Another Day, Another Lack of a Dollar

I never realized how much a job defines a person until I got laid off recently. Over time your career choice will define what you find funny or sad, your political choices, the types of friends you make, and other major influences.

Work generates your personality and a large part of your emotions. Work does more than just generate income. This is the main reason I left a 'sure thing' type job.

I left a job several months ago that was, from the outside, a great job to take a risky contract position at IBM. I had been there a few years. I had received a raise, vacation days, and benefits. However I was horribly unhappy. Even now, looking back, leaving there was the right thing to do. I'm happier now, unemployed, than I was working there. I still wake up some mornings and think about how great it is to not be going there.

I've been unemployed before, but those times were different. Before I didn't have a defined career yet. I knew I wanted to be in a technology field, but I had done nothing to make that happen. Since then I have completed college, got years of experience, and met all sorts of people that inspire me to continue down the tech path. So there is little doubt in my mind as to what I should be doing. However there are still plenty of questions about my future.

My biggest goal is to find someplace that really makes me happy. It's very easy to manage everything else if you're happy with something that takes 40+ hours per week of your life.