Anyone ever worked in "Corporate America" and felt like they were "living the dream?

Wouldn't say no office politics but they are minimal. Everything else you ask for goes. We have a core team of about a dozen, been together for about ten years, one of the most productive teams in the company. Work well together, everyone knows his role and performs it well. No kissing up needed, most team members are vocal and opinionated but knowledgeable and experienced so that those opinions are valued.

Personally, I would have never "dreamed" ending up like this, it is a bit mundane to be the stuff of dreams, but I've done well financially, raised a family, become well entrenched and involved in one of the better communities in the South. Really want for nothing and am transitioning toward a comfortable retirement in a few years.

There are days that grind on me, but my gig is pretty good.  I've learned a ton, work with a ton of brilliant people and been on amazing teams.  I feel like what we do is important.  I've traveled the world.  I have to say I missed my job (and especially my team- even thought they brought me lunch and chatted every week or so) when I was on maternity leave.  Even if some days I wish I could do it part time.

I live somewhere awesome.  My bosses are understanding about my life.

Overall, I think I'm doing pretty good at living the dream.  My husband and I were just talking about it the other night.  There are periods of time that I lose sight of how good I have it- but overall, life is pretty good.

:D I can honestly say, I've never had that dream. Just not me.

I did work in a "semi" corporate world for a couple of years, but even then, the most "corporate" part about it was our Republican clients.

Honestly, I don't think I'd fit in there all that much--and while I like money as much as the next person, I'd rather be me all the time, than have to censure myself in the office.

That being said...I work at a University. So, very non-corporate (well, in some respects), but the office politics are amazing. I don't think you can escape that, I really don't. I think some form of politics/strife creation/unrest/discontent/intrigue is just human nature.

I love my (corporate) job. Yeah nothing's perfect, and there are days when I shake my head. But for the pay, benefits and hours it's totally worth it. More than worth it.

There was about a year where I had a really crappy boss. But he moved up and is doing a different job now. I can say 3 out of the 5 bosses I've had are some of the best, most talented and supportive people I know. I'm proud to say I worked for them. I will miss them the most when I move on.

As for my other team members (down to 2 now), I feel like we truly have each others' backs. We step in and help when needed, give credit where credit's due, and share laughs along the way. 

My dream growing up was to be a forest ranger, so no on the Corporate America dream thing.  Never been much of a suit guy.  I threw that "dream" out the window when I learned how much they make.  Not that I'm money driven, but I need to make above the poverty line.  So I headed toward a corporate environment (large international companies) and learned very quickly that it wasn't for me.

I tried it twice and both times I felt stifled by the lack of a decision maker.  Too many policies in place that wouldn't allow you to get your job done.  Slow approval process for just about anything.  Depending on people you've never even met to get their job done before you can even start yours.  Lack of a "big picture" direction.

I work for two small companies now (1,500 - 2,000 ee's and 16 ee's) and I'll probably NEVER work for anything larger.

On the plus side: There are no office politics; I have the leverage (and expectation) to make a decision and move forward without layers of approval; what decisions are above my pay grade I can get a decision within 5 minutes; we are not bound by any policy and can change directions on a dime to get the job done; lines of communication are as open as I've ever experienced; and we are not bound by working hours (8 - 5) to get things accomplished - I can reach my boss, reports, or other managers 24/7/365 if we've got an issue (this is somewhat of a byproduct of my industry).

On the minus side: The companies have such good benefits that no one leaves.  Someone has to either die, or retire for a slot to open up.  So it's slow professional growth.  When you work with a bunch of people (large corp) you can choose not to talk to some or to kind of fade into the background.  Basically you don't have to get along with everyone.  In a small company, you kind of do have to get along with everyone.  You can't really navigate around the problem areas or people, they have to be faced head on (this could have been put in the "plus" category too).

Some of this is specific to the company, while some I think is specific to small business.

I have worked in "Corporate America" since I graduated from college in '96 with the exception of the 4 years I worked in a school district.  I may have a different view of it, because I work in HR. 

Let me start by saying, I am completely burnt out working in HR and I am currently looking to make a career change.  My problem with it is that I see the office politics, I see the thinking that goes into the decision making with everything from promotions to benefits changes to lay-offs.  Some of those decisions are good, but a lot of the time those of us not making the final decisions are scratching our head wondering if the execs have their heads up their . 

In HR, I feel we're expected to lead by example and held up to a higher standard - we're expected to wear suits, we are expected to "love" the company (or at least act like we do), we work long- hours while other departments are taking advantage of 9/80s, etc.  In pretty much every company I've worked for, the HR department has been a dysfunctional mess and the office politics are insane.  Maybe it's because the department is mostly women?  I don't know, but in my last job it was obvious that most of the department (all women) were clawing their way up the ladder and trying to get into that next available manager or director role.  Nothing wrong with being ambitious, but they would throw others under the bus in a heartbeat.

Every company wants their employees to believe it's the best...they want them to drink the kool-aid, so to speak.  In HR, we have to be advocates of drinking the kool aid.  Does that make sense?  I am at a point where I will not drink the kool-aid, I am tired of worrying about why employees are leaving the company, I am tired of being responsible for an employee's happiness at work.  I just don't care.  I have employees who come to me very legitimate reasons.  But, I also have employees who come to me to complain about stupid, petty things - they don't like their boss, they don't like the location of their cube, they feel suzy is the boss' favorite, they don't feel they should have to cross-train...You know it's time to explore other career options, when all you really want to do is to tell the whiners to eff off and go back to work, lol! 

I know there are some folks who love their jobs in Corporate America.  I think either I just haven't found the right company or the right role for me.

I think it's a lot about perspective and attitude one brings to the job.

I worked in corporate America for a good 15 years and always loved every job I started and within a year to 18 months I started to hate it.  It was the same job, but my attitude changed and I started to focus only on the parts I didn't like and ignored the parts I did like.
After a good 7 or 8 years I realized that I was changing jobs every 12-18 months for this exact reason. I was always looking for the "perfect job".

It wasn't until I was about 18 months or so into a job that I really liked at first and began to hate (same old pattern) that I had a revelation.  I realized that I was falling into the same old pattern again and again and again.  I made a conscious choice to stop focusing on the bad stuff and only focusing on the good stuff and amazingly after a month or two I began to love my job again.  I not only loved my job I genuinely realized that I had my dream job and it all changed.  Yes the bad stuff was still there, but I didn't dwell or focus on it.  I simply laughed about it and relished the great things that I did enjoy.

I worked there for 7 years until I started my own business and still look back very fondly of that job.  Yes owning my own business is a dream job for me as well, but honestly no matter where I work from this point forward I can assure you that I will love it.

I would love a corporate america office job, but no one seems to think my skills/experience translate over (or I don't know how to market myself to it...that's probably more the problem).

In my mind, living the dream has much less to do with work than it does with every other aspect of my life.  No, I don't think you can be happy in the other areas of your life if you're miserable at work but like Tuwood says, it's mainly in the attitude you bring with you to work every day.

My dad used to say, "You're not supposed to like your job".  I don't think I necessarily believe that but he had a point.  Really living the dream is about doing things that often cost money and unless you're independently wealthy, a job will be the thing that affords you the opportunities to pursue something like your passion for triathlon for example.

Ideally you don't dislike your job.  If you do, time for a change.  But assuming you're not miserable, here's where the perspective part comes into play.  Whether you work in an office all dressed up, or the medical profession where changing lives is a more obvious part of your job, or as a garbage person, you must feel like you make a difference every day and are a valuable asset.

If you feel that way, you'll be innately happy no matter your job.  Add in a lifestyle outside of work that makes you truly happy, voila.  Living the dream. 

Where's the like button?????

I have had my moments, but when I weigh the + and -, the + far outweighs.

Work from home
4 weeks of paid vacation a year
10 Federal holidays a year
10 sick days a year (that I htink I have used 4 in 7 years)
Not micromanaged
Paid decently
and lately, several very high profile projects

This is not the career I imagined I would have, but I just need to stick it out for a few more years.

My father of happy memory had a third grade education and as a child picked coal up on the tracks that was dropped from passing railroad cars in order to keep his mother and siblings warm in the winter.

I photograph corporate executives as well as help corporate communications teams craft the messaging of their companies through video production.

I think my Dad would think I'm living the dream.

The older I get, the smarter he gets. So who's to argue.

Everything has a price. Did that for 14 years and I have to say towards the end it was a little like selling my soul. Of course, it depends entirely upon the industry, company, and, most importantly, coworkers.

I worked in research in large Pharma. In the early/mid 90's we were still all about innovation and commitment to basic research. As a freshly minted scientist who was used to working with limited budget and resources, it was incredible. We had access to the best of everything, and I was also fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. I was eager and aggressive, and got promoted 4 times in 5 years. Did a lot of international travel, all business class, hired car and driver, etc. Then we got 'merged' and I left. Took another step up. Same deal, only more. Meanwhile moving from research to business development and pure management. Didn't get a promotion, so started looking around. Was offered a job as Sr. VP at a major Pharma and went for the money and position. Uprooted the family yet again, moved across the country, and was utterly miserable. The job was impossible, the company was dysfunctional, and I was now on 50% travel. I did zero science, and my primary job function became politics, budgets, sitting in meetings and laying people off.

I had the crazy big house, more money than we could spend, and all that other materialistic cr*p. Never saw my kids, ego spiraled out of control, and was very, very unhappy. All I did was work. When merger #3 came down the pike I crashed. Wife left (rightly so), had no self control, and took quite a bit of time to get back to a good place.

I did a year's worth of charity work and figured out what was really important in my life. Science makes me happy, and that is no longer a priority in corporate Pharma. So I started a company to do my own thing. Fast forward to today. My oldest lives with me while he's in college, I see my other son whenever I want (~3 times a week), and my ex is a great friend. Family is the priority. I'm still a type "A" but it's not a one-dimensional thing anymore. I make probably a quarter of what I did at my peak and it's fine. Maybe my company will hit on something big, maybe not.

There are things I do miss though. I miss not having to worry about payroll. I miss some of the travel. I really miss a lot of the very talented people I was privileged to work with on a daily basis. They're out of Pharma too now, and we do keep in touch.

That was cathartic, thanks

Yep, to all of these, awesome job, terrific people, working hard and no office politics.

Worked at BigLaw for a while.  My immediate bosses were actually great... but overall, more nightmare than dream for me personally.  Not my cup o' billables.

What an incredible story. Thanks for sharing it Brian.