Came here to say this. But as an IT person he won’t have those issues at all. Very cushy desk job. But with all the perks. Join the navy and see the world.
True, I’d generally steer people toward Air Force or space force if they have the aptitude and can get recruiters to call them back. Ever.
But there’s something amazing about being able to either live overseas or hit a bunch of port visits, and no guarantee you’ll go overseas in the air force.
I mean, if you can avoid the payday loans, the tattoo parlors are often decent places to hang. But I don’t recommend the army; haven’t met many who actually said they enjoyed it.
The navy sucked. Don’t get me wrong. It was brutal at times and not because we got shot at — we didn’t. But I had a f!ckin ball too.
Yup. Working as a line cook for a few years (through high school /early college basically), I was super tight with the crew I worked with, even if we had our differences. I was always 10+ years younger than the rest of em, but they definitely gave me a good idea of what excellent friend/coworker relationships can be while I was growing up.
I'd still interact or visit with em now that I'm out, except now my ex-gf works in my old role (trained her as I left and was later dumped), and I'd rather not deal with the headache lol.
Great point! I’m a vet and I work in a job with lots of other vets. It’s white collar, cubicle world. We get the job done but we’re also shooting the shit a lot.
Most of those who never served are much less social, they’re quieter and less interactive. Most of the “civvies” who are more social have worked with military before, or in similar high stress environments. The folks that deployed — we’re all happy as pigs in shit. We are stateside, not being yelled at all the time, or shot at, we’re being treated like adults, and they pay us more than in the military??? Lap of luxury, I tell you!
Also, as a team lead, we check on our people a lot, make sure that they have what they need to do their jobs, and have a strict policy: NO mandatory fun. We do happy hours. I’ll buy the first round if you show up. But you don’t have to. Wanna hang out with other adults for an hour or two after work once or twice a month and not talk about work? Cool. Otherwise, I’m just happy you’re meeting our metrics.
To slightly veer off topic, It’s amazing what team members can get done when they’re treated with respect and dignity. And it’s not hard to do. We no longer build bonds through shared trauma, but through working toward a common goal and celebrating successes.
TLDR: you CAN have camaraderie and good social interactions at work, especially when you’re not a dick of a boss demanding nose to the grind all the time.
Yep. My healthcare office job was cool enough and we even went out for drinks and stuff, but even though I don't go for drinks with my current front line healthcare coworkers I feel closer to them because we bond over what assholes patients and doctors can be.
Or work in the trades. We talk shit all day, every day. My coworker is the QC guy and went to the hospital with an obstructed bowel. I've been tempting him with snuck in steak and crab cakes all week and I refuse to stop (he can't have solid food). We do actually all care about each other. This is just my way of letting him know I'm thinking about him and want him better.
Our journeymen make $36/hr, and we're one of the lowest paying IBEW locals. It's not great, but it's nowhere near minimum wage.
Trades but restaurants in particular. You work side by side with people and go through high stress environments. Spend more time with them than your family. I don't cook anymore but I did for 15 years in the industry and I miss it for the comradierie. I still help friends out because it is just that fun.
Oh the pranks. Lol. Sprinkle a bit of citric acid on strawberries and straight face offer it to dishwasher. One time we melted gelatine into coworkers energy drink when he was busy then it turned to jello and he couldn't drink it hahah we died laughing.
Last day of work for the one sous we just covered him in flour, margarine (cheaper) chocolate syrup, icing powder and said here's your birthday cake. I go could on. After years of being out I still chuckle to myself. I work office now and yeah.
Unfortunately, pay can suck in most places.
Skilled trades can.
But maybe 20% of the time. It takes a crew that been working together for a while.
Alot of people in trades are quiet and awkward or too loud and talkative
I waited tables for years and had a tough time adjusting to an office job for this reason. Its been so long but I still yearn for the fun I had working in food services.
Same. I work in office and it's not the same. Doesn't help I don't want to show them that side of me since you know we are all messed in the head from food industry 🤣🤣 but I'm doing well. They are not used to someone like me always asking for more work. I enjoy doing like 2-3 people jobs.
I did a few stints working in call centers across various industries and some of my best friends to this day were coworkers I had in those jobs. Misery loves company and in those jobs your coworkers…just “get it.”
Never fucking doing call center work again. Shitty company, shitty customers, shitty management. The first two weeks after I was laid off were amazing.
I have been on truly collaborative software teams, but they are truly agile, do a lot of paired work, are very mission focused...and it was pre COVID and colocated....
Depends on the organization.
This is basically like my work for a Business Intelligence consultancy. We tend to work in small Agile teams of a BIA, Dev, and a PM as the core project team, with a Web Dev popping on for front end work as needed.
For the core team, we're very collaborative and tend to socialize a fair amount. Like, recently I was on vacation and was sending pics of some of the cool places I went to because I was visiting some National Parks. We also talk about pets, vent about things, trade food suggestions and tips, etc. Don't really hang out outside of work, which is perfectly fine with me, but we definitely do a lot more than just out our heads down and knock out Jira cards before clocking out for the day.
EEEEEYUP.
You are with the same people for 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. And, generally, on that “off day” (Saturday), your with your fellow camp counselors.
Pay is awful ($300 per week), and worked 16-hour days. Housing (in cabins) and meals were covered, though.
You need to have a sense of camaraderie with your fellow camp counselors to get through the summer, it’s grueling work — easily the hardest job I’ve ever had (physically-taxing, mentally-taxing, emotionally-taxing). I work as a mechanical engineer now (full-time), and I get paid a hell of a lot more for a lot less stressful work.
Bonus: very likely, you will fuck one of your fellow camp counselors. Didn’t think it would happen to me, but whoops.
I've found out that forming attachments to co-workers is painful when you or they leave and you discover that shared work space was the only reason for the bond.
Is systems or middle teir administrator. It's still technical complicated and involves a lot of problems solving like development. But you almost always have to coordinate with other teams and administrators for big changes.
in IT, join a start up if you can... you will be elbow to elbow with people (even virtually)... builds great comradery ... or go join a Crossfit... bond through suffering.
It depends on industry, age of participants, and security in your own skin. If you are in an industry that is run like the corporate version of Survivor you won’t have it. But when I worked at one company we were all older attorneys (over 45) and 4 of us covered the world. We had a great time and would back each other up and just laugh most of the day. It was great. Then that company was bought out by another company and they came in and treated us like we didn’t know anything. Within a year they had managed to get rid of three of us and the fourth had crawled up their butt so much it was shocking.
SW Development tends to be like this - may be talk to your boss to see if there are ways to make it fun. Can you go to work? that may make things slightly better
100% dependent on project team.
Some teams are cordial at the office but you couldn't get them to a happy hour if you put guns to their heads.
Some teams fucking hate each other.
Some teams vibe all day and stay friends later in life.
Some teams could honestly afford to chill out with after hours texting.
And some teams will always look at a consultant as a threat - in which case no matter how friendly, happy hour, lunches together that the team is, they might not tell the consultant that they’re meeting Moe’s for happy hour.
Developer advocacy teams tend to be more social by nature. This kind of work would leverage your dev skills but get you around people (but if you’re not into public speaking or content creation, that part might not be as pleasant).
Try logistics / supply chain management
I got burned out of too many people i must interact, beware of what u wishing for. Id prefeer being hermit no one disturbing my fucking peace
Try a company where the software developer is actively involved in end users. For example, a warehouse may have a specific in house custom program you maintain and you get feedback directly from onsite users/coworkers.
Any kind of job can provide that type of relationship between workers that interact. Sometimes though you have to go out and create it, especially if you work remote. Start chatting with people when you are helping them with tasks. Ask about their weekend plans, etc. groan about how leadership always gives unrealistic deadlines. This would be the same whether you work remote or in an office. Sometimes you need to make the first step.
This is absolutely possible with your current career and skillset, but it is highly dependent on the company, project, workmates and you. I have seen highly social development teams that became friends both inside and outside of work. I've also seen others where as soon as the clock hits 5, everyone may as well be dead to them.
Yeah I feel like its really easy to bond with coworkers when you’re actually working with them day time day in an office. Working in engineering I’ve only worked on one team where I felt like I couldn’t be friends with anyone but that was during a short internship in a busy factory where I was kind if forgotten about and didn’t receive a lot of work from day 1. Now that im out of college and working, I’m working with a great group of guys that share a wide variety of interests and we’ll occasionally hang out after work to blacksmith or do some gaming. Its all about just talking to people and being polite. If people are at least not an asshole you’re working with them for 8 hours a day, you’ll find something to talk about.
My job has a lot of comradery mostly built through pushing through unwieldy projects/tasks and responding to emergencies together.
It's also a quick way to find the selfish people in the group.
The trades. Most camaraderie I’ve ever experienced in my work life. I’m a building inspector now, and grateful to still be working in the industry and spending half my week on job sites, but nothing beats wearing a toolbag, swearing and sweating and bleeding and laughing with the boys while the boombox is blaring and we’re making good money to work out in the sun.
Anything construction/trade/physical labor related assuming you're on a good crew. You go through the shit together and enjoy the good days together. A lot of ball busting and story telling. I know things about some of my previous coworkers that they don't tell anyone because when you're working side by side with someone for years they become very family like or even closer sometimes.
I'm a project manager for a general contractor. The amount of shit talking and the non-politically correct talk that goes on would make an HR run away crying. I love it.
Just go into the office. The problem isn't the job, it's that you never actually see another human. Work from home is convenient but the atmosphere is much better in person and you'll naturally banter, eat lunch, go to happy hour, etc.
Teacher. I think that it is partially from trauma bonding. I am leaving the teaching profession, but I will genuinely miss my co-workers! They are wonderful! I know that it is also very dependent on the school/your team.
I worked for a few seasons as a commercial holiday lighter, mainly Christmas. We did large jobs in the greater Seattle area and our work schedule was a lot like being a fisherman. Long hours in the cold rain. Graveyards and more. It's the only job I've ever had where I smoked with the crew (I'm not a smoker at all anymore). But we would regularly work 19 hour shifts. I met one of my best friends through that job. And I still keep in touch with a few others. Mutual misery and suffering really does create strong bonds.
I got a job with a city government, and it's pretty nice in regards to comradery and socializing. Almost too much as I'm in introvert and find it exhausting. I'm forever being told I missed one function or another they are doing.
This is why I never went for the WFH-only roles. Sure I don't mind a day or two wfh a week. But I actually want to interact with my team when I'm working. I work in metrology for a large medical device company. I interact with my team and a ton of other laboratory associate daily. I am a mild introvert as well so I usually am drained from the social interactions by the time I get home. But I enjoy it quite a bit in the moment.
I was going to say nurses. And as a male nurse do not ever hesitate to take the leap. Yes you will get shitty people making fun of a male nurse, especially the old parts. But the other nurses, er techs, some er doctors, etc are amazing and make the day not so crappy.
Education. Some of the best coworkers, but also some of the worst. There is always a sense of community, though your heavily politicized and underpaid so that some random dumbass can try to get more votes.
Actually, inventory coordination at a food distribution center. Lots of good times and a highly social dynamic, unlike, say, graveyard shift factory work, etc. Not mandatory smiliness like fast food restaurants
Maybe look into roles at smaller companies and work on site. The smaller the team the better. I’m a project engineer and our department is 3 engineers, intern, and manager. At least half of the workday is spent just talking with colleagues, vendors, other departments.
I work on a software development team and we talk/ communicate/collaborate a lot more than 40 minutes per day. I think you may want to try a different company before switching fields completely. So far in the 2 different companies I’ve worked for, the IT teams are close knit, friendly, joking, etc even when remote.
Move furniture for a boutique or independently owned moving company. Just about the most relaxed team atmosphere there is, if you're physically able and willing to do it.
I’m a server and I talk to everyone, all the time. It’s the main qualification actually. You have to be very social to do it. I talk to complete strangers, my coworkers, and management all day every day
Everyone’s already saying it.
But they’re so close because they’re doing high stress physical work 😂.
If you want more commaderie in Software development join a tech startup . You’ll get similar effects
The animation industry is very a tight knit and social group. I’m friends with nearly everyone on my crew for most productions I’m on. You could look into doing software development for some studios and help out creating industry software tools if it’s something you’re interested in!
Depends on the company culture - I’ve done PM work at multiple companies - same role but vastly different experiences. Some are just dead silence, some are super fun. Definitely makes a world of difference in happiness at the role. You can typically get a feel for the atmosphere while interviewing.
I've been working with these two people for the past few years, and they are amazing! They make my job woth being there. We support each other a lot, and it's great. It's like having Fred Roger's and Einstein as your coworkers. It's the only time other than the Army that I liked my coworkers as friends. I wouldn't suggest the Army for just anyone, though. Hoo boy.
People bond over shared struggle. So, food service, nurses, military, etc.
They also tend to be jobs where the amount of work is fixed. So you have plenty of time to shoot the shit if there’s no customers.
My workplace has pretty decent comradery as a swe, but nothing like I had when I worked at a restaurant. We also are hybrid and some are fully remote, so that’s a barrier to what you’re looking for.
I work as a manager in retail. Where I work there’s a lot of high schoolers and college kids as well.
In exit interviews, one of the few good things they have to say is the employees were amazing and friendly with each other. Retail shows you the worst in people so having someone who’s around your age and can get along with makes it more bearable.
I was always like what you described in regards to the hospital with all my coworkers across manufacating (food industry), IT/Supply Chain (Consumer good), and Marketing (Automotive industry) so I don't think it's tied to any industry or profession, it's about the people and the chemistry they have. Two of the three paid well fortunately for me. I didn't enjoy any of the three jobs but I miss all the people I worked and joked around with. Some of them become some of my best friends to this day. With that I wouldn't look for a new job or industry but build further rapport beyond the 40min. When you are in the trenches of a problem you build rapport that way, thats one way. Also just talking to your co-workers about how their family is doing, hobbies, upcoming trips or what they do on the weekends, etc. You may want to share something about yourself to kick things off.
The dev team I'm on is pretty social all day. We are required to be in the office 4 days a week so that helps but also we are a bunch of knuckleheads who've worked together for years. You could try broaching the topic with other team members. Maybe there are other people who'd like to work in the office together regularly. I'm not a huge fan of remote work for me but I can understand why people like it. I've realized that I've become more social over the years and I miss seeing my coworkers regularly.
I've worked in those types of atmospheres as a software developer too. It often depends largely on your office culture, your specific team, and your ages.
I'm a tugboat captain. Every few years I get a crew together that makes it feel like summer camp. My kids all know them as aunts and uncles. Not always the case, but when it is good, it's really good.
Consulting firms, especially when you’ve been assigned on a project that recently started and everyone is trying to figure out what to do at the same time and unsure about the client.
I work with domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. We as a team have an abnormal amount of camaraderie. Like all the other departments look at us funny because we all legit care
My previous IT job was probably the most camaraderie I’ve ever experienced. Two other teammates, a wonderful manager and a dope sys engineer. However due to shitty leadership and budget constraints we all had to go out separate ways. Still love hanging out with them outside of work for our monthly happy hours
That's totally relatable to want more social time at work – can make things so much more enjoyable! Have you considered roles like DevOps or tech sales? They blend tech skills with more people interaction. And those hospital vibes do sound cool maybe look into tech roles in healthcare or maybe project management roles?
Shitty jobs where only the workers know what's going and the higher ups have a comically low understanding of what the workers actually do have high comradery. Really shit pay but everybody on the floor has a common enemy they regularly interact with.
Anything that is team-based. Individually contributing roles are typically silos. At the end of the day it’ll all depend on the leadership. If it’s poor, y’all will commiserate together. If it’s awesome, the leadership fuels to energy of the group and brings everyone together.
For the most part this is just a personal decision. Any company's culture, or department within that company even, can curate any sort of vibe.
That's why I always find specific job based career choices so fucking goofy. Like who told you the exact thing you're doing every day is important?
The more important questions is how you want to work: what's your stress tolerance? What rate do you want to learn at? How much socialization do you want on the job? How do you want to help people- close interaction so you can see people's appreciation, or maybe with a little distance so you can manage anxiety and stay productive? Do you have lifestyle requirements, or are you able to control your desires enough that you can find fulfilling and sustaining work doing just about anything?
Answering those questions is so much more important to finding a company that you like working for. The company and the people that you work with are going to set the tone for how you like it, not what you're doing for work.
I work with a small team at a software/web development company, and there’s an amazingly strong and fun connection between all of us. I worked for a similar size place previously and it was a head-down kinda place - many days I spoke with almost no one. I prefer where i am now ten-fold.
I liked working at the summer camp when I was young, and Dunkin’ Donuts as part time was fun too. All the jobs I use to pay for my life kind of lack that, tbh. I just wfh to get away from sour attitudes/so I can stay in my own positivity, at least.
Outside of my family, my professional circle is where all of my friends are. I’m in commercial Insurance. Both my coworkers and clients. It’s a lot of fun.
It depends on the team you’re with. You can have a quiet team or a crappy team or a team you truly resonate with and are fun to be around. A job with more socialization like nursing can indeed be fun and foster great friendships, but it can also turn sour and be a toxic environment full of gossip and harassment. It depends on where you work and who you work with.
I believe you can get this in your current profession in the right team, or you can sidestep into a similar one that’s a bit more people oriented to encourage a more social workplace for yourself.
Yes… Virtually every occupation where people with high level interpersonal skills choose that occupation. Hint: Software isn’t one of them. Myself for example. Could I have gone into software? Sure. Can I imagine sitting behind a computer all day Looking for issues or writing code. Not a chance.
All of the My best friends to this day our people I met at work. Waiting tables in college. Recruiting. Sales. And in sales, Many of my clients are now great friends too. Basically any job that forces you to interact With people all day will be full of people that want to interact with people all day (Including nurses/doctors as you noted)
Anything automotive related only IF you live and breathe cars and anything automotive as a hobby.
I work in and with the restoration side of the automotive industry and I absolutely despise the wankery of all the gearheads I work with. Case in point my work partner got me in trouble with the owner (not the guy who actually started the business, it’s his brother) because I vented while in pain one Friday. Monday morning…I never want to talk to that man again. Complete bastard. There’s nothing wrong with venting.
I used to love cars as a kid, not so much as an adult. I took this job because I needed good pay and a stable workplace. I figured I could handle working with some car lovers but goddamn I’m trying to leave this place asap.
There are some environments where people actually do hang out and go do things together, even as friends. I used to work for a company in the Phoenix area and a good chunk of the people actually hung out with each other after work. It was the strangest damn thing because I had rarely run into that in previous places of employment. All of the places were like okay I'm done with my 8 to 10 hours of work I'll see y'all tomorrow.
It just so happens that the people I work with in Phoenix I get to work with again for second company because a bunch of us moved over. As luck would have it my manager actually turned out to be my manager in this next job because he referred me to the company I currently work for.
So, there are tech jobs where people are actually a lot friendlier than than where you work. Even when I go down to our headquarters where there none of the current people I work with are located, I still get to hang out with people. I've actually had some people come up to me when I was there and didn't announce it that sounded kind of bummed out because I didn't let them know I was going to coming. Otherwise they would have had things to do with me.
Suggestion: work with a company that is in entertainment or outdoors....that's where I would go work if I left my current place. Another option is a startup because you'll need to wear many hats and work a hell of a lot more but that also translates to knowing more about people through proximity
Every industry has the ability to have a lot of coworker camaraderie. It's just dependent on what culture does that company promote.
My dad works for a construction company and his stories always sound like they never fucking work and always screw around. My mother is in Healthcare, not as a nurse, but she always talks about little things they do at her work.
I'm in workforce development, my current job I talk with my colleagues here and there throughout the day but my personality doesn't match theirs so I don't chat as often as I did before just because I don't want to get written up. However, the first place I worked at when I got into my field, those were hands down the best coworkers I had. We always had fun at work, I mean if management heard the stuff we talked about or some of the things we did in the building we'd be fired. But even for a place that didn't pay well, we all went because we had one another and we made it fun.
So you see, it's not that your industry sucks and you don't have that ability. You just work for a company that unfortunately you don't get that. Other companies that revolve around software development do have that in person work that will have you talking to your coworkers
I do IT at a ski resort. We’re either all working together on large projects / tasks, or we’re doing mindless BS and shooting shit with each other. If it’s a slow day, we’ll take some laps (skiing in the winter, mountain biking and golf in the summer). Our IT team does a few team outings as well — we just had a pizza and wing night at a local indoor golf place last week, and have a golf outing scheduled later this month.
I’ve been a corrections officer for almost 15 years. It’s a grind and I wouldn’t recommend it as a career choice but the camaraderie amongst staff is something special and just gets stronger through adversity.
I'm a software dev with same experience as you.
When I was young I worked in retail in the back room. The job was so boring that the only thing that got you through the day was socializing. We had a lot of fun while getting work done. I remember one day a manager came back while we were laughing and joking, he looked at us and sort of in a half question half statement he said "You guys have fun back here" or something like that. It was as if he was surprised we were capable of having fun at work. He quit a month later.
Well the first two words say it all. Software developer and working with others do not go together. Most people who go into they field are introverts.
If you are an extrovert like me, some jobs to look into teaching, project manager working and leading interdisciplinary fields, environmental planner, docent, public relations ect.
Sometimes just site size and culture offer comradery or at least socialization.
For example, I’m an engineer at a chemical plant. One of many on the site. There of hundreds of people on site to intermingle with from blue collar shift workers to engineers. Whenever I just wanna hang out and talk, joke etc I just go to the control room with the operators and hang out. T
This isn’t guaranteed though. From what I’ve heard refineries kind of separate their engineers and operators culturally, but that it not the case at my work.
I'm a software engineer and to be honest, my experience is the opposite of yours. I whiteboard shit with people every day, work on problems with people, talk through issues that people are facing etc.
Software Development works best when it's highly collaborative imo. Two smart people working through a tough problem really helps out. If you're just doing boilerplate easy shit and never run into any problems...you might want to find a more challenging role in your field.
Nurses are a lot of drama/gossip lol
Sounds like you just need to work in office rather than just at home. Keep in mind that mingling with coworkers in person is actually a pain in the ass. Drama, gossip etc.
My wife works in hr/payroll they go out to lunch together daily go on annual beach trips. But i dont think that has anything to do with the job. In in health it and wfh and we are pretty chummy our huddles always include idle chat we do things outside of work now and then. Be the change you want to see in the world
In tech, I find a lot of bonding happens during intense situations- go lives (especially if you’re all together physically, planning summits, managed incidents and the aftermath, etc.
Maybe you need to look for an onsite position. When I worked onsite IT we all had a lot of fun together. Even if wasn't all day because we were busy, we'd often go out to lunch together, run down to the cafe for coffee breaks, take a walk in the afternoon, drinks after work, etc. WFH might not be optimal for you. Hybrid may even help you out. Don't lose your good paying job/career trajectory just because you need more interaction.
I work in trail maintenance. My coworkers are best friends hang out and go on international trips and fishing in Alaska! I've never been invited but they seem to be crushing it. I worked there for 7 years.
I’ve been in this sort of environment in at least 3 different corporate jobs. Everyone just loves to hate on corporate, but for me, that’s where the money, benefits, professional connections, and advancement are, and if you happen to be in a fun group, even better!
Nah. Every job I’ve ever had the rest of the staff is useless and does less than the bare minimum. I’m not friends with that kind of people no matter how nice they are.
My first job out of college 35 years ago was in a very old school engineering firm. The Second Floor (always cap’s) was stocked with old heads that got along like army buddies. We played poker every single day at lunch for a full hour in the drafting department. Then we’d get together one night a month to play poker until 2 am. There were former employees that would come to that game. Then once a quarter we’d all go out to dinner somewhere. It was a total dead end job, but I miss those times.
Join the military. Trauma-bonded buddies for life!
Came here to say this. But as an IT person he won’t have those issues at all. Very cushy desk job. But with all the perks. Join the navy and see the world.
Better Air Force. All the cush with none of the trapped on a boat with toxic supervisors
Absolutely! Get stationed in Italy or Japan too for a great time.
I remember stopping at an Air Force Base on the way to Afghanistan. The DFAC had busboys. I was in awe. 🤣
Yeah, my dumbass was turning circles like that John travolta meme
True, I’d generally steer people toward Air Force or space force if they have the aptitude and can get recruiters to call them back. Ever. But there’s something amazing about being able to either live overseas or hit a bunch of port visits, and no guarantee you’ll go overseas in the air force.
True. The army is surrounded by tattoo parlors and payday loans, and the Air Force is often in the middle of nowhere.(looking at you Mountain Home)
I mean, if you can avoid the payday loans, the tattoo parlors are often decent places to hang. But I don’t recommend the army; haven’t met many who actually said they enjoyed it. The navy sucked. Don’t get me wrong. It was brutal at times and not because we got shot at — we didn’t. But I had a f!ckin ball too.
If you “enjoyed” military service, then you’re doing it wrong. I’ve never met anyone who enjoyed it, but I’ve only met one who regretted it.
I was in AF for 4 years. I spent 1 year in Korea and the the last 2.5 at Patrick AFB . Just South of Cocoa Back, FL.
Yea, just trapped in the office with toxic supervisors. I am happy with my choice to join the air force tho, it was a great 12 years
My dad was a firefighter in the Canadian Airforce and did a 6 month tour on a frigate in '96 😅
Yeah, and if you play your cards right you might even get to see Kansas!
Same with food service
Yup. Working as a line cook for a few years (through high school /early college basically), I was super tight with the crew I worked with, even if we had our differences. I was always 10+ years younger than the rest of em, but they definitely gave me a good idea of what excellent friend/coworker relationships can be while I was growing up. I'd still interact or visit with em now that I'm out, except now my ex-gf works in my old role (trained her as I left and was later dumped), and I'd rather not deal with the headache lol.
I left active duty and went civil service for the same branch where I separated from. Still work with my old work buddies that did the same!
Great point! I’m a vet and I work in a job with lots of other vets. It’s white collar, cubicle world. We get the job done but we’re also shooting the shit a lot. Most of those who never served are much less social, they’re quieter and less interactive. Most of the “civvies” who are more social have worked with military before, or in similar high stress environments. The folks that deployed — we’re all happy as pigs in shit. We are stateside, not being yelled at all the time, or shot at, we’re being treated like adults, and they pay us more than in the military??? Lap of luxury, I tell you! Also, as a team lead, we check on our people a lot, make sure that they have what they need to do their jobs, and have a strict policy: NO mandatory fun. We do happy hours. I’ll buy the first round if you show up. But you don’t have to. Wanna hang out with other adults for an hour or two after work once or twice a month and not talk about work? Cool. Otherwise, I’m just happy you’re meeting our metrics. To slightly veer off topic, It’s amazing what team members can get done when they’re treated with respect and dignity. And it’s not hard to do. We no longer build bonds through shared trauma, but through working toward a common goal and celebrating successes. TLDR: you CAN have camaraderie and good social interactions at work, especially when you’re not a dick of a boss demanding nose to the grind all the time.
I'm a lifelong INFJ....the best job I ever had was US Military soldier.
The shittier the job, the stronger the camaraderie. That’s why military and minimum wage jobs have the strongest camaraderie
Absolutely true. Healthcare folks have got it rough. That’s probably the only thing keeping many of them sane and employed there.
Yep. My healthcare office job was cool enough and we even went out for drinks and stuff, but even though I don't go for drinks with my current front line healthcare coworkers I feel closer to them because we bond over what assholes patients and doctors can be.
Interesting observation
I tried to tell someone this I said had the best friends in customer service cause none of us gave a shit lol
Or work in the trades. We talk shit all day, every day. My coworker is the QC guy and went to the hospital with an obstructed bowel. I've been tempting him with snuck in steak and crab cakes all week and I refuse to stop (he can't have solid food). We do actually all care about each other. This is just my way of letting him know I'm thinking about him and want him better. Our journeymen make $36/hr, and we're one of the lowest paying IBEW locals. It's not great, but it's nowhere near minimum wage.
Trades but restaurants in particular. You work side by side with people and go through high stress environments. Spend more time with them than your family. I don't cook anymore but I did for 15 years in the industry and I miss it for the comradierie. I still help friends out because it is just that fun. Oh the pranks. Lol. Sprinkle a bit of citric acid on strawberries and straight face offer it to dishwasher. One time we melted gelatine into coworkers energy drink when he was busy then it turned to jello and he couldn't drink it hahah we died laughing. Last day of work for the one sous we just covered him in flour, margarine (cheaper) chocolate syrup, icing powder and said here's your birthday cake. I go could on. After years of being out I still chuckle to myself. I work office now and yeah. Unfortunately, pay can suck in most places.
Skilled trades can. But maybe 20% of the time. It takes a crew that been working together for a while. Alot of people in trades are quiet and awkward or too loud and talkative
I waited tables for years and had a tough time adjusting to an office job for this reason. Its been so long but I still yearn for the fun I had working in food services.
Same. I work in office and it's not the same. Doesn't help I don't want to show them that side of me since you know we are all messed in the head from food industry 🤣🤣 but I'm doing well. They are not used to someone like me always asking for more work. I enjoy doing like 2-3 people jobs.
Lol, you reminded me how much I loved pulling pranks back when I worked at a pizza place during high school
Theatre production. Incredible commraderie. Work life balance is fantastic, as long as the rest of your life is spent at the theatre also.
>Work life balance is fantastic, as long as the rest of your life is spent at the theatre also. Nice
My husband works in theater and I never ever get to see him on weekends. :(
I did a few stints working in call centers across various industries and some of my best friends to this day were coworkers I had in those jobs. Misery loves company and in those jobs your coworkers…just “get it.”
Ahhh.. lunch break with everyone, just bitching and smoking cigarettes. Worst job ever but people got along.
Never fucking doing call center work again. Shitty company, shitty customers, shitty management. The first two weeks after I was laid off were amazing.
I have been on truly collaborative software teams, but they are truly agile, do a lot of paired work, are very mission focused...and it was pre COVID and colocated.... Depends on the organization.
This is basically like my work for a Business Intelligence consultancy. We tend to work in small Agile teams of a BIA, Dev, and a PM as the core project team, with a Web Dev popping on for front end work as needed. For the core team, we're very collaborative and tend to socialize a fair amount. Like, recently I was on vacation and was sending pics of some of the cool places I went to because I was visiting some National Parks. We also talk about pets, vent about things, trade food suggestions and tips, etc. Don't really hang out outside of work, which is perfectly fine with me, but we definitely do a lot more than just out our heads down and knock out Jira cards before clocking out for the day.
[удалено]
EEEEEYUP. You are with the same people for 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. And, generally, on that “off day” (Saturday), your with your fellow camp counselors. Pay is awful ($300 per week), and worked 16-hour days. Housing (in cabins) and meals were covered, though. You need to have a sense of camaraderie with your fellow camp counselors to get through the summer, it’s grueling work — easily the hardest job I’ve ever had (physically-taxing, mentally-taxing, emotionally-taxing). I work as a mechanical engineer now (full-time), and I get paid a hell of a lot more for a lot less stressful work. Bonus: very likely, you will fuck one of your fellow camp counselors. Didn’t think it would happen to me, but whoops.
I've found out that forming attachments to co-workers is painful when you or they leave and you discover that shared work space was the only reason for the bond.
Waitressing !
Anything you can trauma bond over. Try production support. Nothing brings people together than getting on a 75 person zoom call with the CTO.
Sounds like you just want to work in office.
Is systems or middle teir administrator. It's still technical complicated and involves a lot of problems solving like development. But you almost always have to coordinate with other teams and administrators for big changes.
in IT, join a start up if you can... you will be elbow to elbow with people (even virtually)... builds great comradery ... or go join a Crossfit... bond through suffering.
It depends on industry, age of participants, and security in your own skin. If you are in an industry that is run like the corporate version of Survivor you won’t have it. But when I worked at one company we were all older attorneys (over 45) and 4 of us covered the world. We had a great time and would back each other up and just laugh most of the day. It was great. Then that company was bought out by another company and they came in and treated us like we didn’t know anything. Within a year they had managed to get rid of three of us and the fourth had crawled up their butt so much it was shocking.
Definitely a lot in medical. But in my experience the more camaraderie the shittier the job as you depend on others to help get through the day
Physical labor. Anything with the threat of danger.
I would switch roles in a heartbeat. I prefer to draw a hard line between work and friendship.
I’m a RN and we have tons of comradery on my unit.
Learn to program PLCs. Lots of talking in that field and it will utilize your degree.
Military! I had the time of my life.
SW Development tends to be like this - may be talk to your boss to see if there are ways to make it fun. Can you go to work? that may make things slightly better
i'm a CRNA and my best friends are physicians and nurses
Consulting? Requires a lot of communication.
100% dependent on project team. Some teams are cordial at the office but you couldn't get them to a happy hour if you put guns to their heads. Some teams fucking hate each other. Some teams vibe all day and stay friends later in life. Some teams could honestly afford to chill out with after hours texting.
And some teams will always look at a consultant as a threat - in which case no matter how friendly, happy hour, lunches together that the team is, they might not tell the consultant that they’re meeting Moe’s for happy hour.
Developer advocacy teams tend to be more social by nature. This kind of work would leverage your dev skills but get you around people (but if you’re not into public speaking or content creation, that part might not be as pleasant).
Sell software….
Factory maintenance.
Try logistics / supply chain management I got burned out of too many people i must interact, beware of what u wishing for. Id prefeer being hermit no one disturbing my fucking peace
Try a company where the software developer is actively involved in end users. For example, a warehouse may have a specific in house custom program you maintain and you get feedback directly from onsite users/coworkers.
Commercial fishing processor? Cargo vessel? There are IT jobs on boats.
Film and TV, you'll have 16 hour days together and spend the entire time bitching to each other about low pay and massive egos
Any kind of job can provide that type of relationship between workers that interact. Sometimes though you have to go out and create it, especially if you work remote. Start chatting with people when you are helping them with tasks. Ask about their weekend plans, etc. groan about how leadership always gives unrealistic deadlines. This would be the same whether you work remote or in an office. Sometimes you need to make the first step.
This is absolutely possible with your current career and skillset, but it is highly dependent on the company, project, workmates and you. I have seen highly social development teams that became friends both inside and outside of work. I've also seen others where as soon as the clock hits 5, everyone may as well be dead to them.
Yeah I feel like its really easy to bond with coworkers when you’re actually working with them day time day in an office. Working in engineering I’ve only worked on one team where I felt like I couldn’t be friends with anyone but that was during a short internship in a busy factory where I was kind if forgotten about and didn’t receive a lot of work from day 1. Now that im out of college and working, I’m working with a great group of guys that share a wide variety of interests and we’ll occasionally hang out after work to blacksmith or do some gaming. Its all about just talking to people and being polite. If people are at least not an asshole you’re working with them for 8 hours a day, you’ll find something to talk about.
My job has a lot of comradery mostly built through pushing through unwieldy projects/tasks and responding to emergencies together. It's also a quick way to find the selfish people in the group.
The trades. Most camaraderie I’ve ever experienced in my work life. I’m a building inspector now, and grateful to still be working in the industry and spending half my week on job sites, but nothing beats wearing a toolbag, swearing and sweating and bleeding and laughing with the boys while the boombox is blaring and we’re making good money to work out in the sun.
Anything construction/trade/physical labor related assuming you're on a good crew. You go through the shit together and enjoy the good days together. A lot of ball busting and story telling. I know things about some of my previous coworkers that they don't tell anyone because when you're working side by side with someone for years they become very family like or even closer sometimes.
I'm a project manager for a general contractor. The amount of shit talking and the non-politically correct talk that goes on would make an HR run away crying. I love it.
Teaching!
I'm a union theatre technician. Remember the theatre nerds in high school? Yup. That hasn't changed after doing it professionally.
The trades do
Just go into the office. The problem isn't the job, it's that you never actually see another human. Work from home is convenient but the atmosphere is much better in person and you'll naturally banter, eat lunch, go to happy hour, etc.
Construction management. High sense of camaraderie with project team members and great pay depending on the market.
Teacher. I think that it is partially from trauma bonding. I am leaving the teaching profession, but I will genuinely miss my co-workers! They are wonderful! I know that it is also very dependent on the school/your team.
Assembly line.
Law enforcement, local state and federal, bigger agencies have cyber divisions
When I worked in the travel industry it was like this. I’m in construction industry now and so far it’s not like that at all. I miss it so much.
I worked for a few seasons as a commercial holiday lighter, mainly Christmas. We did large jobs in the greater Seattle area and our work schedule was a lot like being a fisherman. Long hours in the cold rain. Graveyards and more. It's the only job I've ever had where I smoked with the crew (I'm not a smoker at all anymore). But we would regularly work 19 hour shifts. I met one of my best friends through that job. And I still keep in touch with a few others. Mutual misery and suffering really does create strong bonds.
Totally depends on the management or employer.
I got a job with a city government, and it's pretty nice in regards to comradery and socializing. Almost too much as I'm in introvert and find it exhausting. I'm forever being told I missed one function or another they are doing.
Get in a busy kitchen.
Linemen or some of the trades, logging or lawn crews.
Any factory/manufacturing job or logistics job you tend to spend a lot of close time with coworkers.
I work at a nursing home, at the front desk. Can attest. It’s a lot of fun.
I sold software and my team had pretty strong comradery.
This is why I never went for the WFH-only roles. Sure I don't mind a day or two wfh a week. But I actually want to interact with my team when I'm working. I work in metrology for a large medical device company. I interact with my team and a ton of other laboratory associate daily. I am a mild introvert as well so I usually am drained from the social interactions by the time I get home. But I enjoy it quite a bit in the moment.
Engineering. Were usually crammed together with open desks, maybe some cubicles. Not as much comradery as other jobs, but not zero.
Even within software it will vary a lot between companies. And I would say work from home/remote work is not good for bonding with teammates.
The trades
I work at a small whiskey distillery. 10 of us work in the production side and it's a small family
I was going to say nurses. And as a male nurse do not ever hesitate to take the leap. Yes you will get shitty people making fun of a male nurse, especially the old parts. But the other nurses, er techs, some er doctors, etc are amazing and make the day not so crappy.
I work in product + content design and have been lucky enough to have a lot of great collaboration with the teams I've been on.
Education. Some of the best coworkers, but also some of the worst. There is always a sense of community, though your heavily politicized and underpaid so that some random dumbass can try to get more votes.
Actually, inventory coordination at a food distribution center. Lots of good times and a highly social dynamic, unlike, say, graveyard shift factory work, etc. Not mandatory smiliness like fast food restaurants
HW engineer here. We crack jokes all the time around the cubicals. You gotta make some work friends and treat work as hanging out with them.
Maybe look into roles at smaller companies and work on site. The smaller the team the better. I’m a project engineer and our department is 3 engineers, intern, and manager. At least half of the workday is spent just talking with colleagues, vendors, other departments.
Trades or military. When the work is shit the crew has something to bond over. Just don't be the bad worker were bonding over hating
I work on a software development team and we talk/ communicate/collaborate a lot more than 40 minutes per day. I think you may want to try a different company before switching fields completely. So far in the 2 different companies I’ve worked for, the IT teams are close knit, friendly, joking, etc even when remote.
Probably “prostitues “ 😂
Move furniture for a boutique or independently owned moving company. Just about the most relaxed team atmosphere there is, if you're physically able and willing to do it.
Marine Corps......unless making it woke has changed it...
I’m a server and I talk to everyone, all the time. It’s the main qualification actually. You have to be very social to do it. I talk to complete strangers, my coworkers, and management all day every day
If you're in the development space, you could try the infrastructure side of IT. Lots of camaraderie over here.
Everyone’s already saying it. But they’re so close because they’re doing high stress physical work 😂. If you want more commaderie in Software development join a tech startup . You’ll get similar effects
Theatre!!!! You can't have a love of money is the down side.
The military, law enforcement, and music Jobs.
The animation industry is very a tight knit and social group. I’m friends with nearly everyone on my crew for most productions I’m on. You could look into doing software development for some studios and help out creating industry software tools if it’s something you’re interested in!
Depends on the company culture - I’ve done PM work at multiple companies - same role but vastly different experiences. Some are just dead silence, some are super fun. Definitely makes a world of difference in happiness at the role. You can typically get a feel for the atmosphere while interviewing.
I've been working with these two people for the past few years, and they are amazing! They make my job woth being there. We support each other a lot, and it's great. It's like having Fred Roger's and Einstein as your coworkers. It's the only time other than the Army that I liked my coworkers as friends. I wouldn't suggest the Army for just anyone, though. Hoo boy.
People bond over shared struggle. So, food service, nurses, military, etc. They also tend to be jobs where the amount of work is fixed. So you have plenty of time to shoot the shit if there’s no customers. My workplace has pretty decent comradery as a swe, but nothing like I had when I worked at a restaurant. We also are hybrid and some are fully remote, so that’s a barrier to what you’re looking for.
Any company in the trades worth it's salt. When your in pain, tired, miserable you either drag each other down or pick each other up.
I work as a manager in retail. Where I work there’s a lot of high schoolers and college kids as well. In exit interviews, one of the few good things they have to say is the employees were amazing and friendly with each other. Retail shows you the worst in people so having someone who’s around your age and can get along with makes it more bearable.
I was always like what you described in regards to the hospital with all my coworkers across manufacating (food industry), IT/Supply Chain (Consumer good), and Marketing (Automotive industry) so I don't think it's tied to any industry or profession, it's about the people and the chemistry they have. Two of the three paid well fortunately for me. I didn't enjoy any of the three jobs but I miss all the people I worked and joked around with. Some of them become some of my best friends to this day. With that I wouldn't look for a new job or industry but build further rapport beyond the 40min. When you are in the trenches of a problem you build rapport that way, thats one way. Also just talking to your co-workers about how their family is doing, hobbies, upcoming trips or what they do on the weekends, etc. You may want to share something about yourself to kick things off.
Construction crew
The dev team I'm on is pretty social all day. We are required to be in the office 4 days a week so that helps but also we are a bunch of knuckleheads who've worked together for years. You could try broaching the topic with other team members. Maybe there are other people who'd like to work in the office together regularly. I'm not a huge fan of remote work for me but I can understand why people like it. I've realized that I've become more social over the years and I miss seeing my coworkers regularly.
I've worked in those types of atmospheres as a software developer too. It often depends largely on your office culture, your specific team, and your ages.
I'm a tugboat captain. Every few years I get a crew together that makes it feel like summer camp. My kids all know them as aunts and uncles. Not always the case, but when it is good, it's really good.
Consulting firms, especially when you’ve been assigned on a project that recently started and everyone is trying to figure out what to do at the same time and unsure about the client.
Best I’ve experienced was working in a restaurant. Everyone is underpaid and working hard. Dealing with shitty customers bring you together.
10 years later I'm still close friends with the people I worked with at summer camps.
I work with domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. We as a team have an abnormal amount of camaraderie. Like all the other departments look at us funny because we all legit care
My team is very close. We throw parties, go out together, and gossip/ tease each other constantly. We work for a credit card company.
My previous IT job was probably the most camaraderie I’ve ever experienced. Two other teammates, a wonderful manager and a dope sys engineer. However due to shitty leadership and budget constraints we all had to go out separate ways. Still love hanging out with them outside of work for our monthly happy hours
I’m a swe. This is why I found a job in office. We talk about all sorts of random stuff and joke. Got to find a gig with cool people
Human centipede
Take a part time restaurant job. It's great for working with people. But if you really want to pivot with your current skill set, go into sales.
Military, Law Enforcement, Fire Service, and Healthcare
I’d say try product management. I went from project to product and the amount of interaction, exchange of thoughts, goofiness is astounding
That's totally relatable to want more social time at work – can make things so much more enjoyable! Have you considered roles like DevOps or tech sales? They blend tech skills with more people interaction. And those hospital vibes do sound cool maybe look into tech roles in healthcare or maybe project management roles?
The HC workers are doing well where you saw them, but one cranky, hostile person (especially higher up) can wreck the whole crew.
Restaurant!
Firefighters are team oriented.
Marine Corps
Being a Protester sounds like an interesting social job to me but I'm having a hard time finding out where to apply.
Shitty jobs where only the workers know what's going and the higher ups have a comically low understanding of what the workers actually do have high comradery. Really shit pay but everybody on the floor has a common enemy they regularly interact with.
Anything that is team-based. Individually contributing roles are typically silos. At the end of the day it’ll all depend on the leadership. If it’s poor, y’all will commiserate together. If it’s awesome, the leadership fuels to energy of the group and brings everyone together.
For the most part this is just a personal decision. Any company's culture, or department within that company even, can curate any sort of vibe. That's why I always find specific job based career choices so fucking goofy. Like who told you the exact thing you're doing every day is important? The more important questions is how you want to work: what's your stress tolerance? What rate do you want to learn at? How much socialization do you want on the job? How do you want to help people- close interaction so you can see people's appreciation, or maybe with a little distance so you can manage anxiety and stay productive? Do you have lifestyle requirements, or are you able to control your desires enough that you can find fulfilling and sustaining work doing just about anything? Answering those questions is so much more important to finding a company that you like working for. The company and the people that you work with are going to set the tone for how you like it, not what you're doing for work.
I work with a small team at a software/web development company, and there’s an amazingly strong and fun connection between all of us. I worked for a similar size place previously and it was a head-down kinda place - many days I spoke with almost no one. I prefer where i am now ten-fold.
I liked working at the summer camp when I was young, and Dunkin’ Donuts as part time was fun too. All the jobs I use to pay for my life kind of lack that, tbh. I just wfh to get away from sour attitudes/so I can stay in my own positivity, at least.
SW development, and almost every other job, was like this before all the awful wfh stuff started.
Nuclear Materials Courier, thank me later
Outside of my family, my professional circle is where all of my friends are. I’m in commercial Insurance. Both my coworkers and clients. It’s a lot of fun.
Gay porn
The Army
It depends on the team you’re with. You can have a quiet team or a crappy team or a team you truly resonate with and are fun to be around. A job with more socialization like nursing can indeed be fun and foster great friendships, but it can also turn sour and be a toxic environment full of gossip and harassment. It depends on where you work and who you work with. I believe you can get this in your current profession in the right team, or you can sidestep into a similar one that’s a bit more people oriented to encourage a more social workplace for yourself.
Am an electrician. Comradery is great.
Car sales, or sales in general.
Construction. Some of my jobs we joke alot others it's a team effort.
Firefighters, Police Officers, etc. You get very close to those who hold your life in their hands.
Yes… Virtually every occupation where people with high level interpersonal skills choose that occupation. Hint: Software isn’t one of them. Myself for example. Could I have gone into software? Sure. Can I imagine sitting behind a computer all day Looking for issues or writing code. Not a chance. All of the My best friends to this day our people I met at work. Waiting tables in college. Recruiting. Sales. And in sales, Many of my clients are now great friends too. Basically any job that forces you to interact With people all day will be full of people that want to interact with people all day (Including nurses/doctors as you noted)
Anything automotive related only IF you live and breathe cars and anything automotive as a hobby. I work in and with the restoration side of the automotive industry and I absolutely despise the wankery of all the gearheads I work with. Case in point my work partner got me in trouble with the owner (not the guy who actually started the business, it’s his brother) because I vented while in pain one Friday. Monday morning…I never want to talk to that man again. Complete bastard. There’s nothing wrong with venting. I used to love cars as a kid, not so much as an adult. I took this job because I needed good pay and a stable workplace. I figured I could handle working with some car lovers but goddamn I’m trying to leave this place asap.
There are some environments where people actually do hang out and go do things together, even as friends. I used to work for a company in the Phoenix area and a good chunk of the people actually hung out with each other after work. It was the strangest damn thing because I had rarely run into that in previous places of employment. All of the places were like okay I'm done with my 8 to 10 hours of work I'll see y'all tomorrow. It just so happens that the people I work with in Phoenix I get to work with again for second company because a bunch of us moved over. As luck would have it my manager actually turned out to be my manager in this next job because he referred me to the company I currently work for. So, there are tech jobs where people are actually a lot friendlier than than where you work. Even when I go down to our headquarters where there none of the current people I work with are located, I still get to hang out with people. I've actually had some people come up to me when I was there and didn't announce it that sounded kind of bummed out because I didn't let them know I was going to coming. Otherwise they would have had things to do with me. Suggestion: work with a company that is in entertainment or outdoors....that's where I would go work if I left my current place. Another option is a startup because you'll need to wear many hats and work a hell of a lot more but that also translates to knowing more about people through proximity
Every industry has the ability to have a lot of coworker camaraderie. It's just dependent on what culture does that company promote. My dad works for a construction company and his stories always sound like they never fucking work and always screw around. My mother is in Healthcare, not as a nurse, but she always talks about little things they do at her work. I'm in workforce development, my current job I talk with my colleagues here and there throughout the day but my personality doesn't match theirs so I don't chat as often as I did before just because I don't want to get written up. However, the first place I worked at when I got into my field, those were hands down the best coworkers I had. We always had fun at work, I mean if management heard the stuff we talked about or some of the things we did in the building we'd be fired. But even for a place that didn't pay well, we all went because we had one another and we made it fun. So you see, it's not that your industry sucks and you don't have that ability. You just work for a company that unfortunately you don't get that. Other companies that revolve around software development do have that in person work that will have you talking to your coworkers
I do IT at a ski resort. We’re either all working together on large projects / tasks, or we’re doing mindless BS and shooting shit with each other. If it’s a slow day, we’ll take some laps (skiing in the winter, mountain biking and golf in the summer). Our IT team does a few team outings as well — we just had a pizza and wing night at a local indoor golf place last week, and have a golf outing scheduled later this month.
I’ve been a corrections officer for almost 15 years. It’s a grind and I wouldn’t recommend it as a career choice but the camaraderie amongst staff is something special and just gets stronger through adversity.
A traveling film production forces some camaraderie but it goes away the second you get home
I'm a software dev with same experience as you. When I was young I worked in retail in the back room. The job was so boring that the only thing that got you through the day was socializing. We had a lot of fun while getting work done. I remember one day a manager came back while we were laughing and joking, he looked at us and sort of in a half question half statement he said "You guys have fun back here" or something like that. It was as if he was surprised we were capable of having fun at work. He quit a month later.
Well the first two words say it all. Software developer and working with others do not go together. Most people who go into they field are introverts. If you are an extrovert like me, some jobs to look into teaching, project manager working and leading interdisciplinary fields, environmental planner, docent, public relations ect.
Sometimes just site size and culture offer comradery or at least socialization. For example, I’m an engineer at a chemical plant. One of many on the site. There of hundreds of people on site to intermingle with from blue collar shift workers to engineers. Whenever I just wanna hang out and talk, joke etc I just go to the control room with the operators and hang out. T This isn’t guaranteed though. From what I’ve heard refineries kind of separate their engineers and operators culturally, but that it not the case at my work.
Be a cop
My old department at work was trauma bonded by a slew of shitty managers, so yes lol
Police, Fire Fighters, nurses... and most blue collar jobs that work in teams.
My own welding company is fairly cool there, coworkers even offering food when I forgot to buy.
Powerline industry, more specifically, being on a line crew.
I'm a software engineer and to be honest, my experience is the opposite of yours. I whiteboard shit with people every day, work on problems with people, talk through issues that people are facing etc. Software Development works best when it's highly collaborative imo. Two smart people working through a tough problem really helps out. If you're just doing boilerplate easy shit and never run into any problems...you might want to find a more challenging role in your field.
Nurses are a lot of drama/gossip lol Sounds like you just need to work in office rather than just at home. Keep in mind that mingling with coworkers in person is actually a pain in the ass. Drama, gossip etc.
You work from home... that doesn't help camaraderie. Find an in office or hybrid job that allows for more interaction. WFH is isolating.
Probably pornography and drug dealing.
Anything blue collar
inside sales job.. we laugh and joke.. go out after work for drinks.. A lot of my co workers are friends outside of work.
I’m an engineering consultant more or less. Definitely some days were the whole team is together and having a great time
Military, law enforcement, fire service.
Wildland firefighter. It’s a little bit like the military, but only for the summer.
Military, you'll make like 5 new best friends in the first week of basic. Unless you're a massive piece of shit that is
My wife works in hr/payroll they go out to lunch together daily go on annual beach trips. But i dont think that has anything to do with the job. In in health it and wfh and we are pretty chummy our huddles always include idle chat we do things outside of work now and then. Be the change you want to see in the world
In tech, I find a lot of bonding happens during intense situations- go lives (especially if you’re all together physically, planning summits, managed incidents and the aftermath, etc.
Maybe you need to look for an onsite position. When I worked onsite IT we all had a lot of fun together. Even if wasn't all day because we were busy, we'd often go out to lunch together, run down to the cafe for coffee breaks, take a walk in the afternoon, drinks after work, etc. WFH might not be optimal for you. Hybrid may even help you out. Don't lose your good paying job/career trajectory just because you need more interaction.
Working in a lab can, as a scientist. I mean being in software could also. It’s all about who
I work in trail maintenance. My coworkers are best friends hang out and go on international trips and fishing in Alaska! I've never been invited but they seem to be crushing it. I worked there for 7 years.
I’ve been in this sort of environment in at least 3 different corporate jobs. Everyone just loves to hate on corporate, but for me, that’s where the money, benefits, professional connections, and advancement are, and if you happen to be in a fun group, even better!
You probably can't find this job anymore, but newsrooms.
Firefighters on t v are like brothers and sisters
Live entertainment! You spend months and months with the same tight crew.
Sure, mine does. I’m a researcher in the pharmaceutical industry.
Dispatchers. We are the queens of chit chat.
Restaurants
Nah. Every job I’ve ever had the rest of the staff is useless and does less than the bare minimum. I’m not friends with that kind of people no matter how nice they are.
My first job out of college 35 years ago was in a very old school engineering firm. The Second Floor (always cap’s) was stocked with old heads that got along like army buddies. We played poker every single day at lunch for a full hour in the drafting department. Then we’d get together one night a month to play poker until 2 am. There were former employees that would come to that game. Then once a quarter we’d all go out to dinner somewhere. It was a total dead end job, but I miss those times.
Fire service. You live with your co workers for 24 hours every 3 days.