I feel targeted by this post. I was a tall teen who didn’t actually want to play basketball, and now after a decade of unpacking the academia career path (turns out I’m paid to be a cop, not a teacher) I’m starting a coffee business—but at least I have answers to the opening questions.
Unfortunately people keep bundling the things I love (taking meeting notes, solving information organisation and task breakdown / assignment problems, explaining complicated systems to people) with things I hate (being responsible for people's job performance and emotional wellbeing, working long hours, dealing with the whims of upper management).
If I ruled the world—a job I haven't unpacked yet—this essay would be turned into a required high school course. It reminds me of the time I told my psychotherapist I had decided to become a psychotherapist, and he asked, "Are you sure you want to listen to people's problems all day?"
As much as I cannot deny that unpacking *is*, in fact, "easy and free" I would happily pay good money for a thoughtfully-designed Unpacking Guide. Sometimes it feels like I've hidden all my valuables underneath all the junk, so to speak.
That’s actually a great idea for a book. If it was well put together and well marketed, it would sell millions of copies at Christmas time. Families would have long conversations debating whether the unpacking of this or that job was accurate.
Great post, but I will add one critique. Many people, me included, will eventually have to choose between what they enjoy and what they are good at. I enjoy making music and can spend hours playing guitar. After 40 years of practice, I am almost good enough to play in the worst imaginable bar cover band. However, I am a fairly good professor and academic administrator, but it’s been a daily grind. My aptitudes and interests have never been a great match.
As an addendum to this (true) comment, it also seems that many people seem unable to understand that one might INTENSELY dislike doing some things one is good at.
Great post. Makes me think of how hard people find it to empathize nowadays but doing the unpacking could lead to lots more of that too. If I realized how “crazy” people had to be to do so many of the jobs that keep the society machine operating I’d probably value them a lot more.
I'm a proofreader, and this reminds me of when an acquaintance fresh out of college with an education degree asked if she should be a proofreader. I said, "Are you neurotic? No? Then you shouldn't be a proofreader."
I get this concept completely. I was told that I'd be a great teacher even through I didn't really want to be one but spent years of my life trying to get certified anyway. Anyway my 'shortest distance between two points' mentality bumped up against reality in the form of the NYC Board of Ed losing my certification paperwork three years running. I moved to librarianship in 2001 and have been here for 25ever since. The cool part is that I still get to teach, but I also get to deal with books, computers coding and so on.
> because this is how you will spend your days as a cafe owner. You will not be sitting droopy-lidded in an easy chair, sipping a latte and greeting your regulars as you page through Anna Karenina.
Owners of small European cafes doing exactly the latter beg to differ. Of course they hardly make big bucks (beyond having their basic costs and met), but they do mostly greet the regulars, play some backgammon or cards, and sit all day. Helps when the wife and/or kids also work there, the waiter is just some cousin or fellow from the village, and the regulars wont complain if the coffee takes 15 minutes instead of 5 because they do "have got all day".
Another great concept, Adam! It's so useful to learn what a job/project/thing actually entails—not just the public perception and "what comes to mind in 3 seconds when I think of this." This could save a lot of people a lot of struggle. Match your unique craziness to a crazy vocation. Brilliant.
Great post, but I will add one critique. Many people, me included, will eventually have to choose between what they enjoy and what they are good at. I enjoy making music and can spend hours playing guitar. After 40 years of practice, I am almost good enough to play in the worst imaginable bar cover band. However, I am a fairly good professor and academic administrator, but it’s been a daily grind. My aptitudes and interests have never been a great match.
Thanks Adam for reminding me. As I'm sitting idnn fornt of my PC with my job-sponsored smartphone reading your article with all the calm in the world bulilding up the pressure to crunch in my tasks for the day in 3hrs less that planned, so I can "procrastinate" more, I have realized what a few years ago was only a dream. Somebody sent me a looong email where in the end he said he'd been using 45min of his work time for it and I was like: how can a job leave you that much freedom and still not be a freelancer's job? I want THAT!
And here I am, doing exactly that and at the same time looking at ways to find a new job - seems I'm not able to properly take in the success of living out what I desired.
So thanks for reminding me that indeed I have purposefully chosen the unpacked version of a job and not the disclaimer.
I feel targeted by this post. I was a tall teen who didn’t actually want to play basketball, and now after a decade of unpacking the academia career path (turns out I’m paid to be a cop, not a teacher) I’m starting a coffee business—but at least I have answers to the opening questions.
Hah! At least you got answers. Good luck on the coffee business. :)
Unfortunately people keep bundling the things I love (taking meeting notes, solving information organisation and task breakdown / assignment problems, explaining complicated systems to people) with things I hate (being responsible for people's job performance and emotional wellbeing, working long hours, dealing with the whims of upper management).
"I just want to be responsible for doling out tasks, not actually dealing with the consequences!"
If I ruled the world—a job I haven't unpacked yet—this essay would be turned into a required high school course. It reminds me of the time I told my psychotherapist I had decided to become a psychotherapist, and he asked, "Are you sure you want to listen to people's problems all day?"
That's freaking hilarious. I want that therapist's number.
As much as I cannot deny that unpacking *is*, in fact, "easy and free" I would happily pay good money for a thoughtfully-designed Unpacking Guide. Sometimes it feels like I've hidden all my valuables underneath all the junk, so to speak.
(Great post)
That’s actually a great idea for a book. If it was well put together and well marketed, it would sell millions of copies at Christmas time. Families would have long conversations debating whether the unpacking of this or that job was accurate.
Great post, but I will add one critique. Many people, me included, will eventually have to choose between what they enjoy and what they are good at. I enjoy making music and can spend hours playing guitar. After 40 years of practice, I am almost good enough to play in the worst imaginable bar cover band. However, I am a fairly good professor and academic administrator, but it’s been a daily grind. My aptitudes and interests have never been a great match.
As an addendum to this (true) comment, it also seems that many people seem unable to understand that one might INTENSELY dislike doing some things one is good at.
Well this sure helps in guiding my adult children who seem to be lost as to who they are and what they might enjoy doing as a career. Great read.
Great post. Makes me think of how hard people find it to empathize nowadays but doing the unpacking could lead to lots more of that too. If I realized how “crazy” people had to be to do so many of the jobs that keep the society machine operating I’d probably value them a lot more.
I'm a proofreader, and this reminds me of when an acquaintance fresh out of college with an education degree asked if she should be a proofreader. I said, "Are you neurotic? No? Then you shouldn't be a proofreader."
I get this concept completely. I was told that I'd be a great teacher even through I didn't really want to be one but spent years of my life trying to get certified anyway. Anyway my 'shortest distance between two points' mentality bumped up against reality in the form of the NYC Board of Ed losing my certification paperwork three years running. I moved to librarianship in 2001 and have been here for 25ever since. The cool part is that I still get to teach, but I also get to deal with books, computers coding and so on.
> because this is how you will spend your days as a cafe owner. You will not be sitting droopy-lidded in an easy chair, sipping a latte and greeting your regulars as you page through Anna Karenina.
Owners of small European cafes doing exactly the latter beg to differ. Of course they hardly make big bucks (beyond having their basic costs and met), but they do mostly greet the regulars, play some backgammon or cards, and sit all day. Helps when the wife and/or kids also work there, the waiter is just some cousin or fellow from the village, and the regulars wont complain if the coffee takes 15 minutes instead of 5 because they do "have got all day".
This is so good. Wish I had been able to read it 25 years ago!
Very good stuff.
I feel like few people are the right kind of crazy to be software developers. Here is a typical day:
Step 1: Be productive for an hour, then get stuck on some weird bug.
Step 2: Bang your head against the wall for six hours, repeatedly trying and failing.
Step 3. Finally fix the bug, feel amazing relief / frustration that it took so long.
Step 4: Go to step 1.
Sounds perfect, if only you didn't have to be productive for that first hour!
Another great concept, Adam! It's so useful to learn what a job/project/thing actually entails—not just the public perception and "what comes to mind in 3 seconds when I think of this." This could save a lot of people a lot of struggle. Match your unique craziness to a crazy vocation. Brilliant.
Great post, but I will add one critique. Many people, me included, will eventually have to choose between what they enjoy and what they are good at. I enjoy making music and can spend hours playing guitar. After 40 years of practice, I am almost good enough to play in the worst imaginable bar cover band. However, I am a fairly good professor and academic administrator, but it’s been a daily grind. My aptitudes and interests have never been a great match.
Thanks Adam for reminding me. As I'm sitting idnn fornt of my PC with my job-sponsored smartphone reading your article with all the calm in the world bulilding up the pressure to crunch in my tasks for the day in 3hrs less that planned, so I can "procrastinate" more, I have realized what a few years ago was only a dream. Somebody sent me a looong email where in the end he said he'd been using 45min of his work time for it and I was like: how can a job leave you that much freedom and still not be a freelancer's job? I want THAT!
And here I am, doing exactly that and at the same time looking at ways to find a new job - seems I'm not able to properly take in the success of living out what I desired.
So thanks for reminding me that indeed I have purposefully chosen the unpacked version of a job and not the disclaimer.
Excellent as usual, Adam!