Reddit Story #1

I (27F) have a friend, “Lily” (28F), who has been working at a tech company for about a year now. She’s in a role that, by her own description, she finds boring. She does customer support, mostly answering emails and fixing minor issues, and she’s always complaining about how unchallenging her work is and how she’s constantly bored. I get that, I’ve had jobs like that before.

The issue is, she makes a lot of money doing this job—like, six figures, with bonuses and stock options. Meanwhile, I’ve been working in the nonprofit sector for the past 5 years doing community outreach and advocacy. I love my job and it’s meaningful, but I make significantly less (probably around 40% of what she makes). Sometimes, when we talk about work, she’ll start going off about how “stagnant” she feels and how “nothing exciting ever happens” at her job, and she’s “looking for something new.”

The last time we talked about this, I had a bit of an emotional reaction. I told her, “Look, I get that your job is boring, but maybe you should stop complaining so much. Some of us would kill for a paycheck like yours, and you’re talking about how bored you are.” She looked taken aback, and it was quiet for a few seconds. Then she said I was being “too sensitive” and “dramatic.”

I felt bad almost immediately because I know she’s going through some personal stuff and might be feeling unfulfilled in her job, but I also felt frustrated that she doesn’t seem to appreciate how lucky she is to be in a position where she’s financially secure and has more opportunities than a lot of other people.

I’ve been second-guessing whether I crossed a line or if I was just being honest. My other friends said I wasn’t wrong, but I feel guilty now. So, AITA for telling her to stop complaining about her “boring” job?

TL;DR: My friend complains about her “boring” tech job, even though she makes a six-figure salary. I got frustrated and told her to stop complaining when others would love to be in her position. Now I’m wondering if I overstepped.

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