love my job

12. they are sending me to this training which is so great for my self improvement. but i think if it really works it will lead to my quitting. ha!

and the other half…what I’d like to change in my next job

1. I would like to have more of a traditional work environment, where I actually see the people I work with
2. There isn’t a lot of impetus to improve processes—people are satisified to let a less than perfect process continue because it’s easier and we don’t have to worry about people losing jobs
3. sometimes there’s not enough work to do and I get bored
4. I don’t have pride in my company/job
5. problems that I can’t find a solution for
6. when people don’t respect or listen to my opinion or advice—this is probably more of my own problem than the job
7. when I start getting a “can’t do” attitude
8. workign with other people’s code and getting frustrated when it’s not how I would have done it, or it’s just plain wrong. Again, partly this is my issue, but at the same time, I think there are some people who shouldn’t be programming, and it just makes it more difficult for everyone else. But of course I have to go back to if I am one of those people.
9. Not being a strong lead. Again, something I need to work on
10. Not having enough technical exposure to everything
11. No interest in studying more when I get home :)
12. Having to be on call
13. lots of frustrating processes
14. getting an “ok” rating
15. lack of confidence in my technical skills
16. when it cuts into my weekend
17. pushing data around is kind of meaningless unless you see actual results
18. people don’t want you to be proactive because it may means extra work for them
....more to come!!

I’ve come to the realization that I do want a new job. But I’m clueless as to what else to try. And I think I’m too chicken too jump to a new career without knowing if I’ll for sure like it any better. Which of course is a catch 22. So I’m going to make some lists to help myself figure out what’s really good here, and what’s not. My own career test if you will!

1. pay is good (ok, have to put that first!)
2. the people can be fun to work with when we’re not talking about work details. when we are they tend to get on my nerves :)
3. I like the logic side of it
4. I like to be knowledgeable about something very specific
5. the benefits are great
6. lots of flexibility about when and where I work
7. respect from people who think I do my job well
8. I like to solve problems
9. I like to track down problems
10. It’s usually low stress
11. I have a lot of control in how I do my work

more to be added…

Must remind myself, I am here for the money. money. money. money. Geez, I must be so unsatisfi-able that I have a job with good pay and I still want more.

I suppose there’s really nothing wrong with my job. Is it just my bad attitude which keeps me complaining about it? There are so many things about it I should be grateful for, yet I tend to ignore those. At least it is not cleaning up after ungrateful people, dealing with rude people, or something really stinky.

Is it possible to look forward to coming to work every day or even some days? Do I have to lose my job to appreciate it??