The problem of today.. what kept me up last night from 3:30 was thinking about work; not the specific details or timelines, but of the odd question “what do I want to be when I grow up”.. but wait I'm 34 why do I have to ask myself this question.
The place that I work is amazing, it has values and is built on beliefs that are greatly aligned with how I feel. The quality system and processes match exactly with the company “I've always wanted to create”, even the sys admin activates, specific things are done just the way I would think to do them.
The people that I work with, many of them think the same way about things that I do, we all have a general interest in computers and can related to one another on a wide variety of topics?
So what's the problem??
The company that I work at wants it's employees (members) to have a “career track”, and idea of what field they would like to specialize in, so that they can help direct them towards that goal...sounds great right?
The problem is, I don't have “1” thing that I want to specialize in; I'm a “generalist”, I like to learn be curious, and set new goals for myself constantly. I don't want to be a developer, or a business analysist, or a project manager, or an architect. Not if it means that by choosing one of these paths I have to agree to “give up” other parts of myself.
I have a specific vision of who I am and I live towards it, I have specific goals for experiences I would like to obtain to help me grow, but not towards one “eventual” end state.
It is a great culture we have, but the idea of picking “one” thing isn't aligned with the vision I have for myself, so what do I do?
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
