Career Whinge

[luckycanuck]

I found myself looking through the career section of the Herald earlier today and was struck by the stories of "People 10 Years Younger Than You Who Make You Look Pathetic" and their career trajectories.

I spent a lot of time in my 20s going around the world working at a variety of relatively low level jobs.  I became pretty good at breaking into something from a base of nothing in terms of contacts or networks or experience.  Within a year and a bit of landing in London I worked my way into a job in politics, and I did the same in less time when I arrived in Australia.  Starting from nothing and getting a couple of rungs up the career ladder I can do.  It's what I know.

But I haven't quite figured out how to get past these rungs.

Now I don't lust after fast cars and expensive clothes and I have no interest in buying myself a flashy property that will broadcast to everyone how much of a big shot I am.  But there may come a time when I want to do more than live the kind of life I now have.  There may come a time when I have a family to support, and there may come a time when, shocking though it may be, flying overseas with no contacts and finding myself a job that keeps me on my feet won't be enough.

I suppose I have progressed in career terms, but part of me thinks I may never reach the level of a high flyer like some of the people I went to school and uni with (I was in a gifted program from year 7 to year 9 and some of my classmates have really gone places, and yes, I know I am comparing myself to others, and yes, I know that is futile, so don't bother pointing that out.)  I also question whether I will reach a point where I can reliably support myself and possibly others with a secure job, preferably one that isn't soul crushing.  (I'm looking at you long term public service jobs that come with toxic public service work culture including brown cardigan clad clerks that I have been warned about.)

Now I'm 32.  Still young, but I feel like I am still at the starting line after ten years, and I'm also ten years older than the bright lights just starting out.  Will I still be here when I'm 42?  Or 52?

Ok. Career whinge complete for now.  But there are other aspects to this which will follow.

I had some vegetarian BBQ today with Renaissance Priest.  You can make good burgers with chickpea patties, haloumi, salad, hommous and tzatziki.  They even taste good when you are eating with a nerdy, black clad, greasy haired, wispy bearded software engineer who doesn't realise it's kind of creepy when he follows people around talking to them, and doesn't realise that an invitation to the Collaroy Castle is meant for the people the inviter has actually met before rather than everyone in the room including said software engineer.

No gym workout today, but I did go for a nice long sauna to relax and hopefully sweat out the sore throat that felt worse this morning.