Shaped by My Tech Career
pring has long been one of
my favorite seasons. Ev-
erything about spring just
teems with the joy of new life, hope,
dreams and, of course, new begin-
nings. Late spring and early summer
is also the time of year I loosely refer
to as “graduation” season. Soon, the
mailbox will be full of graduation
invitations for a whole host of smiling
young faces headed out with their
shiny new diplomas in hand to con-
quer the world.
These kids are confident! Invinci-
ble! Bulletproof! And, although they’d
never admit it, perhaps just a little
intimidated. After all, we ask 18-year-
olds who are generally still wholly
dependent on the Bank of Mom and
Dad to suddenly make decisions that
will impact their lives and shape the
trajectory of their professional careers
for years to come. Nothing is more
tragic than to graduate only to discov-
er six months later that the career path
you’ve chosen isn’t right for you.
Doubts about career choices aren’t
limited, of course, to those just begin-
ning their career. I think all of us have
those days (and sometimes weeks and
months) where we wonder what we
were thinking and whether we should
be looking at different opportunities.
Personally, I think periodically evalu-
ating where you are now and where
you want to be is healthy. It helps you
to clarify what you want to gain from
a job and determine whether your
career is meeting those needs.
I must confess that I didn’t start
out intending to pursue a career in
information technology (IT). I literal-
ly stumbled into this thing. I was in
a position in a wholly different field
(real estate law — BORING!) which
was absolutely making me crazy. I
dreaded mornings because it meant
another day in that office ... and I
began plotting my escape.
Quite by accident, a VP at a pow-
erhouse IT firm saw my résumé, liked
what was on it, and thus began my ca-
reer in IT. Here we are 20 years later:
I’m still working in IT and I have no
plans to move to another field.
Why did I stay? Quite simply, I
love the innovation, challenges, excite-
ment, and opportunities for growth
that I’m constantly presented with in
IT. Many of the lessons I’ve learned
working in IT have nothing to do with
technical skills, but everything to do
with how I live, work and interact
with others. Perhaps these are the
most important lessons of all.
Some or all of these lessons learned
might not apply to your situation. But
I hope that you’ll find a few pearls of
wisdom that also convey the message
that IT is an exciting place to be.S
I think peri-
odically evaluating
where you are now
and where you want to
be is healthy. It helps
you to clarify what
you want to gain from
a job and determine
whether your career is
meeting those needs.