Loving what you do

[TyroneK(prettypretty)]

Do you love what you do for a living?

If not, how do you put up with it? Is it just a necessary evil for doing the stuff you do like? Do you just not know what else to do with your life? Do you do a job to fun your screenwriting/acting/singing ambitions?

Just curious (and looking for potential inspiration).

[Emperor_Mike]

I loved doing info-sec work. All I did was sit around, chat with network admins/IT managers, write/review policies, and occasionally hold meetings on how to improve network/workstation security.

I was a web developer during the dotcom boom and it was novel at first, but when dotcom was on its way to dotbomb going to work everyday was a chore (the ever-present fear of getting laid off hung over my head like the Sword of Damocles.) But I got through the weeks leading up to my eventual dismissal by setting up a plan for the next five years that I'd work toward, examining and setting up contingency plans for anything and everything that could possibly go wrong with one or two backups for the backups in the event the contingencies flopped as well. ;)

After that I got started: I switched fields from doing IT grunt work to a quasi-managerial role as a consultant, sat for several InfoSec certifications, finished up my part time Bachelors at BCIT and got in touch with old clients I met during my stint as a dotcommer to see if they knew anyone who needed an information security analyst. I suppose you might say that I got through the dark days of pending unemployment by looking forward instead of lingering on the prospect of joblessness. :lol: It took awhile and there was a long dry spell (not many people wanted to hire a newly minted IS worker,) but it was worth it and soon I had some nice contracts that helped pool together the monetary resources I needed for "Phase II," which was law school.

The key thing I always tell people is to plan ahead but do not attempt to do so without being honest with yourself and about your abilities. You can build all the castles in the sky you want, but if you don't have the means to convert those lengthy schemes into reality, it's nothing but fantasy. Of course, you can be realistic and also add in a bit imagination. Heh! My career "Fantasy Goal" is to work my way up the UN and hopefully be appointed Secretary General. :lol: It's far-fetched, but it's the one thing that gives me the drive I need to excel in whatever I do. :) So in the event that it doesn't work out as planned, my thinking is that I'll still be at a nice spot (in terms of accomplishments since money is a tertiary issue for me career wise) when I finally run out of steam.

The best type of inspiration I've been privy to is that not all roads are straight in life. It's like looking at a range of mountains through a pair of binoculars. What you see is directly ahead of you, but the the path toward your destination may have many winding turns. If you really want something, you must work for it and do whatever it takes to obtain it. However, you must also be true to yourself and realise that some goals may be too lofty to pursue. As such, you'll have to be prepared to live with disappointment and also be able to savour the successes you've met with whilst on the journey.

[maxdacat]

thanks for all the great advice

i was wondering what BCIT stands for......is it British Columbia

i guess you work in Vancouver then? what is the IT market there like? i have heard of crystal decisions but not any other large IT companies who have office there....it seems like the city has it all in terms of outdoor stuff so i was interested in the professional side....i guess in canada most of the head offices are in toronto so that is "where the action is"...no?

[sOKaLiBoY]

i see my job as just a job. i enjoy the work environment but the job is just for money. how do i put up with it you ask.....who wouldn't want to get paid to surf the net all day long. :D

[Emperor_Mike]

Originally posted by maxdacat@Jun 25 2003, 01:17 AM
thanks for all the great advice

i was wondering what BCIT stands for......is it British Columbia

i guess you work in Vancouver then? what is the IT market there like? i have heard of crystal decisions but not any other large IT companies who have office there....it seems like the city has it all in terms of outdoor stuff so i was interested in the professional side....i guess in canada most of the head offices are in toronto so that is "where the action is"...no?
BCIT is the British Columbia Institute of Technology, a post secondary institution. I used to work in Vancouver and the IT market was pretty bad then. Not sure about how it is now since I'm in law school. I'm actually a student at the University of Durham in the UK just back for the summer. ;)

Crystal Decisions is one of the worthies along with the regional IBM and Oracle branches. Toronto is the best place to be for IT at this juncture, however. But if you can find something in Vancouver it's a marvelous city to live in, albeit a bit on the pricey side. Give CareerClick.com or Monster.ca a shot for job openings or pay a visit to BCTechnology.net for a listing of Vancouver IT corporations.

[iris]

I do publicity for some prominent rap artists in the music industry. I used to think I enjoyed it very much, but the stress is getting to me quite badly.

I'm a big believer in doing what you love so when I hate more days than I love in publicity is when I'll leave it