TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: ANON: job dissatisfaction From:SEnglish -at- MICROS -dot- COM Date:Fri, 4 Dec 1998 08:44:06 -0500
Michelle,
I agree with you that the response to Anon was a little harsh, perhaps
bordering on coarse. I have been reading the responses to the original
post and no one has expressed the opinion I formed, and I think I know
why. I went back through Anon's original post and did a little
arithmetic based on the duration of those jobs.
Anon, I think I understand your problem better than some of your
detractors. While you have had some financial success in this
overheated technical market, you haven't found a job you like. You're
restless, you're impatient, and life in corporate America isn't
matching your expectations. You aren't sure exactly what you want to
do, but you know this job isn't it, and you're worried that you won't
find what you really want reasonably soon. Anon, your problem is a
common one, and while it isn't fixable, it does have a cure. You see,
your problem is that you're 24 or 25 years old. Which is to say,
there's NOTHING wrong with you.
There are people on this list who found THE job (or THE career) right
out of college, but they are in the minority. Most of us bounced
around a little, trying different things in different places. If we
got extremely lucky (I did) we found what we wanted to do and where we
wanted to do it. But rarely on the first, third, or even fifth try.
The best thing you can do for yourself right now is to use each
successive job change to learn more about yourself and the kind of job
you really want.
I haven't chimed in til now because there aren't a whole lot of
24-year-olds who want to be patronized by somebody who's only reached
the ripe old age of 40 himself. But maybe you're willing to take this
in the encouraging spirit in which it's intended. I've been where you
are. So have many of the people I know, including a lot who are now
suffering from selective memory. (If any of you who have been flaming
Anon feel the urge to blush, go right ahead.)
The message here is: If you keep plugging, you'll thrive. We did.
Steve English
My opinions are my own; my company rarely understands what I have to
say anyway.