I am on the cusp of becoming a corporate sellout. Let me preface this by saying that I don't mean this to be a rant about my job or company specifically. I, like most people probably, want my company to flourish in the market and enjoy the hoi polloi's goodwill. Mainly for selfish reasons but also because I think the leaders here at some level care about the right things - personal development, employee satisfaction, corporate social responsibility, etc. And I enjoy working here as much as I believe anyone can enjoy working in a corporate atmosphere. I truly believe that my company is one of the better ones to be at, from a personal and professional point of view.
However. That is not to say that of all the life choices one could make, having a corporate job is the most satisfying. When I first forayed into the grown up world I had this idea that your career and your life purpose should be one and the same, and that this is a very realistic goal. A couple months in and I realized I was an idealistic youth with misplaced ideas about happiness. There is no way that this job - or any corporate job - can become my life's passion or a source of perpetual contentment for me. Running system tests on a sales application in no way trumps the very real and meaningful experience of training a puppy at the animal shelter or serving food to the homeless. To compare the two ways of life would be ludicrous. I thought about quitting and working at a non profit - I was actually told by an executive that that would probably make me very happy - and then the same executive told me I would probably earn about a quarter of what I currently make if I did that. And that is the grim truth about Corporate America, friends. They buy your soul in exchange for pay raises and flexible work hours and dental.
It's hard to crush young people's ideals. Let me tell you. I am a vehemently idealistic young person. Nearly two years into working full time I am still convinced that this job cannot make me, or anyone, truly happy. Up until a few weeks ago my long term plan was to quit eventually to go back to school and/or do something more fulfilling and altruistic with my time. And then something terrifying happened to me. A finance manager asked to reschedule a meeting I set up with him because this is a busy week for finance - this is the time of year when all the executives go back and forth over which projects need to be funded and finance has to figure out how to orchestrate it all, essentially - and I found that I was interested in the process. Not only because it impacts me (now I have to reschedule my meeting!) but because I was genuinely curious about the timeline and deliverables and how it all works. So I walked over to my colleague Lacey's cube and had the whole process explained to me very thoroughly. Then I walked back to my desk feeling very happy and satisfied with myself* OH MY GOD I'm becoming a cyborg.
My dream of going back to school, making the world a better place, and finding true fulfillment in what I do with the majority of my time is at war with the practical side of me that knows financial stability and health benefits are somewhat indispensable commodities. It is very tempting to pay off my college loans and buy an overpriced Kate Spade handbag. Is that settling? What do you think?
*Not, like, a deep and abiding satisfaction with my contribution to this earth. This is the empty corporate version that you experience when you understand a particularly convoluted problem that could only ever exist in Corporate America to begin with.
However. That is not to say that of all the life choices one could make, having a corporate job is the most satisfying. When I first forayed into the grown up world I had this idea that your career and your life purpose should be one and the same, and that this is a very realistic goal. A couple months in and I realized I was an idealistic youth with misplaced ideas about happiness. There is no way that this job - or any corporate job - can become my life's passion or a source of perpetual contentment for me. Running system tests on a sales application in no way trumps the very real and meaningful experience of training a puppy at the animal shelter or serving food to the homeless. To compare the two ways of life would be ludicrous. I thought about quitting and working at a non profit - I was actually told by an executive that that would probably make me very happy - and then the same executive told me I would probably earn about a quarter of what I currently make if I did that. And that is the grim truth about Corporate America, friends. They buy your soul in exchange for pay raises and flexible work hours and dental.
It's hard to crush young people's ideals. Let me tell you. I am a vehemently idealistic young person. Nearly two years into working full time I am still convinced that this job cannot make me, or anyone, truly happy. Up until a few weeks ago my long term plan was to quit eventually to go back to school and/or do something more fulfilling and altruistic with my time. And then something terrifying happened to me. A finance manager asked to reschedule a meeting I set up with him because this is a busy week for finance - this is the time of year when all the executives go back and forth over which projects need to be funded and finance has to figure out how to orchestrate it all, essentially - and I found that I was interested in the process. Not only because it impacts me (now I have to reschedule my meeting!) but because I was genuinely curious about the timeline and deliverables and how it all works. So I walked over to my colleague Lacey's cube and had the whole process explained to me very thoroughly. Then I walked back to my desk feeling very happy and satisfied with myself* OH MY GOD I'm becoming a cyborg.
My dream of going back to school, making the world a better place, and finding true fulfillment in what I do with the majority of my time is at war with the practical side of me that knows financial stability and health benefits are somewhat indispensable commodities. It is very tempting to pay off my college loans and buy an overpriced Kate Spade handbag. Is that settling? What do you think?
*Not, like, a deep and abiding satisfaction with my contribution to this earth. This is the empty corporate version that you experience when you understand a particularly convoluted problem that could only ever exist in Corporate America to begin with.
