Career Choices: I don’t have this figured out yet, but I’ve learned a few things

March 5, 2014 at 7:03pm

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My inspiration for today is Julia Child. She was about my age when she started her TV series "The French Chef." It's good to be reminded that you are never too old to do something entirely new and find something you are passionate about that will also change the world.

I just watched an episode from Julia’s first series on making quiche Lorraine. She was nervous and a little awkward, but cute as heck, and most of all passionate. Every once in a while you see a little smile come over her face and you are reminded that she enjoys what she’s doing. She gets a kick out of it.

Having a health crisis that forced me to take a three month break from working was a good opportunity for me to do some much needed soul searching.

Two things I learned about work:
1) Work is hard.
2) Without work, life is BORING!

When I quit my job in October, I didn’t think I would ever go back to a programming job. I was focused on all the negatives. I explored every career choice imaginable and tried a few on for size. Three months later, I’m back at a programming job and loving it. But I’ve made a few adjustments because….

I learned a few things about myself:
1) I don't like cubicles.
2) I need to be around people.
3) I hate working 40 hours a week.
4) I like solving problems; I’m a good analyst. I just needed to find a way to do this while still satisfying items 1-3.

During this process of deciding how to return to work, I met a recruiter at TEKsystems named Alathea. She listened patiently while I rambled on about what I liked and didn’t like about my programming jobs, and together we figured out what was most important to me. Then she found me a job, doing what I do best, and avoiding the things I hate.

No matter what you do, there are always going to be moments that are frustrating or boring that are going to make you question your life and choices. That’s because work is work. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

But if, like Julia, there are moments in your day, or at least your week, when a smile takes over your face, success after a long and difficult project takes your breath away, and at least some part of you – your intellect, strength, or creativity is tapped to the max and beyond what you thought you were capable of, then I’d say count yourself fortunate.

At the same time most of us are not going to find one occupation that encapsulates all of our hopes and dreams. I had to learn to stop freaking out about this. The solution for me is to work part-time, which buys me more time for my other passions.

Like I said, I don’t have it all figured out, but I have more peace about digging in every day, even in the moments when it’s not fun. Good hard work never hurt anybody.