I can’t believe that I’m finally starting my new job at the Gates Foundation on Monday.\u00a0 I feel a mixture of panic and euphoria.\u00a0 After six months riding a roller coaster of uncertainty, I’m looking forward to some stability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I’m going to miss my old job.\u00a0 I spent three years working with some of the most talented and creative people I’ve ever met.\u00a0 I traveled around the world and learned new skills.\u00a0 I grew from being a cocky Peace Corps volunteer into a confident business professional.\u00a0 I learned how to carry myself with pride, but I also learned how to deal with humiliation.\u00a0 I spent most of my\u00a0time hating the job, but I have a hard time imagining myself doing anything else.\u00a0\u00a0Consulting\u00a0constantly stretched me to my limits and I’m not sure anything will be as sadomasochistically (is that a word?) satisfying.\u00a0 I also used it as a crutch for so many of my personal shortcomings.\u00a0 I’ll have to find something new to blame \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
Why am I moving<\/a> on?\u00a0 I don’t know.\u00a0 Sometimes I feel like the carrots weren’t enough to keep me going, but deep down I know that’s not true.\u00a0 It wasn’t until\u00a0the past\u00a0year that I truly appreciated what a career in consulting would bring, and I believe it is definitely worth it.\u00a0 I think the answer lies in my definition of hapiness and satisfaction.\u00a0 I think I was spending too much time trying to fit my\u00a0work around these concepts without recognizing that\u00a0it wasn’t the career that would\u00a0deliver them to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n I want to help people.\u00a0 I don’t want to care about profit or anything else.\u00a0 I want to feel like my work is directly impacting people in a positive way.\u00a0 This is not really an altruistic need,\u00a0it’s a selfish desire to always feel like the world is a better place with me in it.\u00a0 I’m not going to be a total dipshit and say consulting doesn’t do this – often, our projects assist millions of customers.\u00a0 In a big company, every project has the potential to\u00a0do this and the measurable impacts of our work may be greater than what most non-profits could ever hope to accomplish.\u00a0 So what’s my problem?\u00a0 I suppose it lies in the motive… our benefits are a side effect of the desire for higher shareholder returns.\u00a0 That taint is what hurts me most.\u00a0\u00a0When I tell people\u00a0that I’m an IT consultant, it doesn’t reflect my passions.\u00a0 It sounds like I’m a proud member of<\/a> the rat race, and I hate that.<\/p>\n What am I hoping for with my new job?\u00a0 I’m looking forward to working with a large non-profit.\u00a0 I want to feel a more regular feeling of satisfaction, instead of settling for the status quo until it becomes a distant memory.\u00a0 Maybe my daily grind will no longer feel like a grind, and even if it does, I look forward to having more time to spend on my side interests.\u00a0 Am I blowing my expectations out of proportion?\u00a0 Probably… but I’m sure this\u00a0was a risk worth taking.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I can’t believe that I’m finally starting my new job at the Gates Foundation on Monday.\u00a0 I feel a mixture of panic and euphoria.\u00a0 After six months riding a roller coaster of uncertainty, I’m looking forward to some stability.\u00a0 I’m going to miss my old job.\u00a0 I spent three years working with some of the … Continue reading New Job on Monday<\/span>