The Perfect Apsergian Job
October 4th 2007 03:55
What does a person do if they don't like dealing with people? It seems all jobs require some interaction with people which means having good people skills is a must. So how do those who prefer to be left alone (such as moi) make a living?
Writing would be perfect job but unfortunately it doesn't pay well and the chances of being published are slim. There's also data entry which pays better than writing but is dead boring; all you do is sit there day after day entering bits of information into a computer. zzz...I marvel at those who make a career out of it. Even working with animals involves dealing with people (particularly small ones), especially if you happen to work at the zoo, pet shop or the circus.
Five years ago, when I decided to change careers as I wanted something less people focused, I was really stuck as to what to do as seldom do you see a job ad that does like this: 'wanted: someone who likes to work on their own and who enjoys emailing people instead of talking to them. People skills not essential but must be able to communicate. Must be proficient in Microsoft Outlook.'
One of my friends suggested working in I.T. but as anyone who has ever worked in an office knows, I.T. involves lots of interaction with people, albeit over the phone. And often I.T. people get their ears chewed off by frustrated people.
Then, by chance, I stumbled into reconciliations which led to fraud investigation. In lay terms, reconciliations involves comparing figures from two different sources and figuring out what causes the differences. It is part of fraud prevention - hence the fraud investigation work it led me into, which is as about as autonmous as a job can get.
I have been in this area for the past 5 years and love the autonomy. I get to work on my own, seldom do I need to answer queries and I could go for days without having to speak to a single soul. Being autonmous and not having to deal with people is particularly important in fraud investigation as obviously, a great degree of confidentiality is required.
Some branches of reconciliations are more 'social' than others, depending on the individual requirements of the role. My current role is very autonomous but years ago I was working for a different company and was doing recs. It started off being autonmous and I was in heaven but towards the end of my reign it became very people-focused, to the point where I had to deal with people who would come up to my desk and shove workpapers in my face and demand I attend to their queries immediately, which I naturally hated. Often such people were rude and seemed not to notice that I also had my own work to do. This really tested my patience so I'm glad to be in my current job.
Writing would be perfect job but unfortunately it doesn't pay well and the chances of being published are slim. There's also data entry which pays better than writing but is dead boring; all you do is sit there day after day entering bits of information into a computer. zzz...I marvel at those who make a career out of it. Even working with animals involves dealing with people (particularly small ones), especially if you happen to work at the zoo, pet shop or the circus.
Five years ago, when I decided to change careers as I wanted something less people focused, I was really stuck as to what to do as seldom do you see a job ad that does like this: 'wanted: someone who likes to work on their own and who enjoys emailing people instead of talking to them. People skills not essential but must be able to communicate. Must be proficient in Microsoft Outlook.'
One of my friends suggested working in I.T. but as anyone who has ever worked in an office knows, I.T. involves lots of interaction with people, albeit over the phone. And often I.T. people get their ears chewed off by frustrated people.
Then, by chance, I stumbled into reconciliations which led to fraud investigation. In lay terms, reconciliations involves comparing figures from two different sources and figuring out what causes the differences. It is part of fraud prevention - hence the fraud investigation work it led me into, which is as about as autonmous as a job can get.
I have been in this area for the past 5 years and love the autonomy. I get to work on my own, seldom do I need to answer queries and I could go for days without having to speak to a single soul. Being autonmous and not having to deal with people is particularly important in fraud investigation as obviously, a great degree of confidentiality is required.
Some branches of reconciliations are more 'social' than others, depending on the individual requirements of the role. My current role is very autonomous but years ago I was working for a different company and was doing recs. It started off being autonmous and I was in heaven but towards the end of my reign it became very people-focused, to the point where I had to deal with people who would come up to my desk and shove workpapers in my face and demand I attend to their queries immediately, which I naturally hated. Often such people were rude and seemed not to notice that I also had my own work to do. This really tested my patience so I'm glad to be in my current job.
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Comment by Nina
Over the years I've learnt to better interact with people, but it does tire me out at times. I still don't particularly like talking to people on the phone.
Comment by Harry
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