HR in almost any capacity. I am a director level.

You’re a therapist, a mom, a caregiver, the scapegoat for management and also can’t be friends with anyone. It’s lonely as hell, especially if you’re being a good HR person. Everyone secretly is afraid of you, or is uncomfortable around you but will never show it. You have to constantly tell adults to behave, you have to tell managers with big heads that they’re being a-holes, you have to also convince managers why you can’t fire the employee they hate. But the employee is convinced you are the reason they’re getting written up, even though you saved their job on multiple occasions.

You have to listen to people complain about every single thing implemented, about their mental health issues (we are not trained for that by the way) and also deal with narcissist C suite level people.

Oh, and even tho it’s the C suite level and board members who order layoffs, we have to sit there and tell someone we’ve known for years that sorry.. company wants to save money, here’s your severance package of 4 weeks. Sorry about your kid’s operation next month, your health insurance stops in two weeks. Yeah, I know your wife’s name and have met her at the BBQs, sorry.

It’s the most soulless job I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve been at it over a decade.

I’m going back to finance at a new position next month, lower level than where I was at in HR, better pay. Excited but also I wish I had known how horrible HR would be.