How Loving Your Job Helps You Succeed - US News and World Report

veritas_libertas

A lot of this obvious but still good a good read. I don't want to do something just because I'm making money. If I want to be really good at something I need to enjoy it.

For college seniors across the country, the clocking is ticking down to graduation and a new career. As you make your decisions about what path to take, thousands of new graduates will be asking questions like, Where can I make the most money? What’s the quickest path to the top? What career am I expected to pursue?
But there’s another question to ask, one that’s more important than any of those: What lights me up?

How Loving Your Job Helps You Succeed - On Careers (usnews.com)

Dakinggamer87

Nice read and I agree!!

mikedisd2

Warning: post of indifference.

That's all great if you love your job. It's not so easy to pick and choose jobs for the loving (or even get one in some cases).

Considering that most of the time at work will be spent in repetitious process, it's hard to consistently be inspired and energetic. I like to receive projects that let's me cover new ground and add something to the company, but that only happens on occasion. Mostly, work is just reactive drudgery or maintenance.

dynamik

mikedisd2 wrote: »

Considering that most of the time at work will be spent in repetitious process, it's hard to consistently be inspired and energetic. I like to receive projects that let's me cover new ground and add something to the company, but that only happens on occasion. Mostly, work is just reactive drudgery or maintenance.

Then find something like consulting (or stripping) where you're dealing with cutting-edge technologies and not simply stagnating as time goes on. Most organizations upgrade every-other major release, so you're looking at a new (major) implementation every 3-6 years or so if you're working in-house somewhere. Does that sound like a place you want to be in? Maybe; some people thrive on a stable environment. Others, like myself, and probably most of you, enjoy learning, being challenged, and advancing. Unfortunately, you sometimes have to make other sacrifices, such as being on the road 50-75% of the time. If you want to keep things interesting and exciting, you're going to have to work to seek out new opportunities and challenges.

mikedisd2

dynamik wrote: »

Then find something like consulting (or stripping) where you're dealing with cutting-edge technologies and not simply stagnating as time goes on. Most organizations upgrade every-other major release, so you're looking at a new (major) implementation every 3-6 years or so if you're working in-house somewhere. Does that sound like a place you want to be in? Maybe; some people thrive on a stable environment. Others, like myself, and probably most of you, enjoy learning, being challenged, and advancing. Unfortunately, you sometimes have to make other sacrifices, such as being on the road 50-75% of the time. If you want to keep things interesting and exciting, you're going to have to work to seek out new opportunities and challenges.

Right now there are so few sys engineer jobs out there I need to take whatever I can get. My contract finished 2x weeks ago and at the moment there's nothing to even remotely consider, let alone anything on my wish list. Don't get me wrong, I can enjoy my work and have it pay dividends on my resume but it's not a blast 40 hours a week. And man it's hard to shift over to something else like networks, security, Unix etc. Even stripping is mostly routine, except for the occasional creative request.

Turgon

Like your job, love your wife. It will help your career anyway.

mfieldhouse

Breaking news: people who enjoy their job are more productive than those that don't.

veritas_libertas

mfieldhouse wrote: »

Breaking news: people who enjoy their job are more productive than those that don't.

True enough...

This article got me to thinking about what I wanted out of IT in the long term. In order for me to keep getting better I need a long term goal of what I want to do within IT. I realize that I have had to deal with Help Desk work and now Desktop support work that I for the most part dislike, but if I don't have something to shoot for (or hope for) in the future than I'm just going to get sick of IT.

NetworkingStudent

veritas_libertas wrote: »

A lot of this obvious but still good a good read. I don't want to do something just because I'm making money. If I want to be really good at something I need to enjoy it.




How Loving Your Job Helps You Succeed - On Careers (usnews.com)

My current job is just” OK”, but that’s it. I haven’t once met one person at my current job that can tell me that they love their job. Most of the people at my work love the money that comes with their position. I want a job that enjoy, not one were I’m chasing the money. I see so many people just punch and punch out and go home. The money is good, but I’m not passionate about my work. I don’t think my co workers are either.
The industry I work in is one of the few industries that doesn’t require a high school degree. Also, it’s easy to quickly learn on the job and advance. An individual working in printing could make a salary ranging from anywhere between $20,000 to $100,000 per year.

I honestly would love to work on the help desk or do desktop support, because in my opinion it’s a lot more challenging and rewarding than working in printing, which is what I do. I like the people I work with, but the work I do is mundane, boring, and repetitive. I want to help solve people solve their computer problems and I want a job that is more mentally challenging. Being a recent college grad that is looking for work in IT, I have to say that it’s not easy to find an IT job. If you make it in the top 10 candidates and get a chance to interview with the company, consider yourself lucky!! There is a lot of competition and companies only want the best candidate, even for an entry level position. At least this has been my experience.

reloaded

One of the things I've noticed is that I become unmotivated when I don't work with knowledgeable and professional people. It's a real downer when I want to learn or be challenged with a new idea and all I see around me are slackers or those with terribly negative attitudes. A part of me says, "Sweet!" because my work ethic stands out compared to others, but then again, it really irks me when I work with those who don't aspire to educate or better themselves over time.

N2IT

Turgon wrote: »

Like your job, love your wife. It will help your career anyway.

Why do I go to work in the morning? To keep a roof over my head and the lights on.

Why I picked IT, because I enjoy dealing with technology.

N2IT

reloaded wrote: »

One of the things I've noticed is that I become unmotivated when I don't work with knowledgeable and professional people. It's a real downer when I want to learn or be challenged with a new idea and all I see around me are slackers or those with terribly negative attitudes. A part of me says, "Sweet!" because my work ethic stands out compared to others, but then again, it really irks me when I work with those who don't aspire to educate or better themselves over time.

Good points.

On one hand you look great which is usually a good thing.

However, on the other hand you don't learn as much, because your team sucks.