Epiphanies and Eternal Septembers
- 4 minsI had an epiphany about a question that a friend brough up to me while talking programming and tech. His question was based on my career
and why I went the admin/engineer route vs the programming route. I had an epiphany after answering his question. I find that working in IT is like saying
“I want to work in a hospital,” and programming is like saying you want to be a surgeon.
It takes years to get good and even then it’s a practice. A lot of IT takes self study which most people aren’t prepared for.
This causes the common trope of “finding a passion in IT” because the extended studying and hard work wont feel like hard work.
There are tons of other jobs at the hospital but many people see the high paying flashy car driving surgeon and think about ways to get to that level of wealth or salary.
Surgeons, much like programmers are independent contractors and come a dime a dozen and every year there is a new surgery to practice to make more money to become a surgeon.
Like a hostpital or an IT job there is no one quick solution to get to the job title your looking for or the RN job you want in the hospital.
At the end of the day it’s still a process where you report to or from an entrerepreneural standpoint a contract you send reports through.
Anyway, I went the admin/engineer route because I was looking for longevity and wanted to get my foot in the door so I took jobs that were weird or shady or sketchy and anytime something happened I kept telling myself “this is not my final destination” although it was some for some people. Now that I’ve been in the “hospital” for 10+ years I’m able to consider moving into a doctor like role or maintaining the engineer role I have….not sure if engineer and nurse would be the same in this comparison but the idea still sticks.
If you want to be a contrarian you could argue that the barrier of entry to being a doctor/surgeon vs being a programmer is vastly different but the idea remains the same. The hospital is the IT field and programming/cyber security/networking are no different than children’s care, or EMT, or burn victim units. They are all different areas that cns be studied to get in the field. Programming just happens to have a higher payout short term vs entry level jobs doing things like networking or cyber security.
When you think long term the journey in the middle can feel like a blur or bliss or both at the same time but many people try to learn to code short term and burnout. Learning to code is no different than playing basketball. Gotta create the projects, dribble the ball, learn the applications and how the game is played and stay consistent with it on and off the clock. Being an engineer allows me to work on more than just a niche part of an ecosystem it allows me to deal with firewalls, networking, cyber security, virtualization, and more so it’s worth it in the long term
Eternal September
While working at one of the many contracted positions I have held I heard someone mention in a standup meeting the idea that the job market is booming but its no different than studying the stocks and understanding annual trends in IT like Eternal September. The idea that the uptick in open jobs in the market or jobs going away due to AI in modern times is no different than the feelings that my co-worker had years before when he mentioned now is a good time to find a new job but jumping from job to job and not having a gameplan or having your gameplan focus only on finances will have you run through an Eternel September where every year or every time something big happens and the stress/workload gets to you your mind is off to the races and looking for something different. It’s reminiscent of the The quote “Wherever you go, there you are” which is a saying that emphasizes that you cannot escape yourself or your problems, as you carry your inner self and your baggage with you wherever you go.
Conclusion
With a plan, and a goal that focuses on longevity and the long term affects of career decisions, study choices, or job offers, the end-goal can be obtainable. With the right mindset the journey can be a fun ride as well. There is a lot to being a doctor, but there is much more on the road travelled then just the destination.