Prepositions – ‘In My Job’ vs ‘At My Job’: Understanding the Difference

differenceprepositions

Could you tell which preposition: in or at it is correct and natural to use in the following sentences?

The thing is, I didn't like the working hours in/at my previous job, which is why I quit.

I have a lot on my plate in/at my job at the moment.

Best Answer

I would only use at my job in two contexts:

  1. Where it is referring to a way or quality of doing the job:

I'm not very good at my job.

He's very clever at his job.

They're methodical at their jobs.

  1. Where it is referring metonymically to the place where I work.

There's somebody at my job who keeps annoying me.

(This use is not very common - more often people say at work or at my office, or at the shop - but you hear it sometimes).

So in both your examples at my job is possible, in the second sense; but in my job is much more likely. In the first case, I'd say that of or for is more likely still.

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