I’ve got a friend who works IT at Boeing Co. which is currently laying off a few thousand apparently. Actually, they’re trying to dump 10,000 employees.
Ouch.
My heart seriously hurts for that group; I know what it’s like firsthand to get laid off. In fact, I didn’t just get laid off, I got fired.
It was a “defining moment,” as one person says, and it was one of the best things that could have ever happened to me in terms of IT.
I made an interesting career decision to even move into the IT space a while back. I had an obvious interest and talent for web development, design, and uX/UI/HCI, but I decided to take a hard-right turn in my career for a brief stint in IT; I felt that I wanted to “round out” my experience with a little back-end, some collocation, networking/routing, and data management.
Great intentions aside it was a pretty stupid decision and thank the Lord Almighty that He pulled me from that experience because I would have shriveled up and died if I would have stayed any longer.
Although I learned a ton from that experience there was one thing in particular lesson that I keep with me today.
Interest vs Curiosity
There’s a difference between being “interested” in something and being “curious.” I think the latter is the only sustainable thing from a career perspective and what keeps me going in my current vocation.
I was interested, surely, in information technology, but my curiosity for it died within the first week after working it, especially for a salary.
I’m not counselor or career guidance type of guy but I tell people often that a continual sense of curiosity around a particular thing is a good choice for a career. It was IT that helped me realize that I could probably get paid and make a living off of almost anything but I’m honestly only curious about a handful of things.
Getting fired was immensely freeing and the best thing ever because I was too chicken to quit.
Nick Shoemaker says
This is me right now. While I miss my former co-workers and the experience, it was killing me. Fortunately “they” said something, and I was so relieved I literally broke down sobbing.
It was bitter-sweet: I’d miss being around the people that had become a family to mine, but looked forward to the prospect of what was (is still) next.
Graham says
I’m kinda there too man. I’m actually looking forward to the impending “big change” in my life.
Graham says
I agree. You have to be curious about things. In my dating life… that is one of the top 5 things I look for in a partner. They must have a general curiosity about things. Be interested in the “why”. And to that end… I agree that curiosity is the thing that will drive a career, not interest.
Noel Coleman says
Ironically I learned this twice…or maybe that means I really required to hits to the head before I actually learned. Hmmmm. Anyway, when I was in school at Georgia Tech I started working in a co-op with GA Power as a mechanical engineer. I was always interested in engineering, but when I got into the work world of it I realized that it actually kinda sucked. So I changed directions and went more the sales and business route where I have a keen curiosity about strategy and influence. This has been a great choice in my life and I’ve been much happier with it.
Then…I decided to take on some project management because it seemed that there were so many inefficiencies in the process where I was. (There’s that engineer trying to get out) But after about 6 months of my wife watching me slowly die inside and quickly age outside she told me I had to make a change. So I got out of that and back to my sweet spot.
Now I’m loving what I do and able to begin expanding my skills into relevant areas without feeling like jumping out of my window from the 3rd story. (Ironically, likely just high enough to seriously injure myself but not kill me. Kind of like working in a job I hate.)
John Saddington says
ha. thanks for the encouragement noel.
Casey Riley says
This is so true I’ve been contemplating this recently whether or not this was the right career move.