That's about the coolest hobby I've ever seen in anyone's profile :)
:toast:

[alarcojon]

55. Why thanks for noticing!

The really great thing is that it is my research area, but it is so interesting and so much fun that I think of it as a hobby, not really as work. B-)

:toast:

[alarcojon]

56. repeat - self delete

[flygal]

26. Look at you

Making all those beautiful liberal children!! Our family has five kids - all but one voted for Kerry - and he's always been the blacksheep. My sister and her hubby are in very liberal jobs. My brother is Army but hates *. Other brother is very active with outdoors sportsman issues - hunting, fishing - votes dem. Both parents are dem. They got 4/5 of us right.

[TlalocW]

13. It's iffy

I'm the Coldfusion/Webpage-database guy for a small company and the only democrat in our office. There's a lot of ribbing that goes back and forth, and we all get along great. We do have some websites done for some conservative people/causes including some horrible book done by a local AM conservative talk show host, lots of conservative churches, etc.

I have a feeling though that if a liberal wanted to give us money, we'd take it.

TlalocW

[MsTryska]

15. well...

I can say after having held many jobs, in various sectors, over the last few years, yes – my current employer does mesh nicely with my own beliefs. But I certainly don’t understand how the rabid republicans I work with manage to work here.

[Obamarama]

16. NO....but it will be in about two years!

I used to work as a PR/Marketing Communications professional. Over the course of the last 4 to 5 years I became totally disenchanted and cynical about my role within the companies I worked for.

I worked primarily in employee communications, which essentially meant I was tasked with crafting messages to try to convince my fellow employees that getting anally raped by the top of they corporate pyramid wasn't really that bad. Basically, I was the guy pushing the peas under the mashed potatoes, hoping employees wouldn't notice.

I tried to find opportunities with companies that were really invested in the well-being of their employees. I'm sure there really are some out there, but I'll be damned if I could find them. After three high-level corporate communications positions in the last seven years, I just this year decided I couldn't, in good conscience, peddle corporate, biz-speak bullshit to my co-workers, many of whom were giving their lives to these companies with little loyalty or true concern for their well-being in return.

I quit my last job and have gone back to school (just started this week!!!) for a complete 180 degree change - nursing! I'll be done in
two years and will then be invested in a career that will allow me several opportunities, listed below, in order of their importance to me:

1) I'll actually be making a positive difference in peoples' lives and probably even helping to save peoples' lives. I know the healthcare industry is fraught with all kinds of internal issues, but my primary goal is to make a real difference in peoples' lives, so I'll leave the bullshit to the ladder climbers.

2) It will give me the skills to volunteer at a really top-notch health clinic in my community for the un- and under-insured and the homeless. If I can't be a part of the solution to the lack-of-healthcare-insurance-for-all travesty in this country at a policy level, I feel an obligation to at least be down in the trenches helping those who have been left behind and caught between the cracks in our society.

3) It will allow me to work in a relatively recession-proof career and work in a field that in many cases still has some level of union involvement and protection from totalitarian workplace requirements.

[undeterred]

21. Good for you! There are so many opportunities within nursing..

Your comment is chilling but it rings true...

"After three high-level corporate communications positions in the last seven years, I just this year decided I couldn't, in good conscience, peddle corporate, biz-speak bullshit to my co-workers, many of whom were giving their lives to these companies with little loyalty or true concern for their well-being in return."

[madrchsod]

17. no

i work at one of the largest printing companies in the world and it`s the most unethical corporation i have ever worked at and one of the worse i have ever read about. i go to work everyday and hate the moment i walk in the door. the people i work with are real working class heroes and they are taken advantage of in everyway possible by the company.

[DoNotRefill]

18. Yes....

but I have to keep my mouth shut about my political beliefs....

[leftofthedial]

20. I guess so

I believe the bushturd and its gang are destructive to the middle class and working class

and I'm unemployed

[undeterred]

23. I'm unemployed too

and my earnings were getting bigger every year until 2001, at which point it started getting smaller every year when * got elected.

[leftofthedial]

28. yep.

140% salary growth from 1994 through 2000

then the company got crushed in the economy panic induced by the bushturd and the dick during the election

Then, a period of unemployment, followed by a 25% cut (not counting decreased benefits, bonuses and equity) for a job that lasted less than a year.

Then a further 20% cut for a job that lasted about 2 years, but for which pay was inconsistent for the final year--they still owe me over $10K.

[Book Lover]

24. Yes

I make college History textbooks that are not filled with untruths(positive or negative). For instance, one of my latest US History books has a government picture of Chinese and Filipino railroad workers on the cover; the previous edition had a picture of a beachfront. I'm not saying they're perfect, but we are stepping away from the Lynne Cheney model of history.

on edit: How did I manage to lose more than a sentence during editing?!

[undeterred]

25. thats terrific Book Lover

:thumbsup:

[blondeatlast]

49. Mind if I ask for which house?

I do purchasing for the library I work at... :evilgrin:

[Book Lover]

52. Check your PM

And thanks :-)

[supernova]

27. Yes, for the most part

I perform and get paid for the tasks and knowledge for which I was designed.

I do work for a fortune 50 company with a not so great past. But they try to make up for it every day here in the present. That makes me slightly antzy,but nobody's perfect and that includes employers.

I do know I am further along this line than I ever was in the past. And that makes me largely content.

[geniph]

29. Yes, pretty much

I work for a public school district, so at least I do believe in what we're supposed to be doing here, even if I think a lot of the good gets buried in standardized testing and flaps over hand-holding and handcuffing. In the main, most of us actually believe that educating every citizen, or trying to, is a good thing to do.

[bleedingheart]

30. yes and no

i can't really go into details.

[livinginphotographs]

31. No.

Not even close.

[meganmonkey]

32. Yes - I work for a non-profit food rescue/food bank

I love it. I volunteered here for 2 years and gave them my resume everytime it was updated until finally a position opened that I was qualified for.

Our mission statement:

Food Gatherers exists to alleviate hunger and address its root causes in our community by: reducing food waste through the rescue and distribution of perishable and non perishable food; coordinating with other hunger relief providers; educating the public about hunger; and developing new food resources.

[undeterred]

41. you're the best!

:thumbsup:

[Avalux]

33. Yes and No

My colleagues are liberal democrats and my work contributes to the good of society. However; in order to do my work, I have to deal with pharmaceutical companies, which I absolutely hate. Have to do it though.

[undeterred]

40. I had a phone interview today for a position at GE

Its a full time permanent position, and I've been doing low paying contract work with off and on benefits for the last 4 years. I hate the company, but I really need the money/security... :dilemma:

[Avalux]

50. You have to decide what's best for you -

if you have a family, then their security will probably come first - it's really tough. Good luck on your decision. :hi:

[Just Me]

34. YES (and under the strangest of circumstances,...

,...which I can't share).

Someday in the future, I may get to reveal the details.

[H2O Man]

35. Yep.

I'm retired. Before that I did social work.

[blindpig]

36. no, I'm a fucking hypocrite

How else can one describe a socialist pawnbroker? Proof positive that going with the flow is not all that it is cracked up to be. It sucks, but this dog is too old to learn a new trick. All that I can do is bring as much humanity as possible to a fucked up situation and hang on until retirement. And while usuary certainly does suck the recycling part is good, no new merchandise in this old fashioned shop.

[Zorra]

37. I guess; I left the US after the 2000 Selection

and pretty much dropped out of industrial society to become a "professional" boycotter, general striker, non-consumer, political and environmental agitator, and beach bum.

[Taxloss]

38. Yes, thank heavens.

[ComerPerro]

42. I am currently a repair rep for a major phone company

So, while I try to do everything what I can to help people, something tells me that I am not in a field that lines up with my political beliefs.

[Burma Jones]

43. Yes

I work on Medical Logistics Systems for the USMC. If the chickenhawks are going to send my fellow citizens off to fight in unjust wars, I can at least do something to help keep them alive.

[JanMichael]

44. Yes and no. Needless to say my job would seenm to be pretty progressive.

But the fact is I'm technically a gate-keeper for the plutocracy.

If my class goes so go they.

[Shoeempress]

45. Yes, Lawyer, gotta love that Constitution.

[Nikia]

46. I think that it is sort of neutral

I work in quality assurance for a food processor that is a privately held corporation. Our volume places us mid size, but it is a small enough organization that I know perhaps too much about it. In case anyone recognizes me or my organization, I will withold comment on the partners and their values. I can say that we make a safe product that is legally compliant. Perhaps processed food is less healthy than natural food, but it is cheaper, has a longer shelf life, and has a lesser chance of making someone acutely ill. I do wish that we would concentrate more on marketing our premium products rather than trying to cheapen our cheap to average products and hope no one notices.

[blondeatlast]

47. I'm a library/research assitant. I help get quality, reliable information

to the masses and am on the First Amendment front lines every day--I'm the second person to see "requests for reconsideration."

One of my duties is to help immigrants get the info they need to become citizens.

I'm happy to say an unqualified YES.

[Kerrytravelers]

51. Both myself and Mr. kt can say YES! A teacher and customer advocate for

internet company- one that is a blue company. I work with all Dems and so does Mr. kt. There is one rethug in his office, but that guys keeps his mouth tightly shut for he is outnumbered by hundreds!

[phylny]

53. Mine is - I do Early Intervention, which is a state-funded program.

Husband, on the other hand, works for Evvil Corporation ;)

[RetroLounge]

54. No, unless I spin and justify - something which I don't do

My company is just one thin layer removed from the Defense industry. Our clients make things that kill people.

But they pay well, I like the work, and I take some of the money they give me and donate it to Democrats.

:shrug:

RL

[lonestarnot]

57. Wouldn't have it any other way! Couldn't do it any more and too old for

that sucking up shit!

[Bouncy Ball]

58. Yes, very.

[lildreamer316]

60. Don't even go there...

...you REALLY don't want to know!:smoke:

[funkybutt]

61. I hereby NOMINATE this thread for GREATEST

the most interesting thread I've read all day

:)

[undeterred]

62. kick!

:kick:

[SmokingJacket]

63. I hate hearing people complain about their Evil Jobs.

I know a liberal guy who helps make missile parts. HELLO??? How can you sleep?

I know someone else who is very uncomfortable working for Big Pharma but, Well... it pays so well...

Live your beliefs, people!!!

I'd rather live in my car than live a lie.