Once you decide on a career in Information Technology (or really any career for that matter) one of the decisions you’ll have to make is where you want to work.
This decision will not only have an impact on how much money you’ll earn it will also have an affect your work / life balance.
Today I’ll discuss the pros and cons of where you choose to work from a salary and mental health standpoint to help in your IT career decision making process.
Where You Work — Does it Need to Define a Part of Who You Are?
Like it or not your job will define something about you either directly or indirectly. Just like the old frog and scorpion story (“part of my nature”) people can only maintain so long “out of their element” regardless of benefits, pay or other compensation.
Eventually they will come to be less happy and they’ll need to move on. The only other option is to be anywhere from “unhappy” to “miserable” in the work that you’re doing.
It is also important to have a good grasp on where you want to go in your career from the standpoint of where you want to work.
Having the desire to be an Operations Center Manager as one example is a great career path, but there is a big difference in being that manager for a mid-sized company as it is for a global one.
As another example, if you’re really short on patience and working with slow starters is not your thing then a role of training new hires on new technology is never going to work for you in the long run, even if it was your dream to work on Wall Street and the job pays 50% more than your last position.
You have to know what you’re capable of and you need to know what your limitations are.
If you’re working in your dream job (or your dream job for now) in IT but it’s in a place that doesn’t fit your “style” it can still make your work day something you come to regret getting up for in the morning. The work may be exciting and fulfilling but who you’re working for may be anything but.
Generally you spend one third of your day at work, five days a week. Add to that the time it takes you to travel to and from work, and it ends up being even more.
This means that five days a week you are spending 60% (or more) of your waking hours at work so you need to do what you can to ensure that the work is challenging, satisfying and a “right” fit for you.
Dealing with a Difficult Job Market
During a recession and tight job market, working in an optimal environment may not be an option. But keep in mind that you can hold back “resentful” feelings for where you work only temporarily; sooner or later they force their way to the forefront.
As time progresses and the job market improves you’ll have opportunities to move on to something that is a better fit for you.
During the tougher times you’ll need to make sure that you’re still doing the job you have to 100% of your capabilities. You don’t want to be let go into a bad job market because you’re slacking due to the fact you’re really not excited about the position.
Additionally, when the next opportunity opens elsewhere you may need to leverage reviews and references from your current place of employment and you’re going to want those to be as positive as possible.
Compensation is Not a Fix for the Wrong Job
Its one thing to not be a big sports fan and work for a sports apparel company and it’s quite another to support the ethical treatment of animals and work for a company that is known for its puppy mills. What you need to do is analyze what you can and can’t deal with.
There are some people that are very good at separating the work they do for a company and how they derive their paycheck from what the company does (the company’s business goals and their vision). Others will struggle with this and it will negatively affect their work and their own sense of well being and life outside of work.
Money is a great initial motivator but not a long term fix. You can be offered 20% more compensation to deal with less than desirable work conditions, but they will eventually affect your mood, demeanor and life outside of work.
In my own example, I’ve found that over time in a business environment that I don’t morally or intellectually agree with I have had problems working efficiently and with the complete desire to do my best. This is not because I don’t like my job, but because I have no passion for the company’s business objectives.
This leads to being less than satisfied with the work that I’m doing and the effort that I put in is not 100% because I cannot separate the two things in my head. I look at it as if I’m helping this company do something I don’t like or don’t agree with because I’m filling a job role that allows them to get that part of their business done.
However, there are people that manage and deal with this well — from something as blunt as the thought process of “I do my work and collect my check; what the company does isn’t really my concern” to more subtle positions such as “I do my best because if I don’t someone else will, so why not me?”
The bottom line — when you have the ability to make the choice, you need to keep in mind what you can tolerate at work. Remember, that your goal is to be successful in your job and to get where you want to be in your career and your work environment is going to play a role in that, so choose wisely.
Take Away
In summary and the main take away ideas:
Where you work doesn’t necessarily have to be a perfect fit
- You must have good intellectual capital to fully separate work from life
- Compensation is not a long term fix to a position you don’t enjoy
- You need to know what you’re capable of and what your limitations are
In rough job markets you may have to take the best thing available, until things improve
- If the job you take ends up being one you intend to hold until things are better, have a plan for moving on when the economy picks up
- Do the best you can and give 100% regardless of whether you want to keep the job in the long run or not
Make a plan for your career and decide where to have it
- Where you live will play a role in available job options and choices, especially in the IT industry
- The industry and job market will also play a role in your job options and choices
I hope you found this information useful. Next time I’ll focus on how role responsibility and job expectations come into play in IT. I will outline some of the pluses and minuses of different roles and responsibilities and the expectations of the positions to help you make the right decisions.
I’m always looking forward to your feedback on this or any other articles I have written so feel free to drop in some comments or contact me directly.
Additionally, I welcome any suggestions for topics of interest that you would like to see here.
I liked this article. It has helped me feel better about my current situation. I was recently laid off and I pretty much took the 1st job that was offered due to the “mindset” I was in (Laid Off, bad Economy), I was scared! It’s not the worst job I have had, but I do know that it’s not for me in the long run, so I really liked your point, “Do the best you can and give 100% regardless of whether you want to keep the job in the long run or not”. So for me I’m giving it a 100% and in the meantime I’m working towards the 70-640 exam and the CCNET exam to hopefully position myself better when the economy turns around.