Of the lessons I shared with that engineering seminar group, this one was probably the least applicable to most folks who are already decently established in their career.
In its original form, the lesson was “no job is forever, so try to relax.” Someone’s first job straight out of college will almost certainly not be the only job they ever have, so they should try not to panic about finding the absolute most perfect role.
In fact, that first job teaches you a lot about yourself professionally—you learn real quick what you do and don’t like doing when you’re not exclusively working on projects with friends.
I’d adjust this a bit for those who have spent some time figuring out their industry and have a decent understanding of their strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes. But the advice is still similar.
Every job, every project, has something to teach you. Even if it’s just learning how to work with difficult people, or making a mistake where you end up with pie on your face, you’ll get some sort of enlightenment.
Not every lesson needs to be this big, profound, worldview-shaping discovery. Sometimes they can just be a couple of threads you add to the tapestry of experiences you acquire over your career.
And maybe some little detail you learned at your most detested job ends up being crucial to solving a problem at your most beloved job (probably not very likely, but you never know!)
Conversely, if you adore your job, embrace it. There’s likely aspects of it that irritate you to no end, but there are things that make you excited to get to work most days. Or maybe you work with fantastic people.
Even if you never change jobs again, one day you’ll retire and will only have the memories to savor. Enjoy the great parts.
And at the end of the day, you only have so much control over your employment. You and your team could be absolute superstars, but someone in management looking to throw their weight around might abruptly decide to close your site and lay your entire workplace off to “increase profits.”
All you can do is be proud of the work you’ve done, and appreciate the people you did it with.
No job is forever. So try to relax. You’ve got a long journey ahead.