Quitting my Boring Day Job to Work in a Barn

[endlessclimb]

Calling a spade a spade is not, and never will be, bullying.

You not agreeing with the comments does not make it bullying, either.

Remember you have control of how you respond to people, and quite literally, nothing else.

[Scribbler]

If someone was really interested in barn work, here is some of what they might say or ask.

Here is my experience.

What else should I know to get an entry level job? What should I know to get a better job?

What are the various job classifications in a barn?

What kinds of barns are out there? What is the difference between a show barn, a ranch, the race track, or a lesson barn?

What barns exist within commuting distance of my current home? What are typical pay rates and conditions of work locally?

Those are the kind of questions someone even semi serious would start asking once they realized they knew next to nothing and the field was more complex than they thought.

[halt]

@Mac123

You’re right, I should have said “most.” But I stand by what I said.

The attitude exhibited by this OP and many, many more (including my own brother, who is a millennial) support it. Just like this OP, most millennials care about their own personal fulfillment first. This creates the lack of ability to see things through, to be the cog in the wheel, to put in the hard work, whatever the case may be, because it isn’t fulfilling or doesn’t make them happy NOW.

Life isn’t always comfortable or fun or entirely fulfilling. It’s often not easy, it often is comprised by hard work, determination, and perseverance before any sort of reward. But we live in a culture that says that personal happiness, personal fulfillment, having fun, feeling like you’re making a difference - that all of that is most important. And it’s all inward and self-focused. And takes all of the personal responsibility out of the equation.

What’s sad to me, is that millennials have so much incredible promise. Like you said, they have technology and tools that former generations have never had. And yet many are not willing to dig their heels in and work through things when it’s hard.

again, the issues you have with “millennials” is not generation specific.

it’s not a millennial problem. it’s a human problem.

people have been lazy for the entire span of human history.

in the early 60s, i think, the term “blister” was coined to describe someone who liked to show up after the work was done. that’s a long time before millennials existed.

personally, i think it’s good the shift we see in society towards better QOL. sorry that you think people who are unwilling to suffer/be unhappy are “not putting the work through”. i don’t think some of the previously acceptable things about work/life balance that are now being questioned is a bad thing, necessarily.

this is different from dumb enabling, and spoiled/entitled people – which btw, have always existed, and will exist again well past millennials.

[MtnDrmz]

@emmo

So because my question isn’t well thought out, it gives you the right to be disrespectful. Interesting logic!

That is actually not my logic. You misread what I wrote, but I don’t think that me elaborating can bring anything truly productive to the conversation. In any case, I wish you well and I hope that you figure out what to do with your life and that it brings you happiness.

[Scribbler]

@halt

again, the issues you have with “millennials” is not generation specific.

it’s not a millennial problem. it’s a human problem.

people have been lazy for the entire span of human history.

in the early 60s, i think, the term “blister” was coined to describe someone who liked to show up after the work was done. that’s a long time before millennials existed.

personally, i think it’s good the shift we see in society towards better QOL. sorry that you think people who are unwilling to suffer/be unhappy are “not putting the work through”. i don’t think some of the previously acceptable things about work/life balance that are now being questioned is a bad thing, necessarily.

this is different from dumb enabling, and spoiled/entitled people – which btw, have always existed, and will exist again well past millennials.

The thing is, finding quality of life balance requires you to take responsibility for yourself, face the world with a realistic but relatively positive outlook, and realize that if you are fundamentally dissatisfied with yourself, you will never be happy anywhere.

I was a teen in the 1970s and we grew up with a rather unrealistic " follow your dream" idea that was a holdover from the 1960s hippy era. So nothing about the current generation seems odd to me. I guess there was a decade in there of full employment or something like that against which folks are now contrasting the current moment? Maybe the big tech boom?

I think the mid 20s are hard for many people, especially if you’ve gone to college and are just starting in the workforce.

I don’t think it’s laziness per se. It’s more depression, the transition to working in a fully adult world, the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, the loss of autonomy being the youngest and newest person, and a lack of the survival skills you need to get by in a heterogeneous organization where there may be no one you would want as a friend. So loneliness. Discouragement.

Also sometimes not knowing how to grab hold of a complex task and be a self starter. This makes you even more dependent on your bosses.

This all leads to resentment. Also, a very human trait, deciding the environment is responsible for those problems. It may very well be a contributing factor. But your own attitude is at least as much a factor.

[emmo]

@Scribbler

If someone was really interested in barn work, here is some of what they might say or ask.

Here is my experience.

What else should I know to get an entry level job? What should I know to get a better job?

What are the various job classifications in a barn?

What kinds of barns are out there? What is the difference between a show barn, a ranch, the race track, or a lesson barn?

What barns exist within commuting distance of my current home? What are typical pay rates and conditions of work locally?

Those are the kind of questions someone even semi serious would start asking once they realized they knew next to nothing and the field was more complex than they thought.

Yea sure, great questions. Please answer them as well if you can.

[halt]

@Scribbler

The thing is, finding quality of life balance requires you to take responsibility for yourself, face the world with a realistic but relatively positive outlook, and realize that if you are fundamentally dissatisfied with yourself, you will never be happy anywhere.

I was a teen in the 1970s and we grew up with a rather unrealistic " follow your dream" idea that was a holdover from the 1960s hippy era. So nothing about the current generation seems odd to me. I guess there was a decade in there of full employment or something like that against which folks are now contrasting the current moment? Maybe the big tech boom?

I think the mid 20s are hard for many people, especially if you’ve gone to college and are just starting in the workforce.

I don’t think it’s laziness per se. It’s more depression, the transition to working in a fully adult world, the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, the loss of autonomy being the youngest and newest person, and a lack of the survival skills you need to get by in a heterogeneous organization where there may be no one you would want as a friend. So loneliness. Discouragement.

Also sometimes not knowing how to grab hold of a complex task and be a self starter. This makes you even more dependent on your bosses.

This all leads to resentment. Also, a very human trait, deciding the environment is responsible for those problems. It may very well be a contributing factor. But your own attitude is at least as much a factor.

i agree with you whole-heartedly. i don’t find what the poster above is talking about to be unique to only millennials.

[ladyj79]

@emmo

Yea sure, great questions. Please answer them as well if you can.

Wow.

[emmo]

@Scribbler

If someone was really interested in barn work, here is some of what they might say or ask.

Here is my experience.

What else should I know to get an entry level job? What should I know to get a better job?

What are the various job classifications in a barn?

What kinds of barns are out there? What is the difference between a show barn, a ranch, the race track, or a lesson barn?

What barns exist within commuting distance of my current home? What are typical pay rates and conditions of work locally?

Those are the kind of questions someone even semi serious would start asking once they realized they knew next to nothing and the field was more complex than they thought.

Forgot to mention my location is Toronto. Entry level.

[MtnDrmz]

@emmo

Forgot to mention my location is Toronto. Entry level.

Per the dressage thread you are now looking for dressage trainers, and got some good recs based off the simple straightforward info you presented when you asked

[Scribbler]

@emmo

Yea sure, great questions. Please answer them as well if you can.

Umm. No.

However when and if you do try to start a transition to a career in development work or environmental tech, I hope you reflect on the train wreck you made of this thread, and do a better job of self presentation.

Yes, we are all aware that you live and work in Toronto and are a junior engineer with previous experience in Australua emplyed on a new highway construction job in a position that involves liasing with contractors.

[IPEsq]

@emmo

Yea sure, great questions. Please answer them as well if you can.

I don’t get it. Why won’t you engage with the people who are trying to help you? You are only engaging with the people you find to be negative.

What does entry level mean to you? What skills do you have?

[Scribbler]

@IPEsq

I don’t get it. Why won’t you engage with the people who are trying to help you? You are only engaging with the people you find to be negative.

What does entry level mean to you? What skills do you have?

I had been assuming OP was a new member from the bluntness and cluessness of her question.

But actually OP has a string of started topics asking about beginner lessons, being a working student in a breeding barn, riding holidays, etc etc with no follow-up that OP actually took any action to make that happen.

From those posts, the picture is of an adult beginner rider with no exposure to the local riding scene.

[ladyj79]

At a certain point, it doesn’t matter what your skill set. If you are extremely unpleasant, you aren’t going to find sustained or satisfactory employment.

[emmo]

@IPEsq

I don’t get it. Why won’t you engage with the people who are trying to help you? You are only engaging with the people you find to be negative.

What does entry level mean to you? What skills do you have?

Sorry, I guess the negative ones stand out more…

Been volunteering at my local barn for 6 months but can’t continue because of schedule conflict…so experience is lunging horses, feeding, turning out and mostly shown in in house skill development school shows.

[Scribbler]

@emmo

Sorry, I guess the negative ones stand out more…

Been volunteering at my local barn for 6 months but can’t continue because of schedule conflict…so experience is lunging horses, feeding, turning out and mostly shown in in house skill development school shows.

Well, you could quit your job and go work there for minimum wage?

What is your riding level? What can you do on horseback, and what kind of horse can you ride?

How long have you been riding? How long have you been in lessons? How often do you ride per week?

Can you handle horses that are hot on the ground? Do you have problem solving skills for hot or agitated horses?

How fast are you at mucking stalls? How strong are you for moving hay and feed? Can you stack hay bales?

[jolise]

I don’t see anything wrong with taking some time off from your current work to examine what you want to do with your life. You seem to getting some harsh responses. It also seems that you are realistic in your expectations and know that you won’t make much money and will do long hours with the horses. Nothing wrong with that. I don’t see you asking for any handouts from anyone. If you have a degree in engineering then I presume you are intelligent and accustomed to working hard. You will have that degree to fall back on. There are other jobs out there if you are resourceful. Good luck!

[emmo]

@jolise

I don’t see anything wrong with taking some time off from your current work to examine what you want to do with your life. You seem to getting some harsh responses. It also seems that you are realistic in your expectations and know that you won’t make much money and will do long hours with the horses. Nothing wrong with that. I don’t see you asking for any handouts from anyone. If you have a degree in engineering then I presume you are intelligent and accustomed to working hard. You will have that degree to fall back on. There are other jobs out there if you are resourceful. Good luck!

Thank you. I’m leaning towards taking some time off to explore the horse industry…as you say I have nothing to lose… My engineering skills will stay with me.

In regards to the harsh responses, I try not to take any of it personally… I know it has more to do with the other person’s personal issues and insecurities. Apparently quitting my job and working in a barn is considered arrogant behavior and offensive to some which is quite surprising to me.

[Scribbler]

@emmo

Thank you. I’m leaning towards taking some time off to explore the horse industry…as you say I have nothing to lose… My engineering skills will stay with me.

In regards to the harsh responses, I try not to take any of it personally… I know it has more to do with the other person’s personal issues and insecurities. Apparently quitting my job and working in a barn is considered arrogant behavior and offensive to some which is quite surprising to me.

No, the idea was considered unwise and possibly foolish for a starry eyed novice whose lack of skills will limit them to grunt work, poorly paid, with no room for advancement.

​​​​COTH gets these kind of questions all the time, though mostly from high school kids.

In general if you want to advance through working student to trainer and pro rider, you need to already be a fairly high level rider capable of benefitting from aa serious internship.

Otherwise you just muck stalls and turn in until you get a back injury or get kicked and lose your job.

It is your extremely defensive and quickly escalating reactions to pragmatic common sense suggestions from people who all know more than you do about the horse industry, that made people find your subsequent posts arrogant and ignorant and defensive.

And makes folk think you won’t hold up to the stress of working for pay in a barn. In general a good rule of thumb is, the less you get paid the harder you have to work.

Of course you are free to make the experiment yourself.

If you get tired of cleaning stalls you could always clean houses. Better pay, more autonomy, and better working conditions. But higher standards of clean.

[emmo]

@Scribbler

No, the idea was considered unwise and possibly foolish for a starry eyed novice whose lack of skills will limit them to grunt work, poorly paid, with no room for advancement.

​​​​COTH gets these kind of questions all the time, though mostly from high school kids.

In general if you want to advance through working student to trainer and pro rider, you need to already be a fairly high level rider capable of benefitting from aa serious internship.

Otherwise you just muck stalls and turn in until you get a back injury or get kicked and lose your job.

It is your extremely defensive and quickly escalating reactions to pragmatic common sense suggestions from people who all know more than you do about the horse industry, that made people find your subsequent posts arrogant and ignorant and defensive.

And makes folk think you won’t hold up to the stress of working for pay in a barn. In general a good rule of thumb is, the less you get paid the harder you have to work.

Of course you are free to make the experiment yourself.

If you get tired of cleaning stalls you could always clean houses. Better pay, more autonomy, and better working conditions. But higher standards of clean.

Let’s not rewrite history…

@Scribbler

one of the things that probably contributed to getting folks backs up is coming onto a chat board full of pros in a field and showing that you imagine this very real field of hard work, low pay, and obsessive lifetime passion, to be an easy way for a disaffected, possibly depressed, young office worker who has apparently never done physical labor, to just take a holiday from adult life.

How arrogant is that?

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