8 Years & Counting

"Peter if you find yourself in the same job after 5 years you have to stop and ask yourself, 'Why are you still here?'"

Chris Robertson was the first IT boss I ever had. He loved to talk, he could type 90+ words per minute and he had me convinced that IP Subneting was the hardest thing I would ever have to learn.

His theory was simple on jobs though, "In IT we aren't in it for the long haul. You should invest about 3-5 years per job. If you are looking to move on, an employer will want to know why you either left too early or stayed too long."

I've been at my current job for 8 years. That's the longest I've been anywhere. It's hard to stay in one place for so long, I feel like I'm losing my edge. Like I'm getting numb to this one environment and this one way of doing things.  After a while you stop questioning why you are building networks the way you are and just accept it.

"That's the way we've always done it," is a sure sign that you don't have a clue why your design hasn't changed.

I like it here. I have an office, a stable network and I'm finally comfortable with my co-workers, but there is always a part of me looking to move on. Chris Robertson's words ring in my ear. "Why are you still here?"

His advice was given almost 15 years ago. It was the reason I left that job and the next two. I was reaching for the moon and stuffing my matress with stock options that were going to make me rich. I was trading my 9-5 Win95 knowledge for 60 hour weeks and the promise of learning network design and telecom troubleshooting.

In all reality, I owe Chris my career. If not for him I would have stayed a PC tech at a giant company and could see myself there today.

I love networking. So I made the right choice, but I wonder what he would say today. In this new economy there are people who would kill for a steady job. I suppose I should be happy, content and learn to live with this new phase.

I suppose it could be a lot worse. I could have ended up as a manager...

Monday's Passing

I just had a very good Monday. I came in to work today, wondering what I was going to be doing, and ended up spending 8 hours shooting trouble on an elusive issue. At 4:16 the solution was acquired and the inevitable clarity of hindsight clicked into place. I looked up and realized that I had consumed 1 liter of coffee, a banana, a smoothie and most of my day. I found that I was completely happy.

If you don't have a job you enjoy to do, I'm sorry. I've worked in plenty of places where jumping ship was always on my mind. There were days that I spent at Best Buy were I just wanted to punch someone square in the jaw. Of course, there were also great days. Days when I learned something new, or enjoyed the company of my co-workers. The trouble is, it's much easier to recall the bad days? Why is that?

I suppose it is because, we tend to appreciate them more, in a way. You can recount them to friends. You garner sympathy or laughs depending on how you tell it. You use them to build a little castle of woe, that can then be showed off to your family and acquaintances. It makes you feel good to wallow in the bad.

You get the attention of others, "Look at all I had to endure today." Attention is addicting (Ask anyone with a blog) and people tend to dwell on the negative rather than the positive. It's our culture, where sarcasm and cynicism are rewarded as wit and humor. Or sympathy is doled out while we simultaneously elevate ourselves as better over those who's woes we are listening to.

Believe me, I understand it. In fact I'm a master of it. I need to curb that tendency.

Why is it that no one shares with friends if they had a good day?

"Had this horrible customer that called me a 'sniffle stiffing jerk-off' in front of my boss!"
"What?! That's horrible!"
"Yeah, and I'm not even sure that I know what that means. What about you."
"Me? I had a great day! So-"
"Oh... Sue? What about you?"


So why can't a near perfect work day not be worth noting? We should all get excited when we say,  "I had a great day." Instead of just thinking it's no big deal.

Most of us have to work for a living. Considering the sheer amount of our lives that we will spend working for our paycheck, we should be actively looking for the good in that day. Today was good, and I hope I remember it the next time I have a bad day.

Monday was good. I've got great hopes for Tuesday...

Network Engineer: How People See Me

There is a new meme going around. How people see me, here's the one I just did.



Let me know what you think, or do one for yourself! Here's a blank template for you. It's pretty fun.