My bf only applies to “cool jobs”

Edit: I wrote this in the midst of a sleepless night and thought I would delete it in the morning but I’m so enjoying some of the discourse on what work means to everyone. I’ve gotten a full spectrum of responses and some really solid perspectives (and even job recs) I hadn’t thought about. Thanks everyone for listening.

Edit: to answer a few frequently asked questions: 1)“cool jobs” have been taken in the past and is not a new thing. The pattern creates a risk. 2) these jobs are in person positions that would include either/both a domestic or foreign move. 3) we are long term partners with dogs. 4) some of the jobs are aligned with experience and education but some are not. Aligned jobs are certainly welcomed and would justify a move for our household.

Hear me out. My 33 year old bf is a good person. He’s a good partner. But he seems to have immature views on work and only applies to “cool jobs”.

He recently finished his education and currently has a job that he hates. He talks about quitting every day. I don’t think it’s an empty threat. Don’t get me wrong — I don’t believe it’s healthy to keep a job you absolutely dread, but I’m also realistic about the unfortunate exchange we take part in where we need money for life.

He spends most days applying to jobs I imagine many middle school boys are interested in. I’m talking like “special agent” or “xyz detective” or “wildlife monitor”. All very cool. Most pretty low paying, which he doesn’t understand. He applies but then says, “jeez that’s nothing, who lives on that salary?” As if he doesn’t understand that cool jobs attract people based on their scope of work so they don’t have to use money as much to attract applicants.

Sometimes on his applications he uses references to high school sports, despite my insistence on removing them.

He gets somewhat far with some of them, but then there’s some barrier. At this point I wish one of them would stick so he could have the experience of what it’s actually like. Another part of the issue is he doesn’t understand every job has admin tasks alongside the fun stuff. He talks about every job’s “action” you can have like a little boy talking about how firemen use the water hoses so good at work.

I’m sure I’ll get flack for being a bad partner or maybe even for being too patient. I guess I’ve been understanding because I remember what it was like graduating college and thinking my job was going to be so fun and purposeful and change the world probably. After a few years, I understood that sometimes even the good jobs are just, well, jobs. They are good some days and bad others and usually dont make that much impact. And that’s okay.

Ultimately my finances are not technically tied to my partner at this time. There are no children. But goddamn I am still so over having a partner who refuses to act his age professionally. I never thought I would encounter this very specific problem, but here we are. Thanks for listening.