A snapshot of my life circa November 2004
by Josh Staiger
From an email I sent to Anders on 11/7/2004:
It [work] really is very different than school, and it seems that I'm realizing more and more differences as time goes on. In spite of this, however, I still consider IBM to be my second education. If I had to guess, I'd say that I've learned just as much over the past eight odd months as I did during a comparable semester at school. It's the shock of practicality, I suppose and it makes one realize that the willingness to learn new things and solve problems and work hard are the most important things that one could possibly get out of undergrad. Then again, I guess it's different for different people and different jobs. From talking to Amy Chan, it unfortunately sounds like she doesn't find her job particularly rewarding.
I sometimes wonder how the tech industry differs from other industries. At least in software, the myth of being able to go home at 5 and not have homework is completely untrue. For the past two weeks I've been lucky to get out of work by 8pm (sitting in a cube with no windows, now that it is getting dark early, I hardly see the sun), and I can't remember the last weekend where work was not on my mind for at least part of it. This is the life many of my co-workers lead as well. I knew this going in and it doesn't bother me all that much at this point in my life, but I believe it is a misconception that many people in college have. Amy Chan tells me that things weren't like this when she was at P&G, and that it is one of the big things that bothers her about Accenture. It makes me wonder. It will be interesting to hear what other people's experiences are when (and if) they enter the workplace vs grad school and such.
One of the things I really do miss from school is the social atmosphere. Sure, I have friends here, but it just isn't quite the same. I don't think there is that same bond of everyone being in the same boat "getting through this together". The cultures of working hard because you are being paid to do so, and working hard solely for the purpose of learning something are quite different. That was something that was somewhat unexpected to me, although I'm really not sure why.
Well, I'm typing this to you while sitting in a coffee shop eating breakfast. I just finished my pancakes and coffee so I had better go. Really, I've had a bit too much caffeine I think and am quite jittery right now so I apologize for any typos.