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I find myself in an unusual situation. Many of you, I am sure, have the experience of enjoying the work you do. I'm talking about the actual tasks you perform. Certainly there are some portions (some tasks) that you would rather give away but, overall, you like your job.

What you don't like is some external aspect of your job. It might be your boss, your boss' boss, the company, the corporate culture, the dufus in the next cubicle who ALWAYS uses his speakerphone (gonna have to get a friend with a sexy voice to leave a really provocative message for him some day)... whatever. But you like your job and you like doing it for the people whom you directly affect.

I find myself in the opposite position. I love the company I work for. The perks are better than most. The corporate culture is phenomenal. My co-workers are nice people (easily tolerated at worst). My supervisors are available, friendly and knowledgeable. And my manager, with a singular exception, is the best I've ever had. I just can't stand the work.

I work in a call center. I'm not timed on how long I'm on the phone, which is good, but I am tied to it. Shackled to it is more like it. Every moment I am on the clock is timed. How long was I on a call, what percentage of my time was I available to take calls, how many minutes was I in personal mode (bathroom break). That phone has to know exactly what I am doing every second of my work day.

If I'm on a call, I can't leave. I can't just step away for a moment and come back to it later. If it's lunch time, so what. I didn't get lunch today until four hours after my appointed lunch time. It sucks. It is not a framework I can be happy in.

Sure, there are positions I might move into that are not so rigid but I have to "pay my dues" as it were. I have to gain the necessary experience to step up and even then I'm not sure I wouldn't be a slave to the almighty phone queue in some way. I gotta get out. I gotta find something different.

The environment and the people I work with are all that have kept me here this long. I know I'm good at what I'm doing. The people tell me so and the numbers ("metrics") back it up. I just feel trapped and I have to get out.

Some people enjoy the work. I see them every day. It's not a bad job it's just not for me. I can't deal with the constraints; the constant feeling that I'm being watched and measured.

I could spill my brains about this for quite some time but I think you get the picture. I'm sorry to have burdened you with it but it's been burning my brain and it had to get out. I hope I can last until something changes.