Tag Archives: career

Another new adventure

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It’s been an eventful 8 months since I left my old job. Maximum Baby was born, learned to eat solid foods and now zooms around the floor. I joined a team in product development and helped them through some tough changes. I’ve done some work I’m proud of and folks have told me I’ve actually made some impact. The people are smart, funny and hardworking. I’ve also been balancing that with Professor Baby and my outside projects.

However, I’ve gotten a great opportunity  and I’ve found the best parts of my life have come from not being afraid and saying yes to the new.  I’m taking 2 weeks off and then starting as head of software development at a smaller place. I’m extremely excited to get started and be the kind of leader I’ve always wanted to work with.

Right now, I’m probably at the Irish American toasting a good run with my latest set of friends.

leo_cheers

Back to work

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My brief break between jobs was restful and fun. Rode my bike every day, exercised every day, and had some fun adventures. Not a bad time, but I’m ready to start a new, longer adventure at work in my new job. I’ll be doing Product Development at a new company. I’ll be doing a lot of the same sorts of work, but I’ll have the backing to really push for more change.

 

Some good advice to my friends who are terrified of this job market

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Don’t try to dodge the recession with grad school.. Many of my friends are considering this sort of move. It’s a sucker bet for a number of reasons that Penelope outlines. My basic argument is her last one.

Graduate school forces you to overinvest: It’s too high risk.
In a world where people did not change careers, grad school made sense. Today, grad school is antiquated. You invest three to six extra years in school in order to get your dream career. But the problem is that not only are the old dream careers deteriorating, but even if you have a dream career, it won’t last. You’ll want to change because you can. Because that’s normal for today’s workplace. People who are in their twenties today will change careers about four times in their life. Which means that grad school is a steep investment for such a short period of time.

You put in many years of avoiding adult life and prolonging adolescence, then commit to a career you have no real idea about. When I thought I might want to be a lawyer, I worked for a law firm and was firmly told by many lawyers that this is the worst job ever. When I thought I wanted to be on the news, I became a news reporter and learned why the news structurally has to be terrible. You learn more by doing.

Of course, that’s coming from a guy who hasn’t gone to graduate school. I still think though, that if you are lost, or unsure, the general best bet is to say yes to lots of opportunities and ditch the ones you hate. You will get somewhere by staying in motion, and learn more things.