I think that most of the people hate their jobs. There is so much to do in this world, and we are exposed to so much information, that it is difficult to find what you'd love to do straight away. Then there is learning the ropes. At first we can be really useless at what we do and feel miserable about it. And then there is the situation when you can not control your life. You have to be at the office, not because it helps you to do the most, but because some less productive person somewhere down the line is the bottleneck and whole team has to adjust to him.
So to have a good job we need three main things.
Do what we like to do
Let ourselves learn and reach the level of proficiency that lets us to be in the zone and...
Last, but not the least to be able to control our working environment so it contributes to our productivity, not vice versa.
This last bit is the most tricky in the corporate environment. It is also the most damaging if not sorted out.
However, it is achievable.
What I know about Google and Microsoft and other successful employers, leads me to believe that they pay a lot of attention to this last bit and hire people who sorted out the bits one and two for themselves.
Currently, I work at the office. Shame on me.
But this office work allows me to have the best working environment ever. I have a quite, comfortable workplace, flexible schedule, little supervision. I have the time and the permission to pursue my personal projects. This is the best possible way for me to practice my management skills that I will need for my future business. In return I'm more then happy to help the company out with managing their projects. After all, manager's job is to be available in case something happens and to facilitate the life of the team. I like it. Before I had this job, I was working from home, doing the same thing. I was contacted by the recruiters, given the tour of the office and was enchanted by the working conditions. So it is a clear win-win.
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Ilya.
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