Love my job, but embarrassed by it.

Assistant Floor Manager sounds like a very respectable job to me. As does, janitor, nurse, clerk, stay-at-home parent, teacher. All respectable and all positions contribute to your community. I'm sorry the firefighter thing didn't pan out but you sound comfortable where you are now. I wonder where you got your negative feedback from? You might want to try to figure out if it was something you heard from others or was it a bad reaction from someone you hold in high regard? Maybe it would help to figure out the source of the negative feelings you picked up. It may bring things into perspective.

Sometimes I feel the same as I work in childcare and people tell me it is beneath me as I am quite well educated. You hold down a job and are a parent, damn good to me.
I know what it is like to worry about what others think though, I worry all the time as well. But you seriously have nothing to be ashamed of, you should in fact be proud x

Dan, I'm going to repeat what others have said. I think it's fantastic you have a job you love AND supports you and your family. Those are biggies in my book. But the fact that we think that's great doesn't do anything about the fact that you feel embarrassed.

You said you are disappointed you never got to be a firefighter. For you, what makes being a firefighter more respectable than what you do? What do you need in order to take pride in what you do? We can say we think what you do is important, but if you don't believe that's true it won't be for you.

I'm wondering if it would help for you to take a long look at what you do versus what you want. I think I know sort of what you are experiencing. Several years ago I found out that another student from my graduate program had become the program director at the agency where we both interned. I was jealous and embarrassed. In my mind "all" I was, was a therapist. I was not a director or manager. I had to pull myself up short. I'd done the management thing for awhile. I HATED it. My first love is counseling. It's what I love doing. When I stopped comparing myself to my classmate I discovered I was right where I wanted to be in my career.

Look at it this way... would you rather be in a job that everyone thought was awesome but you were super miserable in? No, probably not. So be you and be proud!

71% of Americans hate their jobs according to Forbes:

70% Of Your Employees Hate Their Jobs - Forbes

Although you are probably comparing what you do now to being a firefighter, just remember that what you do must have safety and security keeping elements to it too.

My stepdad was a grocery store manager and between equipment malfunctions, fires, shoplifters, unstable shoppers and questionable employees, I always felt he dealt with a lot more safety issues than I would have thought.

Veggies are cool, being organized and responsible is cool, being able to manage people is a good skill, and it's great when a business can supply the public with something of actual value - such as groceries. But it's how you feel that matters. I just wanted to give an alternate view.

You go to work every day and make an honest living so it doesn't matter what you do. There is absolutely nothing to be embarassed about!

I am tiring of 16 years in the corporate world, stuck in a cubicle all day. I would love to work at a grocery store!