There comes a time in one’s life and career that they have to step back
and say to themselves: “What am I doing and why?” For me, it seems that
this time has finally come. This is not to say that I don’t like what
it is that I do everyday, or that I don’t like where I’m going, but it
is more a matter of maturity and looking forward to how to best match
your own interests with those of your employer, your family and your
friends. Of course, I can hardly consider this my “mid-life” as I am
only in my late 20’s. So this is more of a “growing-up” personal
evaluation. Anyway, on to my thoughts.
I hear countless stories of people that say: “I hate my job”, “My
employer sucks”, and “Why anybody would want to choose this as a career
is beyond me” speaking of many different fields and many different
employers. Most times, it is not a matter of pay scale or anything like
that. Sometimes, it is a matter of people finding themselves in
situations where they don’t get the respect they feel they deserve.
Usually, though, I feel that it is more than likely that the person
found a job to start paying the bills, and did not truly and honestly
evaluate what field of work would provide the fundamentals of a happy
and successful career: 1) You must enjoy your work at some level, and
2) You must truly be good at what you do.
Now, before anybody goes flaming me and saying that it’s more important
to be employed and unhappy than unemployed and blissful, that’s not my
point. Too many people take their first job and make a career out of it
simply because they don’t care enough to get out of their comfort zone
and make their career what they truly want. This goes partly along with
one of my religion’s principles about workout out our own happiness.
This doesn’t mean something that will make you instantly happy, or
necessarily make you a lot of money. This means finding something that
you love to do, and do well, and making some kind of a living doing it.
Turning this back to myself, one might look at my career path and say
that I’ve jumped around too much, or that I haven’t really become
comfortable with my career yet. Partially, they’re right. Mostly,
however, and in the IT field especially, it can be a very enlightening
experience to work in many different environments, such as contractors
do. Many of my positions were as such and are explained so on my
resume, so I am not particularly worried about my past. One of the best
things I have seen out of my breadth of experience however, is a wide
variety of corporate environments and strategies. I have seen that
things can be done in many ways, both successfully and otherwise. I
have also seen that many diverse people can learn to work together
peacefully. I have also learned that even the people that would be
considered to be able to work best with each other can decide to work
against each other if not guided in the right directions.
Mostly, however, I am writing this remind people to step back from
their daily routines and look around them. Take stock in what you are
doing and why. A little bit of meditation and clear thinking can do
wonders for both morale and focus. It also helps you to re-evaluate
your priorities, ultimately deciding whether you are truly happy with
yourself in the larger view or not. I find lately, that I am truly
happy with what I have become and where I am going. So I am thankful to
those that have helped me as well as those that continue to do so. I am
truly one who enjoys my career in IT, something in which I don’t know
if it is all that common.