Standing up for the Challenges
Why is it not Friday yet? I want to go home so bad. I should quit this job tomorrow. Who am I? What am I doing here? I hate myself and everything that I do at work!
If you have a job, and working to earn paychecks, you must have thought of any of the statements above at least once before. When I was working on the college applications, I did not have any specific goals or dreams about my future. All I wanted was to find a cushy job with a decent pay, so that I won’t have to worry about foods or shelter. I could not wait until I become completely independent and free from my parents. I had this idea of what I have to do at work to earn my paychecks does not matter, because I would do fun things outside of the work. This thought was reflected on my college life and choices. I did not care much if I get into big, well known schools, my high school GPA was above average but not top percentile when I graduated. I chose the university that was near where I lived, and mechanical engineering as my major. I picked my major based upon the numbers of availabilities for the jobs that I can apply with it. At the end, I landed on a cushy job that pays me somewhere around 70K to mid 80K per year, not needed to do much at work to earn it.
My job title is mechanical test engineer. My daily tasks are to test mechanical components or systems, following procedures to operate them, and get related paper works to do so. I thought that I landed on a great job, but then that thought didn’t last so long. It may be a great job for some people, but this job was so cushy that I didn’t have to do much to earn my paychecks. There were so much of down times that are not busy. There was not much of up-ward mobility, and the upper management were willy nilly allowing things to slide through. After I had complete understanding of the work place environment/vibe, I started not liking my life at work. I formed idea of having a job that requires brain power and critical thinking to solve challenging problems, not just bored at work for things to happen. There were some level of critical thinking involved for what I do at work, but not as much as I wanted. I would be so bored out of my mind, fighting not fall asleep at my desk for many days at work. I would like to face the challenges, use my brain and get things done and feel satisfaction.
One day at work, I was bored out of my mind and this thought came to me. It was about changing profession and getting a new job. I suffered enough of being bored and feeling not useful at work. After couple days of researching, I read some articles about data science. It stated that the data science is one of the new booming job field that uses computer science, statistics and critical thinking skills to solve customer’s problems. As soon as I was done reading the articles, I felt like “This is it!”. This career would satisfy my needs. I already learned basic computer programming language, C++ and statistics from college and I liked those classes. Those two classes always gave me challenges and it felt great to get through all the stoppages. And also, data science can be applied to almost every field so that I will be able to find a job where I’m passionate is. My passion was completely ignored so far because I only cared about basic needs, not psychological or self-fulfillment needs. I didn’t understand why it was important to follow the passion at all. I just thought following passion will turned into something stressful and painful once you have to be professional and get paid for it. But, it is not true. Now, I think that following passion will be win-win situation for me. I will get to do what I love to do and get paid even more than now. It is time for me to shine, chasing after my dreams and make it come true.
Once I knew what my problems were and found the solution, I acted on it right away. I signed up for data science boot camp, and I’m trying to open up a new career path and possibilities for myself for the brighter future. It will be challenging for me to completely change the career path as a data scientist, but I will get it done. I will only move forward towards my dream and the passion, not the backwards or stagnant looking for cushy things ever again.
