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Do you enjoy the career that you are working?
#engineering #work What exactly do you do when you are working? & do you work with people or alone?
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22 answers
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Jason’s Answer
I really enjoy working as a software engineer. Not only is it financially rewarding but if you're someone who thrives on breaking down and solving challenging puzzles it can be very personally rewarding. It's not easy by any means and it certainly comes with its fair share of stress but ultimately most things that don't challenge you in some way are not going to be all that rewarding. My team tries to strike a balance between team activities and individual focus time. I enjoy pairing with teammates to solve issues but also value time to myself to dive deeply into a problem that I'm trying to solve.
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Mike’s Answer
I enjoy my career.
I am a leader of a software engineering team focused on Cloud Cost Optimization.
A typical day for me consists of ensuring that my team is focused on the right priorities, thinking about how to approach and solve the challenges we are facing to achieve our goals, and various meetings (i.e. staff meetings, 1:1s, project planning...).
Most of my work is collaborative. I often work with my peers across the organization to provide progress on a project or help folks understand how they might drive cost efficiencies.
Cost Optimization is challenging and can sometimes feel rather daunting, however, it is super motivating to keep going when you see the value generated by enabling cost savings for the company.
I am a leader of a software engineering team focused on Cloud Cost Optimization.
A typical day for me consists of ensuring that my team is focused on the right priorities, thinking about how to approach and solve the challenges we are facing to achieve our goals, and various meetings (i.e. staff meetings, 1:1s, project planning...).
Most of my work is collaborative. I often work with my peers across the organization to provide progress on a project or help folks understand how they might drive cost efficiencies.
Cost Optimization is challenging and can sometimes feel rather daunting, however, it is super motivating to keep going when you see the value generated by enabling cost savings for the company.
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Dave’s Answer
Hi David,
I do enjoy my career (well, both of them) - I was fortunate to find a company that I like; I support its values and mission, and appreciate that they've hired a lot of very smart and well intentioned people so even when the work is hard, the people are cool and we support each other. As long as you like your work, the ancillary stuff like that really matters. I could be doing what I do at a company I didn't like, and though I like the kind of work might still not enjoy my day.
Look for a company you like, read its reviews online, reach out to employees if you can, find out what it's like to work there!
Good luck to you!
I do enjoy my career (well, both of them) - I was fortunate to find a company that I like; I support its values and mission, and appreciate that they've hired a lot of very smart and well intentioned people so even when the work is hard, the people are cool and we support each other. As long as you like your work, the ancillary stuff like that really matters. I could be doing what I do at a company I didn't like, and though I like the kind of work might still not enjoy my day.
Look for a company you like, read its reviews online, reach out to employees if you can, find out what it's like to work there!
Good luck to you!
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Diana’s Answer
In my day-to-day, I solve complex problems in coordination with a number of colleagues in different functional roles. My tasks are intellectually stimulating and my colleagues are grounded in the work, but whether I particularly enjoy the work itself just doesn't factor in. We all have rent to pay, after all.
I am a capable software engineer, but I won't say I enjoy it. I have a litany of critiques for the industry, for how we organize our labor, how standards and practices emerge and propagate, so on and so on. But, the money is very good, and that allows me to invest in the things I really care about in life: my family, my community, and our future in this strange strange world. I found that when I loved my job, my employers exploited that love to get me to do free work or to suffer abuse quietly. I would very seriously advise you to soberly regard your career as a tool in facilitating the rest of your life, rather than treating your life as a servant of your career, or expecting your career to independently fulfill you.
I am a capable software engineer, but I won't say I enjoy it. I have a litany of critiques for the industry, for how we organize our labor, how standards and practices emerge and propagate, so on and so on. But, the money is very good, and that allows me to invest in the things I really care about in life: my family, my community, and our future in this strange strange world. I found that when I loved my job, my employers exploited that love to get me to do free work or to suffer abuse quietly. I would very seriously advise you to soberly regard your career as a tool in facilitating the rest of your life, rather than treating your life as a servant of your career, or expecting your career to independently fulfill you.
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Victoria’s Answer
Yes, I do enjoy. I am software engineer. During my 20 years of career I was working at different positions: more people management vs more individual contributor. I need to admit I am enjoying a technical aspect more than people interaction. Different companies appreciate different carrier path with some companies growing managers while another allowing you to grow as technical contributor. That said if you are good at what you are doing you will have a choice and you can find a support to grow in the way you enjoy it. Good luck!
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Andra’s Answer
Great question.
Engineering is a fairly broad term, however assuming this is technical engineering (Computer Programming, Data Science, or generally under a Technology tree within an organization); I believe the work is exciting and definitely a combination of working individually and as a team.
Your typical day varies from company to company, but what is important is that we are able to focus on growing your skills within the industry (You are always learning); supporting your peers and colleagues (Connecting and working together); and providing value to the company you are in (working on interesting projects that bring value to the world).
You typically are focused on a combination of writing code if you are a programmer, or doing data analysis; delivering that code/data up for review to peers, and ultimately releasing the work you are doing to the general public or to internal users depending on your audience.
I would highly recommend doing Job Shadows with various individuals or types of positions you are interested in - this would give you specific insight on the work you are curious about, and have the ability to explore various roles/fields with insight into the areas you are passionate about.
Engineering is a fairly broad term, however assuming this is technical engineering (Computer Programming, Data Science, or generally under a Technology tree within an organization); I believe the work is exciting and definitely a combination of working individually and as a team.
Your typical day varies from company to company, but what is important is that we are able to focus on growing your skills within the industry (You are always learning); supporting your peers and colleagues (Connecting and working together); and providing value to the company you are in (working on interesting projects that bring value to the world).
You typically are focused on a combination of writing code if you are a programmer, or doing data analysis; delivering that code/data up for review to peers, and ultimately releasing the work you are doing to the general public or to internal users depending on your audience.
I would highly recommend doing Job Shadows with various individuals or types of positions you are interested in - this would give you specific insight on the work you are curious about, and have the ability to explore various roles/fields with insight into the areas you are passionate about.
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Peregrin’s Answer
David. This is a great question you have posed.
I am fairly along in my career, so I can provide maybe a few examples.
In college and grad school I pursued my interests, Political Science and Russian Studies, and while I was fortunate that my parents could pay for my BA, but even with my parents' help, I worked summers and during the school year to have money to live on and have fun with. Grad school was all on me, so I worked full time while pursuing my MA.
As my MA was going on and I needed work, I started out by working in areas of interest close to my MA in Russian Studies, I learned some skills and ultimately started to get into some simple database design and data management that had tie ins with lobbying, so still of interest even as I picked up these technical skills. That work, ultimately led me to a different opportunity that really moved out of Politics and Russia and into Global Financial publishing. Here, it was all about my skills with databases and computers. But the pay was great!
That really set me off on a career which is more what I would call a series of jobs that I was paid well to do, but really wasn't passionate about. This is something I would do differently if I could start over. It is not that I haven't enjoyed what I do at some points, but the most engaged people will ask and talk to you about what you are passionate about, and I can't truthfully answer that my current job is something I'm passionate about. There are interesting aspects, but no passion. So to your first question, there are definitely jobs out there I would enjoy doing more than what I do today, but they don't pay what I need them to pay. Or maybe more accurately, since I didn't pursue them at a young age, the pay I would receive today is not sufficient for what I would need to live the way I want to.
I noticed you have engineering up there, so from the perspective of is my story relevant, along my journey, I have worked in Software Engineering and I have been a Process Engineer.
For your final questions, in those roles, I work mostly on my own at this point, meaning I can Work From Home most of the time. That said, good project teams, which you would almost certainly be a part of, can really benefit from being co-located, some of the best agile teams are co-located. Not that it can't be dispersed, but for optimal work, together is preferable. The same is true with Process Engineering, but not as much.
Anyway, I hoped the story helped, my personal recommendation to you if you are curious on the topic is to find something you really enjoy doing, are passionate about, and start off with that as your goal, so that as you grow into it, you live a life where you are always enjoying what you do.
Best of luck.
I am fairly along in my career, so I can provide maybe a few examples.
In college and grad school I pursued my interests, Political Science and Russian Studies, and while I was fortunate that my parents could pay for my BA, but even with my parents' help, I worked summers and during the school year to have money to live on and have fun with. Grad school was all on me, so I worked full time while pursuing my MA.
As my MA was going on and I needed work, I started out by working in areas of interest close to my MA in Russian Studies, I learned some skills and ultimately started to get into some simple database design and data management that had tie ins with lobbying, so still of interest even as I picked up these technical skills. That work, ultimately led me to a different opportunity that really moved out of Politics and Russia and into Global Financial publishing. Here, it was all about my skills with databases and computers. But the pay was great!
That really set me off on a career which is more what I would call a series of jobs that I was paid well to do, but really wasn't passionate about. This is something I would do differently if I could start over. It is not that I haven't enjoyed what I do at some points, but the most engaged people will ask and talk to you about what you are passionate about, and I can't truthfully answer that my current job is something I'm passionate about. There are interesting aspects, but no passion. So to your first question, there are definitely jobs out there I would enjoy doing more than what I do today, but they don't pay what I need them to pay. Or maybe more accurately, since I didn't pursue them at a young age, the pay I would receive today is not sufficient for what I would need to live the way I want to.
I noticed you have engineering up there, so from the perspective of is my story relevant, along my journey, I have worked in Software Engineering and I have been a Process Engineer.
For your final questions, in those roles, I work mostly on my own at this point, meaning I can Work From Home most of the time. That said, good project teams, which you would almost certainly be a part of, can really benefit from being co-located, some of the best agile teams are co-located. Not that it can't be dispersed, but for optimal work, together is preferable. The same is true with Process Engineering, but not as much.
Anyway, I hoped the story helped, my personal recommendation to you if you are curious on the topic is to find something you really enjoy doing, are passionate about, and start off with that as your goal, so that as you grow into it, you live a life where you are always enjoying what you do.
Best of luck.
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Mickael’s Answer
I am a software engineer. I work with various teams (so many team members) depending on where I am needed. If this is fixing a defect (problem on existing code), then I am mostly working alone. When it comes to writing new software, this is usually done with other team member so we can discuss and compromise on the best realistic approach.
Everyday is different and it is hard for me to plan more than 2 days ahead though I know the main lines, there is always something new coming. This is sometimes challenging as I would like sometimes to just "fix that bug and move on" but it is also very exciting to know that you won't have time to get bored. I really love what I do, especially the Software Engineering part which is design something to solve that problem (not necessarily code it).
Everyday is different and it is hard for me to plan more than 2 days ahead though I know the main lines, there is always something new coming. This is sometimes challenging as I would like sometimes to just "fix that bug and move on" but it is also very exciting to know that you won't have time to get bored. I really love what I do, especially the Software Engineering part which is design something to solve that problem (not necessarily code it).
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Neha’s Answer
I am software developer working in distributed systems for around 14 years.
Growing up i wanted to be an astrophysicist but a summer internship in IUCAA made me realize that there is a lot of theoretical mathematics involved there and i was not confident if i could be the best in that. So i went into engineering which i felt is more about applied mathematics.
To be completely honest i wanted to be a mechanical engineer because i absolutely loved applied mechanics and design but, as a female in India almost 20 years back i thought that my career growth there would be difficult. So i opted for my second love which is computer engineering. However i soon realized that i absolutely loved it because it is really about logical thinking and application of concepts. I started working in distributed systems where we have to think about different components interacting with each other in real time. Even the software bugs here are super challenging and that is what makes me love my job.
Once you start a job most of our life is dedicated to it. If you are going to spend more than 8 hours of your day doing something then i think it should be something you really love. I love coding and designing and would not exchange this for anything.
Growing up i wanted to be an astrophysicist but a summer internship in IUCAA made me realize that there is a lot of theoretical mathematics involved there and i was not confident if i could be the best in that. So i went into engineering which i felt is more about applied mathematics.
To be completely honest i wanted to be a mechanical engineer because i absolutely loved applied mechanics and design but, as a female in India almost 20 years back i thought that my career growth there would be difficult. So i opted for my second love which is computer engineering. However i soon realized that i absolutely loved it because it is really about logical thinking and application of concepts. I started working in distributed systems where we have to think about different components interacting with each other in real time. Even the software bugs here are super challenging and that is what makes me love my job.
Once you start a job most of our life is dedicated to it. If you are going to spend more than 8 hours of your day doing something then i think it should be something you really love. I love coding and designing and would not exchange this for anything.
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CHRISTY’s Answer
I work in healthcare, specifically as a Radiological Technologist. I love my career! I get to help save lives alongside other healthcare professionals. When working, I get to take still X-rays of my patients, and use live x-rays in surgery and in the actual radiology suite doing other important procedures. It’s very satisfying to know that I am helping people to get well and feel better. There’s a lot of technicality that goes into my work and it’s a constant physical and mental process. Everyday is the same, but always different too. I like that about my work. Each day brings something new and I learn something new every day. I also like that there are a lot of diverse fields that branch from a basic RT. There’s huge opportunity to grow and branch out to other fields like CT, MRI, Mammography, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, etc. It’s a very opportunistic field with much room for growth, also it’s needed really bad practically everywhere. Anywhere you go, many jobs are available. I work with my patients and with my medical team. I love working with people, being alone bores me.
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Andrew’s Answer
I enjoy my career. I work in marketing and have worked at agencies, in-house corporate environments, etc. I love the mix between creative, brainstorming and figuring out business problems
I'd say that the best advice I can give is try all your interests and find a path that allows you to grow.
I'd say that the best advice I can give is try all your interests and find a path that allows you to grow.
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JT’s Answer
I work in Audit as a part of a team to assess technology risks/controls across the organization. I truly enjoy this job because it does provide a sense of structure and routine but at the same time, each project scope is different. It provides the opportunity to be a "professional learner". It challenges you to question and learn different processes and technologies, and then propose solutions. Highly recommend it as a career for stability and new opportunities to learn.
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Sukhminder’s Answer
This cannot be always a Yes answer in real life.
Sometimes you will be sometime you will not enjoying your career. You may be just doing it for sake of doing or just to make living or for your family.
It is kind of wrong question like asking does God exist or not. The question should always be how can I make the best of the situation or a career even when things take wild turn. Then you will always find your career joyful and even find the lost God. :)
Sometimes you will be sometime you will not enjoying your career. You may be just doing it for sake of doing or just to make living or for your family.
It is kind of wrong question like asking does God exist or not. The question should always be how can I make the best of the situation or a career even when things take wild turn. Then you will always find your career joyful and even find the lost God. :)
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Samar’s Answer
I am in software and it is truly enjoyable. Most of the job involves solving problems in technology and also learning new topics on a daily basis. It is a great combination of my background training and real life solutions. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has the inclination.
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Anthony’s Answer
Yes I do. I am a retail manager with Verizon and fully enjoy the day to day changes. No two days are the same. It always changes and I get to talk with new people everyday.
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Umesh’s Answer
I have been working as an electrical engineer since 1976 and thoroughly enjoy my job. I am still working and have no intentions to retire yet.
What is so interesting and challenging is that technology continues to evolve and improve. As an engineer, you are continually learning new things and there is never a dull moment. You are analyzing and solving problems. You can see the proof of what you did in a piece of hardware that you designed and tested.
What is so interesting and challenging is that technology continues to evolve and improve. As an engineer, you are continually learning new things and there is never a dull moment. You are analyzing and solving problems. You can see the proof of what you did in a piece of hardware that you designed and tested.
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Kari’s Answer
I love what I do. I love the flexibility of working from home. I love the challenge and solving problems. I love working with other software engineers and hearing about the various ways they solve problems too. I work with a remote software development team, which has it's own unique challenges... but at the end of the day, we're still software engineers solving tough problems.
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Janet’s Answer
I enjoy my job as a HR Analyst. I strive for identifying issues, trouble shooting, and providing solutions. In the HR world there are many opportunities to improve process and make work more efficient for all level of employees in a Company. I enjoy the HR world as they focus on the employee and manager experience.
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john’s Answer
I enjoy my career.
I'm a software developer working at a medium/large sized company.
My day to day mostly consists of designing and writing software to solve business needs and working with teammates on solutions and meetings.
I work a lot solo, but i also work a lot with my team. It varies a bit by project.
Software is nice for me since every day is different and every problem is unique. This lets me apply common skills to problems without the day to day work becoming mundane.
I'm a software developer working at a medium/large sized company.
My day to day mostly consists of designing and writing software to solve business needs and working with teammates on solutions and meetings.
I work a lot solo, but i also work a lot with my team. It varies a bit by project.
Software is nice for me since every day is different and every problem is unique. This lets me apply common skills to problems without the day to day work becoming mundane.
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Omotola’s Answer
Hi David,
I definitely enjoy my job as an Office Manager. I enjoy my job very much , because I am putting my Bachelors in Organizational Management and Leadership to use. The parts of my job I enjoy the most is that I am able to be very personable, organized and communicate very well. I am a high energy individual for the most part, so my position keeps me very busy, it challenges me it allows me to demonstrate positivity during the crazy days. Being an Office Manager can be so rewarding too, because I've learned to provide leadership, see the results of working hard and last but not least the interaction with all of our employees always does it for me.
I definitely enjoy my job as an Office Manager. I enjoy my job very much , because I am putting my Bachelors in Organizational Management and Leadership to use. The parts of my job I enjoy the most is that I am able to be very personable, organized and communicate very well. I am a high energy individual for the most part, so my position keeps me very busy, it challenges me it allows me to demonstrate positivity during the crazy days. Being an Office Manager can be so rewarding too, because I've learned to provide leadership, see the results of working hard and last but not least the interaction with all of our employees always does it for me.
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Sam’s Answer
yes 100%, I've been a recruiter in the software industry for over 20yrs working with my internal partners in trying to find external candidates for our open positions. My time is split almost 50/50 with my internal teams and with sourcing/finding/attracting candidates from other companies. It appears you are interested in engineering. I have many recruiter colleagues who have started out as engineers, wanted something different, and made the switch to recruiting because of the fast pace, dynamic drama, and the joy/exhilaration you feel when you attract a great candidate into your company. Hope that helps some.
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Tony’s Answer
1. Do you enjoy the career that you are working?
Yes, very much. I consider myself quite fortunate in that regard. I don't always love the day-to-day job, but that fluctuates and I believe is similar to what almost every career holds. Different workplaces have their ups and downs, different people that you work with, and even good and bad tasks to be performed.
2. What exactly do you do when you are working?
My day is a mixture of meetings of different kinds, writing for planning or documentation purposes, and writing software. Each day is different and will have more of one or another thing.
3. Do you work with people or alone?
I work with a team, there are about 10 of us that I work pretty closely with. The larger organization I'm in is probably 100 people between developers, team managers, product owners, and other types of group managers/directors/VPs.
Yes, very much. I consider myself quite fortunate in that regard. I don't always love the day-to-day job, but that fluctuates and I believe is similar to what almost every career holds. Different workplaces have their ups and downs, different people that you work with, and even good and bad tasks to be performed.
2. What exactly do you do when you are working?
My day is a mixture of meetings of different kinds, writing for planning or documentation purposes, and writing software. Each day is different and will have more of one or another thing.
3. Do you work with people or alone?
I work with a team, there are about 10 of us that I work pretty closely with. The larger organization I'm in is probably 100 people between developers, team managers, product owners, and other types of group managers/directors/VPs.