March 10, 2025
Trapped in a Job I Hate: Time for a Change
Have you ever had one of those days where you’re just so tired of your life the way it is? Of course you have. We all have. Today, that feeling has led me to start this blog. I’m not sure where this journey will take me, but what’s the harm in trying something new?
As I reflect on my life, I can’t help but think about what I’ve accomplished or, more accurately, what I haven’t. Sure, I have two amazing daughters who make me proud every day and a fiancé I feel incredibly lucky to have found. But if I’m being honest, I’m stuck in a dead-end job that I absolutely loathe.
I’m a superintendent of an 80-unit building. It’s a live-in position, which means I’m always here. The pay is ridiculously low, just enough to cover rent. I’m required to be on call 24/7, and when I go out, it’s a quick in-and-out to get back to the building. I don’t have weekends off unless I can find someone to cover for me, but no one wants to do that. Why would they? I don’t get paid extra for this, and if I have to pay someone to cover for me, it comes out of my pocket.
My job involves a lot of cleaning: three staircases, three times a week; vacuuming four floors, three times a week; cleaning the laundry room and common areas daily; wiping down doors and handrails; and cleaning the windows weekly, sometimes more if needed. I deal with tenant complaints and issues daily, and when units become vacant, I have to clean them—often on a tight turnaround. A tenant moves out, and another moves in the next day. I’ve found myself cleaning until midnight, only to wake up at 6 a.m. to finish before the new tenants pick up their keys.
I also have to show vacant units seven days a week. It doesn’t matter if it’s the weekend. I’m expected to drop everything and be available. On top of that, there are several other duties: monthly fire checks, picking up garbage around the building, wiping hallway walls to remove handprints and splashes, and changing locks, among others. It feels like the list never ends.
In the winter, I shovel all three entrances and apply salt or sand, depending on the weather. In the summer, I sweep all the curbs by hand with a push broom, covering the entire parking lot of over 100 spots, as well as the area around the building. Two years ago, I was required to sweep the entire parking lot by hand with just a push broom, just to save them a couple of bucks.
If the office is closed, I handle lease signings and distribute keys myself. I can’t even sleep when I want to because I’m responsible for locking and unlocking the laundry room, which must be locked by 10 p.m. and unlocked by 8 a.m. My whole life is dictated by this building.
As a superintendent, I get three weeks of vacation a year. I’ve been doing this job for nine years, and I can’t believe I’ve stuck it out this long. For $1,300 a month. I could work at McDonald’s for 20 hours a week, make $100 more a month, and at least have my freedom. I feel like I’m in a prison.
When I first started, I wasn’t even told I had vacation time. It took me five years to find out after hearing about someone who quit and got paid out for unused vacation days. I asked about it and was eventually paid what I was owed. The next year, I was told everyone had to take vacation time from then on, but getting it approved has been a nightmare. I can’t take time off around the first of the month because of move-outs and cleanings. I always have at least two move-outs a month, sometimes four, and each unit takes six to ten hours to clean.
I’m severely underpaid, and I’ve become bitter about it. I know I’ve let it go on too long. I’ve been taken advantage of, and I’ve allowed it. This year, I was told I couldn’t take the vacation dates I requested, not because someone else had taken them, but because the owner didn’t want to pay someone to clean the units. Why is that my problem? This is your building, not mine.
That was the final straw. It’s time to make a change. I need to start respecting myself enough to say no more. I won’t allow myself to be taken advantage of. My boss probably makes over $150,000 a year and wouldn’t even consider doing this job for my salary, yet she expects me to do it for $15,000 a year and tolerate it.
My daughter bought a house 45 minutes away five years ago, and I’ve only been there twice. My sister bought a house an hour away, and I’ve only visited once, at Christmas. I can’t leave the building unattended. This isn’t a life. I feel like a little part of me dies inside every day.
For now, I’m starting fresh and ready to see what this new journey holds.
